Vegan “Crab” Cake sliders:
This vegan crab cake recipe is easier to make than you think! Crisp on the outside melt-in-your-mouth on the inside. Made with Whole Foods. With this simple recipe, you’ll never long for seafood again.
Summer time is here and that means crab cakes but I no longer eat sea food, haven’t for a longtime. I wanted a vegan crab cake patty with good crunch, a golden exterior, plenty of flavor and that texture that makes you wonder how something so light holds together in patty form.
One of the keys to getting that New England flavor is Old Bay seasoning. I throw it in my chowders and dips as well. Amazing stuff!
My daughter and I used to have a weekly date where we would buy Sushi at the market and a big bag of kettle corn. The boys would head out to play laser tag and she and I would have three glorious hours together where we would eat sushi, hold hands and watch Supernatural. We called this night Sushi-natural. Cool name. Right?
On those night we were too lazy to go get sushi we would make Veggie “Tuna” Salad. Chickpeas, mayo, and a ton of chopped veggies. We added pickles for more crunch and always threw some pickling liquid in the dressing.
The boys in Supernatural eat a lot of burgers so it was natural to make the salad into a burger.
I basically took that salad and added hearts of palm to mimic the texture of crab. I was torn between using artichoke hearts or hearts of palm but I’m nothing if not cheap so hearts of palm it is. I am not the first person to use hearts of palm in a “fish” patty. If you are that person please let me know. I would love to credit your genius-ness!
If you are not a big fan of mayo, vegan or other, replaced it with hummus as the binder. There you go. If you can’t find slider buns, buy regular hamburger buns and make big patties or do what I did and make your own with my Pita bread recipe. Just form the dough into buns instead of pita.
Check out my new Aquafaba page! For tips, tricks and to see all of my Aquafabulous recipes.
Vegan "Crab" Cake Sliders
Crisply breaded golden exterior, soft flavorful interior. Easy to make. Fun to eat. I used a combination of carrot, celery, onion and red pepper. Use what you have in the same overall quantity, just make sure that onion is one of them. For a sauce I used plain “yoghurt” mixed with horseradish.
Vegan Crab Cakes
- 1 cup chickpeas (from a can)
- 2 cups canned hearts of palm (1/2 inch dice)
- 1 tbsp chipotle aioli or hummus
- 1 tsp parsley or dill (minced)
- 2 tbsp pickles (I used bread and butter) (minced)
- 1 tbsp Old Bay seasoning
- 1/2 cup GF Panko (+ 4 tbsp for breading)
- 2 tbsp onion (minced)
- 2 tbsp red pepper (minced)
- 2 tbsp carrot (minced)
- 2 tbsp celery (minced)
- 1 tsp Dulse flakes
- high heat oil like canola
- 3 tbsp aquafaba
-
Place the chickpeas, heart of palm, hummus, parsley or dill, pickles, Old Bay seasoning into a medium bowl. Now really get in there and massage the chickpeas with your hands, every time you mush a chickpea you get a point. I suppose you could use a potato masher but where is the fun in that? You still want texture but give it a good mash.
-
Dice up the veggies you are planning to incorporate, I used carrots, celery, onion and red pepper all 1/4 dice. Now heat a skillet and saute them with a smidgen of oil until the onion and celery become slightly transparent, about 5 minutes.
-
Stir the veggies and 1/2 cup bread crumbs into the bowl with the chickpeas.
-
Mix well. Cover the bowl and place it on the refrigerator for 20 minutes or up to 24 hours. You want it to firm up in the fridge. When you are ready to cook the crab cakes remove the bowl from the fridge and form balls the size of your bun. I used a melon baller for this part because I’m super fancy.
-
Gently press the balls into a disk shape. Pour the aquafaba into a medium bowl and give it a quick whisk, just 30 seconds. Place more bread crumbs into another shallow bowl or plate. Dip the patties gently into the aquafaba and then press (gently) into the bread crumbs. Turning and coating the other side as well.
-
Heat up a skillet to medium heat and put a little oil in. Sorry guys I’m leaving the amount up to you. I don’t use much oil in my cooking. I probably used about 1 tablespoon over all. Go wild! Use as much or as little as you want. Or bake them and forego the oil altogether. Let me know how it goes.
-
Fry the patties for 3-4 minutes until golden and then flip with a spatula. Fry for 3-4 more minutes. This process will take a few batches.
-
You are good to go. Place your patties into toasted bun and condiment up.
SaveSave
Those look so good! I can’t wait to make them! Can I use mayo instead of the hummus?
Absolutely,you can. Happy cooking!
Is that a quarter in that photo?!?
Lol, yes it is. What a weirdo I am.
Where it says pickles you put bread and butter – what kind of pickles are those – can I get them in the UK?
Hi Barbara, really it is personal choice, any type of pickle will work well. We have used dill pickles with great success. To answer your question, Bread and butter pickles are cucumbers cut into disks, and pickled with small onions in a brine that is a closer balance of sweet and sour whereas dill are more sour than sweet. I just read up on them and funnily enough they originated in the UK and were brought to the US by “you”. They eventually died out in the UK but we, your former colony, continue to make them. Lol.
Hi! This looks so good. Do you use fresh or canned heart of palm?
Thanks.I used canned heart of palm.
These look delicious! Do you need two cans of hearts of palm for this recipe?
I used 1 can but I can’t vouch for the amount in a can. I hope you enjoy them.
I used one can, more like 1 3/4 cups. These were delicious! I did add about a Tablespoon of Dulse seaweed flakes to give it more seafood flavor. I tried to use in my convection oven on an open tray, but I liked the ones I fried better. Thank you for this recipe, I will definitely make them again!
oh that is wonderful! I used a can of already cut up heart of palm cause is was cheaper. 1 and 3/4 cups good to know. I guess it depends on brand, and whether it is cut up in the can or whole.
Gorgeous!!!