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These easy and pantry-friendly Vegan Crab Cakes with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce are a super flavorful vegan crab alternative! Great for snacking, or as a meal, these crab cakes pack a serious flavor punch with jackfruit, hearts of palm, and artichoke hearts! Serve them with the vegan red pepper sauce and a squeeze of lemon for the perfect summertime dinner!

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Super easy and delicious vegan crab cakes!

These simple and tasty crab cakes come together easily, for a great vegan party appetizer, or a simple weeknight dinner. These crab cakes are so delectable, even your crab-loving friends will snatch ’em right up!

vegan crab cakes

What goes into the vegan crab cakes?

To make these easy and delicious vegan crab cakes, you will need:

  • A can of artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped.
  • A can of hearts of palm. You’ll want to drain and rinse these well.
  • A can of young jackfruit in brine, drained and rinsed well.
  • Some Bobs Red Mill Egg Replacer. This acts as the binder for the crab cakes.
  • Old Bay seasoning. This goes into the mixture, as well as on the top before baking, frying, or air frying.
  • Smoked paprika.
  • Plain panko breadcrumbs.
  • Fresh parsley.
  • A rib of celery, preferably with leaves.
  • A green onion/scallion.
  • Miso paste. This adds a rich umami flavor to the crab cakes.
  • Prepared horseradish, for a little kick.
  • Coconut aminos.
  • The juice and zest of 1 lemon.
  • Minced garlic.
  • Cultured vegan butter, such as Moyoko’s. If frying , you can also use avocado oil.
vegan crab cakes ingredients

Prepping the vegan crab cakes

Making the crab cakes is super simple, and requires some easy prep. You’ll need to get all your veggies and herbs chopped and ready, as well as prepare the canned ingredients.

Hearts of Palm

I like to drain and rinse the hearts of palm, before finely chopping. This removes the brine liquid flavor.

Artichoke Hearts

These, I just drain and chop. The can liquid flavor is not an issue.

Jackfruit

This needs to be well drained, rinsed, then finely shredded. You can opt to use a fork or your hands to shred.

vegan crab mixture

Once all your ingredients are prepped and ready to go, you simply need to mix them, then set the mixture in the fridge for an hour to firm up. This also helps the flavors meld before baking or frying the cakes. For this step, you can opt to use a spoon, or your hands. Hands are my favorite kitchen tool!

forming the vegan crab cakes

To bake, pan fry or air fry? Choosing your cooking method

All 3 cooking methods for the vegan crab cakes are equally delicious! The baked version is easier to do large batches, but takes a little longer. The fried version is more hands on, and yields a crisper and flatter crab cake. Air frying is easy, but must also be done in smaller batches. Choose your own adventure!

adding the butter to the vegan crab cakes

Making the roasted red pepper sauce for the crab cakes

The red pepper sauce for the vegan crab cakes is super simple. All you need is a handful of ingredients, and a blender, food processor, or immersion blender. The sauce can be made up to 3 days in advance, or right when you’re ready to eat!

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A pantry-friendly vegan meal, featuring canned jackfruit, hearts of palm, and artichoke hearts!

These vegan crab cakes are a great throw-together weeknight meal you can pull directly from your pantry with the help of a few fresh veggies and herbs! I love to make these as a vegan friendly app for parties, or as a simple weeknight dinner.

Serving suggestions

I love to serve these vegan crab cakes with a squeeze of fresh lemon, and a side of the red pepper sauce. If you’re not a fan of red pepper, these crab cakes are great with Bitchin’ Sauce, or your favorite vegan tartar sauce! To make a meal out of the crab cakes, serve them with a nice big green salad, or some roasted potatoes (or both)!

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vegan crab cakes
Print Recipe

Easy Vegan Crab Cakes Recipe with Jackfruit

Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time25 mins
frying10 mins
Course: Appetizer, Dinner
Keyword: vegan
Servings: 8

Equipment

  • food processor, blender, or immersion blender

Ingredients

Crab Cakes

  • 1 medium shallot, finely diced 
  • 1 rib celery with leaves, finely chopped
  • 1 green onion, thinly sliced 
  • 1 14 oz can artichoke hearts, drained and roughy chopped 
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic 
  • 1 14 oz can hearts of palm, drained, rinsed and finely chopped 
  • 1 14 oz can young jackfruit in brine, drained, rinsed, and shredded
  • 2 tbsp Bobs Red Mill Egg Replacer
  • 2 tbsp water (to mix with egg replacer)
  • 2 tsp Old Bay seasoning, plus more for sprinkling on top 
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika 
  • 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 tbsp chopped parsley 
  • 1 tbsp miso paste 
  • 1 1/2 tsp prepared horseradish 
  • 3 tsp coconut aminos  
  • the juice and zest of one medium lemon 
  • cultured Vegan butter, such as Miyoko's, for baking or frying
  • fresh lemon wedges, for serving (if desired)

Red Pepper Sauce

  • 3/4 cup vegan mayonnaise
  • 1/2 cup jarred roasted red peppers
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

  • Making the crab cake mixture:
    1. Prep all ingredients, and add to a large mixing bowl. Toss or mix with hands until all ingredients come together. Transfer to refrigerate to firm up for 1 hour.
    Making the Red Pepper Sauce:
    1. Blend all ingredients until smooth. Transfer tot airtight container in refrigerator until ready to use.
    To bake the crab cakes:
    1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
    2. Use a 1/4 cup measure to portion out crab cakes, and form patties with hands.
    3. Transfer to parchment lined baking sheets, leaving room around crab cakes to ensure they brown rather than steam.
    4. Once all crab cakes are formed, sprinkle with Old Bay and add a pat of vegan butter to the top of each crab cake.
    5. Bake 15 minutes.
    6. After 15 minutes, carefully remove from the oven and flip over. Bake for 10-15 minutes more, until golden.
    7. Serve with red pepper sauce and lemon wedges.
    To fry the crab cakes:
    1. Add 2 tbsp vegan butter or oil to large frying pan over medium-high heat.
    2. Heat 2-3 minutes until butter is bubbly and melted.
    3. Use a 1/4 cup measure to portion out crab cakes, and form patties with hands.
    4. Sprinkle tops with Old Bay seasoning.
    5. Working in batches, add the formed crab cakes to the pan, snd cook 3-4 minutes a side, until crispy and golden.
    6. Serve with red pepper sauce and lemon wedges.
    Makes about 15 crab cakes.
    To air fry the crab cakes:
    1. Ad crab cakes to air fryer basket, and top with vegan butter pats and a sprinkle of old bay.
    2. Air fry at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, then carefully flip the crab cakes, and air fry for 5-7 minutes more, until crispy and cooked through.

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Looking for more great vegetarian dishes?

Why not try my Vegetarian Chorizo Stuffed Hatch Chili Peppers, Oven Baked Veggie Tempura Bowls, Vegan Dumpling Soup with Carrot Noodles and Enoki Mushrooms, or Corn, Squash and Goat Cheese Pizza!