Air Fryer Crab Cakes

If you follow me on Instagram (you can do so here!), you know that from time to time I like to poll my audience to see what new recipes they’re interested in. On one of the more recent polls, one follower delivered a passionate plea for a healthy yet delicious crab cake, and I loved the idea. Crab Cakes are one of my favorite things to order when I go out, but I also recognize that the ones you get at a restaurant typically are loaded with extra fillers and fried in lots of oil, so they aren’t the healthiest. Plus, a typical tartar sauce is super high in fat (and often loaded with preservatives). So I set out to not only create a healthier crab cake, but a delicious sauce to go with it. These Air Fryer Crab Cakes are absolutely IT, y’all.

These crab cakes are crispy on the outside but soft and flaky on the inside. With minimal filler, they have big crab flavor. Meanwhile, the healthier tartar sauce is a perfect creamy, tangy complement. I promise these taste just like something you’d get at a fancy restaurant – no crazy fillers or frying required.

Making Air Fryer Crab Cakes

While these crab cakes may look fancy, they’re super simple to make! To make them, you’ll need:

• crab meat, you want good quality white meat (usually you can get it in a can)
• egg
• green onion, chopped 
• light mayo 
• Worcestershire sauce
• dijon mustard
• Old Bay seasoning
• fresh squeezed lemon 
• salt
• Panko breadcrumbs (these help bind the crab cakes and are the only ‘filler’ agent)

In a medium bowl, whisk together dijon, lemon, egg, Worcestershire sauce, Old Bay seasoning and chopped chives. Whisk it all together, then gently stir in crab meat, being careful not to break it up entirely. Stir in Panko breadcrumbs until you have a uniform mixture. Form into 6 patties, spray well with cooking spray, and air fry at 370 for 7-9 min. You can also cook these in the oven or pan fry them (medium heat, 3 ish minutes per side).

Healthy Tartar Sauce

This healthy tartar sauce is the perfect complements to these crab cakes. It’s creamy, rich, and tangy, but made with better-for-you ingredients. To make it, you’ll need:

• light mayonnaise
• plain Greek yogurt
• dill relish (or you can use a sweeter relish, but omit sugar)
• fresh lemon juice
• powdered sugar
• dried dill
• salt and black pepper to taste

Whisk together mayo and Greek yogurt in a bowl until smooth. Add lemon juice, sugar, relish, dill, salt, and pepper and whisk together until fully combined. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking. Sauce is ready to enjoy immediately, but tastes best when you let it marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes prior to serving. Store in an airtight container for up to 6 days!

Air Fryer Crab Cakes

Jacklin Altman

These crab cakes are easy to make, taste like something you'd get at a fancy restaurant, but they're better for you! Served with a delicious healthy tartar sauce.

5 from 4 votes

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 6

Calories 129 kcal

Equipment

• Mixing Bowls
• Air Fryer

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Crab Cakes

• 8 oz. Crab meat
• 1 Egg
• 3 Green onion chopped
• 2 tbsp Light Mayo
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
• 1 tbsp Lemon juice, fresh
• 1/8 teaspoon Salt
• 5 tbsp Panko breadcrumbs

Healthy Tartar Sauce

• ¼ cup Light mayonnaise
• 3 tbsp Plain Greek yogurt
• ¼ cup Dill relish
• 2 teaspoon Fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Powdered sugar
• ¼ teaspoon Dried dill
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

 

• In a medium bowl, whisk together egg, dijon, lemon, mayo, Worcestershire sauce, Old Bay seasoning and chopped chives. Add in crab meat and gently mix to coat. Stir in Panko breadcrumbs until fully incorporated.
• Form the mixture into 6 cakes.
• Air fry crab cakes at 370 for 7-9 min, until golden brown.

Tartar Sauce

• Whisk together mayonnaise and Greek yogurt in a medium bowl. Add relish, lemon juice, powdered sugar, dill, salt, and pepper.
• Adjust seasoning to taste. Refrigerate 20-30 minutes or until ready to serve. Enjoy!

Notes

You can add the crab cakes to your WW app with this link, and you can use this link to add the tartar sauce.

Nutrition

Calories: 129kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 10gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 46mgSodium: 678mgPotassium: 145mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 148IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 55mgIron: 1mg

Keyword weight watchers, WW, air fryer, dinner, entree, crab, air fried, crab cakes

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