After a long week at work, and low food in the kitchen, these vegan crab cakes came to be a delicious easy recipe. Surprisingly, we ended up using only leftovers we had in the kitchen. Who knew we had a gourmet meal without needing to buy fancy ingredients?
These vegan crab cakes are simple, healthy, and in our opinion, better than real crab cakes. The texture is light and flakey, with a crisp golden brown breaded crust. They have a nice touch of smoke from the paprika. These vegan crab cakes have hints of red pepper, garlic, onion, and that sweet briny flavor of the hearts of palm.
At first we did not realize how much this recipe was going to yield. Our one-time dinner turned into a full meal prep of vegan crab cakes. I mean, it’s not like we’re complaining…in any way. We ate 4 out of the 10 our recipe produced, so far.
Our easiest on-the-go meal is to serve them warm with half an avocado, hot sauce and chives.
Benefits of Hemp Hearts
We’re HUGE lovers of flax and hemp seeds. Wherever we can add them in, we do. Both seeds are incredibly nutritious. Hemp hearts have both omega 3, and omega 6 fatty acids. For the record, hemp hearts and hemp seeds are the same thing. Hemp seeds are also a great protein source, as more than 25% of their total calories are from high-quality protein.
Flax seeds are also super nutritious. Flax seeds are a rich source of the omega-3 fatty acid ALA. Interesting enough, ALA fatty acids have heart health benefits linked to a lower risk of stroke.
How to Prep This Recipe
Are you looking for a good center star for your meal prep dishes? Look no further! This is the recipe for you. Pair these crab cakes with some vegetables or grains and make yourself a healthy balanced meal.
Not only is it easy to whip up a large batch pretty quickly, but these vegan crab cakes are also filling. Part of the reason they are so filling is because of the flax seeds, and hemp hearts. Join us as we show you how to make this heart of palm “crab” cake!
Vegan Crab Cake Recipe Tips
Essentially, after cooking the peppers, all the ingredients are pulsed in the food processor. The point is to get the mixture as close to the real texture of crab meat as possible. Miraculously, hearts of palm when lightly pulsed looks incredibly similar to actual crab meat.
So, when pulsing only pulse till the mixture is mixed but only just enough to where the heart of palm still retains texture. If needed feel free to mix the ingredients by hand after a few pulses.
After achieving the desired consistency, form the mixture into patties. If you’re looking for precise measurements for meal prep, feel free to measure each patty with a scale. Personally, we eyeballed each patty size when forming them.
After the patties are formed, cover them with breadcrumbs. The breadcrumbs help bind the patty and keep its structure. The breadcrumbs will also allow the patties to achieve a nice golden brown color when pan seared.
This vegan crab cake recipe is definitely delicate right after molding. Be sure to use a wide and large spatula while flipping them to avoid breaking!
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Peace,
Luna & Nate
Vegan Crab Cakes
Course: Main EntreesCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy10
servings10
minutes15
minutes25
minutesVegan crab cakes made from heart of palm. Heart of palm acts as the crab in this vegan seafood classic.
Ingredients
4 Cans 4 Heart of palm (Drained)
1 Cup 1 Bell Peppers (Rough chop)
1 Cup 1 Bread crumbs
1 Whole 1 Flax egg (1 Tbsp ground flax + 3 Tbsp water)
1/3 Cup 1/3 Hemp hearts (optional)
1 Tbsp 1 Smoked Paprika powder
1 tsp 1 Garlic powder
1 tsp 1 Onion powder
1 tsp 1 Himalayan pink salt
3 Tbsp 3 Veganaise
Directions
- In a large pan, at medium heat, sweat bell peppers in a tsp of olive oil and a pinch of salt.
- While the peppers are cooking, make a flax egg and let the flax egg sit for about 2-3 minutes.
- When the peppers finish cooking place them in a food processor.
- Along with the cooked peppers add the hearts of palm, veganaise, bread crumbs, flax egg, salt, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, hemp hearts and veganaise.
- Pulse the food processor until mixture is incorporated but still chunky.
- Pour an extra hefty amount of breadcrumbs either on a tray lined with parchment paper or simply in a bowl.
- Once the mixture is at the desired chunky crab-like consistency, begin to form into small patties.
- Place the patties into the breadcrumbs and cover both sides with breadcrumbs.
- At this point, place the patties on a tray lined with parchment paper and then in the freezer for an hour or until firm enough to be stored in a baggy in the freezer.
- For those ready to eat now, in a large pan at medium heat pour a thick amount of olive oil until the patties are a third of the way covered.
- Cook the patties until the bottoms have a golden brown sear on each side.
- Enjoy with avocado, hot sauce, on a salad or as a sandwich!
Notes
- We have found that if they are baked at 375 degrees for 1 hour from frozen, they are more firm. By baking the vegan crab cakes, this also allows you to use less oil. Simply place on the baking tray and slightly drizzle the cakes with oil. Voila! An even healthier version!
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Nutrition Facts
10 servings per container
- Amount Per ServingCalories34
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 1.6g 2%
- Saturated Fat 0.2g 0%
- Trans Fat 0g
- Cholesterol 0mg 0%
- Sodium 329mg 14%
- Total Carbohydrate 4g 2%
- Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
- Sugars 1g
- Protein 1g 2%
- Vitamin A 8%
- Vitamin C 20%
- Calcium 2%
- Iron 5%
* The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
