In my mind, I’ve been vacationing at the seashore. I’ve been pretending we have dinner outdoors each evening as the full moon rises over the water. With my fantasies always come a vision of food, a dish I need to create. This time around it has been crab cakes, but without the crab. How is that even possible? It IS possible thanks to jackfruit. Take a look at the jackfruit crab cakes I’ve been making:
For the last three years, I’ve been sharing recipes with you that use young green jackfruit. I’ve shared BBQ “pulled pork” style jackfruit in both KC and Carolina styles, tamale bites, Korean BBQ tacos, tacos with wild rice, Reuben Sandwiches, Reuben dip, a plethera of dishes made with the world’s largest tree-borne fruit. I often shred jackfruit, as it looks like and takes on the texture of shredded pork when it has been simmered in sauce. For the crab cakes, I wanted a slightly more flaky texture and succeeded. I can’t wait to share how I did this. It’s so easy!
The jackfruit used in this recipe and many of my other original recipes is young green jackfruit. This is available canned at your local Asian market and also at Trader Joe’s. You can also buy it on-line, but I find it cost prohibitive. Here is an example on Amazon to give you a starting point.
Please look for jackfruit packed in water, not in brine. Also make certain it is young green jackfruit. Ripe jackfruit is quite sweet and most frequently used in desserts. The flavor of Juicy Fruit gum is based on the flavor of ripe jackfruit. Jackfruit is also available fresh (almost always ripe) as well as frozen in Asian markets. The frozen variety of young green jackfruit will also work in my recipes. Be certain to drain it very well first, as it is usually packed in water and then frozen.
I chose to serve these with a bit of my Cashew Sriracha Cream. I hear traditionally they may come with a bit of remoulade. One friend suggested a bit of wasabi or fresh horseradish. Whatever you choose to eat with these, I know you’ll enjoy them. I hope they turn your mind toward the shore as well. We can go on an imaginary vacation together and have Jackfruit Crab Cakes for dinner every single night. I’ll cook first…
Jackfruit Crab Cakes, You Gotta Try These!
Ingredients
- 1 20- ounce can young green jackfruit (available here or in your local Asian market for about $1.25 a can)
- 1 cup cauliflower florets , steamed or boiled until tender
- 3 Tablespoons vegan mayonnaise OR Cashew Sriracha Cream if you like spice
- 2 Tablespoons coconut flour
- 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 2 Tablespoons small diced red bell pepper
- 2 green onions , thinly sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning (Available to order here)
- 2 Tablespoons olive or avocado oil
- Additional Sriracha Cashew Cream (optional)
- Lemon slices (optional)
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Steam or boil the cauliflower florets until they are tender. Drain and allow to cool.
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Drain and rinse jackfruit. Place in a small saucepan, cover with water. Over medium heat, bring to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes at a slow boil, until jackfruit is fork tender. Drain and allow to cool.
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While jackfruit is cooling, using a fork gently mash the cauliflower florets. You don't want this to be a smooth puree, leaving a few pieces about the size of a pea or so.
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Next chop the jackfruit until it is flaky with just a few bite sized chunks left intact.
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In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except coconut flour. Stir to combine.
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Last, gently fold in coconut flour. Your mixture will look like this:
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In a large skillet, heat the 2 Tablespoons of oil over medium heat. While pan is heating, make the mixture into cakes/patties.
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Using a large scoop (I use a #12 scoop which is roughly 1/3 of a cup), scoop out the mixture into your hands, press into a patty about 3" in diameter. You will make 6 crabby patties/crab cakes.
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Place the jackfruit crab cakes into the skillet. Over medium heat, cook about 3 minutes on each side until they are nicely browned.
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Remove to the parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees.
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Serve with a slice of lemon and Sriracha Cashew Cream.
Recipe Notes
This recipe was inspired by a recipe found on the Food Network site: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/crab-cakes-with-lemon-dill-sauce-recipe.html and a recipe from Healing Gourmet: http://healinggourmet.com/healthy-cooking/make-paleo-crab-cakes-secret-ingredient/
Modifications included removing the crab, removing eggs, adding ingredients, editing cooking methods after repeated testing. Thank you to those who continue to inspire and amaze me!
