These Cajun Trinity Keto Crab Cakes are a low carb nod to one of my favorite cities in the world - New Orleans!
Keto crab cakes, full of New Orleans flavor
These Keto Crab Cakes are a low carb nod to one of my favorite cities in the world - New Orleans! So, I felt it was only fitting to make sure they included the Cajun Holy Trinity - onions, celery, and bell pepper.
How to make keto crab cakes:
Loaded with lump crab meat, these low carb crab cakes are perfectly crispy and juicy at the same time. Before I made this recipe, I was on the hunt for a good keto crab cake and I just wasn't able to find one. SO, I just made my own!
Not only are these keto crab cakes perfectly high in fat and low in carbs, but they are also gluten free. Instead of using breadcrumbs or panko like a traditional crab cake might call for, I made these with crushed pork rinds.
Can you make gluten free crab cakes?
Crab cakes are one of those appetizers that my eyes naturally gravitate toward on a menu. However, it can be hard to find gluten-free keto crab cakes on a restaurant menu. Many of them contain bread crumbs, panko or something of the sort as a binding agent. In this recipe I took care of that problem and as a low carb substitute for breadcrumbs, I used crushed pork rinds to hold it all together. You can’t taste them, and they play the part of bread crumbs perfectly.
Before you say "Ewwww" and click away from this page, I promise, promise, promise that you won't taste them at all. Not only do they help bind these keto crab cakes together, but they keep them from drying out as well. Now you can have your crab cakes and eat them, too!
I love to serve these crab cakes with my Garlic Dill Tartar Sauce, low carb Russian Dressing or Roasted Red Pepper Garlic Aioli.
More low carb appetizer recipes
- Crispy Fish Nuggets with Garlic Dill Tartar Sauce
- Lemon Garlic Steamed Clams
- Coffee Barbecue Pork Belly
- Keto Asian Chicken Meatballs
- Reuben Stuffed Mushrooms
- Keto Paleo Asian Tuna Cakes
- Chili Lime Grilled Prawns
- Low Carb Crab Stuffed Mushrooms
Cajun Trinity Keto Crab Cakes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 8 Crab Cakes 1x
Description
This recipe yields 8 fairly large, entrée-sized patties. If you make smaller patties, you could easily get 16 out of this recipe.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 large rib celery, chopped
- ½ cup chopped mixed bell pepper
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- sea salt and black pepper, to taste
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise (get my homemade recipe here)
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon spicy brown mustard
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup crushed pork rinds
- 1 pound lump crabmeat, picked clean of shells
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Keto Yum Yum Sauce, optional for serving
Instructions
- Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. In the pan, heat the butter, then add the celery, bell pepper, shallot, garlic, sea salt and black pepper. Sauté until the vegetables are translucent and soft, about 10 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the egg, mayonnaise, Worcestershire, spicy brown mustard and hot sauce. Add the sautéed vegetables and mix until all the ingredients are well incorporated. Mix in the Parmesan cheese and pork rinds. Fold the crab into the mixture.
- Line a large plate or rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Form the crab mixture into 8 equal-size patties. Place the patties on the prepared baking sheet and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.
- Pan-fry in olive oil, in a large skillet over medium-high heat, until the crab cakes are golden brown and crispy on each side. Be careful not to flip them too many times or they will fall apart.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 Crab Cakes
- Calories: 412
- Fat: 28g
- Carbohydrates: 4g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 35g
Deanna Honeyman says
sounds amazing!!! can't wait to try these!!!
Lori Kaumans says
These look so good! I have a question. I don't cook with a lot of seafood but I love crab. Is the crab meat you used already cooked or do you put raw crab in the mixture? Sorry if that's a dumb question. 🙂 I just don't cook a lot of seafood. Thanks!
Peace Love and Low Carb says
All the crab you buy in the store will already be cooked. I buy canned lump crab meat. But not the kind you would find in the canned goods aisle by the tuna. It is fresh canned and is refrigerated in the deli.
