Baked Vegan Crab Cakes with Artichoke Hearts

Name: Baked Vegan Crab Cakes with Artichoke Hearts
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 14 ounces marinated artichoke hearts (jarred or canned, drained); 15 ounces chickpeas (canned, drained and rinsed); ½ medium zucchini (grated using largest holes on a box grater (about 1 cup)); 1 ½ cups panko breadcrumbs; ¾ cup mayonnaise (vegan); 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard; 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice; 1 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning

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These 8-ingredient Baked Vegan Crab Cakes taste just like crab. Artichoke hearts with Old Bay Seasoning mimic the seafood quality perfectly.

Crispy Baked Vegan Crab Cakes with Artichoke Hearts on a plate with vegan chipotle mayonnaise. — These baked vegan crab cakes taste just like the real deal. You won't believe they're vegan!

One of my favorite chef pastimes is veganizing popular non-vegan dishes. Sometimes they turn out great, and sometimes not so great. Don't worry, only the ones I consider to be great end up here on my blog!

For example, my Chipotle Tofu Steaks, and these Cashew Tofu Lettuce Wraps. And if you're passionate about artichokes, try this Creamy Vegan Artichoke Miso Pasta.

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👩🏼‍🌾 Ingredients
📖 Instructions
🦀 Substitution & Variations
🔪 Equipment
⏱ Storage
💡 Top tip
👩🏽‍🍳 Made This Recipe?
📖 Recipe
💬 Comments

👩🏼‍🌾 Ingredients

Marinated & quartered artichoke hearts
Chickpeas
Zucchini
Panko breadcrumbs
Vegan mayonnaise
Dijon mustard
Lemon juice
Old Bay Seasoning (use store bought or my homemade recipe below)

See recipe card for quantities.

Old Bay Seasoning

Old Bay seasoning has a bold and distinct flavor and is commonly used for seafood. Its versatility makes it a popular seasoning. In fact, it was almost impossible to get your hands on some during the first half of the Covid-19 pandemic! That's when I started to make my own.

While this requires having a long list of spices, I like being able to adjust the balance of spices to taste. But store bought works perfectly well too. There's no need to make your own unless you want to.

To make my Old Bay Seasoning, you will need:

celery seed (lower in sodium than celery salt)
paprika
cayenne
ground black pepper
ground nutmeg
mustard powder
cardamom
cinnamon
ground cloves
allspice
ground ginger
Salt to taste

See recipe card (Notes) for quantities.

Whisk all the spices in a bowl. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry, dark place for up to 6 months.

Spices for making Old Bay Seasoning: Nutmeg, Paprika, Black Pepper, Cayenne Pepper, Celery Seed, Ground Mustard, Ginger Root, Cinnamon, Allspice, Ground Cardamom, and Ground Cloves — Make your own Old Bay seasoning with these spices.

📖 Instructions

These Baked Vegan Crab Cakes get their flaky texture from the artichoke hearts and chickpeas.

Processed artichoke hearts and chickpeas in a food processor with a white spatula. — Pulse the chickpeas and artichoke hearts until roughly chopped with small chunks remaining.

Grated zucchini acts as a binder for the crab cakes.

Sliced and grated zucchini on a cutting board with a large box grater. — Grate the zucchini using the larger holes on a box grater.

Grated zucchini in a large sieve over a bowl. — Gently squeeze the grated zucchini to remove excess water.

Transfer the artichoke-chickpea mixture to a large bowl. Add the zucchini, Panko breadcrumbs, vegan mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, and Old Bay Seasoning. Mix well until fully incorporated.

Use ⅓ cup of batter to form each cake. You should get about eleven cakes in total.

Eleven Vegan Crab Cakes with Artichoke Hearts on a large nonstick baking sheet ready to be baked. — Place the patties on a large nonstick baking sheet.

Bake the crab cakes at 400ºF for 15 minutes. Flip them over and bake for 10 minutes more. Set aside for at least 5 minutes to firm up.

🦀 Substitution & Variations

Seaweed flakes - add dulse granules into the batter for a stronger sea-like flavor (to taste)
Old Bay Seasoning - Substitute with ¾ teaspoon celery salt + ¾ teaspoon paprika for this recipe. Or make my homemade version.
Spicy - add up to 2 teaspoons sriracha to the batter

See these Easy Vegan Chipotle Tofu Burgers with a spicy kick!

🔪 Equipment

It's worth investing in a good food processor. I use mine frequently for making hummus, dressings, pesto, oat flour, and falafels; for chopping and pureeing vegetables; for mincing tempeh and tofu; and much more.

A blender will not work well for this recipe.

⏱ Storage

Refrigerate any remaining Baked Vegan Crab Cakes in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

You can also freeze them for later use. Wrap them individually in parchment paper and store for up to 3 months. For reheating, place in the oven at 375ºF until warmed through.

💡 Top tip

Pulse the chickpeas and artichoke hearts until roughly chopped. Don't overdo it. We are not making hummus!

Squeeze the grated zucchini gently to remove excess water. If you squeeze too hard, it will form a mass, and won't combine as readily with the other ingredients.

What is Old Bay seasoning?

Old Bay seasoning is a mix of up to 18 different spices. Celery seed is the most pronounced flavor, with hints of paprika, cinnamon, and a kick from cayenne pepper.
It is commonly used to season seafood, as well as vegetables, soup, pork and chicken.
Old Bay is versatile and a useful pantry staple. Add it to stews, creamy salads, and even dips.
It can be quite salty and strong in flavor, which is why I like to make my own.

What vegan mayonnaise is the best?

I typically use Chosen Foods and Sir Kensington's, but any brand will work. Choose your favorite.

What is the difference between celery seed and celery salt?

Both contain ground dried celery seeds. However, in celery salt, the seeds are combined with salt.

👩🏽‍🍳 Made This Recipe?

Share your Baked Vegan Crab Cakes with Artichoke Hearts creation with me on Instagram. It makes my day to see you recreate my recipes.

I would love it if you would ⭐️ rate this recipe and leave a comment. Thank you in advance.

📖 Recipe