Description
These Hearts of Palm Crab Cakes are a delicious vegan alternative to traditional crab cakes, featuring hearts of palm and chickpeas pulsed together to create a flaky, crab-like texture. Enhanced with fresh vegetables, Old Bay seasoning, and dulse flakes, these cakes are crispy on the outside and tender inside, served best with a vegan tartar sauce for a perfect appetizer or main dish.
Ingredients
Scale
Base Ingredients
- 1 14.4 ounce jar of hearts of palm (drained)
- 1 15 ounce can chickpeas (rinsed and drained)
Vegetables
- 1/4 cup red onion, diced
- 1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
Binding and Flavoring
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning
- 2 Tablespoons dulse flakes
Sauces and Condiments
- 1/2 cup cashew mayonnaise
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 1 recipe vegan tartar sauce
Instructions
- Prepare the legumes and palms: Rinse and drain the chickpeas well to remove excess liquid. Drain the hearts of palm thoroughly to avoid sogginess in the mixture.
- Pulse in food processor: Add the chickpeas and hearts of palm to a food processor and pulse them until finely chopped to a flaky texture resembling crab meat; be careful not to over-process to keep texture intact.
- Combine ingredients: Transfer the processed mixture into a large mixing bowl. Add diced red onion, red bell pepper, bread crumbs, fresh parsley, dulse flakes, and Old Bay seasoning, stirring well to combine all ingredients evenly.
- Mix sauces and seasoning: In a small bowl, blend cashew mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, and fresh lemon juice; fold into the main mixture to add moisture and flavor.
- Form cakes: Shape the mixture into evenly sized crab cake patties, typically enough to make four medium-sized cakes.
- Cook crab cakes: Using a skillet over medium heat, cook the cakes for about 8 minutes on each side until they are golden brown and crispy outside while remaining tender inside.
- Serve: Plate the hearts of palm crab cakes and accompany with a generous serving of vegan tartar sauce for dipping.
Notes
- Hearts of palm make an excellent substitute for flaky crab meat in vegan recipes.
- Ensure not to over-process the chickpeas and hearts of palm or you will lose the flaky texture important for crab cakes.
- Cooking at medium heat allows the cakes to crisp up without burning.
- Serve with vegan tartar sauce for classic crab cake flavor alongside a fresh lemon wedge.
- These crab cakes can be baked if preferred, but pan-frying gives the best texture and color.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 crab cake
- Calories: 117 kcal
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 241 mg
- Fat: 1 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.1 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 1 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 22 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