Laura Grayson says
I was just thinking today that if I could make keto salmon cakes, surely I could make keto crab cakes. And then, here they are! Crab cakes are something we usually cook around the holidays, so this will be a great way to keep in ketosis with all the other tempting goodies out there. Thanks! (And why would anyone say "Ewww" to pork rinds? Those things are amazing!)
Michelle Duchene says
I am dairy free, do you think I could subsitute nutritional yeast flakes for the cheese or should I just leave it out?
★★★★★
Peace Love and Low Carb says
Yes, you definitely could. I might add a little more pork rind also.
Tina Scroggie says
I made this recipe and it felt apart when I turned them. I will probably add more egg to the mixture the next time and hopefully it will work for me. ???? Otherwise it was very good and my husband really liked it!
★★★★
Kelly says
I will have to try these. I make crab cakes all the time but I just make my cauli tot recipe and add crab meat to it. We love them. I imagine yours have less carbs though. ????
Tammy says
These are AMAZING! The only thing I did differently was to bake them (without turning) @ 375 degrees for about 30 minutes.
★★★★★
Nita Hasty says
Unbelievably divine!!! I made these tonight and am in bliss!!! Thank you for sharing this recipe!!! I am so grateful for your fabulous culinary ingenuity!!! You are a true natural born genius cook!!!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi! what kind of sauce do you have on top, and do you have a recipe post for it? Thanks!
Kyndra Holley says
It is a roasted red pepper aioli. You can find the recipe here - https://peaceloveandlowcarb.com/roasted-red-pepper-garlic-aioli/
Tom says
Hi!
Would there be an alternate to Pork Rinds to use? It's not easily obtainable where I am!
Thanks
Tom
★★★★★
DIONNE says
I'm going to try this recipe in the air fryer! Can't wait!
★★★★★
Rose says
These are absolutely fantastic! I had guest from out of town who arrived really late at night so I baked these for 12 minutes then broiedl for a couple of minutes. I was afraid I would screw them up if I started frying anything but next time for sure I will fry them. I'm on Keto and one of my guests can't eat wheat. She was so happy to have something delicious that she could eat. One recommendation - MAKE THE KETO RUSSIAN DRESSING TO GO WITH THEM!! This recipe is a showstopper and goes into my permanent recipe folder forever! Thank you!!
★★★★★
Maureen says
These crab cakes sound great. Can they be frozen?
Shelly Parker says
This recipe looks easy and delicious. I was wondering what I would need to do to substitute shrimp for the crab? For instance, does the shrimp meat need to be of a certain size? I've not cooked with crab and my assumption is the crab would, during the mixing phase of the recipe, flake (if that is the proper word?) to a smaller size where as the shrimp would stay the same size throughout the mixing. Thanks!
Valerie M. says
I have eyeballed this recipe for a while, and I finally made it today. It was fantastic!! This is definitely going to be made many times in my house.
Dee says
These crab cakes are unbelievably delicious. Thank you!!!
★★★★★
Elizabeth Rebsamen says
These were delicious! My husband and son loves them so much I have made them several times!
★★★★★
Shanna says
I made these last night and they are the best crab cakes my roommate and I have ever had. Even the ones we had in New Orleans couldn’t touch these. And best of all, they were keto and gluten-free so I could really enjoy them without knowing I was going to feel sick later. Thanks for another amazing recipe!
★★★★★
Rachael S. says
I doubled the recipe except the crab (crab is expensive and imitation has carbs and sugar). I used regular mustard and omitted shallots. Still turned out really well. I made the cakes small and there's about 25.
★★★★★
Bobbie says
I don’t usually like crab cakes. I made them for my hubby. They were absolutely the best Crab cakes ever! I highly recommend this recipe.
★★★★★
Don Johnson says
Pretty easy to put together. I would recommend not skimping on the crab like I did. They were still tasty but might have been better with some chunkier crab. Definitely worth another go. 🙂
★★★★
Amber says
Absolutely delicious 😋 and so easy to make...thanks for sharing...
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Linda says
Can I patty these and then freeze them?
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