The Best Gluten Free Mini Crab Cakes
I make the BEST gluten free mini crab cakes every holiday season and they really couldn't be easier! Loved by gluten and non gluten eating people alike and super easy to prep ahead. Check out my simple recipe for your stovetop or air fryer and a quick lemon aioli dipping sauce, too!
Prep Time10 minutes mins
Cook Time10 minutes mins
Rest in fridge1 hour hr
Total Time1 hour hr 20 minutes mins
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: Seafood
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 456kcal
For the Crab Cakes
- 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Olive oil spray
- 2 teaspoons butter or ghee
- 1/2 small onion finely minced
- 3 cloves garlic finely minced
- 1 pound jumbo lump crabmeat
- 1 cup fresh bread crumbs Use Gluten-free bread for GF Crab cakes
- 1 1/2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
- 1 large egg white
- 1/2 lemon juiced
- 1-2 tablespoons freshly chopped chives
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Pepper
- Lemon wedges for garnish
For the Lemon Aioli
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon chopped chives
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Mix ingredients for Lemon Aioli and place in the refrigerator to chill
Spray a non stick pan with olive oil spray and cook onion for 4-5 minutes over medium-low heat until the onion gets kind of caramelized, and in garlic and cook for an additional minute. Dump that into a bowl and fold in the crabmeat, bread crumbs, mayonnaise, egg white, lemon juice, 1/2 tsp of salt, old bay, and chives, mixing just until well blended, being careful not to break up the lump crab too much.
Using a melon baller or a tablespoon, shape the mixture into 12 mini crab cakes. Sprinkle with a little more salt and put them on a plate, cover, and stick them in the refrigerator to chill for at least an hour.
Stovetop:
Heat butter and olive oil in a non stick pan over medium heat. Add the crab cakes – four to six at a time so you can flip easily – and cook for about 4 minutes each side until nice and crisp. Be careful flipping, as they can fall apart, but they will be delicious even if they do!
Serve with lots of fresh lemon slices and lemon aioli
Air Fryer:
Line your Air Fryer with parchment and place 6 crab cakes at a time in the basket. Spray with olive oil spray and cook for 10 minutes on 375, flipping halfway and removing the parchment paper.
Serve with lots of fresh lemon slices and lemon aioli.
21 Day Fix: 1/2 YELLOW, 1 RED, 1 ORANGE (aioli), 2 TSP (per 3 mini crab cakes and 2 Tbsp of aioli)
WW: 5 points (per 3 crabcakes w/o aioli); 3 points (per 2 Tbsp of aioli) [Calculated using reduced fat mayo]
**Nutrition info below is for 3 crabcakes with 2 Tbsp aioli
Serving: 3crab cakes | Calories: 456kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 15g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 67mg | Sodium: 1481mg | Potassium: 297mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 191IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 71mg | Iron: 1mg