These Air Fryer Crab Cakes are so easy to make thanks to the Air Fryer. Every bite is full of delicious juicy crab meat.
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There is nothing like a delicious golden on the outside and moist and flavorful on the inside crab cake. And thanks to the Air Fryer, I can make delicious crab cakes with less mess and less stress.
I call myself a bit of a crab cake snob as I have eaten a ton of crab cakes over the years. If I see it on a restaurant menu I order it and sample it. Here’s what I’ve learned:
- The best crab cakes taste like crab, lol. Meaning you don’t want too many fillings or ingredients that overpower the taste of the crab.
- Less bread crumbs and more crab makes a supreme crab cake.
- Use lump crab or jumbo lump crab meat when making crab cakes. You should be able to find this in the seafood section of your local grocer. It ain’t cheap (Mine was $14 for 8 oz) but it’s so worth it.
- No eggs needed for this recipe. You want a moist crab cake but crab meat by itself is moist and since it’s made in the Air Fryer, you won’t need to flip it and you’ll still get that nice golden crust.
How to make Air Fryer Crab Cakes
Start by finely chopping your red bell pepper and green onion.
Next, add your crab meat, red bell pepper, green onions, mayonnaise, dijon mustard, breadcrumbs, and old bay seasoning to a bowl. Stir until combined.
Gently form 4 patties with your crab meat mixture. Don’t smoosh them together too hard. Just a light and gentle squeeze to ensure they are together.
Place them in your Air fryer basket. I use these parchment paper liners to line my basket first. It makes for easier clean up and it ensures my basket is non-stick.
Please make sure you place the crab cakes on the liner before starting the Air Fryer. You need the weight of the crab cake to hold the liner down so it does not fly up into the fan and heating element.
Slightly spray the top of the crab cakes with your favorite cooking oil. I used canola but vegetable, avocado, olive oil will all work.
Close your Air Fryer basket and cook on 370 degrees fahrenheit for 10 minutes. Once done, open air fryer and remove crab cakes and paper liners if using.
That’s it! So easy. For the perfect dressing for this crab cake, I recommend this homemade remoulade sauce.
I love how these crab cakes are made from scratch so you control all the ingredients.
Looking for more Air Fryer Recipe appetizers? Try these out:
Korean Sweet and Spicy Air Fryer Chicken Wings
Air Fryer Sweet and Spicy Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites
Find the full Video tutorial on Youtube. Don’t forget to click the thumbs up button and Subscribe on Youtube for more recipe videos.
Easy Air Fryer Crab Cakes
Ingredients
- 8 Oz lump crab
- 1/4 cup red bell pepper chopped
- 2 green onion chopped
- 2 Tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 Tbsp bread crumbs
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp old bay seasoning
- Oil for spraying
- Squeeze of lemon
Instructions
- Place red bell pepper, green onion, bread crumbs, mayonnaise, dijon mustard, and old bay in a bowl and stir until combined.
- Gently form 4 patties with mixture.
- Place in Air Fryer basket and lightly spray tops with oil.
- Air fry on 370 degrees Fahrenheit 10 minutes. Open and Squeeze a bit of lemon over the tops before serving.
Toots
Sunday 29th of March 2020
I was thinking your tip was to spray the parchment paper before putting it in, as if the spray would hold it in place. I put it in to preheat aaaaand the parchment paper almost started a fire when it flew up into the heating element ugh. Redid by preheating first and THEN adding both the parchment paper and crap cakes.
Tanya
Sunday 29th of March 2020
Hi Toots, I don't spray the parchment paper. The food has to be added to the parchment paper so it weighs it down.
Barbara
Sunday 22nd of March 2020
I am look forward to trying this recipe I have and air fryer but I don't; have the black basket can I just used the mess tray and spay it to put the crab cakes on and also i just have the green bell pepper and regular onions the store is out of most items right now
Tanya
Monday 23rd of March 2020
Hi Barbara, the refular onions and green bell pepper will work just fine, just chop them finely. The mess tray basket you are referring to with your air fryer should work fine.
Patricia
Friday 14th of February 2020
Can I use salmon instead of crab?
Tanya
Saturday 15th of February 2020
Yes you can.
Donna
Wednesday 12th of February 2020
Fabulous! Better than crab cakes I've had at any restaurant! Will make often! Thank you for sharing.
Tanya
Thursday 13th of February 2020
So glad you like them Donna :)
Baby j
Wednesday 29th of January 2020
Do these freeze well? I have bunch of crab I need to use, and want to freeze half of them.
Tanya
Wednesday 29th of January 2020
Hi, I haven't frozen these in particular but they should hold up just fine in the freezer. I would just freeze them on a baking tray first to make sure they are firm before placing them in a freezer bag.