Keto and Gluten-free Friendly Dungeness Crab Cakes made with Hemp Hearts, Ghee Sautéed Shallots, Almond Flour, Coconut Flour Herbs & Spices, encrusted in Nut Crumbs
GLUTEN-FREE/KETO/LOW-CARB/MEDITERRANEAN DIET/OVO-PESCATARIAN
Total: 20 minutes
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 5 minutes
Makes: 18-20 patties
Allergens: egg, shellfish, tree nuts
Crunchy & Nutty Crab Cakes
Most crab cakes recipes are usually loaded with a surplus of carbohydrates and empty calories and use flour and breadcrumbs, but not all! Look no further and make these delicious, nutty and crunchy dungeness crab cakes that are not only easy to make, but they take less than half an hour to prepare, cook and serve to you and/or your guests.
My twist on this old school favorite is perfect for those who are on a ketogenic diet, low carbohydrate diet or a gluten-free diet. Almond and coconut flours replace regular flour and bread crumbs to lower the carbs and boost the protein and fat content (as well as flavor). Ghee, hemp hearts and olive oil each add a different source of fats and provide essential omega fatty acids that your body needs to function. For the crunch factor, I use Appel Foods Nut Crumbs, which is a blend of pistachios, cashews and almonds that provide an uber crunchy crust and are a good source of vitamins, minerals and fiber.
Serve these Dungeness crab cakes with your favorite mayonnaise based sauce and a dash of hot sauce, and a squeeze of lemon juice.
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Ingredients
CRAB CAKES
- 1 lb of fresh Dungeness crab meat OR canned lump crab meat
- 1 tablespoon of hemp oil
- 1 tablespoon of ghee
- 2 shallots, peeled and minced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1 tablespoon of fresh dill, chopped
- 1 tablespoon of fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce
- 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon of hemp hearts
- 1 tablespoon of hot sauce
- ½ a lemon, juice and zest
- ¾ cup of blanched super fine almond flour (I used bob’s red mills)
- 1 tablespoon of coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- ½ teaspoon of black pepper
- ½ teaspoon of smoked paprika
- ½ package of appel foods natural gluten-free nut crumbs
- ¼ cup of olive oil for frying
Steps
1.) First off, sauté your minced shallots and garlic in some ghee and hemp oil in a small frying pan on medium low for about 3 minutes or until the shallots are translucent and the garlic is lightly browned.
2.) Gather all the ingredients you need. Below are the dry ingredients I used as the filler portion of these crab cakes.
3.) In a large mixing bowl, place the sautéed garlic and shallots, crab meat, eggs, dill, parsley, Worcestershire, mayo, hemp hearts, hot sauce, lemon juice, lemon zest, almond flour, coconut flour, salt, pepper and smoked paprika. Mix everything together.
4.) Pour half a bag of the bread crumbs in a baking tray, this acts as your breadcrumb to dredge the patties you form.
5.) Spoon a 1-½ to 2 tablespoon portion into your gloved hands, form it into a ball and place it in the nut crumbs. Roll them around until the whole ball is evenly covered with nut crumbs.
6.) Flatten the ball a little into a patty shape and lay it onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Repeat until all the crab mixture is molded into crab cakes.
7.) Heat up the olive oil in a large saucepan to medium. When the oil is hot, fry half the crab cakes for about 2 minutes on each side or until they are golden brown. Transfer them onto a plate lined with paper towels to drain the excess oil. Serve when they are piping hot for best results and dip them in your favorite tartar or mayonnaise based sauce!
Tips
- To portion out the crab cake mixture, I used an ice cream scooper then rolled them into balls with my hands. Use gloves to avoid your hands from clumping (which can get pretty annoying).
- Sauce options to dip your crabby patties in: remoulade, garlic aioli, tartar sauce, Caesar dressing, ranch, blue cheese dip, sugar-free sweet Thai chili sauce, sugar-free ketchup, and mustard mayo.
- For any seafood dish, I like to buy the freshest and best quality fish around. I usually go to the local seafood market or fishmonger and ask them questions about whatever I am trying to buy. Dungeness crab is very pricey, especially if you don’t have to shell them yourself, so I recommend great quality canned or fresh lump crab meat instead.
Q&A
- Can I use dry herbs? Or maybe even a different kind? Of course. For every tablespoon of fresh herb, use 1 teaspoon of dry in its place. Other fresh herbs that work well in this recipe include cilantro (1 tablespoon), tarragon (1 teaspoon) and/or basil (1 tablespoon).
- Can I bake or air fry these crab cakes? Yes! To bake, heat your oven to 425F , brush each side with your choice of fat, cook for 4 minutes, flip them over, and then bake for another 4 minutes. To air fry, spray each side with cooking oil and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side at 400F or until golden brown.
- Where can I find appel food nut crumbs? I purchased mine on amazon.com but I’ve also seen them at whole food or gourmet specialty food stores. If you can’t find this brand, take ⅓ of a cup each of pistachios, cashews and blanched almonds and place them in a food processor. Crush them until you get a fine to slightly coarse crumb texture.
Related: Click here for Dr. Igor’s Garlicky Buckwheat Focaccia with Hemp Oil.