No crabs were harmed in the making of these amazing sandwiches!
When I was a kid, I lived in Miami. Seafood was my dad’s favorite thing and we ate a lot of crab cakes. I LOVED them, but I can honestly say, these vegan crab cake sandwiches are better. They taste amazing, they are healthy, they are easy, they are baked not fried. Serve them on your favorite buns with the best dang aioli ever! You can serve them without the buns and just dip these vegan crab cakes into the old bay chive aioli, but making them into a sandwich is definitely my favorite way to eat them.
These vegan crab cakes are super easy to throw together, and taste really similar to the real deal. They have the perfect texture, and flavor. I add kelp powder when I make them. This is optional, but I think it gives it that seafood flavor if that is something you really want or miss!
These vegan crab cake sandwiches with old bay aioli are the perfect sandwich for spring and to kick off summer. I love how easy they are and how fast they come together. Serve them with some chips or fries and you will be in heaven! I also think they are great to make smaller patties and serve them with the aioli as in appetizer for a party!
I have experimented with a bunch of different combos to test the filling, and figure out what I think the best and most accurate ingredients are to use to make vegan crab cakes. I am totally convinced this chickpea and artichoke combination is total perfection. Seasoned with old bay, kelp powder and lemon makes them out of this world!
Hot Tip: Serve this with some rockin’ Vegan Bacon Ranch Potato Salad!
Vegan Crab Cake Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 15 Ounces Chickpeas, canned or already cooked(drained)
- 28-30 Ounces(2 cans) Artichoke hearts in oil or water(whichever you prefer), chopped
- 2 1/4 Cups Panko bread crumbs, divided
- 1/2 Cup Vegan mayo, I used Hellman's
- 1 Teaspoon Lemon juice
- 1 Teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 Teaspoons Old bay seasoning
- 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
- 1/4 Teaspoon Black pepper
- 1/2 Teaspoon Kelp powder(optional)
- Your favorite buns
- Lettuce
Old Bay Chive Aioli
- 1/2 Cup Vegan Mayo
- 1 Teaspoon Old bay
- 1 Teaspoon Lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon Chopped chives
- Pinch of Salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees(F).
- In a large mixing bowl, add the drained chickpeas. Then using a fork or potato masher, smash the chickpeas. Make sure that all the chickpeas have been smashed, and you don't have any whole chickpeas left.
- Now, drain and chop your artichokes. Chop into pretty small pieces. Pat the artichokes with a kitchen towel or paper towel so they are no longer super wet. Add them to the smashed chickpeas.
- Then add 1 1/2 cups panko(reserving 3/4 a cup for coating the outside), the vegan mayo, the lemon juice, the Dijon mustard, the old bay, the salt, the pepper and the kelp powder if using.
- Stir the mixture together to completely combine. Then using your hands, shape the mixture into patties. You should be able to get 5-6 patties out of the mixture.
- Grab enough of the mixture to make a patty as large as you want it. Squeeze it together, roll it into a ball, then flatten slightly.
- Add the remaining 3/4 cup of panko to a bowl. Then put the patty into the panko and press the panko onto both sides to coat the crab cake patty. If it starts to get misshapen, just press it back together.
- Then place the crab cake onto a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick spray. Repeat with the rest of the mixture. Spray the tops of the crab cakes with more non-stick spray to help them brown.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes, flip the crab cakes, then bake for another 15-20 minutes. Or until they are brown and feel pretty firm. They will firm up more as they cool a bit.
- While the crab cakes bake, make the aioli. Add all the aioli ingredients to a small mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
- When the crab cakes are done, spread a bun with the aioli, then top with lettuce, a crab cake and more aioli. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Could you freeze?
I have not tried to freeze them, but I do think that would work out!
These were so very good! Never would have thought of this in a million years, but it made for such a delicious sandwich.
Me and my family loved them! They are so spicy and delicious (even though I got the measurements wrong for a few ingredients and added more of them). Thank you for sharing great vegan recipes!
Hi.
Can you make the night before? Love crab cakes!
They do work great if you make and bake the crab cakes the night before and then reheat them in the oven before eating!
Made these for my dad’s birthday. He loves seafood, but is warming to the idea of going vegan. Thanks so much for sharing!
These were so easy and so yummy! I loved crab cakes pre-vegan, and these were an amazing dupe. I did use the food processor instead of cutting the artichokes by hand and mashing the chickpeas w/ a potato masher, but I was careful not to process for very long to maintain the texture. I also pan-fried them for a couple of minutes on each side, then finished them in the oven. YUM! Will make again often!!