Hey there peeps! Here’s something cool that most of you don’t know about me – I’ve cooked on television!
Yup, it’s true, I used up my fifteen minutes of (dubious) fame when I competed on The View’s Next Food Network Star (a precursor to the popular show currently on the Food Network) back in 2004.
Sadly, I didn’t win, though I did come in 3rd out of 16, and I had a GREAT time doing it. I went to NYC several times and got to meet Mario Batali, Bobby Flay, and Rocco DiSpirito in the process.
My favorite round was crab cakes, which I love, and Bobby Flay was our celebrity chef guest judge. I did a trio of crab cakes (Maryland, Southwestern, and Asian) which were pretty awesome (she types modestly) if I do say so. Bobby (who was very nice in person BTW) must not have hated them, because I’m happy to say I made it to the next round.
I’d love to share those crab cake recipes with you – but along with the tapes of the shows, they got lost somewhere in our travels. But not to worry, since none of those recipes were low carb or gluten free, and they certainly weren’t Whole 30 compliant, I put together a crab cake recipe that meets all of those criteria.
Are they as good as my competition crab cake recipes? No. Those had lots of decadent ingredients in them that I couldn’t use for these (like a yummy tequila mango sauce, nom nom nom!) However, while these low carb crab cakes might not be winning me any contests, they are still pretty delicious – and so much healthier for you!
I’d venture to guess that even Bobby Flay would approve, since the minimal ingredients highlight the delicately sweet flavor of the crab. Which is as it should be because good crab meat doesn’t really need anything to make it taste amazing. Except this roasted red pepper sauce – which tastes great with almost everything!
Low Carb Crab Cakes w/ Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
- Yield: 8 crab cakes 1x
Description
A delicious low carb and gluten free crab cake recipe that is simple to make but impressive enough for special occasions!
Ingredients
- 1 cup lump crab meat
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
- 2 Tbsp parsley, chopped
- 1.5 Tbsp coconut flour
- 2 Tbsp coconut oil
Instructions
- Gently pick through the crab to make sure there are no shells or cartilage in the meat, and add to a small bowl. In another small bowl, combine the egg, lemon juice, and dijon mustard, mixing until smooth. In a third bowl, combine the old bay, parsley, and coconut flour, mixing thoroughly. Gently add the egg mixture to the crab, folding until combined. Then add the dry ingredients to the crab mixture and gently mix in. Try not to break up/shred the pieces of crab too much.
- Heat the coconut oil over medium heat in a nonstick saute pan. Form 8 small cakes and place carefully in the hot oil. Cook for about 2-3 minutes per side or until golden brown. Remove from the pan to a plate lined with paper towels. Sprinkle with kosher salt, squeeze half a fresh lemon over them and serve with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce.
Notes
Approx nutrition info per crab cake: 65 calories, 4g fat, .4g net carbs, 6g protein
- Category: Appetizer
- Cuisine: American
Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
Description
A delicious low carb and gluten free roasted red pepper sauce that is Whole 30 compliant and can dress up chicken, seafood, and even vegetables!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup roasted red peppers
- 1 Tbl extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup fresh avocado
Instructions
- Blend all of the ingredients until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.
Notes
Approx nutrition info per 2 Tbsp of sauce: 30 calories, 3g fat, .7g net carbs, 0g protein
- Category: Condiment
- Cuisine: American
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Deb says
For I binder for any type of fish cake (crab cake, shrimp cake, salmon cake) get 25% of whatever weight of primary seafood you are using as raw shrimp. So for 1 lb of crab, get 1/4 lb of shrimp. Put the shrimp into a food processor and blitz into a rough paste.
Use the shrimp paste as your binder…..just fold it in gently with the other ingredients. Best to form mix into cakes and let sit in frig for 15-20 min to firm up. Then bread in low carb breading mix of your choice (like combo pork panko, ground sesame seeds and grated Parm cheese from the green can).
Works every time to keep the seafood cakes together.
Mary-Jo Banish says
I’ve missed crab cakes! Will be making these very soon!
