Crab Cakes – Lightened!

These are broiled Crab Cakes – Lightened!  Lumps of crab meat mixed with only an egg, some bread crumbs, and enough mayonnaise and Dijon to hold it together.  Then they are topped with a dab of butter and broiled to a golden brown color.

Served with a creamy spicy sauce (recipe included) provides a lively accompaniment for these crab cakes, making them postively off-the-charts!ย  A delicious idea to serve as the appetizer or the main course.

ย 

What Makes These Crab Cakes Lightened?

These crab cakes are loaded with fresh crab meat, not filled with a lot of fillers or heavy mayonnaise to weigh it down. You actually taste the crab meat entirely.ย ย 

Best of all, all the ingredients work very nicely together to enhance the flavor of crab, and not overpowering it.

Plus, these crab cakes are very moist and light enough to eat a second crab cake, guilt-free!

Crab Cakes - Lightened! by 2sistersrecipes.com
 
 

What to Serve with these Crab Cakes?

  • We prefer to serve these crab cakes with a spicy sauce, but even a simple sauce will enhance their flavors.ย  The sauces are easily made with staple ingredients we have on hand.
  • Fresh lemon juice, horseradish, mayonnaise, and even Dijon were some of the ingredients used in the sauce. And it’s served on the side.

These crab cakes are very easy to make and are really wonderful to serve as appetizers, or even as the main course.  We had 2 crab cakes each with a green salad as the side, and it was enough.

It was a perfect light dinner for a perfect summer evening.

 

Crab Cakes - Lightened! by 2sistersrecipes.com
 
 

Delicious and loaded with crab meat, these crab cakes turned out amazingly tasty.

They were the best we have ever eaten! These were as authentic as any Maryland crab cakes out there.  My good friend Julie is a Maryland native, and she was so nice to pass her family’s recipe onto us.

We’re so glad she did, thanks, Julie!

 

HERE’s a GREAT TIP to MAKE AHEAD:ย 

We recommend that you make these crab cakes a dayย in advance.ย Place them on wax or parchment paperย on a cookie sheet.ย ย Thenย cover them with aย paper towel to absorb excess moisture,ย then again with aluminum foil andย refrigerate.

How to Make These Crab Cakes -Lightened?

*Follow along or jump to the bottom of this post for our full recipe card.

Ingredients Needed for our Crab Cakes – Lightened:

For these crab cakes lightened recipe, you will need

  • 1 pound jumbo lump or backfin lump crab meat (buy at local seafood market)

  • 1/4 tsp. salt

  • 1/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

  • 1/8 tsp. Old Bay Seasonings

  • 1 egg

  • 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

  • 3 Tbsp. mayonnaise

  • 1 tsp. Dijon mustard

  • 2 Tbsp. Italian seasoned bread crumbs or saltine crackers

  • olive oil cooking spray


Ingredients for Horseradish Cream Sauce:

  • 1/2 cup sour cream

  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise

  • 2 Tbsp. bottled horseradish

Ingredients for Simple Cream Sauce:

  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise

  • 2 Tbsp. ketchup

  • 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

  • 1 tsp. dry mustard

  • 1 tsp. lemon juice

  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions For the Crab Cakes – Lightened.

1.  In a large bowl,  using a fork to combine the crab meat with the next 8 ingredients.  Gently fold the mixture together until well combined.  Being careful not to shred the crab meat.
2.  Shape the crab mixture into 6 to 8 patties, about 3 tablespoons for each or less, depending on the size you want to make them.

3.  Wrap a cookie sheet or broiler pan with aluminum foil.  Spray lightly with cooking oil.

photo of the crab cakes on sheet of foil on baking sheet. by 2sistersrecipes.com
 
 

4.  Place crab cakes on the tray. Cover with paper towels and cover with aluminum foil, and refrigerate for about 2 hours. 

