Maryland Style Crab Cakes
These Maryland Style Crab Cakes have plenty of lump crab and just enough finely crushed saltines to hold them together. I don’t like a lot of filler, and these give you crab in every bite.
They’re a favorite at our New Year’s Eve steak and seafood dinner—a tradition my mother started years ago that we still enjoy today.
Lump Crab with Just Enough Filler
The crab is the main ingredient in these Maryland Style Crab Cakes. I use lump crab meat because I like having pieces of crab throughout each cake rather than a finely shredded mixture.
The finely crushed saltines help hold everything together without adding a heavy, bready texture. This recipe uses eight saltine crackers for one pound of crab meat. Measure and prepare the ingredients before mixing so you can combine everything without repeatedly stirring the crab.
Mayonnaise and egg bring the mixture together, while yellow mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and Old Bay add seasoning. The quantities are listed in the recipe card below.
Checking the Crab Meat
Take time to carefully sort through the crab meat before adding it to the other ingredients. Even processed crab meat can contain small shell fragments or cartilage.
Work gently as you check it so you can remove those pieces while keeping the lumps intact. A little care at this stage helps preserve the texture that makes lump crab worth using.
Drain any excess liquid before mixing. You want the crab meat moist, but you do not want extra liquid making the mixture harder to shape.
Mixing Maryland Style Crab Cakes
Crush the saltines very finely before adding them. Larger cracker pieces would leave a different texture and would not distribute as evenly throughout the mixture.
Combine the crackers with the egg, mayonnaise, yellow mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and Old Bay before folding in the crab. Mixing the other ingredients first helps distribute them without needing to stir the crab repeatedly.
Use a gentle folding motion to bring everything together. Stop once the crab is evenly coated and the ingredients are combined. Too much stirring breaks the lumps into smaller shreds.
Divide the mixture into six portions and shape them into crab cakes. Handle each portion just enough to hold its shape rather than pressing it into a tightly packed cake.
Allow Time for Chilling
Cover the shaped crab cakes and refrigerate them for at least one hour before baking. Include this waiting time when planning dinner, especially if you are preparing steak and other seafood alongside them.
Chilling gives the mixture time to firm up before it goes into the oven. It also means you can finish shaping the cakes before turning your attention to the other parts of the meal.
Keep them refrigerated during that time rather than leaving the tray on the counter. Have your baking pan ready so you can transfer them when it is time to cook.
Baking and Browning the Tops
I bake my crab cakes on a lightly greased broiler pan so the bottoms do not get soggy. Handle them carefully when placing them on the pan, leaving room between the cakes.
Bake at 350°F for 25–30 minutes. Oven temperatures and the thickness of the cakes can affect the time needed.
If you want more color on top, finish them under the broiler. Watch closely throughout this step because browning can happen quickly. They may need less than the full five minutes, so use that time as a limit to watch rather than a reason to leave them unattended.
Our New Year’s Eve Tradition
My mother started our New Year’s Eve steak and seafood dinner tradition years ago, and we still enjoy it today. These crab cakes are almost always part of the seafood we serve.
Some years, I make extra to enjoy at another meal. I warm them up and serve them on dinner rolls left from the holidays. Those smaller rolls make a good way to turn the extra crab cakes into sandwiches.
Whether you serve them with steak for a holiday dinner or make them the main dish, this recipe makes six crab cakes. Looking for more family favorites? Browse all my recipes for more dishes to share around your table.
Maryland Style Crab Cakes
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Carefully sort through the crab meat, removing any shell fragments or cartilage that may have been missed during processing. Handle gently to keep the lumps intact. Set aside.
- Crush the saltine crackers very fine. In a mixing bowl, combine the crushed crackers, beaten egg, mayonnaise, yellow mustard, Worcestershire sauce, Old Bay seasoning, and salt to taste.
- Gently fold the crab meat into the cracker mixture. Mix only until combined, taking care not to break the crab into fine shreds.
- Shape the mixture into 6 crab cakes. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a broiler pan.
- Place the chilled crab cakes on the prepared broiler pan. Bake for 25–30 minutes, until cooked through.
- For browned tops, finish under the broiler for up to 5 minutes, watching closely to prevent burning.