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Vegan Crab Cakes

These vegan crab cakes are quick and easy to make. You will need chickpeas and artichokes for the base, nori, dill, capers and lemon juice for flavor!

Vegan Crab Cakes

More and more people are reducing or cutting out fish products from their diet. This is great because it’s the best we can do to fight overfishing, polluting the oceans (old fishing nets are one of the main sources of plastic in the ocean), and destroying the ocean grounds (bottom trawling). If you’re interested in learning more about this, I can highly recommend the documentary Seaspiracy.

And as it turns out, fishy recipes are one of my favorite things to make vegan. It’s actually really easy to bring out that specific flavor if you use a good combination of lemon juice, capers, dill, and nori.

For these vegan crab cakes, I’ve used a base of artichokes (canned in brine, not oil) and chickpeas (also canned). The artichokes will create this flaky texture while the chickpeas will make it easier for the patties to hold their shape.

There are so many amazing ways to satisfy your fish cravings without actually eating fish, such as:

And now we’re adding another fishy recipe to the mix: Vegan Crab Cakes. Let me show you how I make them!

Vegan Crab Cakes

How to make vegan Crab Cakes

The ingredients

You’ll need:

  • artichokes (canned in brine/water – not oil)
  • chickpeas (canned)
  • nori
  • capers
  • fresh dill
  • lemon juice
  • all-purpose flour
  • panko flakes
  • salt
  • turmeric
  • oil for the pan
  • vegan mayo (to add on top)

The basic steps

ingredients for vegan crab cakes
Step 1: Add chickpeas, artichokes, capers, dill, nori, salt, and lemon juice into a food processor.
vegan crab cake mixture
Step 2: Pulse. Then add all-purpose flour.
vegan crab cake mixture
Step 3: Pulse again. The mixture should start to come together.
coating vegan crab cakes in panko flakes
Step 4: Form the crab cake patties, then coat them in panko flakes mixed with salt and turmeric.
vegan crab cakes in pan
Step 5: Add them to a pan with oil over medium heat, let them cook for about 5 minutes.
vegan crab cakes in pan
Step 6: They should be crispy and golden! Then flip and let them cook on the other side as well.

Serve the vegan crab cakes with…

Vegan Crab Cakes

I’ve topped the crab cakes with vegan mayo and dill and served them with oven-baked potato slices. You could also make a crab cake sandwich or serve them over salad. You could also just eat them like that and dip them in vegan sauce tartar.

Love it? Rate it!

I hope you will enjoy these vegan Crab Cakes as much as I did! Let me know if you give them a try!

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Cheers, Bianca

Vegan Crab Cakes

Vegan Crab Cakes

Bianca Haun | Elephantastic Vegan
These vegan Crab Cakes are quick and easy to make. I've added all the typical ingredients for a fishy flavor: nori, dill, lemon juice, and capers to a hearty base of artichokes and chickpeas. Delicious!
5 from 2 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American, Vegan
Servings 5 crab cakes
Calories 120 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

  • 1/2 cup canned artichokes in brine rinsed and drained
  • 1 cup canned chickpeas rinsed and drained
  • 2 tablespoons fresh dill + more to add on top
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt divided
  • 1 tablespoon capers
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon crushed nori
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup panko flakes
  • 1 pinch turmeric
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 5 teaspoons vegan mayonnaise

Instructions
 

  • Add the artichokes, chickpeas, dill, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, capers, lemon juice, and crushed nori in a food processor and pulse. Add the all-purpose flour and pulse again.
  • In a bowl, add the panko flakes, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and a pinch of turmeric. Combine.
  • Shape the crab cakes into patties and carefully dip all sides in the panko flakes.
  • Heat a pan with the canola oil and bring it to medium heat. Add in the crab cakes and let them cook for 5 minutes on each side or until golden and crispy.
  • Serve with a dollop of vegan mayo and more fresh dill on top.

Nutrition

Calories: 120kcalCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 3gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 1gSodium: 552mgPotassium: 71mgFiber: 2gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 72IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 25mgIron: 1mg
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Recipe Rating




Rosalind

Saturday 30th of December 2023

99.9% of online recipes taste and look like garbage. This is a rare one that works and was one of my best home meals this year.

This is not one of those generic vegan recipe cards that litter the internet. Although it is easy to make, it contains enough ingredients to create a delicate and complex flavour. Each of the ingredients comes through in the final result. The cakes also hold together well, are juicy, flavourful, and gets better when cold. The panko breadcrumbs create a smokey aroma when you first bite into them.

The only thing we will do differently next time is to add more sea vegetables like wakame, maybe more capers or lemon, as we wanted a stronger and fishier taste.

HÉLÈNE

Sunday 6th of June 2021

Bonjour, For this recipe, have you try it without oil ? Merci