Air Fryer Crab Cakes

This healthy air fryer crab cakes recipe comes together quickly and makes a wonderful appetizer or addition to a salad. All of the ingredients get mixed together in a bowl before they are shaped into patties and air fried until golden crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. There is no mayo in this recipe, as we substitute it out for Greek yogurt! Trust me, it’s quick, simple, and SUPER tasty!

Make sure to check out the full video on how to make it above the recipe card!

Healthy Air Fryer Crab Cakes Recipe

Is there anything better than a meaty, crispy on the outside, warm on the inside, crab cakes?! They are savory and tender and go great with a variety of different dipping sauces. And the fact that all of the ingredients just get dumped into a bowl and mixed means that this recipe is super easy.

Air frying is a healthier alternative to pan frying and uses significantly less oil. A fan pushes heated air around the food and the circulating air cooks the outside of the food first. This leaves you with crispy food with a soft inside, similar to traditional frying!

• The air frying cooking method may also decrease some of the other harmful effects of pan-frying food. There is a chemical reaction that happens when you fry starchy foods that creates acrylamide, which has been linked to an increased risk of cancer. One study found that air-frying reduced acrylamide content by about 90% compared with conventional deep-oil-frying!

This is also a no-mayo crab cakes recipe. We swap the mayonnaise out for plain Greek yogurt. The yogurt helps bind the crab cakes and keeps them moist and tender.

Ingredients For Healthy Air Fryer Crab Cakes Recipe

This super simple crab cakes recipe only uses a few ingredients. We skip the old bay seasoning and opt to use our own spice mixture. We also get creative with the binding ingredient and use whole wheat crackers instead of panko breadcrumbs!

Here are some tips on a few of the ingredients that we use in this recipe.

• Crab Meat – As long as it is REAL, any type is okay. Lump crab meat is usually considered the best. Stay away from the canned stuff and see if you can get your hands on a refrigerated container of crab meat.

  After all, the flavor of your crab cakes will rely mostly on the quality of the crab meat that you purchase. So splurging here will go a long way.

• Greek Yogurt – To make no mayonnaise crab cakes, we use plain Greek yogurt!

• Spice Mixture – Most crab cake recipes that you will find call for using Old Bay seasoning. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I have ever owned my own Old Bay seasoning! Instead, I recommend using your own organic spices. This way you can benefit from the health benefits of the spices and you know EXACTLY what ingredients are going into your crab cakes.

• Whole Wheat Crackers – You can technically use any type of cracker that you want. A lot of people use Saltines, and a lot of people also use panko breadcrumbs. Since this is a Mediterranean Diet food blog, I try to keep things as healthy as possible! So we use about 1/4 cup smashed organic whole wheat crackers since whole wheat is a healthier alternative to refined grains.

• Worcestershire Sauce – This ingredient is optional, so if you are missing it don’t worry! It adds a nice depth of flavor because it is highly concentrated, so we only use a little.

How To Cook Crab Cakes In Air Fryer

As I mentioned, everything gets dumped into a bowl, mixed, formed, and air fried! Let’s break it down!

• MAKE SURE TO SCROLL DOWN TO THE RECIPE CARD FOR THE FULL LIST OF INGREDIENTS AND INSTRUCTIONS

1. Start by getting your spices ready. In a small bowl mix together the paprika, dried oregano, nutmeg, salt, and garlic powder. Set aside.
2. Sift through the crab meat with your hands to make sure there are no shell pieces.
3. Add to a large bowl the crab meat, crushed crackers, spice mixture, dijon mustard, dill, lemon zest, Worcestershire sauce (optional), egg yolks, and plain Greek yogurt. Mix it all together well so that it is fully combined.
4. Spray the bottom of your air fryer with a light coating of cooking spray. Form the crab cake mixture into a patty and place it in the air fryer. Do this for as many patties that will fit into your air fryer without touching the other patties.
5. Place a crisper lid on top if you have one. Set the air fryer to 380 degrees F for 12 minutes.
6. When done, remove the golden brown air fried crab cakes from the air fryer with a spatula and repeat until the full batch is made.

What Sauce For Crab Cakes?

This is a hotly debated question. What sauce is best for crab cakes? Honestly, whatever sauce that you enjoy is the best sauce for you.

Remoulade sauce, cocktail sauce, aioli and tartar sauce are all popular options.

If you want to keep this a Mediterranean Diet appetizer recipe, opt for a greek yogurt aioli!

How To Store Leftovers

On the off chance that you have leftovers of this recipe, here is how to store them!

• Store leftovers in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. To reheat, you can microwave them for 30 seconds, flip, and microwave for another 20 seconds. If you want to re-heat in the air fryer, heat them for 5 minutes at 350 degrees F.

MORE AIR FRYER RECIPES

Here are some more air fryer recipes that you will love!

Did you make this recipe?  It would mean so much to me if you would rate it below the recipe card and tag me in your creation on Instagram so I can admire your work! @RecipeHippie

Did you like these crab cakes with greek yogurt? Check out some of my latest recipes!