These are the best vegan crab cakes, made with hearts of palm. Dusted with corn flour and drizzled with eggless sriracha mayo, this vegan seafood treat is perfect for parties, appetizers, and light dinners!
Before I went vegan, crab cakes were one of my favorite things to eat. Growing up in the Southern part of the US, they were served everywhere. I loved the creamy, herb-kissed sauces they were served with, and the smell of Old Bay always brings back those memories.
The texture of jumbo lump crabmeat can be replicated easily with versatile hearts of palm, making this an easy, crabless, vegan seafood dish.
Why You’ll Love These Hearts of Palm Vegan Crab Cakes
These hearts of palm-based crab cakes are easy to make and easy to love! They are:
- made with only 10 ingredients
- gluten-free (if subbed with gf panko crumbs)
- completely vegetarian and vegan
- light and crispy, and
- … a legit vegan seafood dish!
Key Ingredients
These crab cakes can be made with these commonly found ingredients:
- Hearts of Palm: Tender and mild-flavored, hearts of palm mimic the texture of crab meat (and even lobster), providing a meaty yet delicate base for the crab cakes.
- Old Bay Seasoning: A classic seafood seasoning blend, Old Bay adds a distinctive and savory kick, enhancing its flavor with a blend of spices.
- Dried Dill: This contributes a distinctive herbal note, complementing the other flavors with its subtle hint of anise and citrus.
- Panko Bread Crumbs: These help bind the ingredients together while adding a little softness.
- Chopped Scallions: These add a mild onion flavor and a touch of freshness, balancing the richness of the other ingredients.
- Frozen Corn Kernels: These provide a burst of natural sweetness and a nice pop of texture.
- Prepared Roasted Red Pepper: Made by roasting red bell pepper until charred, this adds a smoky and slightly sweet undertone, balancing out the rich elements.
- Sriracha: Totally optional here, but it offers a spicy kick and adds heat, boldness, and tang.
- Vegan Mayo: This brings a creamy and indulgent element to the crab cakes, and is perfect drizzled over the crab cakes before serving.
- Fresh Dill: Used as a garnish, fresh dill adds a pop of green and a bright and herbaceous flavor.
How To Make Vegan Crab Cake Recipe
Making these hearts of palm crab cakes is super easy and fun. To make them, you’ll:
- Pulse the hearts of palm in a food processor to break them up a bit. You’ll still want the mixture to be chunky.
- Combine the hearts of palm with the Old Bay, dried dill, salt, panko, scallions, corn kernels, and roasted red pepper in a large mixing bowl.
- Chill the mixture.
- Divide the mixture into 6 portions. Roll them into patties and slightly flatten them out between your palms.
- Coat in corn flour and pan fry or bake until golden brown.
- Serve immediately with a drizzle of sriracha dill mayo sauce.
More Vegan “Crab” Recipes You’ll Love!
If you miss crab or are curious about vegan seafood dishes, here are some delicious, crab-less recipes to try:
- These Vegan Crab Cake Sliders are smaller in size but mighty in taste! They are perfect for serving at parties or get-togethers.
- If you like Thai food, this Vegan Crab Coconut Soup is a way to use jackfruit to create a crab-like texture.
- I used to love crab rangoon for takeout. These Vegan Crab Rangoon taste exactly the same, and are fun to make!
- If you’d like to switch up your vegan protein, these Vegan Tempeh Crab Cakes are a fun option that’s great for brunch.
For more ideas, check out my Big Vegan Seafood Guide!
FAQs
Vegan crab cakes can be made out of plant-based ingredients like hearts of palm, jackfruit, artichoke hearts, farro, and chickpeas. Panko bread crumbs or crackers is often used as a binder, while Old Bay and dill add a seafood flavor and aroma.
A vegan crab cake looks, smells, and tastes like crab, without containing any crab. When making vegan crab cakes, avoid adding any animal-based products like mayonnaise, dairy, or egg. There are plenty of recipes online that provide guidance on this!
Hearts of palm, artichoke hearts, and jackfruit are excellent substitutes for crab meat as they mimic the neutral flavor and flaky texture of crab meat.
Vegan crab cakes are made by taking a flaky plant-based ingredient like jackfruit, artichoke hearts, or hearts of palm and blending them with panko bread crumbs or crushed crackers for a binding element. Once formed into patties, they can be pan-fried or baked to create a crispy exterior.
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Easy Vegan Crab Cakes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 6 crab cakes
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These easy vegan crab cakes are the best! Made with hearts of palm, they have a great texture and are so fun to make. Perfect for light summer dinners, appetizers, brunch, and parties!
