These crab cakes are seriously good. I like to make my crab cakes Maryland-style, with VERY little filler. My Crab Cakes with Avocado Grapefruit Salsa are almost all crab, with just a few other ingredients for flavor and binding. Dijon mustard and Old Bay seasoning provide a little flavor that perfectly accentuates the crab, while breadcrumbs and mayonnaise just barely hold the cakes together. But the secret weapon here is that Avocado Grapefruit Salsa. Creamy, tart, a tad spicy, and very juicy – this salsa is fantastic. I honestly can’t think of much that it wouldn’t taste good on, but these crab cakes are just the perfect complement. The citrusy flavor and the creamy avocado play with the ocean flavor and crispy texture of the crab cakes perfectly. This is a meal full of summer flavor just waiting to be savored.
These crab cakes start with a whole bunch of – you guessed it- crab. I use fresh canned lump crap, picked through for shells, but whatever you have will work! Just be sure it smells fresh like the ocean.
The next step is to mix the crab with some breadcrumbs, Dijon mustard, mayonnaise, old bay seasoning, scallions, and a few other ingredients. Adding grapefruit zest into the crab mixture really helps tie it to the salsa, but any citrus zest will do!
Looking for other seafood recipes? Try these:
Shrimp Scampi with Asparagus Noodles
Salmon Burgers with Lemon-Dill Remoulade
When it’s time to cook the crab cakes, be gentle as they will be delicate. That is part of the trade-off of having them be so packed with crab! Flipping them in the pan can be a bit tricky, but if you get a good golden crust and go slowly, they’ll turn out just fine.
If you’re making lots of crab cakes like I do, you can keep the finished ones in an oven on low heat (around 180 °F) while you cook the rest. This will keep them warm without drying them out.
Putting together the grapefruit salsa couldn’t be any easier. This is a fresh (uncooked) salsa, so all you need to do is slice and prepare your ingredients, mix, and serve! Be sure to incorporate both the flesh and juice of the grapefruit. That flavor is key here!
The flavor of the golden brown crab cakes combined with the fresh, creamy salsa is just sublime. These crab cakes transport me directly to a seaside patio somewhere, feeling the warm breeze and smelling the salty sea air. Give them a try and bring vacation right to your kitchen.
I hope you love these Crab Cakes with Avocado Grapefruit Salsa as much as I do! If you make this recipe, leave a comment and let me know what you thought or feel free to ask a question! I’d also love to see what you made! Tag me in your food pics @fortheperfectbite or use #fortheperfectbite on Instagram.
Crab Cakes with Avocado Grapefruit Salsa
Ingredients
Crab Cakes
- 2 pounds lump crab meat
- 4 tsp dijon mustard
- 3 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 ½ tsp Old Bay seasoning
- 1 ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- ⅔ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 4 green onions
- 1 tsp grapefruit zest
- ¼ cup grapefruit juice
Creamy Grapefruit Salsa
- 1 large grapefruit
- 1 large avocado
- 2 green onions
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- 4 ½ oz. canned green chiles, drained
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- olive or avocado oil
Instructions
Creamy Grapefruit Salsa
- Peel the grapefruit and slice into supremes. Chop the supremes into bite sized pieces, and add to a medium bowl along with the juice from the grapefruit.
- Finely dice the avocado. Thinly slice the green onions. Add the avocado and green onion to the grapefruit.
- Stir the sour cream, green chiles, kosher salt, and black pepper into the grapefruit, avocado, and green onions.
- Serve immediately, or refrigerate until ready to use.
Crab Cakes
- Drain the crab meat, then pick through to ensure there are no stray bits of shell.
- In a large bowl, combine the crab meat, dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, Old Bay seasoning, salt, black pepper, panko breadcrumbs, eggs, mayonnaise, green onions, grapefruit zest, and grapefruit juice. Stir to thoroughly combine, but gentle enough not to completely break up the crab. Cover and refrigerate if you're not cooking immediately.
- Heat a couple tablespoons of olive or avocado oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Scoop the crab mixture, about ⅓ cup at a time, gently mold into a cake, and place in the skillet.
- Cook each crab cake about 4 minutes, flip, and cook 4 minutes more, until golden brown on both sides. Repeat with the remaining crab mixture.
- Serve immediately, with the Creamy Grapefruit Salsa.
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