Crab Cakes with Lemon Caper Sauce

Last Updated on February 23, 2025 by Melissa Reome

Crab cakes are expensive and it is hard to find quality ones when you don’t make them yourself. These Maryland style crab cakes with lemon caper sauce have huge chunks of lump crab meat, minimal filler and sure are delicious. They can be made in the oven, on your stove or in a skillet on the grill and we will discuss directions for each option.

Why You’ll Love This Crab Cake Recipe

These crab cakes are made with jumbo lump crab meat and taste like an authentic crab cake at an oceanside restaurant in Maryland and Virginia. When made in a skillet you get that nice golden brown exterior and a soft flavorful crab filled interior.

Although it may initially look like a larger number of ingredients, most are ingredients you may already have in your refrigerator or pantry. Many crab cakes are served with a remoulade sauce which is certainly delicious but I wanted to create a sauce with a bit of brightness from the lemon. The lemon caper sauce compliments the lump crab cakes perfectly. It is unfortunate to pay a lot of money at a restaurant and receive a disappointing meal. Once I created this recipe, I no longer ordered crab cakes when dining out.

The Best Ingredients for Lump Crab Cakes

The star ingredients of these Maryland-style crab cakes are jumbo lump crab meat, Old Bay Seasoning and fresh chives. The ideal crab cake has great crab and minimal fillers. You want to be able to see and taste the crab in a traditional high quality crab cake.

Choosing the Right Crab Meat

When picking out crab meat there are a number of options to look for. Crab meat at a grocery store seafood counter or at a seafood shop is often packaged in either 8 oz or 1 lb containers. Take note of the size when purchasing for your recipe. Your store might have colossal lump, jumbo lump, lump, claw meat or backfin crab meat.

Colossal lump crab meat is very expensive and the largest variety. It is not suitable for a crab cake and best savored on its own. Jumbo lump or lump crab meat is perfect for this recipe. Jumbo is larger and more expensive than lump crab meat but both are suitable options. Backfin meat consists of quality smaller pieces of mixed crab meat that is best for crab dips and crab salad. Claw meat is best for soups and stews.

Why Old Bay Seasoning is Essential

If you aren’t already familiar with it, Old Bay Seasoning is a commercially available seasoning blend you can find in most grocery stores, seafood shops and even Amazon. It is a mixture of 18 different spices including celery salt, paprika and pepper. Although it is regionally popular in the Chesapeake Bay, it is popular all over the eastern United States. Crab and Old Bay Seasoning are like a marriage made in heaven. It isn’t just for crabs though and it pairs with crab, shrimp and other seafood perfectly. That flavor reminds me of going to Maryland and Virginia to feast on crabs with my family.

How to Make Lump Crab Cakes (Step-by-Step)

• In a medium sized bowl, mix the all of the ingredients crab cake mixture together except the crab meat and crushed crackers
• Drain any liquid from the crab meat and spread it out on a plate. Make sure there are not any tiny pieces of shell in the meat
• Add the crab meat and crackers to the liquid mixture
• Gently fold the mixture together with a spatula using caution not to break up the crab pieces
• Cover and refrigerate mixture for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours
• Divide the mixture into 6 large crab cakes
• To cook the crab cakes, either pan fry on the stove or grill, or bake them in the oven.

The Perfect Lemon Caper Sauce for Crab Cakes

This easy to make lemon caper sauce goes incredibly well with the crab cakes. It is a great alternative to a remoulade sauce but has the great same creaminess. The addition of both lemon juice and lemon zest give the sauce a great acidic component without being overpowering. I prefer to chop the capers up a little bit so the lemon caper sauce is still pretty smooth. The fresh chives are mild yet add so much to the flavor. If you cannot source fresh chives, finally chop scallions or green onions as an alternative.

Ingredients You’ll Need

For the lemon caper sauce you will need: mayonnaise, mustard (Dijon and whole grain if available), a little hot sauce, capers, fresh lemon zest and juice and black pepper. If you cannot source whole grain mustard, just add an equal amount of extra Dijon mustard to the sauce.

