Shredded artichokes and seaweed with lots of fresh veggies make for the most delicious Vegan Crab Cakes! These are full of flavor and served with a vegan aioli, they make the perfect meatless dinner!
VEGAN CRAB CAKES WITH AIOLI
It’s summer and what does that usually mean? Barbecue season! Growing up in Texas, my dad made a lot of barbecue, a lot. I’m no stranger to all the yummy homemade bbq fixins’ which is why many of you know that bbq is my all-time favorite flavor. The smells, the smokiness and of course my favorite, barbecue sauce.
So, when Linda with Veganosity asked me to review her cookbook, Great Vegan BBQ Without A Grill, I was excited to check it out! It is written and created by Linda and her daughter, Alex, and it’s full of every imaginable barbecue dish you can think of.
The book is broken into 7 chapters with about 75 recipes (no dessert section):
- Meat-Free BBQ To Satisfy Meat Eaters
- Burgers and Sandwiches: From Way Up North to the Deep South
- Stick Food: Because Eating Food Off A Stick Is Fun!
- Stuffed, Foiled and Smothered: Delectable Entrees For A Cozy Dinner
- Sides and Salads That Go With A Barbecue
- BBQ Dips to Bring to the Party
- Keeping It Saucy: BBQ Sauces and Rubs
What I love about this book is that there is a photo for every single recipe. I don’t like it when I can’t see what the food should look like, afterall, we eat with our eyes first. I also really loved the creativity Linda and Alex did. There are so many amazing variations of burgers and sandwiches and so many delicious side dishes, my mouth was watering flipping through it. Some delicious ones that stand out…
Mom’s BBQ Cauliflower Stuffed Peppers, BBQ Buffalo Chick’n Pizza, Kentucky Bourbon BBQ Quesadillas, Wisconsin-Style Grilled Bratwurst, Take Me to Texas Southwestern Burgers.
Drooling!
But for today, Linda is graciously allowing me to share her delicious crab patties and vegan aioli. Both were so delicious! The crab patties have a wonderful kick of heat, not too much and a lovely crab texture. The aioli was to die for!
INGREDIENTS TO MAKE VEGAN CRAB CAKES
- flaxseed
- artichoke hearts
- seaweed snacks
- jalapeno pepper
- red bell pepper
- green onions
- hot sauce
- mustard
- Old Bay Seasoning
- garlic powder
- panko breadcrumbs
The mixture is pretty easy to put together too, you just process it the seaweed snacks and artichokes in the food processor and then add the remaining ingredients in a bowl. Form into patties and grill.
I also provided a baked version that I tested which were equally delicious, for those without a grill or avoid oil.
The flavor of these was amazing. Even though there is hot sauce and jalapeno in these, they honestly did not taste too spicy at all to me. So, unless you are really sensitive, I think these could work for most people. I’m a huge spicy food lover, as you all know, so bring on the heat to me, haha. I added some of my own cajn seasoning and cayenne pepper to the aioli since I love a spicy sauce with crab cakes (like I did back in the day).
I hope you all give these a try and especially make that aioli. The whole meal was so yummy! I was sent this book for review but all opinions expressed here in the post are of my own will.
You can order Linda and Alex’s book here and also enter the giveaway below!
Vegan Crab Cakes with Aioli
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons (14g) ground flaxseed
- 1/4 cup (60g) water
- 2 12oz {340g} cans quartered artichokes hearts, in water
- 1/4 cup (3g) seaweed snacks
- 1 jalapeno pepper minced
- 1/4 cup (44g) minced red bell pepper
- 1/4 cup (25g) chopped green onions
- 1 tablespoon (15g) hot sauce
- 1 teaspoon horseradish mustard
- 2 teaspoons (10g) Old Bay Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- sea salt to taste
- 1 1/2 cups (188g) panko breadcrumbs use gluten-free if needed
VEGAN AIOLI
- 1 cup (112g) cashews, soaked overnight in 1 cup water
- 4 cloves garlic, THINLY SLICED
- 1/4 cup (60g) lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground sea salt
- 2 to 3 tbsp olive oil or water (I only used water to get the consistency I desired)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk the flaxseed and water until it forms a sticky paste. Set aside.
- Drain the artichokes and rinse them well. Now, pulse the seaweed snacks in a food processor until they look like small flakes. Remove them from the food processor and place in a large bowl. NOTE: All my seaweed flakes were completely stuck to the processor bowl and would have been impossible to remove them all, so I did not remove them and it all worked out just perfectly in the end.
- Place half the artichokes in the food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. Put the other half of the artichokes in the food processor and pulse ten times, or until they break up into small chunks. Add to a large bowl with the pureed artichokes and seaweed flakes.
- Mix the artichokes together in a large bowl with the flax mixture, jalapeno, bell pepper, green onion, hot sauce, horseradish mustard, old bay seasoning, garlic powder and salt. (Mine was plenty salty so I did not add any). Add the breadcrumbs and mix until well combined.