Amanda says
I just made these with a couple variations. No parsley because I don’t like it and a different sea food seasoning because it’s what I had on hand and I fried mine in butter. But this was seriously sooooo delicious and I love this roasted red pepper sauce. I’m going to eat it in all the things!!!! I will be making these a lot! Thank you!!!
★★★★★
Kathleen Kelly says
I love crab cakes..thanks for sharing!
Vicki says
I am taking all this except the coconut flour and stuffing it into mushroom caps- i used a bit of cream cheese to make it all stick together a little more, and I didnt have fresh parsley so i finely diced a green onion – the raw mixture tastes delicious, and the smell of it roasting in the oven is divine! I am going to make the sauce to drizzle over them and I expect this to be a favorite! Thanks for the base idea and inspiring me to create!
★★★★★
Teresa says
New to your blog. Tried out this recipe for dinner. Great crap cakes and very filling. I made a meal off them and added a salad.
Ca says
My husband made a pretty large batch of smoked salmon, enough that I had to think of a way to use some besides just eating it. I decided to use it instead of crab for this recipe and they were AWESOME! I served it with lemon cauli rice. This is a keeper!
★★★★★
Judith says
I read through the comments and made a mental note of the Old Bay amount. I used 1/2 tsp and it was perfect with no other seasoning at all. I used fresh Dungeness crab meat at about 1 1/4 cup since this is not a big recipe. I made four cakes and my husband ate them and gave them a thumbs up.
★★★★
Deb says
can I substitute almond flour?
Low-Carb Andy says
This is the first time I hear about this recipe, but I have to say I absolutely love it. :) Looks amazing, and it probably tastes really good too. Going to make this as soon as I have some free time.
★★★★★
Sheila says
Hi! I made these yesterday, and I wonder if there is a mistake in the ingredient list for the crab cakes. Is 2 tsp of Old Bay correct for only one cup of crab meat? This is the first time I ever made crab cakes, so I didn’t question it, but they came out incredibly salty and over seasoned., to our taste. I have since looked up other recipes online, and none of them used anywhere near that much Old Bay. I wonder if it was a misprint, and should have been 1/2 tsp of Old Bay. The Roasted Red Pepper sauce was wonderful; the only change I made was to substitute well-drained artichoke hearts for the avocado because we don’t like avocado. Mixed the leftover sauce in with some mayo today and used it on turkey sandwiches today. It was very tasty.
Please let me know about the crab cake recipe. Would love to keep them low-carb!
Thank you,
Sheila
Suzanne says
I am sorry to say that the “World Vision” advertisement is covering up half the recipe. Is there some way to change how it is displayed?
rachel says
Is the 1 cup of meat per cake?
Sandy says
:( so bummed. These fell apart before they even made it to the pan.
Sherri says
after mixing everything, refrigerate for an hr so the cakes will not fall apart
Monica says
Great flavor but they didn’t hold together even using lump crab……gotta figure out how to make them bind better
Cheryl says
This looks yummy
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks so much Cheryl, they are really tasty! Hope you try them out and like them!
Megan says
I made this and it turned out horrible! I was so disappointed! The coconut flower did not help keep the crab cakes together and of anything made more of a mess. The coconut oil was plenty hot enough, but I think I should have added more eggs. Not very much flavor either. :/ Oh well.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Sorry you didn’t like this one Megan, it’s a personal favorite of mine, so I’m not sure what went wrong. What kind of crab meat did you use? Usually most of the flavor comes from the crab meat, so if it was flavorless then maybe it just wasn’t great crab. I know even when I buy the same brand sometimes it’s sweet and awesome, and others just kind of “meh.” Also if it was primarily claw meat, which is really small pieces, it can fall apart easily. Just a thought!
Carolyn says
Okay, so weird. I made LC crab cakes tonight too. Swear I am not copying you (which you will be able to tell from the ingredients, mine were quite different!).
Mellissa Sevigny says
These are from last year anyway Carolyn – and I’m pretty sure you don’t need my help to make crab cakes (or anything else) to taste awesome! :) Looking forward to checking out your recipe!!!!