How to Make the Sauce in Minutes

The lemon caper sauce can be made up to a day ahead of time or an hour before beginning your crab cakes. Letting the sauce chill allows the flavor of the ingredients to come together nicely. After zesting and juicing the lemon and chopping the capers and chives, mix all of the ingredients in a small bowl then cover and refrigerate the sauce.

How to Cook Crab Cakes

How long it takes to cook crab cakes depends on the method you choose to cook them and the size of the crab cakes. The different methods each have advantages and disadvantages. I am not discussing frying crab cakes because it isn’t an appropriate method for these high quality crab cakes.

How to Cook Crab Cakes in the Oven (Can Be a Healthier Option)

• Preheat the oven to 425 F
• Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Putting a few drops of oil or water on the sheet pan prior to adding the parchment paper will help it to stay in place.
• Spray the parchment paper with a thin layer of cooking spray or brush lightly with cooking oil. This will prevent the crab cakes from sticking to the pan.
• Place the crab cakes on the parchment paper. Lightly brush each crab cake with melted butter. Bake until the crab cakes are browned and the internal temperature of the crab cakes reaches 160 F.
• The cook time of baking varies depending on the size of the crab cakes but generally it will take 8-12 minutes.
  Optional: If you would like the tops of the crab cakes to brown up more, you can place them under the broiler for a couple minutes.
• Do not walk away from crab cakes under the broiler so you do not burn them. I prefer to not flip the crab cakes when baking as they are fragile.

Why Cooking Crab Cakes in the Oven is My Favorite Method

Cooking crab cakes in the oven is my preferred method because it is the easiest and still yields great results. They won’t be as crispy as pan fried crab cakes but they are equally delicious. When you cook crab cakes in the oven, you can use less oil or butter compared to pan frying. This can be a healthier method because you have control over how much butter you brush on them when baking. I prefer to brush the tops of the crab cakes with butter but that is optional. When baking crab cakes you can make them more in a mound shape if you prefer since you don’t have to necessarily flip them.

Alternate Oven Method: Pan frying Crab Cakes in the Oven

Instead of pan frying the crab cakes on a stovetop, you can pan fry them in the oven. Place your skillet in a preheated 425 F oven for 5 minutes, then add 1 tsp of butter and 1 tsp of oil then add the crab cakes. Use caution as the skillet will be hot. Preheating the skillet first will allow the crab cakes to crisp up better on the bottom. If you prefer the crispiness on both sides, flip the crab cakes once browned nicely on one side.

How to Pan Fry Crab Cakes (Best for Crispy Crab Cakes)

• Place a skillet on the stove and preheat it over medium heat.
• When hot, add two teaspoons of butter (or a mix of butter and oil) to the skillet and gently add in the crab cakes. Do not crowd the crab cakes in the skillet.
• Pan fry the crab cakes until nice and brown on both sides. Use caution when flipping the crab cakes as they are fragile. Making sure they are initially browned well on the bottom will help hold them together better when flipping.
• Generally, the crab cakes will take 6-10 minutes but time varies depending on the size of the crab cakes and the temperature of your skillet.
• Cook until the crab cakes are browned and the internal temperature of the crab cakes reaches 160 F when measured with an instant read thermometer

How to Cook Crab Cakes on the Grill

This is my favorite way to cook crab cakes when the weather is nice outside. Maybe you already have the grill fired up to cook something else or maybe you don’t. But why go through the trouble of firing up a grill just to cook in a skillet? Grilling the crab cakes prevents you from having your whole house smell like crab. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing when you are eating but I don’t personally enjoy smelling it hours later. Follow the method for pan frying crab cakes to cook them on the grill.

