These straightforward air fryer crab desserts, made with juicy crab meat and zesty seasonings, are deliciously crisp and golden, and cooked with much less oil than conventional skillet strategies. Take pleasure in them with selfmade remoulade sauce and lemon wedges!

If there’s one method to make seafood extra versatile, it’s to show it right into a patty. I really like recipes like these air fryer crab desserts, my air fryer fish desserts, and my equally crispy salmon patties. They’re at all times a success as an appetizer or as a meal, particularly dressed up with dipping sauces like creamy remoulade or tartar sauce.
These crispy crab desserts are filled with juicy crab meat and a handful of tasty mix-ins that make them unattainable to withstand.
Why You’ll Love This Straightforward Crab Cake Recipe
They style like crab. I do know it appears apparent, however you’d be shocked what number of crab cake recipes find yourself tasting like add-ins and never precise crab meat! When you ask me, the most effective crab patties don’t have a ton of unneeded mix-ins. Let the meat shine entrance and heart.
Cooked in minutes. My authentic Maryland crab desserts are fast and simple to make on the stovetop, however I really like how hands-free the air fryer is. The desserts get additional crispy and prepare dinner via in minutes, and I don’t need to hover over a scorching skillet.
Home made remoulade. To not brag, however my creamy crab cake remoulade recipe is the bee’s knees. You haven’t lived till you’ve tried it. I really like slathering it over these crab desserts, or I’ll use it as a dip when serving.
Versatile. Crab desserts are scrumptious as an appetizer, aspect, or essential. Within the summertime, this recipe is on repeat. With juicy lump crab, contemporary herbs, and some extra flavorful add-ins, air fryer crab desserts are straightforward to make and tremendous tasty in sandwiches, salads, as a celebration snack, and extra.


Components You’ll Want
These are the necessary elements in my tried-and-true selfmade crab cake recipe, plus some notes and substitutions. Scroll to the recipe card beneath the put up for a printable record of elements with the quantities.
- Shallot and Bell Pepper – Sauteed in olive oil with garlic. You need to use any gentle onion, like yellow onion, and any coloured pepper you’d like. Attempt to use freshly minced garlic, but when wanted, you possibly can substitute one clove with ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder.
- Crab Meat – I exploit lump crab meat (see beneath). It’s not the most cost effective choice, however the style is value it!
- Mayonnaise and Dijon – Creamy mayo and Dijon mustard carry moisture and taste to the crab desserts. You may swap mayo for bitter cream or yogurt, and use yellow mustard as an alternative of Dijon.
- Egg – The egg helps bind the elements collectively, the identical because it does in meatballs. I haven’t tried an egg-free model of this crab cake recipe, however I’d assume that it might work with a flax egg.
- Previous Bay Seasoning – The very best seafood seasoning, palms down! Previous Bay is a mixture of spices, together with celery salt and paprika. I exploit it to season every part from crab desserts to my seafood boil and crab-stuffed salmon recipes. When you completely should substitute it, a very good substitute for Previous Bay is Cajun spice, or you possibly can combine celery salt with paprika in a pinch, and season to style.
- Breadcrumbs – I exploit Italian breadcrumbs, however you need to use any sort of seasoned or unseasoned breadcrumbs, and even Panko.
- Lemon Zest – Contemporary lemon zest is a should. Save the leftover lemon to squeeze over the crab desserts when serving.
- Parsley – Contemporary or dried.
What Type of Crab Meat Is Finest?
You’ll discover sorts of crab meat in shops: “Jumbo lump”, “lump”, and canned. Jumbo lump crab meat is bigger, meatier, and dearer (nice for crab salad), whereas lump meat is made up of smaller items, excellent for crab desserts, IMO. You don’t have to be too fancy, although you’ll style the distinction. In a pinch, canned crab meat works on this recipe should you can’t discover contemporary.
Learn how to Make Crab Desserts within the Air Fryer
Make juicy, crispy, golden air fryer crab desserts in simply 4 steps:








- Saute the veggies. First, saute diced bell pepper and onion over medium-high warmth. Add the garlic.
- Mix and chill. Subsequent, the sauteed veggies go right into a bowl with the remainder of your crab cake elements. Give {that a} good combine. Afterward, pop the crab combination into the fridge for an hour.
- Form the crab desserts. Now, type your combination into patties. Be light! I normally press them to about ¼” thickness.
- Air fry. To air fry crab desserts, prepare the patties contained in the basket of your preheated air fryer. Cook dinner at 400ºF for ~10 minutes, flipping midway via.


