Best Side Dishes for Crab Cakes

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Crab cakes must be one of my favorite dishes. It’s easy to make and goes with almost anything. It is the perfect dish for those warm summer nights. Luckily crab cakes are versatile. Let’s explore the endless amount of best side dishes for crab cakes.

Crab cakes can be served with hot and cold side dishes. The natural taste of crab cakes allows for a wide variety of flavor profiles to be served with it. It is not advised to do overpowering flavors with crab cakes. Crab cakes can also be incorporated as part of a side dish.

The best thing about crab cakes is the fact that they can be served with either a hot or a cold side, or both. The sweet taste, as well as the soft texture of the crab meat, give it both chicken and fish characteristics. Side dishes I will recommend you to serve with your crab cakes will eliminate all future headaches when it comes to planning the perfect dish.

Best Side Dishes For Crab Cakes

Whether the side dish is a cold salad or a hot vegetable, side dishes for crab cakes can go from simple to complicate and still be delicious. You can even go as far as incorporating your crab cake into the side dish and making it one dish.

Crab cakes are delicious and not very complicated when it comes to preparation. They don’t take hours to prep and can be cooked in the oven for a healthier option. They can also be served with healthy side dishes for those carb-conscious individuals. Crab cakes can be prepared in many ways with a variety of flavor profiles.

When serving your crab cakes as a main with a side dish, it’s better to keep your crab cakes clean and straightforward. This will give you a wider range of options when it comes to side dishes.

If you are unsure how to prepare a delicious crab cake, here is a quick recipe before exploring the world of side dishes for crab cakes.

Best Hot Side Dishes For Crab Cakes

I don’t know why, but I immediately imagine a cold side dish like a salad if I think of crab cakes. But crab cakes do, in fact, go perfectly with a warm side dish.

Many flavors can complement the clean taste of crab cakes. This means that your side dish can have a strong flavor. Just make sure that the flavor of the side dish does not overpower the clean and light taste of your crab cake.

Warm side dishes for crab cakes can include:

Broiled Asparagus

Broiled asparagus has so many flavor options. You can make it zesty by adding some lemon or give it a deep and hearty taste by adding parmesan.

Broiled asparagus also has the perfect texture to serve with crab cakes because it’s still firm, giving it that fresh taste that compliments the fresh and clean taste of crab cakes.

Spicy Rice

Spicy rice is easy to make, and you can add any spice your heart desires. You can make your rice very spicy or give it that little bit of zing it will need to compliment your crab cake.

Adding vegetables like carrots and green pepper to your spicy rice will also give it that earthy taste to highlight your crab cakes.

French Fries

French fries do not have to be boring; you can make them from scratch and cut them into different sizes. Instead of frying them, rather cook them in the oven. This will leave you with a less oily result.

The crispy outside and soft inside of French fries go perfectly with the soft taste of crab cakes.

Sweet Potato Wedges

Never underestimate the power of sweet potatoes. The earthy and sweet taste of sweet potato wedges is perfect for serving with crab cakes.

I will advise you to oven bake your wedges, drizzle them with olive oil and add some salt and fresh ground black pepper.

Buttery Green Beans

Green beans can be cooked in many ways. Steaming and baking them is the most delicious. Butter just makes everything better. Buttery green beans will complement crab cakes perfectly.

The salty and creamy taste of butter combined with the clean and fresh taste of green beans goes well with the earthy flavor of crab cakes.

Brussel Sprouts

Brussel sprouts have a unique taste. This bittersweet vegetable can be served with crab cakes. Steamed and tossed in butter, salt, pepper, and garlic is the way to go when serving Brussel sprouts with crab cakes.

The salty, bitter, sweet, and creamy taste will leave you with an explosion of flavors to serve with your crab cakes.

Sweet Carrots

There are many ways to prepare carrots. Sweet carrots are baby carrots cooked in sugar and orange juice.

The sweet and tangy taste of this side dish will highlight your crab cakes in a whole different way.

Herb Couscous

Couscous is a magic grain when it comes to cooking. You can transform it into a cold salad or a hearty warm side dish. Herb couscous is versatile, and many different herbs can be added to change the flavor profiles of this side dish.

Herbs such as Parsley, Origanum, and Basil will give the couscous a sweet, earthy, and sharp taste. Ideal for serving with crab cakes.

Roasted Vegetables

Vegetables such as purple onion, pumpkin, baby marrow, and mushrooms are perfect for roasting. The diverse toasted flavors highlight the clean taste of your crab cake.

Herbs like parsley, origanum, or rosemary can be added to the roasted vegetables.

If you prefer a cold side dish with your crab cakes, don’t worry, there is an endless number of options.

Best cold side dishes for crab cakes

Cold side dishes and crab cakes are like Bonnie and Clyde. They are meant to be served together. There is an endless number of options when it comes to cold side dishes to fit with your crab cakes.

 Cold side dishes for crab cakes can include anything from salads to grains to bread. Let’s explore the variety of options available.

Best Salads To Serve With Crab Cakes

Salads are very versatile. You can serve a salad as a main dish or as a side dish. If you thought salads only consisted of lettuce, tomato, and cucumber, you were wrong!