Ingredients
for the vegan crab cake mixture
- 14 oz. can of whole hearts of palm
- 1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
- 1/2 tsp dried dill
- few pinches of salt
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup chopped scallions
- 1/4 cup frozen corn kernels
- 1/8 cup minced prepared roasted red pepper (gently squeeze some of the moisture out after mincing)
for pan frying
- 3/4 cup corn flour
- oil, for pan frying
for the sauce
- 1/4 cup sriracha OR 1/2 tsp dried dill, mixed with 1/4 cup vegan mayo
Instructions
to prepare the vegan crab cake mixture
- Place the hearts of palm into a food processor and pulse three times. You’ll want the mixture to be broken up, but still a little chunky. (You can also gently mash with a fork.)
- Transfer the mixture to a medium-sized bowl.
- Add the Old Bay, dill, and salt and gently stir to coat. Fold in the rest of the crab cake ingredients.
- Cover and allow to refrigerate for about an hour or up to overnight.
to assemble the vegan crab cakes
- When you are ready to make the crab cakes, place the corn flour into a shallow and wide bowl.
- Preheat a cast iron pan over medium heat for about 3 minutes.
- Divide the crab cake into 6 equal-sized portions.
- Roll them into balls, then flatten them out between your palms a bit.
- Gently place them, one by one, into the corn flour to coat, tapping off any extra. They will be really fragile, so if they break apart, just gently reshape and redust with the flour as needed.
- Coat the bottom of the pan with oil, wait one minute, then gently place the crab cakes into the hot pan. Pan fry for 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Flip really gently to avoid breaking.
- Transfer to paper towels to slightly drain.
- Serve immediately drizzled with the vegan mayo sauce.
Notes
You can also bake these crab cakes! Just preheat a cast iron pan in a 450-degree oven. Drizzle the bottom of the pan with oil and place the dusted crab cakes into it. Flip so the tops are slightly oiled, and bake on each side for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Vegan Seafood
- Method: Processed, Pan-fried, Baked
- Cuisine: American
This post was last updated on July 10, 2024.
Kaitlan says
I’m late to the party with trying this recipe but I tried your vegan lobster rolls over the summer and when I encountered these, I knew I had to try them. They were delcicious! My non- vegan husband, who loves crab, loved these.
A few tweaks I made: I used gluten free panko breadcrumbs and they seemed to work fine. I am also watching my oil intake, so I chose to splurge on the vegannaise dipping sauce. Instead I sprayed them with a little avocado oil spray and baked them at 450 for about half an hour or so. I’m sure they weren’t as crispy or moist, but they were still delicious and browned up nicely.
erinwyso says
Kaitlan,
Thanks for your feedback and glad you were able to tweak with good results … so happy you enjoyed!
Enid says
I use a small amount of mashed potatoes to help hold the patties together. This is an awesome recipe and I am charmed by the addition of the roasted red pepper. Genius! Thanks.
Enid says
I use a small amount of mashed potato to help hold the cakes together. This is an altogether awesome recipe!
Enid says
What an awesome recipe! I particularly like the roasted red pepper. Great idea. Back in the day when I used to make salmon croquettes I always used a little mayonnaise and some mashed potatoes to help bind and bulk the croquettes. I did the same thing using vegan mayo and a small yellow potato. The cakes hold together very well making them easier to handle and fry.
Nature Maven says
They look great! I'll serve them for dinner tonight. Like others, I swapped in a few things: a scant 1/4 cup of silken tofu I had because they seemed a bit dry; chopped homegrown parsley for the scallions, and some extra Old Bay and dry mustard instead of the extra salt. They came out lovely! I had a piece that fell off, and it was delicious. My on I husband won't eat this sort of thing, but I'm very happy with it! Thank you for sharing this.
erinwyso says
So happy you liked!
Charlie Martin says
We just did a Google search for this recipe. On a recent road trip…we had fish cakes at The Present
Moment cafe in St. Augustine, FL. They served them on fried green tomatoes with a fresh salad and homemade raspberry vinaigrette. We just have to make these!!! Thanks for the recipe!
Anonymous says
This recipe is wonderful. I made these for lunch and my family devoured them! I have already made more patties for tomorrow's lunch. Thank you so much. This will make our transition to plant based much easier!
erinwyso says
So happy you and your family enjoyed, thanks for your feedback!
Mr. Peasy says
I'm always nervous to try any recipe I find on pinterest because I've just had so many interesting experiences. However, I made these for a Christmas eve dinner that was seafood themed and they were a huge hit!!!! I thought the crab mix was a little salty for my personal tastes, so I added some more breadcrumbs and just the smallest touch of water, but they held together perfectly and seriously everybody loved them and thought they tasted like crab.
Thanks so much for posting this and I can't wait to try more of your recipes!
erinwyso says
Thank you so much for making the crab cakes and for your kind feedback—I am thrilled they were a hit! Hearts of palm is an incredible ingredient.