Recipe Ideas
- Don’t overwork. Watch out to not crush the crab combination when mixing and shaping your patties. Overworking results in dense, powerful crab desserts. I discover that the simplest method to keep away from overworking the crab is to make use of your palms. A wood spoon is your subsequent greatest wager.
- Keep away from non-stick sprays. When you’re nervous about these crab desserts sticking, give your air fryer basket a light-weight spritz with olive oil spray or one other non-aerosol oil spray. Non-stick sprays, like PAM, will smoke and harm the coating in your air fryer basket.
- Cook dinner in batches. The important thing to air frying is to depart loads of area in between the meals in order that the recent air can flow into. This manner, the surface crisps up whereas the within cooks. If wanted, air fry in batches in order that the crab desserts fry and don’t steam.
- Learn how to inform when crab desserts are achieved: These crab desserts in air fryer are prepared once they’re good and evenly browned on the surface and scorching via the center. In my air fryer, this takes about 5 minutes per aspect.


The Finest Remoulade Sauce for Crab Desserts
Remoulade sauce is a bit like tartar sauce with a couple of additional spices within the combine. Creamy, spicy, and zesty– it ties all of the flavors of those crab desserts collectively when serving. It’s ridiculously straightforward to make with elements you in all probability have available, too.
Whereas your crab desserts are within the fryer, whisk collectively mayo and mustard with scorching sauce (Tabasco or Sriracha work nicely), paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and lemon juice. That’s it! Serve the sauce along with your air fryer crab desserts as a topping or dip. It’s additionally nice for dipping French fries.
Serving Options
I’ll make a batch of air fryer crab desserts to serve with the remoulade as a straightforward summer time appetizer. They’re additionally nice as a light-weight meal with a aspect of salad, like this Cobb salad or a family-style chef’s salad. Or, have a fish n’ chips second and pair your crab desserts with a pile of crispy seasoned French fries or Cajun fries.
They’re even scrumptious to serve between bread as a sandwich or as a substitute for burger patties.

Storing and Reheating Leftovers
Leftovers will final for as much as 3 days within the fridge. To freeze, individually wrap every crab cake in plastic wrap and retailer them in a freezer bag for as much as one month. To arrange, defrost them within the fridge in a single day earlier than cooking.
My favourite method to reheat crab desserts is to return them to the air fryer! Set them to prepare dinner for 10 minutes at 350ºF. You may as well reheat them lined within the oven or in a skillet on the stovetop.
Extra Crab Recipes
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Saute the veggies. Warmth the olive oil over medium-high warmth in a skillet and add the shallot and bell pepper. Saute till softened, after which add the garlic. Saute for 15 seconds or till aromatic.
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Put all of it collectively. To a big mixing bowl, add the sauteed veggies, crab, mayo, Dijon, egg, Previous Bay seasoning, salt, pepper, breadcrumbs, lemon zest, and parsley. Along with your palms or a wood spoon, combine all of it collectively simply till mixed.
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Chill. Cowl the crab combination and let it sit within the fridge for 1 hour.
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Prep. Preheat the air fryer to 400°F and spray the basket liberally with cooking spray.
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Kind the crab desserts. Kind the crab combination into 1/4-inch patties. Don’t overwork the combination.
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Air fry. Organize the crab desserts within the basket of the air fryer with loads of area between them. If you’ll want to air fry in batches, achieve this. Air fry the crab desserts for five minutes. Flip and air fry for an extra 5 minutes or till golden brown.
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Make the sauce. Whereas the crab desserts are cooking, whisk collectively the mayo, mustard, scorching sauce, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and lemon juice. Style the remoulade sauce and season with salt and pepper if desired.
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Serve. Serve the crab desserts heat with the remoulade and lemon slices.
Energy: 634kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 26g | Fats: 52g | Saturated Fats: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 28g | Monounsaturated Fats: 14g | Trans Fats: 0.1g | Ldl cholesterol: 114mg | Sodium: 1924mg | Potassium: 393mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 900IU | Vitamin C: 30mg | Calcium: 113mg | Iron: 3mg
Dietary data is an estimate and supplied as courtesy. Values might differ based on the elements and instruments used. Please use your most popular dietary calculator for extra detailed data.