Salads have an endless list of recipes, but a few must-try salads as a side dish for crab cakes can include:

Curried pasta salad

You can almost add anything. You can give it a sweet or salty profile. For a side dish with crab cakes, I would advise you to give your curried pasta salad a sweet profile by adding canned peaches. Please don’t give the salad a strong curry profile. Rather keep it subtle and clean.

This combination is perfect for those hot and humid summer days.

Potato salad

Who doesn’t love a good potato salad? Everybody does it differently. A traditional potato salad will be perfect with crab cakes: potatoes, mayo, and herbs. Adding a little bit of finely chopped raw yellow onions can give potato salad that zing it needs to compliment the earthy taste of crab cakes.

Sambal

If you are not familiar with sambal, it’s an Indian salad commonly served with curries. It consists of tomato, cucumber, and raw onion finely chopped. The sambal is then topped off with vinegar, sugar, salt, and cilantro.

The zesty and fresh taste compliments crab cakes perfectly.

Waldorf salad

Waldorf salad is known for its nutty and fresh taste. The walnuts and apples provide a fresh and nutty flavor profile.

This simple yet powerful salad is perfect for serving with crab cakes.

Carrot and pineapple salad

My favorite way to serve this salad is by turning it into a jelly ring. Simply grate carrots, use tinned pineapple, cream, gelatin, and pineapple juice. Combine the ingredients, place it in a ring mold and leave to cool for 8 hours.

This is an extremely sweet side dish. When serving with crab cakes, be sure to incorporate a salty, warm side dish as well.

Green pea salad

Green peas are delicious, fresh, or frozen. This is a budget-friendly side dish, and you can assemble it with whatever you have in the cupboard. All you will need is frozen or fresh peas, onions, bacon or ham, and mayo.

When serving this with crab cakes, you can leave out the bacon or ham. Although incorporating them will give your pea salad a saltier flavor profile. The salty flavor profile will compliment crab cakes excellently.

There is also an endless list of side dishes that are not considered salads.

Best Cold Non-Salad Side Dishes To Serve With Crab Cakes

It feels like any ingredient combined with another is called a salad. So, finding the best cold non-salad side dish to serve with your crab cakes can be tricky.

A few options for cold side dishes that are not salads include:

Deviled Eggs

Perfect for serving with crab cakes when you are preparing an entree at a BBQ. Deviled eggs are filled eggs, typically filled with egg yolks mixed with mayo and herbs.

Prepare these delicious eggs and serve them with freshly baked crab cakes on a hot summer day at your backyard BBQ.

Corn On The Cob

Corn on the cob is one of the most dishes side dishes nature has to offer. Simply roast or boil corn on the cob and serve with loads of butter and salt.

The sweet and buttery taste of corn on the cob will be perfect with crab cakes.

Fresh Fruit

Believe it or not, fresh fruit can be the perfect side dish to serve with crab cakes. Of course, you must choose your fruits carefully as some fruits will clash with the flavor profile of crab cakes.

Fruits that can be used include mango, pineapple, melon, watermelon, and apples.

Avoid fruits like citrus, litchis, apricots, berries, and pears.

You can even go as far as making your crab cakes and side dishes one dish.

Incorporating Crab Cakes Into Side Dishes.

You won’t be serving your crab cakes with warm spaghetti but serving your crab cakes inside a salad is a delicious idea. Crab cakes can be served in salads, in sandwiches, or baked with vegetables.

The easiest option to follow is a crab cake salad.

You can, of course, serve your crab cakes with both a hot and a cold side dish if you are planning to serve the crab cake as a main. You just need to find the perfect combination of both hot and cold side dishes.

  • Buttery green beans and curried pasta salad
  • Brussel sprouts and corn on the cob
  • Roasted vegetables and potato salad
  • Sambal and sweet carrots
  • Waldorf salad and roasted vegetables

Gluten And Dairy Free Side Dishes With Crab Cakes

Some of us constantly struggle with allergies or lifestyle choices that limit the side dishes we can/want to eat. Luckily crab cakes can be prepared gluten-free and be served with gluten or dairy-free side dishes.

Gluten-free crab cakes:

You can stick to any regular crab cake recipe and substitute crackers or panko with gluten-free crackers as well as gluten-free flour.

Fantastic gluten and a dairy-free side dish to serve with your crab cakes are sweet potato fries. Preparing these is quick and simple.

Other gluten-free side dishes include:

  • Wild rice and veggies
  • Chickpea salad
  • Cauliflower gratin
  • Gluten-free dinner rolls

Crab cakes are wholesome and comforting so that you won’t be missing that gluten component. Gluten-free crab cakes can also taste the same as crab cakes containing gluten.

A Crowd-Pleaser On A Plate

Crab cakes can be the perfect dinner to serve to your guests. The crab cakes can be prepared gluten-free and served with gluten-free side dishes. A real crowd-pleaser, they can be served with either a hot or cold side dish or both. The crab cake can also be served hot or cold. Whether it is winter or summer, this is the perfect addition to your dinner party.


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