The best vegan crab cakes you’ll ever eat! It simply doesn’t get better than this. Hearts of palm and chickpeas make these delicious vegan crab cakes just as good as the real thing. Even my hardcore crab cake loving family in Maryland loves this recipe!
I created this vegan crab cake recipe many years ago. It’s been featured all over the web, has made its way into my cookbook, and it was the first recipe I ever made on the TODAY show. This recipe has convinced thousands of people that vegan food is delicious, and filling, and easy to make. If you haven’t tried it; now is your chance. Pan fry the crab cakes for ultimate comfort, or cook them in the air fryer for a lighter treat.
How to make vegan crab cakes
It’s easy as 1-2-3! But you must have the right ingredients. And don’t call it a crab cake if it doesn’t have Old Bay seasoning 😅
- Lightly pulse the ingredients in a food processor until the hearts of palm is flaky. These vegan crab cakes are held together with panko bread crumbs, which help maintain that light and flaky texture even after they’re cooked.
- Fry or air fry…or bake! Of course, everything is just a little better when it’s fried in oil. However, I usually cook these vegan crab cakes in the air fryer. The result is just as flaky and delicious; and you don’t have to worry about dealing with dirty frying oil. You can also bake them. Warning: you will want to eat all of the batter before you cook them!!
- Serve with a red pepper aioli (recipe below). These are delicious in a vegan crab cake sandwich, as an appetizer, or over salad.
Ingredients Matter
These vegan crab cakes have a few very important ingredients that make them THE BEST! If you can’t find these ingredients in-store, order them online. However, you shouldn’t have an issue.
- Old Bay: The spice blend of the Chesapeake Bay, Old Bay seasoning is what makes this vegan recipe taste like the real thing. It’s salty! Select the low-sodium version if you need to cut back on salt. I use the original Old Bay.
- Ume Plum Vinegar: This special ingredient from Japan is briny, briny, briny!! Perfect for replicating the taste of the sea. You’ll notice this recipe doesn’t call for salt. There’s no need to add salt when you’re using Ume Plum Vinegar and Old Bay.
- Heart of Palm: For the crab-like texture.Use either whole or salad cut hearts of palm. Look for them in the salad topping section of your grocery store––usually near the olives, capers, and artichoke hearts. Hearts of Palm in water comes in a can or jar.
What to serve with vegan crab cakes
• With a salad: I enjoy vegan crab cakes along side a light salad. It’s a light yet filling meal, and tastes gourmet. Because these crab cakes are made with chickpeas, they are full of protein and fiber, but won’t weigh you down.
• Sandwich: Serve the vegan crab cakes in a sandwich (on a toasted bun) with a generous spread of that red pepper aioli (aka, crab cake sauce), bibb lettuce, and a tomato slice.
• Appetizer style: Make smaller cakes and serve them with a side of the red pepper aioli. Guests love bite sized crab cakes!
For more taste of the sea, check out these other vegan seafood recipes:
Hearts of Palm "Crab" Cakes
Ingredients
- 1 14- oz can chickpeas unsalted beans
- 1 14- oz can hearts of palm chopped into large pieces
- 1 jalepeño seeded and minced
- ¼ cup vegan mayonnaise I prefer Just Mayo
- 2 tbsp Old Bay seasoning
- 1 tsp umeboshi plum vinegar
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs + ½ cup for coating
Red Pepper Aioli
- 1/2 cup vegan mayo
- 1 roasted red bell pepper
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp cane sugar optional
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Place the chickpeas, hearts of palm, and jalepeño into a food processor and pulse to combine and mash. Don’t over process it though, you still want some crabby texture.
- Scoop the chickpea mixture into a large bowl and add the other ingredients. Stir well to combine.
- Place the remaining ½ cup of panko in a shallow dish.
- Heat an oil coated skillet on medium-high heat.
- Form the “crab” mixture into small patties–making sure to pack the mixture tightly, and then coat in the panko in the shallow dish.
- Pan fry for 3 minutes on each side.
- Do this with the remaining batter. I usually fit 4-5 patties on the skillet at a time. When they are cooked, transfer them to a plate covered with paper towel.
- Serve with red pepper aioli.
Red Pepper Aioli
- Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until creamy.
Jane Powell / May 10, 2022 at 7:40 pm /
So delicious and easy to make. I used low salt old bay seasoning and they were perfect!
Theresa Helligar / March 3, 2022 at 8:18 am /
Hi Jenne, was plamning on making these and noticed that the ratio of heart of palm to chickpea is different in cookbook, also the amount of Old Bay. Which recipe should I use? Thanks kn advance! ☺️
Deesha / February 9, 2022 at 9:13 am /
Just wow, Completely new recipe for me.
Penny / January 4, 2022 at 4:05 pm /
Enjoyed the book version of this recipe yesterday. It seems the ratio of Palm to Garbanzo has been adjusted to have equal amounts in this recipe, rather than 2x Palm Heart to 1x Garbanzo. The Old Bay was originally 1.5 T. I thought they tasted great the old way, but now I suppose need to try with your current recommendations! Thanks (and I am a little curious why the change)
Meghan / July 20, 2021 at 7:15 pm /
These are delicious. But, my husband and I found these very salty. Is 2 tablespoons of old bay correct? I think I’ll try cutting in half. Thank you, Meghan
Mere / June 15, 2021 at 9:27 am /
Hi, I made this for my family! My 17 yr old son loved it, I have to say they were awesome. We will certainly make them again. I do need to find the Old Bay seasoning but where I live it is a bit hard to find some products from the U.S. Saying that, it still tasted like a real crab cake using the ingredients I had. Super hooked with your cook book I have tried a couple of the recipes and we are super enjoying everything so far.