- Form the mixture into 1/2 cup patties.
- Heat a grill pan or skillet on medium-high heat. Brush the cakes on both sides with the olive oil. I skipped this step from her book and just lightly sprayed my nonstick grill pan. See NOTES below for baking instructions. Grill the cakes for approximately 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until grill marks appear and they're golden brown. Serve with cocktail sauce, aioli and lemon wedges.
- For the aioli, this is a very, very thick sauce, so even with a Vitamix I strongly urge you to soak the cashews overnight. Drain the cashews and rinse, then put in the blender with the garlic, lemon juice and salt. Blend on high speed until smooth and creamy, approximately 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape the sides if necessary. Add 2 tablespoons (30g) of the oil or water and blend until it's fully combined. If you want it to be thinner, add the additional oil or water. Blend well. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The cashews will cause the aioli to thicken, so add a bit of water and stir until you get the desired consistency.
Notes
- OIL-FREE OPTION: I did not use the olive oil listed to brush onto the patties since I do my best to cook without oil. I simply used my nonstick grill pan.
- TO BAKE: I also tested a few in the oven for those who don't have a grill pan. I baked them at 400°F on parchment paper for 15 minutes on the first side and then flipped them over and cooked another 10 minutes. They were still very yummy this way.
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What kind of hot sauce did you use in this recipe. I have made the aioli and use it on everything, including veggie burgers. Your recipes are always delicious!
Hi Catherine! I just use Frank’s hot sauce!
Finally a vegan crab cake I LOVE!!! Deliciously spicy and filling!! I added Cajun seasoning to the aioli and it added a great flavor. All of your recipes I’ve made I’ve absolutely loved so far!!!
I made these this evening and they are great. I cut down a bit the ‘heat’. This will be one of my favorites and very good to serve guests. Again, thanks. I also love and make a few of your cookie recipes.
So wonderful to hear Lois, thank you!
These are just fantastic. My pet peeve is that in the vegan world, we name things what they are not and by doing so there is an implied expectation. I have renamed them artichoke cakes and my non vegan friends are nuts about them. If I tried to pass them off as ‘crab cakes’, I don’t think they would have gone over as well as they did.
I am about to make them again to take to the cottage. Do you think they could be frozen and then cooked? I also think I will try Jexelli’s tip and use hearts of palm.
Thanks for all these amazing recipes. You help me stay the ‘foodie’ vegan that I am.
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! Oh, I didn’t name these, this recipe is from the book listed in the post 🙂 I haven’t personally tried freezing them, but I would think they would be okay frozen first wrapped really tightly, and then cooked, yes.
I substituted heart of palm for the artichoke hearts & seaweed snax, and feel like a freakin genius! Will double the flax next time though! Thanks for the recipe! ♥
Brandi—how many portions would you say this serves? I know it says 6 to 8 cakes—is one cake a serving typically? OR would you say more like 3, as pictured? We will probably be serving it with sweet potato fries, maybe some sort of cabbage—so don’t know if we should just halve the recipe for the two of us.
Hi Ellen! I believe 2 is a great serving, especially if serving it along another side and lots of the aioli, they are nice and filling. I did not eat 3 at once and I am a pretty big eater. I only put several in the photos on the plate so it looked more pretty for the photos 🙂
I made the spicy crab patties and they are delicious. Everything I make from this website is so good. It never ceases to amaze me how y’all come up with these recipes that taste so close to the unhealthy versions. It seems we can have our “cake” and eat it too!
So awesome Janet and thank you for the kind words! Glad you have loved everything from my site so far, that is wonderful!
I live on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland (crab cake heaven) so I occasionally indulge in a crab cake. Everything about this recipe exceeded my expectations. Easy-to-find ingredients (Trader Joe’s has tasty seaweed snacks, but they do have oil), simple process, aroma, and end results were amazing. My husband, who is usually just “fine” with whatever I make, commented several times how much he enjoyed them. My food processor just spun the lightweight seaweed snacks around and didn’t chop them, so I added half of the artichokes and pulsed them together, then after I removed that mixture I did the other half of the artichokes and processed ‘till smooth. I used the processor to pulse one red bell pepper and 3 large green onions, which provided the 1/4 cup each, plus some extra. I wiped a very tiny amount of oil in my non-stick skillet and it worked fine for browning the crab cakes. I served the patties on a bed of spring greens, topped with the aioli, then added the remaining peppers and onions as a garnish. I’m making them again tonight for my mother, who is gluten-free, so I have to use her special breadcrumbs. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. It’s going to be one of my go-to recipes from now on!!!
SO happy to hear that Laurel, thank you so much for making them! I had the same issue and skipped the removing of the flakes and just blended up half the artichokes with it until creamy and then added the rest of them until chunky. Worked out perfectly. Thanks for the review!
I love the grilled flavor of veggies and veggie burgers!
My favorite side is potato salad. =)