These Maryland Style Crab Cake Sandwiches with Chive Honey Mustard are made with jumbo lump crabmeat, hardly any filler, sliced tomato, and a zesty, 5-ingredient chive honey mustard sauce! They’re fabulous served with lettuce, tomato, a lemon wedge, and an extra sprinkle of chives!
It’s about time this Maryland girl shared a crab cake recipe! Growing up in Maryland, I guess you could say I’m kind of (definitely) a snob when it comes to crab cakes, and most seafood for that matter. I grew up eating lots of steamed crabs in the summer, eating incredible jumbo lump crab cakes, and just a lot of great seafood in general. I love it so much. These cakes are the closest I’ve been able to come to a true Maryland-style crab cake and they’re SO delicious. Simple and no-frills. They’re super easy to make too!
They’re the perfect amount of lemony and mustardy, and you can really taste the natural sweetness of the crab. This is a recipe where the quality of the crabmeat REALLY matters. Make sure you get the fresh, jumbo lump stuff. Nothing from a can, I beg of you.
It makes a world of a difference. The stuff isn’t cheap, but it’s absolutely worth it!
I love how golden brown they get, and how the inside is smooth, buttery, and light. I’m kind of obsessed! And there’s hardly ANY filler!
I love serving them on on a roll with a slice of juicy tomato (bonus points if you get juicy summer heirloom tomatoes!), lettuce or spring greens, and the chive honey mustard!
The chive honey mustard is amazing, super addicting, and adds the perfect amount of sweetness and tanginess to the crab cakes.
It’s just plain Greek yogurt, mayo, honey, grainy mustard, fresh chives, salt, and pepper.
Trust me, you’ll want to dip everything in it and pour it on everything.
I used pretzel rolls with these which are SO good, but they can be kind of dense and hard, which doesn’t always go great with the crab cakes because they’re soft and delicate.
If you can find pretzel rolls that aren’t super dense, definitely use those, or any softer roll is great too!
I mean, how badly do you want to dive into that right now?!
Back to the practically zero filler part. To help bind the crab cakes, I love using crushed crackers. I find that a buttery-style plain cracker works best, and I also use a tiny bit of panko breadcrumbs too. I find that combo is perfection in terms of taste and texture!
I just put the crackers in a bag and crush them with my hand, a can, or something heavy. You want most of the crackers to be totally crushed, but having several larger, coarser pieces is good! Basically, you don’t want sawdust. 😂
And that’s pretty much all you need! Most of the ingredients for the crab cakes are pantry staples, and they take next to no time to put together. The most time consuming part is having them chill in the fridge for 20 minutes! Don’t skip that step though, it helps them stay together and helps the flavors come together!
So fabulous!
Maryland Style Crab Cake Sandwiches with Chive Honey Mustard
These Maryland Style Crab Cake Sandwiches with Chive Honey Mustard are made with jumbo lump crabmeat, hardly any filler, sliced tomato, and a zesty, 3-ingredient chive honey mustard sauce! They're fabulous served with lettuce, tomato, a lemon wedge, and an extra sprinkle of chives!
Ingredients
For the crab cakes
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 pound jumbo lump crabmeat*
- 2/3 cup crushed crackers
- 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon oil (I like using avocado oil)
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- your favorite buns for serving, toasted if desired
- sliced tomato for serving
- lettuce/greens of your choice for serving
- extra chopped chives for serving
- lemon wedges for serving
For the chive honey mustard
- 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons grainy mustard
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
For the crab cakes
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the egg, mayonnaise, yellow mustard, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, lemon juice, parsley, salt, and pepper until smooth. Add the crabmeat and gently stir until coated. Add the crushed crackers and panko and stir gently to combine until incorporated. Let mixture sit for a few minutes, then form into 4 equal patties. Chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add the oil and butter. Cook the crab cakes for 4-5 minutes per side or until crusty and golden brown on the outside. I like to tent a piece of aluminum foil over the pan when the cakes are cooking on the second side. I find that it helps them cook more evenly. Once the crab cakes are finished cooking, remove from the pan and let drain for a few minutes on a paper towel lined plate.
Spoon some of the chive honey mustard on both sides of the bun, then place the crab cake on top, as well as lettuce and tomato. Add another spoonful of honey mustard if desired, a sprinkle of chives, a squeeze of lemon, and serve!
For the chive honey mustard
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine. until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Recipe Notes
*Make sure you use fresh jumbo lump crabmeat for this recipe. It's not cheap, but it's SO worth it. Nothing else compares. Do not use the canned stuff!
* I like using a buttery style cracker such as Ritz or Club crackers. I just put them in a plastic bag and crush them with my hands or something heavy like a can or meat mallet. It's good if there are some coarser pieces, you don't want them super fine!
*Don't skip the chilling step. It helps keep the crab cakes from falling apart and develops the flavors!
Wow, Molly! I made this recipe for my family in Tennessee when visiting last weekend and it was a total hit! This is definitely Maryland-style, hon just the way I like them- simple, no frills letting the sweetness of the crab come through. I used traditional saltine crackers in mine for that extra nostalgic nod to the past. Your serving suggestion on a pretzel roll with the chive honey mustard dressing looks scrumptious. And of course every crab cake has to be served with a summer tomato and sweet corn! Thank you again for allowing me to be the test subject when you were perfecting your recipes. It’s a difficult job, but I’m up for the challenge any time 🙂
Thank you SO much Jan! I’m so glad you enjoyed them!! I love how simple and “no frills” they are too. And THANK YOU for always being my test subject – it helps me out so much!! xoxo
Holy moly, Molly! Everything about this recipe speaks to me! And I think the fact that you’re a Marylander automatically qualifies this as a Maryland-style crab cake. There’s nothing like how we do crab here! I once ordered a crab cake in Florida — BIG mistake. It was tiny and mostly breadcrumbs. Never again!! Lol
Awww thanks so much!! And haha I couldn’t agree more!! Oh my goodness lol never again is right! I once did that in a landlocked state too – I can’t remember where. But it was awful haha.