Jenne / June 15, 2021 at 7:08 pm /
Wonderful! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. You can buy the Old Bay online. I had a hard time finding it when I lived in Los Angeles. If you have a Kroger family store, I think they have a Kroger brand called seafood seasoning.
Sharon / August 8, 2019 at 10:37 pm /
Delicious crab cakes
Sharon / August 8, 2019 at 10:37 pm /
The crab cakes are delicious..peas/rice and a salad..yum
Dee / September 4, 2017 at 2:47 am /
This was our Sunday dinner. Served with a potato casserole. My husband and teenage son loved them! Just added some lemon juice to the mixture and served them with a honey mustard sauce.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c914bc7b19ce9c23d84efc0922794c51ccbe535104362c3931e3f7920de040b9.jpg
Thank you so much for this recipe!
scmaize / May 24, 2016 at 4:48 pm /
They sound delicious. How many “small patties” does this mixture make? I want to make them the right size so that 3 minutes on each side will be the correct cooking time. Thank you!
Jenné @ Sweet Potato Soul / May 30, 2016 at 2:49 am /
Great question. About 1/2 cup size 🙂
Jenné @ Sweet Potato Soul / May 22, 2016 at 6:33 pm /
Yes!
Red Pepper Aioli
½ cup vegan mayo
4 roasted red peppers (from jar, and dried off)
1/4 cup dill, fresh
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp black pepper
Blend ingredients in blender until smooth.
Carol / December 24, 2015 at 8:50 am /
It’s unbelievable how authentic these “crab” cakes taste!! You’re a genius 😉 However, I did mess them up when cooking and I’m not sure what I did wrong. I used canola oil.= to pan fry them. However they just began to fall and crumble apart the more I cooked them, especially when I flipped them over. One side seem to brown a little more effectively, but the other side just turned to mush. Maybe I didn’t process the mixture enough (I was indeed a little scared to over process as per your instructions lol) Maybe too much oil or not enough oil?
Lisa Morgan / January 22, 2015 at 11:42 pm /
I made the crab cakes last night and they rocked! I did over-process the hearts of palm + chickpeas — even though you warned us NOT to, LOL — but even so, the cakes were terrific. Next time I would just leave that the hearts of palm a bit chunkier. I found the combination and amounts of ingredients to be just right for my taste. I squeezed lemon on top and served a Caesar-ish salad on the side — great dinner. Thanks again for this recipe. Crab cakes were a favorite of mine before I went vegan; now I can kind of have them back in my life again. 🙂
Jenné @ Sweet Potato Soul / January 23, 2015 at 2:06 pm /
Mmmmmm, sounds so good with the lemon on top and over that salad!! I’m so glad you can still have your crab cakes 😉 xo
Lisa Morgan / January 2, 2015 at 1:46 am /
Hi Jenne and happy new year! I’m so glad you mentioned Just Mayo; I looked it up online and it sounds like the vegan mayo I’ve been wishing for. And I can buy it locally (I’m in IL). By the way, there’s a recipe on the Just Mayo site that’s right up your alley (haha): http://www.hamptoncreek.com/just-mayo/recipes/sweet. Anyway — I’m going to make these crab cakes as soon as I get some Old Bay. Thanks for the great idea.
Jenné @ Sweet Potato Soul / January 2, 2015 at 2:48 am /
Happy New Year Lisa!
Wow, that Just Mayo recipe does look delicious 🙂 I’ll have to give it a try. Thanks for sharing!
Let me know how you like the crab cakes!!
xo
Lindsey / December 11, 2014 at 10:45 pm /
I just made these and they are really good. I did find them on the salty side so I am going to reducing the Old Bay Seasoning and I will allow more time for the hearts of palm and beans to drain as my patties were moist but fell apart a little. I will definitely be making these again!!!! It’s a great recipe for carnivores too. Thanks!!
Jenné @ Sweet Potato Soul / November 10, 2014 at 3:17 am /
Yes! Me too 🙂
Lise Bernard / February 4, 2022 at 9:23 pm /
Can this mixture be frozen?
Jenné @ Sweet Potato Soul / November 10, 2014 at 3:16 am /
Hi Dilska! So sorry. I stopped adding corn. It’s great, but without it they feel more authentic. If you use corn add 1/2 cup fresh or frozen.
The umeboshi plum vinegar can be found online if you can’t find it at a store. It is a Japanese condiment. An alternative would be rice vinegar. Enjoy!
Angela Wilson Simmons / November 21, 2018 at 2:17 am /
Thank you! I had the same question about an alternative to the plum vinegar. I am making these tomorrow.
Jennifer Taylor / February 28, 2019 at 4:19 am /
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Jenné @ Sweet Potato Soul / November 10, 2014 at 3:11 am /
Thanks so much Chi! Would love to see you soon 🙂 xo
Jenné @ Sweet Potato Soul / November 10, 2014 at 3:11 am /
Hey there!! So sorry! I fixed it. I stopped adding corn. It’s great, but without it they feel more authentic. If you use corn add 1/2 cup fresh or frozen. Enjoy!
Jenné @ Sweet Potato Soul / November 10, 2014 at 3:10 am /
Hey Paula!! sorry! I fixed it. I stopped adding corn. It’s great, but without it they feel more authentic. If you use corn add 1/2 cup fresh or frozen. Enjoy!