Need a good appetizer for your Holiday party or to bring to the next gathering? This recipe will not disappoint. They are the perfect addition to your menu or if you are looking for ideas on what to bring to someone else’s party. They are filled with lump crab meat and have a cheesy and crispy crust. You can top them with the slightly garlic Aioli dipping sauce.
They are even a great make ahead appetizer if you need to travel with them. I needed to think of an appetizer to bring to my sister’s Christmas party. With the holidays, I like to make something with seafood so I knew I wanted to make a recipe with crab. I was able to make these the night before and I cooked them about 1/2 way. I then let them completely cool, then removed them from the muffin tins and transferred them to a disposable baking sheet. I covered them and kept in fridge overnight. I then brought them to my sisters and we popped them in the oven for about 15 minutes on 350 to finish cooking, until they were nice and golden brown. Even better, my sister (nor I) had to clean any baking sheet during the party since I placed them onto a disposable tray. I don’t use the disposable trays very often but for occasions like this, they are perfect!
Crab Cake Bites w/Chive Aioli Dipping Sauce
Makes approx. 48 mini crab cakes
Ingredients
24 oz., Fresh Lump Crab Meat
12 oz., Cream Cheese, softened
Cup, Parmesan Cheese, grated
6 Tablespoons, Mayo
2 Teaspoons, Dijon Mustard
2 Teaspoons, Worcestershire Sauce
1 1/2 Teaspoons, Old Bay Seasoning
Zest, 1 Lemon
2 Egg Yolks
3 Tablespoons, Fresh Parsley, chopped
3 1/2 Cups, Panko Breadcrumbs
1/2 Cup, Butter, melted
S&P (Kosher Salt & Fresh Cracked Black Pepper), to taste
Aioli Sauce:
1 Cup, Mayo
3 Tablespoons, Fresh Chives, chopped
2 Teaspoons, Dijon Mustard
2-3 Garlic Cloves, finely chopped
Instructions
Crab Cake Bites w/Aioli Sauce
Preheat oven to 350 Degrees. Spray mini muffin tins and set aside.
Prepare the Aioli Sauce: In a standing mixer, whisk together all the Aioli ingredients. Mix until all combined and nice and smooth. Place the Aioli Sauce in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge until ready to use.
To make the crab cakes, gently pick through the crab meat to remove any shells. You’ll want to be gentle as you pick through the crab to avoid breaking crab into small pieces.
In your standing mixer, add the softened cream cheese and whisk until smooth. Add 2/3 Cup of the Parmesan cheese, Mayo, Mustard, Worcestershire, Old Bay Seasoning, Lemon Zest and Egg Yolks. Mix until all combined. Add the parsley, S&P (to taste) and mix again. Remove bowl from mixer and fold in the crab meat (you’ll want to fold the crab in to avoid breaking it up too much). Set bowl aside.
In a separate bowl, add the panko breadcrumbs, the remaining Parmesan Cheese and the melted butter. Using a fork toss until all the breadcrumbs are coated. Place about 1 tablespoon of the breadcrumb mixture into each muffin tin. Gently press the mixture into each tin and and up the sides.
Crab Cake Bite w/Aioli Sauce
Add about 1 tablespoon of your crab mixture into each tin (place in the breadcrumb mixture). Sprinkle a little extra Parmesan Cheese on top of each crab cake.
Bake in oven for approx. 20-25 minutes, until nice and golden brown. Remove from oven, let cool slightly. Remove crab cakes from muffin tins and serve on a platter with your dipping sauce.
Garnish with some of your fresh chopped parsley. Serve and enjoy!
Mangia!
Tips
These are such a great appetizer. They are easy to make and super delicious. You can place a little spoon in your dipping sauce so guests can place a little dollup of the Chive Aioli on top of their crab cake.
I made these as an appetizer for my sister’s Christmas party. I knew they would go fast so I made 48 crab cakes. We were serving about 17 people (about 10 were adults). So, I was figuring about 4 of these little crab cake bites per adult. They all went! There wasn’t a crab cake left in sight!!
You could also make these in larger muffin tins if you want to serve as a large crab cake for a dinner. Either way, they would be just as good.