I recently traveled to the East Coast and had my FILL of crab cakes. I got in a habit of ordering a house salad with a couple crab cakes on the side. It was delicious. It wasn’t until I did a little research that I learned about all that goes into the classically made coastline treat. They’re typically loaded with mayonnaise, butter, and flour. Okay, maybe I knew deep down – but I was happy with my tasty denial.
I missed the delicious crustacean entrée and decided to take a stab at creating my own healthier version. I must say, they were a tremendous success. I’m really excited about sharing this recipe.
The crab cakes are paleo, I revamped the classic aioli accompaniment by using Greek yogurt instead of mayo, and I put them both on a bed of delicious arugula and slivered radishes.
This meal has it all. The crab cakes are home run when it comes to healthy comfort foods, the spicy arugula and radishes are bright enough to withstand the crab, and the tangy lemon garlic aioli brings it all together.
Great meal for a dine-in date night or if you just want a special treat on a weekday.
I recommend pairing with a nice buttery chardonnay.
Enjoy!
Paleo Crab Cakes with Lemon Garlic Aioli
Ingredients
Paleo Crab Cakes:
- 16 oz. Fresh Lump Crab Meat
- 2 Eggs
- ¾ cup Almond Meal
- ½ cup Diced Celery
- ½ cup Chopped Green Onion
- 1 Lemon Juiced
- 2 Cloves Garlic Minced
- 2 teaspoons Hot Paprika
- 2 teaspoons Sea Salt
- 2 teaspoons Cracked Black Pepper
- ½ cup Virgin Coconut Oil for frying
Lemon Garlic Ailoi:
- 6 oz. yogurt dairy free option for Whole 30
- ½ cup Finely Chopped Flat Leaf Parsley
- 3 Cloves Garlic Grated
- 1 Lemon Juiced
- 1 teaspoon Hot Paprika
- 1 teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1 teaspoon Cracked Black Pepper
Arugula Radish Salad:
- 8 cups Fresh Arugula
- 4-5 Thinly Sliced Radishes
Instructions
Paleo Crab Cakes:
- Drain the crabmeat.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and lemon together.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the crab, celery, green onion, ½ cup almond meal, 1 tsp hot paprika, 1 tsp sea salt, and 1 tsp black cracked pepper.
- Pour the egg/lemon mixture in with the crab mixture. Stir together.
- Place in fridge for about 30 minutes. This process will help make the crab cakes stick together better for forming and cooking.
- On a pie pan or large plate, stir together the remaining ¼ cup almond meal, 1 tsp hot paprika, 1 tsp sea salt, and 1 tsp cracked black pepper.
- Remove the crab mixture from the refrigerator.
- Start forming crab cakes by spooning about 1/3 cup into your hand. Squeeze to remove any excess moisture. Roll into a ball then flatten to make it look like a disk. Place on almond flour mixture and turn over so each side is coated. Set aside and repeat until the entire crab mixture is used up.
- Heat the coconut oil in a large frying pan over medium/high heat.
- Set aside a separate plate lined with paper towels for collecting extra oil once they’re finished cooking.
- Once the coconut oil is completely melted and up to temperature, carefully place the formed and dusted crab cakes on the frying pan.
- Let them fry on one side for about 5 minutes (or until golden brown).
- Cook for another 5 minutes on the other side.
- Place each crab cake on the separate plate lined with paper towels until cooled.
Lemon Garlic Aioli:
- Mix the yogurt, parsley, hot paprika, salt, and pepper together.
- Using a microplane (or any small grater you have handy), grate the raw garlic into the yogurt.
- Stir until evenly combined and set aside.
Arugula Radish Salad:
- In 4 large bowls, put about 2 cups of fresh arugula in each.
- Thinly slice the radishes and place about 1 radish-worth amount of slices on each salad.
- Place two crab cakes on top of salad.
- Drizzle with approximately 2 Tbl of the garlic yogurt aioli.
- Pour yourself a[nother?] glass of chardonnay for a job well done and ENJOY!
Nutrition
I made these last night, and OMG they are amazing!! You are a genius!! 🙂 For the Lemon Garlic Aioli, I used coconut milk instead of yogurt and it was a bit runny but still had a delicious flavor!!
Thank you for sharing your awesome recipes!! =)
Looks great! I’m trying these tonight!
Thanks, Linda! I’m always working to perfect my recipes and would love to know what you think 🙂
I will be trying this recipe tomorrow!!!
WOW! These photos definitely do this meal justice! Too bad we can’t taste things over the web yet. Keep’em coming!