5.  When ready to broil them, remove foil wrap, and discard paper towels.

photo of ready to bake on baking sheet. by 2sistersrecipes.com
 
 

6.ย  Preheat oven to “Broiler” and on high heat.ย  ย 

7.ย  Place a dab of butter on top of each crab cake.ย  Broil on the middle rack in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly golden brown.ย 

8. Remove, allow them to rest for about 3 minutes, then serve.

Yields: 6 to 8 servings

 
 

Directions for either Cream Sauces:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together all the ingredients from the sauce you prefer.ย 

2. Cover and chill until ready to serve. ย 

3. Serve crab cakes warm with some cream sauce on the side.

 

… Thanks for PINNING!

Crab Cakes -Lightened! by 2sistersrecipes.com

Additional Sensational SEAFOOD Recipes!ย 

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Crab Cakes - Lightened!

Crab Cakes - Lightened!

Crab Cakes lightened are totally meaty, moist, and light enough to eat a second crab cake, guilt-free! Loaded with crab meat makes these crab cakes outstandingly delicious!

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 18 minutes
Total Time 33 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 pound jumbo lump or backfin lump crab meat (buy at local seafood market)
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
  • 1/8 tsp. Old Bay Seasonings
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
  • 3 Tbsp. mayonnaise
  • 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
  • 2 Tbsp. Italian seasoned bread crumbs or saltine crackers
  • olive oil cooking spray

FOR Horseradish Cream Sauce:

  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 Tbsp. bottled horseradish

FOR Simple Cream Sauce:

  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 Tbsp. ketchup
  • 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp. dry mustard
  • 1 tsp. lemon juice
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

    For the crab cakes.

    1. In a large bowl, using a fork to combine the crab meat with the next 8 ingredients. Gently fold the mixture together until well combined. Being careful not to shred the crab meat.
    2. Shape the crab mixture into 6 to 8 patties, about 3 tablespoons for each or less, depending on the size you want to make them.
    3. Wrap a cookie sheet or broiler pan with aluminum foil. Spray lightly with cooking oil.
    4. Place crab cakes on the tray. Lightly cover them with paper towels and cover with aluminum foil, and refrigerate for about 2 hours. When ready to broil them, remove foil wrap and discard paper towel.
    5. Preheat oven to Broiler and on high heat.
    6. Place a dab of butter on top of each crab cake.
    7. Broil for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly golden brown.
    8. Yields: 6 to 8 servings

    For the sauces.

    1. In a small bowl, whisk together all the ingredients from which sauce you prefer.
    2. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
    3. Serve crab cakes warm with some cream sauce on the side.

    Did you make this recipe?

    Mention @2sistersrecipes on Instagram or tag #2sistersrecipes!

      

    Hello friends!  Are you cooking or baking with us?  If you make easy crab cakes lightened, let us know and leave a comment and a star rating below!  Sharing your experience and insights will not only help those who read them but will help us too!

    You may snap a photo and hashtag it on Instagram, and tag us @2sistersrecipes, and on Pinterest.  We’d love to see what you cook and share your photos with the world!  ๐Ÿ™‚

    Plus, NEVER MISS our Recipes! …enter your email in our “SUBSCRIBE BOX” and get themย FREEย every time we post a new recipe and reminders of some great older ones too!

    Happy and Healthy Cooking!  ๐Ÿ˜‰

    Thanks for stopping by…

     xo Anna and Liz

     

    anna and liz selfie

    Welcome! From Anna and Liz

    We believe the kitchen is the center and the heart of the home. It is where we cook, eat, and unwind with family and friends, creating memorable traditions! Read more…

    Sign Up For Our Email List

    Something delicious for your inbox! Subscribe and join our email list and get all our recipes FREE!

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    11 Comments

    1. These look so delicious! Can I use the 'artificial' crab instead of real crab, since I'm allergic to shellfish? Have been since 28 years old and oh how I miss shellfish!

      1. Hey Roz, we never tried it with artificial crab before, but if you do – please let us know how it turns out. Thanks so much!

    2. are you sure these are lightened bc they just looks out of this world amazing. You would never know they are healthy for you. Lightened does mean healthy right? let's pretend it does so I can eat as many as I want:) LOL!

      1. Lol… these were very light and delicious! but healthy? I guess I will have to let you be the judge of that…. have a great day Jessica!