Crab Cake Sliders are an easy appetizer, snack or a main course burger served alongside a salad. Large chunks of crab with just the right amount of spicy sauce make a delicious meal!
Sliders are the perfect game day food or an easy weeknight dinner. If you’re looking for other options be sure and check out our take on Authentic Cuban Sliders or these Beef and Caramelized Onion Sliders.
Not all burgers have to be beef! This crab cake slider is a very delicious example of that. Made with large chunks of crab with light spicy mayo and some different textures of onions and peppers, it will be a treat for when you want burgers but something a little different.
Today’s recipe for Burger month is another burger recipe you can make indoors. (Be sure and check out the one earlier this month for Lamb Burgers in the Air Fryer) These light and crunchy fish cakes are made in a cast-iron skillet in about 8 minutes. Be sure and check out the giveaway at the bottom of the post!
These crab cake burgers are perfect as a snack, an appetizer or have a few them for dinner served alongside Chili Lime Corn Salad or a simple dinner salad.
I love crab cakes and make these avocado crab cakes often. Whenever we serve them they get rave reviews because the crab is the star of the show. These crab burgers are a slight variation on that recipe.
While there is a light binder in them, the crab is not laden down with lots of bread crumbs or filler inside. The lump crab is allowed to shine!
What goes into the BEST crab cake?
- Crab
- mayo
- eggs
- red pepper
- onions
- Cajun seasonings
- Panko bread crumbs
Additional items such as avocado, celery, pickles and olives are options you can add to make the crab cake you love.
Two MUST do PRO TIPS to get the best crab cake ever!!
What kind of crab to buy for the best crab cake:
Buy lump crab meat.
See the photo above how there are some nice big pieces of crab? While it can be cheaper to buy just an ordinary can of crab meat, you need the bigger pieces to give you the best texture. Buy the can of lump crab meat to ensure you get the best crab next to shelling it fresh yourself!
How to avoid having the crab patty fall apart in cooking:
The biggest problem people have in making crab cakes is having them fall apart in cooking. The easiest way to avoid that is to allow the crab cake slider to sit in the fridge and chill for at least an hour. The chilling time lets the binder set and it will hold together after frying.
In the photo above I have an example where one of the crab patties has fallen apart because I made that one without chilling it. All of the others were allowed to chill and came out in one nice golden delicious piece!
Easy steps to the perfect crab patty for sliders:
- Use Lump Crabmeat and pay special attention when mixing the crab mixture to keep the pieces larger.
- Soften the onions and peppers so they don’t have a strong taste in the patty, but still have a firm texture.
- Form the patties into disks to fit your slider bun.
- Roll the patties in the panko before placing them in the fridge to set so they won’t fall apart when cooking.
- Fry in a pan in olive oil that goes up to about halfway up the sides of the cake.
- It doesn’t take a long time to make them golden brown, watch them carefully.
- Drain the patties on paper towels to get rid of any oil before building your slider so your bun doesn’t get oily!
Need a Special Sauce for these?
Use our Carolina Mustard Sauce on these for something a little different! I promise you you’ll wonder why you had never tried it before!
Crab Cake Sliders
Crab Cake Sliders are such an easy appetizer, snack or a main course burger served with a salad. Large chunks of crab with just the right amount of spicy sauce make a delicious meal!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 1 small onion , minced
- 3 stalks celery, minced
- 4 tablespoons red bell pepper , seeded and cut to small dice
- 1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- 1 pound lump crab meat
- 2 eggs , beaten
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt, lawry's or old bay work well
- 1/2 cup homemade mayo
- 1/2 cup Panko Bread Crumbs
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 8 tablespoons Sriracha Dipping sauce, (1 tablespoon per slider)
- 1 medium tomato, cut to thin slices
- 1/2 head lettuce
- 8 slider buns
Instructions
- On the stovetop, heat a large skillet to medium high, then add butter and allow to melt. Swirl butter to coat entire bottom.
- Once butter melted and covering the entire pan add onions, celery, bell pepper, and saute until everything is softened. About 5-8 minutes.
- Sprinkle cayenne over top and stir for 1 minute. Remove pan from heat and allow to cool.
- In a bowl place crab in the bottom and break up crab to small bite sized pieces.
- Add softened vegetables, parsley, mustard powder, seasoning salt and mix well.
- Add 1/4 cup mayo, 1/2 cup panko and beaten eggs and mix thoroughly.
- Place remaining panko on a tray.
- Make crab cakes into round discs about 1" thick and 3" wide.
- Coat all sides of the crab cake with the panko and place back on the pan
- Cover with plastic wrap and place formed crab cakes in the refrigerator to set for a minimum of 1 hour, up to 8 hours.
- When ready to fry crab cakes add 1/4 cup oil to bottom of pan and heat to the point where you drop a small bit of panko in the pan and it immediately bubbles and floats. Thats how you know the oil is hot enough. (Oil that is not hot enough will cause you to have greasy crab cakes.)
- I suggest 1/4 cup of olive oil, but it depends on the size of your pan. The oil should be about 1/2" deep in the pan.
- Once oil is hot, place crab cakes in pan with plenty of room in between. (I allow about 2" between cakes)
- You may need to fry in batches depending on the size of your pan.
- Fry crab cakes for 4-6 minutes on the first side, making sure they are golden brown before flipping. Flip to other side and repeat until golden brown- about 3 minutes.)
- Remove to paper towel lined plate to drain of any excess oil.
- If you are frying in batches you can place the first batch in a 250 degree oven to keep them warm.
- Repeat frying process until complete.
- Serve crab cakes immediately with dipping sauce
Notes
I prefer using crab legs and removing the meat from the shells. Then breaking the meat into small bite sized chunks. However, that can get expensive so I do buy crabmeat in a can often. Make sure to buy chunk or lump so the meat is in bigger pieces.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
8 slidersAmount Per Serving: Calories: 370Saturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 84mgSodium: 872mgCarbohydrates: 6gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 13g
Lisa Sotl
Sunday 20th of October 2019
Would make mine a little spicier next time, but these were delicious as is!
Christie
Saturday 1st of June 2019
I have got to get me some Md blues so I can make these. I love me a good crab cake slider. And these look off the charts!
Jeff
Friday 24th of May 2019
These are really tasty, a great way to enjoy crab cakes!
Tanna
Friday 24th of May 2019
Thanks for sharing all of the testing on these with us! I still Can’t believe how much we enjoyed them! Even Emma! Who knew a kid could love crab so much!