by Denise 20 Comments
These easy keto crab cakes are simply delicious with just a little bit of spice from a jalapeño pepper and a squeeze lime. You can make this tasty keto dinner in just 15 minutes and without any breadcrumbs. Only 1.8g net carbs per crab cake.
You might also like these low carb salmon cakes recipe!
I don’t know about you but I always thought that crab cakes were delicious but complicated and you only got them at a restaurant. Today I have happily proven myself wrong. I saw that Aldi had lump crabmeat at a great price and I decided to give it a try and make these easy keto crab cakes.
Surprisingly my son loved these as much as my husband and I did and each crab cake is only 1.8g net carbs! They were super easy to make and I was done in 15 minutes.Plus I didn’t use traditional breadcrumbs so they are gluten free as well. I don’t use any almond flour, coconut flour or pork rinds either.
Best low carb seafood to eat on a keto diet.
I’m not a huge seafood person seeing as I live in Pittsburgh and fresh seafood is not easily available. However there still are a lot of options open to me. Most seafood has little to no carbs, is quick to prepare and very delicious! Here are the net carbs for 3 oz of the most popular seafood options. Check out this seafood nutritional chart for more types of seafood if you are interested.
- salmon – og
- shrimp – 0g
- crab – 0g
- tilapia – 0g
- tuna – 0g
- scallops – 2g
- lobster – 1g
- clams – 4g
NOTE: Seafood is a great source of protein, low in calorie and often takes minutes to cook so I urge you to give it a try.
Recipe ingredients I used.
Below you can see most of the simple ingredients I used for these crab cakes. That is the lump crabmeat that I bought in the refrigerator section of Aldi. Note you can usually find it at the seafood counter at most grocery stores.
It was very good for the price and since it’s a special item I will have to go back and buy some more!
The other ingredients were mayonnaise, egg, jalapeno pepper, fresh lime, fresh cilantro, butter, olive oil and green onion.
How to make these easy keto crab cakes!
These crab cakes are a little messy to handle but trust me they will be delicious.
Step 1: Start by beating an egg in a mixing bowl and then add the diced jalapeno, cilantro, green onions, mayonnaise and lime juice.
Step 2: Next fold in the crabmeat until combined.Try to keep the lumps together as best you can.
Step 3: Get out a nonstick skillet and heat to medium high heat. Add a mixture of butter and olive oil to the pan as this will get them nice and crispy. Then form the crab mixture into 4 patties and carefully place them in the pan.
Step 4: Turn the heat down to medium heat and let them sit there frying for 3-4 minutes until they are nice and golden brown. Carefully flip them and cook for another 3-4 minutes on the other side.
Step 5: Take them off the stove and let rest for a few minutes before serving. Store leftover crab cakes in an airtight container. Serve with roasted garlic aioli or homemade tartar sauce for even more flavor.
Please scroll down to view the printable recipe card.
That’s all there is to it! I had mine after I cleaned up my mess and took pictures so it was cold but I still loved it. So that got me to thinking that these would also be the perfect appetizer for cocktail parties if you make smaller patties.
Recipe Notes & Tips
- Fresh crab meat is hard to come by so use the quality crab meat in cans you get at the seafood counter. Not the ones in the canned tuna aisle. You really want the flavor of the crab to come through
- These are messy and fragile to handle so be gentle when placing them in the pan and flipping them over.
- When using the jalapeno you want to clean out the seeds and the ribs. It will still have a bit of heat but not much. If you don’t have a jalapeno you can definitely substitute bell pepper. Just make sure to chop it finely because you are not cooking them very long.
- I used fresh lime juice in this recipe but fresh lemon juice would work just as well.
- That also goes for the cilantro. You can substitute with fresh parsley if you are not a cilantro person.
- This recipe only makes 4 crab cakes. If you doubled this recipe and made smaller patties it would be a great low carb appetizer for a party.
As I mentioned above my family loves these gluten free keto crab cakes and I’m going to make sure to buy some more crabmeat before it’s gone. It’s sure to be one of your favorite recipes too!
The nutritional information for 1 crab cake is: 182 cals / 15.6g fat / 2.2g carbs / 0.4g fiber / 9g protein = 1.8g net carbs
Easy Keto Crab Cakes Recipe
Yield: 4
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
These easy low carb crab cakes are simply delicious with just a little bit of spice from a jalapeño pepper and squeeze lime but no bread crumbs. You can make this tasty keto dinner in just 15 minutes and the carb count for 1 cake 1.8g net carbs.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 8 ounces lump crab meat
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 egg beaten
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, minced
- 2 green onions, finely chopped
- 1 jalapeno pepper, ribs & seeds cleaned out and finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
Instructions
- In a bowl, beat an egg then add the mayo, cilantro, lime juice, green onion and jalapeno. Mix well.
