Keto Crab Cakes
Keto crab cakes bound with almond flour instead of breadcrumbs, given as a range rather than a fixed number because crab varies enormously in how wet it is. Chilled before forming so the crust sets before the flip. 2.1g net carbs for two cakes.
Equipment
- 12-inch skillet eight cakes will not fit at once
- Wide spatula must be wider than the cake
- Instant-read thermometer for the 160F check
Ingredients
- 1 lb lump crab meat 450 g drained pasteurised lump crab, about one 1 lb tub; picked over for shell
- 1/4-1/3 cup blanched almond flour 28-38 g; start low and go by texture. Nutrition calculated at 33 g
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise 75 g
- 1 large egg lightly beaten
- 2 tsp yellow mustard not Dijon - most brands are made with white wine
- 1/4 tsp mustard powder puts back the heat yellow mustard lacks
- 1 tbsp lemon juice plus wedges to serve
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce the savoury backbone of a Maryland crab cake
- 1 1/2 tsp Old Bay style seasoning or the homemade blend in the notes
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt taste first, canned crab is salty
- 2 tbsp butter 28 g, for frying
- 1 tbsp avocado oil stops the butter burning
Instructions
- Drain and pick over: tip the crab into a sieve and leave 5 minutes, then spread on paper towel and press gently. Run your fingers through it for shell fragments. Every gram of water removed is a gram of almond flour you do not have to add.
- Wet mix first, crab last: whisk the mayonnaise, egg, yellow mustard, mustard powder, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, seasoning, parsley and salt until smooth. Stir in 1/4 cup of the almond flour. Then add the crab and FOLD - come up from underneath and turn the mixture over a dozen times. Breaking up the lumps gets you a fish cake.
- Check the texture: scoop a portion and hold it. It should just hold its shape without slumping, with no liquid pooling in the bowl. If it slumps, fold in another tablespoon of almond flour and check again. Stop as soon as it holds - every spoonful past that is a step towards dense.
- Chill, then form: cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes, up to overnight. Divide into 8 cakes of about 85 g, roughly 3 inches across and an inch thick, pressed just enough to hold. Three inches matters - your spatula needs to be wider than the cake or it folds on the flip.
- Fry in two batches: heat half the butter and half the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium. Cook four cakes with space between them 3-4 minutes until the underside is deep golden, flip once, and give them 3-4 minutes more to 160°F (71°C) in the centre.
- Wipe the pan between batches: loose almond flour from the first four is now burnt in the fat and will stick to the second batch and taste bitter. Wipe with paper towel, add the remaining butter and oil, let it come back to temperature. Hold batch one on a rack in a 200°F oven - on a plate they steam themselves soft.
Notes
Yellow mustard, not Dijon. Classic crab cakes call for Dijon and most well-known brands are made with white wine rather than wine vinegar - it is on the label. The mustard powder alongside puts back the sharpness yellow mustard lacks.
Homemade seasoning blend: 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1/2 tsp celery salt, 1/2 tsp mustard powder, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1/4 tsp ground bay leaf, a pinch of cayenne.
Tartar sauce: 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 2 tbsp finely chopped dill pickle, 1 tbsp pickle brine, 1 tsp yellow mustard, 1 tbsp chopped dill or parsley, a squeeze of lemon, black pepper. Rest 10 minutes. About 0.5 g net carbs for the whole batch.
If a cake collapses, do not add more almond flour - you trade a collapse for a dense puck. The fixes are a longer chill, a tablespoon less mayonnaise, or crab that was not drained well enough.
Baked: 400°F on a greased sheet, 12-15 minutes, no flipping, to 160°F. Do not go above 400°F; almond flour browns faster than breadcrumbs and turns bitter rather than dark. Air fryer: 380°F for 10-12 minutes, sprayed lightly, watching from 8 minutes.
Canned crab works and carries more water - drain it hard and expect to want the full 1/3 cup of almond flour. Avoid imitation crab, which is starch-bound fish paste and is not low carb.
On the calorie figure: it counts all of the frying butter and oil, because the method has no drain step. Published recipes differ wildly on whether they count cooking fat at all. If you drain the cakes on paper towel, knock roughly 20 calories and 2 g of fat off each serving.
Storage: 3 days cooked, 2 months frozen uncooked (freeze on a tray, then bag; cook from frozen at 375°F for about 25 minutes). Reheat at 350°F on a rack for 8 minutes, never the microwave.