This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure and privacy policy.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure and privacy policy.
Hearts of palm crab cakes are your new favorite vegan appetizer. Canned hearts of palm, when shredded, have a texture and taste that is remarkably like crabmeat. Making them into crunchy “crab” cakes is the natural next step!
Oh, friends…I have a game changer recipe for you today.
Crisp, crunchy, succulent crab cakes. Made without crab.
Instead, these “crab” cakes are made with a single can of hearts of palm, which, when shredded, has the texture and taste of crab.
No joking. I like to call them HOP Cakes :). Check out the interior of these lovelies:
Recipe Benefits
- vegan
- gluten-free
- made with just FIVE ingredients (excluding salt & pepper)
- baked, not fried
- the perfect make-ahead appetizer (or entrée)
- utterly irresistible
I’ve even provided a grain-free option. I don’t want anyone to miss out on these.
Ingredients
The exact amounts of each ingredient are indicated in the recipe card at the end of the post. Toggle between US Customary (volume) and Metric (weights) for preferred measurement option.
- 1 can (14 to 15 ounces) hearts of palm, drained and rinsed
- vegan mayonnaise
- Old Bay seasoning or other seafood seasoning
- sea salt & freshly cracked black pepper
- green onions
- gluten-free panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
What are Hearts of Palm?
First up, hearts of palm. The heart of palm is a vegetable harvested from the inner core and growing bud of cabbage palm trees (they are more commonly known as Florida palm trees). They may have shown up on a hotel salad at some point in your life, to which you most likely thought “what is that?!” and pushed it aside. But they actually have a pleasant, firm texture.
You may not have purchased these, before now, but they are shelved with other canned vegetables at the grocery store. They are not cheap (typically $3 to $4 dollars per can) but (1) you only need one can, and (2) the remaining ingredients are inexpensive pantry items.
They are also fibrous, so simply cutting into shorter lengths and pressing apart, they resemble flake crab meat.
Adding to the resemblance, canned hearts of palm are packed in a light brine, giving them a taste of the sea.
Step by Step Instructions
Note that the complete directions are also in the recipe card below.
- Preheat oven to 400F (200C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Thinly slice hearts of palm lengthwise; cut slices crosswise into 3/4-inch lengths. Transfer to a medium bowl and, using fingers, gently press and break apart into shreds.
- In another medium bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, Old Bay seasoning, salt and pepper until well blended.
- Stir in hearts of palm and green onions until well combined (I like to get my hands in, to further break up hearts of palm).
- Sprinkle half the panko over hearts of palm mixture and mix in thoroughly (do not mash).
- Form into fourteen 1.2-inch thick patties (I used a #40 cookie scoop to portion).Spread the remaining panko in a small dish. Dredge patties in panko, pressing gently to adhere. As they are dredged, place patties on prepared baking sheet, spacing them evenly. Spray with cooking spray. Discard any excess panko.
- Bake for 18 to 22 minutes until light golden brown.Turn on broiler to HIGH. Broil for 30 to 90 seconds (keep checking, it happens fast!) until deep golden brown.
- Serve immediately with suggested accompaniments, as desired.
Tip for Shredding the Hearts of Palm
It is typically easy to flake the hearts of palm into shreds, but I have come across one or two cans where the hearts were quite firm and difficult to “shred” with my fingers. Several pieces of hearts of palm shot across the room as I tried to squish them apart! (I think I found all of them…).
So, I ended up cutting the hearts of palm lengthwise into very thin strips (I had already cut them crosswise into short pieces), and then used my fingertips to further shred.
The shredding is the only time-consuming part, and it only takes about 5 minutes. One 14 to 15-ounce can yields 1.5 cups of shredded “crab”–quite a yield!
Can I Make these Without Mayonnaise?
These are crispy-crunchy on top and bottom, despite being baked instead of fried!
Now, eat!
Can the Hearts of Palm Cakes be Prepared in Advance?
You can prepare the cakes up to 12 hours before baking them. Store them in a covered container in the refrigerator until ready to bake. Alternatively, freeze the prepared cakes on a cookie sheet. Once frozen, store in an airtight container until ready to defrost and bake (hello, holiday parties and quick dinners!). Like I said at the start, these are game changers, on many fronts.
