Air fryer crab cakes
Golden, tender crab cakes made with budget-friendly imitation crab and crisped in the air fryer, with a lemony dipping sauce.
- 40 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $1.89 a serving
- 310 calories
- Good the next day
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 lb imitation crab
- 1 large egg
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise, divided
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
- 1 lemon, zested, then cut into wedges
From your pantry
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Each serving has about 310 calories, 11 g protein, 24 g carbs and 19 g fat, and costs about $1.89 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No green onions? Chives work.
- No lemons? Limes work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the crab into small pieces, about the size of peas, and put it in a bowl.
Chop. Chopping means cutting food into bite-size pieces that don’t need to be neat. Keep them roughly the same size so everything cooks evenly.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are about half an inch and roughly alike, even if none of them are pretty.
Dolly’s tip: Small pieces pack together. Big chunks make crab cakes that fall apart.Add the egg, 3 tablespoons of the mayonnaise, the mustard, Old Bay, panko, green onions, celery and lemon , and mix until it holds together.
Zest. Zest is the thin, colored outer layer of citrus peel, rubbed off on the smallest holes of a grater. It holds the fruit’s fragrant oils, so it adds bright flavor without the sourness of juice.
How you’ll know: You see bright flecks and smell citrus right away; stop when you reach the white layer, which is bitter.
Shape into 8 cakes about ¾ inch thick and chill them for 15 minutes.
Timer: 15 min
Dolly’s tip: The chill firms them up so they hold their shape in the basket.the air fryer to 375°F for 3 minutes and brush the cakes on both sides with the oil.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Timer: 3 min
Air fry in one layer for 10 to 12 minutes, flipping gently halfway, until and hot in the center.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 11 min
Food safety: For the safest eggs, cook until the whites are fully set and the yolks begin to thicken. Dishes made with eggs are done at 160°F.
the rest of the mayonnaise with a squeeze of lemon and serve with the crab cakes and lemon wedges.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