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Brilliant! Simply brilliant!! Bravo, my friend! 🙂 Off to share …
Shirley
Thanks so much, Shirley! I was researching my ingredients today (food nerd reporting for duty…) and found that Old Bay seasoning is from your part of the country. I wasn’t sure which “old bay” it referred to; now I know.
Oh, yes, Old Bay is revered around here! 😉
I would love to try this, I use green jackfruit a lot, frozen section of Indian store have it,
I hope you will try it. Thanks for dropping by!
Is the cauliflower acting as a binder? Is there a substitute. Can’t wait to try!
Hi there! Thanks for your comment. The cauliflower is a bit of a binder. I have not tried it with any substitutes, however I wonder if lightly mashed potatoes would work. Please report back and let us know what works!
I think potato would work better and it’s more traditional in fish cakes as we call them in the UK. I will try them and report back.
Thanks so much!
Do you put the sriracha sauce (or mayo) in the recipe in addition to it being for dipping?
The recipes calls for 3 Tablespoons of mayo or cashew sriracha cream to be used in making the jackfruit crab cakes, plus additional for dipping if you would like. (That’s listed as optional at the bottom of the recipe.) I hope you’ll give them a try. 🙂
Two things: 1- can these be baked? And 2- do you chop off the core of the jackfruit before you use it? Tia
Hi Liz! Thanks for your questions.
I have not tried baking them. If you do, please let me know how they come out.
I do not cut the core off of the jackfruit segments. I have seen some do that, however I don’t find the texture or the flavor offputting and see no reason to waste it as it is completely edible.
Happy jackfruit’ing! 🙂
I made this for someone who has PKU with just two changes and he loved them. I didn’t have vegan mayo or coconut flour, so I swapped for real mayo and wheat starch. Thank you so much for posting.
Thanks for sharing your modifications!
I am also looking to make these for someone who has PKU. Did they turn out crumbly with the wheat starch?
I can only find the jackfruit in brine around me. Will this work? I would omit any added salt. Trying to avoid having to order this item. Thanks in advance!
It will certainly work. I just rinse, rinse, rinse mine to eliminate as much salt as possible as the brine does have a very salty tang to it.
These are delicious!! I used almond flour instead of coconut flour because it’s what I had on hand. The result was that they didn’t hold together well. I will stick with coconut flour next time. I also doubled the Old Bay because it’s my favorite and added two strips of chopped nori.
Thank you for such a great recipe. I think it’s my favorite jackfruit recipe yet!!
Thanks for sharing your experience with almond flour. I bet the nori added a bit of the “flavor of the sea” to these. What a great idea!
Hi!!! I’m late to the jackfruit game so I JUST tried TJ’s vegan jackfruit crabless cakes and I put them in the airfryer. The texture was great but I want more spice/flavor so I can’t wait to try yours. Have you tried cooking yours in the air fryer? TIA..
Hi there! I noticed the new TJ’s jackfruit crabless cakes in the freezer section recently.
I have not tried mine in the air fryer and would be interested to hear how they work for you!
TJS are pretty bland, this recipe looks much better. I’m from the west coast and old bay seasoning is kind of weird to me but i will get it a try.
I wondered how the TJs ones were. I can’t try them since they contain gluten. We eat Old Bay on so many things here, most often roasted baby potatoes. I hope you like these!
This looks really wonderful. I do think spaghetti squash is a great option for enjoying traditional noodle dishes on a grain-free diet. Thanks for posting this on Food Flicks Friday.
This is quite a good recipe, so delicious. My family was so delighted with the jackfruit “crab cakes”. I served it with purple cabbage vinaigrette coleslaw. Thank you.
Your coleslaw sounds like the perfect accompaniment to the jackfruit crab cakes. I’m glad you enjoyed!!
This was excellent! I tried a famous chef’s recipe for Vegan crab cakes a few weeks ago was just ok, these love 😍 tastes like the real thing! Thank you!
Yay! Thanks so much for sharing!
This looks amazing! Nice work. I’ve never cooked with tamarind before.
Thank you!