Homemade Dungeness Crab Cakes
By Kath Dedon
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We love Metropolitan Market’s version of Dungeness Crab Cakes, but I wanted to try recreating them to make wheat-free and egg-free crab cakes. In order to thoroughly test my recipe, I had to make Dungeness Crab Cakes twice in one week – first for Laura’s birthday and then for our anniversary.
The ingredients in Metropolitan Market’s crab cakes are: crab, mayonnaise, panko, mustard, garlic, and green onion. I went wheat-free and egg-free for Laura’s birthday. Instead of panko, I made bread crumbs using a gluten-free, egg-free baguette and I subbed a vegan (thus egg-free) mayonnaise for regular mayonnaise. It worked great! The crab cakes were fantastic even though they kind of fell apart a bit.
For our anniversary I made them wheat-free but not egg-free. I used The Essential Baking Company’s Gluten-Free Deli Slice White Bread to make bread crumbs and used regular mayonnaise. The crab cakes held together much better this time. Could the small amount of egg in the bread and the mayonnaise make a difference? I don’t know.
I have to say that the Dungeness Crab Cakes were fabulous both nights. With the price of crab, this is most definitely a special occasion treat, but it’s still less expensive than going out for dinner and you get to make the crab cakes just the way you want them.
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Wheat-free Dungeness Crab Cake for our anniversary
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Homemade Dungeness Crab Cakes
(Inspired by Metropolitan Market’s crab cakes)
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Use vegan mayonnaise and omit the egg if you want to make the crab cakes egg-free. The crab cakes won’t hold together quite as well without the egg, but they will still be delicious.
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Serves 4 (Can easily be cut in half to serve 2)
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1 pound Dungeness crabmeat
½ cup mayonnaise* (see note above for egg-free option)
½ cup panko (can sub gluten-free white bread crumbs)
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons minced green onion
1 beaten egg* (see note above for egg-free option)
3 tablespoons olive oil for frying
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1. Combine all of the ingredients except the olive oil in a bowl.
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Mmmm….fresh Dungeness crab!
Fresh gluten-free bread crumbs
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2. Divide into 4 equal balls and flatten into patties on squares of parchment paper. (The parchment paper makes it easier to transfer the crab cakes to a skillet.)
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Each crab cake weighed about 5.3 ounces.
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3. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. (I used a nonstick skillet.) Cook the crab cakes for about 4 minutes on each side and serve.
The crab cakes can be made up to a day ahead of time. Put the formed crab cakes on a baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until you’re ready to cook them.
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The wheat-free and egg-free crab cakes for Laura’s birthday dinner fell apart a bit, but they were still fantastic!
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In the kitchen with Kath 
Made this recipe tonight with my fresh frozen Dungeness crab. The best crab cakes ever, even though I had to use regular onion instead of green. Delicious.
I’m so glad you liked them, Margie! Thanks for your comment. 🙂