The Best Keto Crab Cakes (under 1 net carb!)
These are the best Keto Crab Cakes! They are perfectly tender on the inside and crispy on the outside and have less than one net carb each!
One of my favorite easy dinners are these Crispy Keto Salmon Patties. They have ingredients I usually have on hand and are ready in under 30 minutes. For that recipe I use almond flour and I wanted to try a recipe using “pork rind panko” to try to achieve an ultra crispy texture. This worked perfectly and created delicious crab cakes that are insanely low in carbs! For more great recipes using keto breadcrumbs, check out Everything You Need to Know about Pork Rind Panko!
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- Fast & easy – This recipe uses mostly pantry staples and comes together in under 30 minutes. If you don’t want to mess with a skillet of oil, you can even air fry them for a cleaner, possibly quicker method.
- Reheats well – You’ll love how crisp and delicious these get even after reheating! As long as you reheat on the stovetop, in the air fryer, or with the oven, you’ll get a nice crunch. You can even freeze these for longterm meal planning!
- Versatile – Thee can be made low-carb and gluten-free, and you could always swap out the seasoning for a different flavor! You can make them on the stovetop or with the air fryer for added convenience as well.
What ingredients do you need for Keto Crab Cakes?
Here’s a quick overview of what you’ll need for this recipe. You can find exact measurements in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Premium Lump Crab
- Mayonnaise
- Egg
- Lime zest and zest
- Old Bay or your favorite all purpose seasoning
- Pork Rind Panko
- Green Onions
We made a zesty chipotle lime sauce to dip our crab cakes in and it contains mayonnaise, sour cream, lime zest, juice and chipotle mayo to add a bit of a kick. This is an optional step as these crab cakes are delicious on their own. You can find the recipe in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
What is “pork rind panko” and how do I use it?
You are probably familiar with panko style breadcrumbs. These breadcrumbs are different than normal breadcrumbs because they are made from bread without crust and they have signature large, airy flakes. Of course traditional panko bread crumbs are off limits on a keto diet. But pork rind panko is an excellent substitute!
To make pork rind panko you need one ingredient, pork rinds. Now if this sounds strange to you, it did to me too. I am not a fan of pork rinds and the thought of using them as bread crumbs was honestly a little off putting. However, I do not find any pork taste in my dishes. It just provides a light and crunchy texture that I’ve been missing while on keto!
The package of pork rinds I buy is 2.5 ounces and I simply pour it into a blender or food processor and pulse 3-4 times until the consistency resembles breadcrumbs. This size bag usually produces 2.5 cups of light and airy breadcrumbs for me.
What are some other easy low carb dinners?
The most popular keto dinner on this site is my keto chili. This easy chili has no beans and very few carbs but it has tons of flavor! It is a weekly winter staple in our house! I also love these Chili Cheese Chips for a snack, just one net carb each and perfect when you need something salty and crunchy! Some of my other favorites are:
- Perfect Roasted Radishes (my go to potato substitute! and only about 1 net carb!)
- Lemon Chia Seed Pudding (5 net carbs and so refreshing)
- Crispy Zucchini Fries (about 4 net carbs)
- Sausage and Green Bean Sheet Pan Dinner (1 pan, 30 minutes and under 6 net carbs)
- Keto Taco Soup (about 6 net carbs and SO good!)
Get the Recipe: The Best Keto Crab Cakes (under 1 net carb!)
Ingredients
- 1 6 ounce can premium lump crab meat
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons green onions, chopped
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon lime zest
- 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay, or other all purpose seasoning
- 1 1/4 cup pork rind panko crumbs, see notes in post
Optional Chipotle Mayo Sauce
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoon sour cream
- 1 tablespoon chipotle mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons lime juice
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl combine all of the ingredients and chill for 10 minutes to allow the mixture to thicken slightly and the flavors time to meld.
- Heat a large heavy bottom skillet to medium heat. Add 2-3 tablespoons oil.
- Scoop out about 1/4 cup of the mixture at a time and pat into a patty, carefully place in the skillet. Cook 3-4 minutes on each side until crispy.
- Remove from the skillet and allow to drain off any grease on paper towels.
For the optional Chipotle Mayo Sauce:
- Mix all mayonnaise sauce ingredients together until smooth. Chill until crab cakes are ready to serve.
Made these this morning, for my lunch today. Just finished eating…OMG! Perfection! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Thank you so much Victoria! I’m so glad you enjoyed these!
I ran across this recipe by accident and I had a half bag of pork rinds in the pantry that I didn’t know what to do with because I really didn’t like eating them. This was brilliant! They are very rich and perfect flavor. The pork rinds don’t have any flavor and create perfect crispiness. I’m trying the pork rinds on my zucchini next. Thanks great job.
Just made these today. So delicious!! It’s definitely the best Keto crab cake recipe out there!
Made them on Valentine’s Day as a surprise for my fiancé. He LOVED them. Added a little hot sauce to the crab mixture. Didn’t have fresh lime so just used some lime juice. Happened to have some chilli lime pork rinds which worked out well! GREAT recipe
You stated in the recipe that in the notes, there would be information regarding the panko pork rinds but the only thing in the notes was the Chipotle mayo sauce.
Hi Laquita, here is all the info for pork rind panko. Enjoy!