- Carefully fold in the lump crab meat until well combined.
- Get out a large nonstick pan and heat up to medium high heat. Add the butter and olive oil.
- Carefully form the crab mixture into 4 patties and gently place them in the sizzling pan.
- Turn down the heat to medium heat and fry crab cakes for 3-4 minutes until browned. Gently flip and cook on the other side for 3-4 minutes.
- Let them rest for a few minutes before serve.
Notes
Recipe Notes & Tips
- These are messy and fragile to handle so be gentle when placing them in the pan and flipping them over.
- When using the jalapeno you want to clean out the seeds and the ribs. It will still have a bit of heat but not much. If you don't have a jalapeno you can definitely substitute bell pepper. Just make sure to chop it finely because you are not cooking them very long.
- I used lime juice in this recipe but lemon juice would just as well.
- That also goes with the cilantro. You can substitute with parsley if you are not a cilantro person.
- This recipe only makes 4 crab cakes. If you doubled this recipe and made smaller patties it would be a great low carb appetizer for a party.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 182Unsaturated Fat: 0g
More Easy & Delicious Keto Seafood Recipes
- Parmesan Couscous and Shrimp
- Keto Yucatan Shrimp Recipe
- Beer Battered Cod Nuggets
- Low Carb Flounder Piccata Recipe
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Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. You should always do your own calculations if you are concerned about the accuracy of this or any recipe. I use the Lose It app for all of my nutritional information because I have for years.Comments
Kathy
You can substitute lite Mayo which is much healthier…really cant tell a difference.
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Denise
Hi Kathy, that’s good to know! Thanks for coming back to share that tip!
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Brianna
Hi! Do you think you can make these in an air fryer? What temp and time would you recommend?
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Denise
Hi Brianna, I have never tried it but I don’t see why it won’t. However they are pretty wet and fragile. Hopefully they won’t fall through your basket. If you don’t think they will (or you can use a piece of foil). I would try 375°F for about 10-15 minutes. It’s easy to check them at about 10 minutes and maybe even flip them if you can easily. If they need more time put them in for another 5 – 10 minutes. So 10 – 20 minutes total. I hope that helps. Please let me know how if you do it. Good luck!
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Sandra
These crabs cakes are delicious. I look for recipes that does have twenty ingredients to make. This recipe is quick and easy. I added celery salt to the mixture and coated them with almond flour to help hold it together.
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Denise
Sandra, so glad you liked them! Thanks for coming back to comment and sharing your tips!
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Lisa
Could you possibly use greek yogurt rather than mayo with these? Thanks!
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Denise
Lisa, I’ll be honest, I don’t know. The mayo does add a lot of flavor to the crab cakes because of the fat content. It could work but I can’t say for certain. Sorry I’m not much help. Let me know if you do it and how it turns out. I would be curious to see.
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Julie
This was very flavorful and delicious! My husband and I loved these crab cakes. I do admit, we had them with some Remoulade sauce which was so good! Thank you for sharing. We love finding good low carb dishes. I’ll definitely be sharing this one with family and friends.
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Denise
Hi Julie, so glad you liked it!
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SHANIKA
I love Crab Cakes! These look so well seasoned and so easy to make! But i’m definitely loving it more that it’s low in carbs.
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GUNJAN C Dudani
I definitely needed something healthy and low carb with all the baking happening around me. For sure this is on my menu.
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Aline
I’m so excited to try this!! Crab cakes are our faves but I’ve never made them before. It’s on the list to make this week!!
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Jo
Crab cakes are my absolute favorite. I love your keto crab cake recipe. So full of flavors jut the way I like it. Saving this to try later.
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Lori | The Kitchen Whisperer
I love crab cakes and I also love the fact that you gave options of other seafood! And the fact that it takes only 15 minutes is perfect! Definitely adding this my meal rotation! These looks scrumptious!
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Jamie
I love how simple and easy this recipe is! The crab flavor really comes through and the kick from the jalapenos was perfect!
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Bernice M Hill
This is such a great way to enjoy crab…and one of my favourites! I have some crab meat in the freezer and it might be time to use it up in this delicious recipe.
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Kelly Anthony
These look delicious and I love that they are not full of high carb ingredients. These crab cakes will be perfect for kicking the year off right!
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Anna
Such a beautiful and tasty recipe! I can’t believe it only takes 15 minutes, how great is that?!? Jalapeno and lime sounds like a perfect addition of fresh and zesty flavour that will compliment this dish so well!
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Kushigalu
What a lovely and simple recipe. So delicious. I caNt wait to try this over weekend.
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