Expert Tips for the Best Crab Cakes 

• If you are buying jumbo lump or lump crab meat, be extra gentle when mixing the crab cake mixture together. You are paying top dollar to buy crab that is in large chunks. Aggressively mixing it will just tear it all up.
• Refrigerating the crab cake mixture prior to shaping the crab cakes will help firm up the mixture so it is easier to shape.
• Using crushed crackers instead of fine breadcrumbs will give your crab cakes a nicer texture inside.
• If pan frying crab cakes do not overcrowd the pan. Doing so will lower the temperature of the pan and they will not brown and crisp up as nicely.
• If broiling the crab cakes do not walk away from the oven. In a matter of just seconds your crab cakes can go from nicely browned to burnt.

What to Serve with Crab Cakes

Crab cakes pair really well with a baked potato or rice pilaf. Grilled vegetables in season are always delicious. Coleslaw is a traditional side as is corn on the cob in summertime. If you prefer a lighter meal, having a salad alongside a crab cake is a great option.

Crab Cake Appetizer Idea

Looking for an appetizer instead of a main meal? Form the crab cake mixture into roughly tablespoon sized balls. Bake at a lower temperature of 375 F to prevent the balls from drying out. Serve with the creamy lemon caper sauce. Using lump crab meat rather than jumbo lump works better to help keep the balls together since the lumps of crab are smaller. They will take typically 10-15 minutes to cook.

Frequently Asked Questions About Cooking Crab Cakes

What internal temperature should a crab cake be cooked to?

A crab cake is fully cooked at 160 F when measured in the center with an instant read thermometer.

Is it better to bake or fry crab cakes?

Baking crab cakes is easier than frying crab cakes for a number of reasons. When you bake or even pan fry crab cakes you can taste the crab and the ingredients. When you fry crab cakes, the greasiness of the oil distracts from the other flavors. You would need a lot more binder (ex: crackers) to hold the crab cakes together when frying them.

How do you get crab cakes to stick together?

Since a high quality crab cake will have minimal binding ingredients, getting crab cakes to stick together is a gentle process. Refrigerating the crab cake mixture prior to cooking helps to firm up the mixture prior to forming them. After refrigeration, lightly form the mixture into a ball initially then place them on your baking sheet or skillet.

How many crab cakes can you get out of 1 lb of crab meat?

For this recipe you can get six to eight generous sized crab cakes. Two crab cakes is plenty to serve with additional side dishes for dinner. If you prefer, you can make them into smaller crab cakes as an appetizer or lighter meal. One large crab cake on a small to medium sized roll would be perfect as a sandwich for lunch.

What is the difference between refrigerated crab meat and canned crab meat?

Crab meat that is sold refrigerated in the store is typically much fresher and minimally processed compared to canned crab meat. The containers are also usually vacuum sealed. The crab texture is more like fresh crab and the shape is more intact. Though some may have some salt water solution included to help preserve the crab, it typically has less preservatives compared to canned crab meat. If you look at the container, you can see the size of the crab meat inside.

Canned crab meat is pasteurized and can be packed in either oil or a brine. The meat usually appears shredded and the flavor often tastes less like fresh crab and more like what it was packed in. It is lower quality compared to refrigerated packed crab meat.

What is the best crab for crab cakes?

The best crab you can buy for crab cakes is refrigerated jumbo lump or lump crab meat. Jumbo lump crab provides the largest sized crab pieces. Lump crab is a great option as well. The pieces of crab just won’t be as large.

How do you heat up a cooked crab cake?

Preheat an oven or toaster oven to 350 F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and lightly brush the paper with melted butter. Cook the crab cakes until warmed throughout. To prevent the crab cakes from drying out, you can cover them with foil prior to baking. Alternatively, heat a pan over medium heat, add a teaspoon of butter or oil then pan fry on each side until thoroughly heated. You may also reheat crab cakes in the microwave, but they will not be as crispy. Set your microwave to 50% power and heat only in 30 second increments. Test for doneness after each 30 second interval.

As always, if you have any questions, please drop me a message in the comments. 

Are you looking for some more seafood inspiration?  Check out my posts Fried Soft Shell Crab Sandwich and How to Buy and Cook Scallops.

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