Alex @ delicious-knowledge.com says
I can't wait to try these! i've had heart of palm cakes at Crossroads- these look just as good!
@newaitress says
I can't wait to try these. I've actually had an idea in the works that involves dehydrated hearts of palm being made into vegan calamari.
Mary says
Hearts of palm makes a great ceviche, they look like little octopus ?
Brandi @ Thehealthyflavor.com says
These look really good. Never had hearts of palm before! I actually have a very similar recipe, but I just use quinoa instead. I'll have to try with the hearts of palm sometime. My picture doesn't look as good as yours, but this was my very FIRST post ever on my blog, so my photography skills have dramatically improved 🙂
Babette says
This looks amazing, just like everything you present here.
Johanna says
I'm making this for a second time. Of the first batch, I had one. 4 went to a friend's restaurant for sampling, and they loved them. The last one was consumed by my dearest, who insisted I make them again, so that he could have more. I'm going to pair them with a recipe from the book, Vedge: Dandelion Greens Horta with Skordalia.
erinwyso says
Thanks so much for making these, Johanna and also for sharing them! I am overjoyed that they were a success. Many thanks for your kind feedback!
Jennifer Hunter says
Amazing…can't wait to try these!!!
Jenny Bradley says
I'm going to make these tonight — I'm so excited!
LittleMonsterx14 says
you are a genius!
Leila A. Fortier says
So this was my indulgence for this evening's menu. Which comes with a funny story I thought I would share. I had no corn flour on hand and could not find any on island. So I thought of using some other kind of flour–but then thought maybe I would try something a little different. I wondered if dry polenta would have a similar effect when coated on the cakes and fried. Well…it was an interesting experiment! I liked the grittier texture it produced on the outside, but I must say that frying them was a walk on the wild side. Thankfully, for some reason, I thought to cover the pan though you had not mentioned it. Not sure why I did it; must have been someone looking out for me;) The cakes began to sputter and pop intensely–painting the whole underside of the glass cover. I turned the heat down from medium to low-med. yet it still spat up a storm to the point that I shut off the burner and had to wait a few minutes before lifting the lid or I surely would have been blinded by flying grease. I chuckled at what I anticipated was going to be a disaster. Strangely, when the pan settled enough for me to lift the lid, the underside was nice and golden crisp–so I decided to keep going, though kept the heat at low-med. and the cover on, and then turning off the burner and letting the cakes sit for a couple minutes before flipping them or removing them from the pan. In the end–the taste was still wonderful and the recipe was not destroyed, not did I lose my eyes in the process. 🙂 Delicious as always. I was surprised at the comparative taste without having added any crushed nori or anything. I added a touch of lemon juice and dried lemon peel to the sauce and served the cakes on a bed of fresh baby spinach with a side of pine nut cous cous topped with edemame. Thank you for another culinary adventure!
erinwyso says
Yikes! I had to cover my eyes while reading this, because a: you described it so vividly and b: I thought this was going to end in tragedy! Glad you are okay and your eyeballs are intact : )
Yes, most recipes call for nori, but I kind of like the old bay/dill/hearts of palm, and don't think it needs a fishy element. I love your addition of lemon peel and will use that next time, which will be soon. : )
So happy you enjoyed, Leila!
Randi (laughfrodisiac) says
Oh yum. I love hearts of palm crab cakes, and your recipe looks really good!
Johanna says
Also, I'm thinking that mixing a little panko (I used whole wheat) into the corn flour might be nice (?).
Anonymous says
I didn't have corn flour and used Panko instead, they were great!
Johanna says
I'm looking at the amount the recipe made, and I'm thinking that dividing it into 6 patties is going to make them very small, no?
erinwyso says
Johanna, dividing the mix into 6 patties makes nicely sized cakes, partially because they are fragile and will hold up better in the pan at this size.
Mihl says
I have a ton of corn flour in my pantry! These look really delicious and I have never had hearts of palm.
VeggieAmanda says
I grew up eating hearts of palm and to this day treat myself to a can of it every so often. These look delicious!
acookinthemaking says
Gorgeous! I honestly don't know if I've had hearts of palm but I've definitely seen them and can totally see how the texture would work for these. They seriously look amazing.
Caitlin says
YES.
Kelly says
I recently moved to Maryland, and Old Bay is EVERYWHERE! So basically, I must try these. Thanks for the recipe! 🙂
erinwyso says
Old Bay is magic. I hope you enjoy!
Deb says
Out of all the food blogs I subscribe to yours is by far the most sophisticated. I CANNOT wait to try these “seafood” recipes. THANK YOU!
erinwyso says
Thanks for your kind words, Deb! I hope you enjoy the seafood recipes! 🙂