Let me know if you try these, ok?
Happy Wednesday, all!
Related Recipes
- Vegan Oat Mushroom Ground Beef
- 3-Ingredient Almond Flour Vegetable Nuggets
- Mushroom Almond Flour Ground Beef (2 ingredients)
- Vegan Lentil Taco Meat
- Lentil & Mushroom Meatballs
- Lentil & Vegetable Kefta
- Grain-Free Lentil Loaf
Hearts of Palm “Crab” Cakes (Vegan, GF)
Ingredients
- 1 can, 14 to 15 ounces hearts of palm, drained and rinsed
- 1/4 cup vegan mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay or other seafood seasoning
- 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
- 1 cup gluten-free panko, Japanese bread crumbs, divided
- Optional Accompaniments:
- Lemon wedges
- Chopped fresh parsley
- Cocktail sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F (200C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Thinly slice hearts of palm lengthwise; cut slices crosswise into 3/4-inch lengths. Transfer to a medium bowl and, using fingers, gently press and break apart into shreds.
- In another medium bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, Old Bay seasoning, salt and pepper until well blended. Stir in hearts of palm and green onions until well combined (I like to get my hands in, to further break up hearts of palm).
- Sprinkle half the panko over hearts of palm mixture and mix in thoroughly (do not mash). Form into fourteen 1.2-inch thick patties (I used a #40 cookie scoop to portion).
- Spread the remaining panko in a small dish. Dredge patties in panko, pressing gently to adhere. As they are dredged, place patties on prepared baking sheet, spacing them evenly. Spray with cooking spray. Discard any excess panko.
- Bake for 18 to 22 minutes until light golden brown.
- Turn on broiler to HIGH. Broil for 30 to 90 seconds (keep checking, it happens fast!) until deep golden brown. Serve immediately with suggested accompaniments, as desired.
Just an FYI. You can buy canned palomino. (Hearts of palm linguini). This cuts down all of the shredding ….
Hi Michelle,
Thanks for that, I have never come across that (but will look for it now). Thank you!
I have made these several times as my go-to-great dinner! Sometimes I put them on a green salad, sometimes they are the main dish, sometimes I make smaller ones for an appetizer. Always great. Thank you so much!
Yay! Aren’t they a fun surprise? So glad you are enjoying them, Karen!
Absolutely wonderful! My husband couldn’t stop raving about them. We added a vegan rémoulade sauce and served on a bed of spring mix and peashoots. Thank you!
That sounds absolutely wonderful, Sue! So glad that you and your husband like these!
I made these for Easter dinner and they were better than real crab cakes! Today I am trying to make them with riced hearts of palm and using cashew homemade mayo. Might be too mushy for cakes but I will eat it anyway. Thank you for this easy recipe.
What a great Easter dinner!!! I am so glad that you like the recipe, Karlyn!!!
Is there an easy way to reheat these if they need to be made ahead of time?
Hi LH! You could place the cakes on a baking sheet and reheat at 250-300F (regular oven), or same heat in a toaster oven or airfryer. Another make-ahead ideas: assemble the cakes entirely except for the cooking. Freeze in a single layer on a baking sheet. once frozen, you could pop them into a storgae container or bag. When ready to cook, thaw at room temp for about 30 minutes and then bake as directed in the recipe (you may need to add a few extra minutes). Cheers!
I made these for some friends visiting California and Italy.. I followed the recipe to a tee and accompanied it with a homemade remoulade sauce half a cup of vegan mayonnaise, half a lemon, quarter cup of sriracha and a teaspoon of horseradish sauce! Absolutely delicious
My friends were so impressed with the flavor and texture! Adding this as a staple, go to appetizer!Thank you so much!
Oh Tarah, thank you for taking the time to let me know! It really means a lot. I am so happy that everyone enjoyed it (as a native Californian, j am especially chuffed that the California visitors were pleased ;))
This is the message my husband sent to me after I made this great recipe:
“Your a culinary genius. The children have no idea that it’s not real crab. You HAVE to make this for the cookout.”
Thank you for this winner!
This is the sweetest and best comment ever, Fatima 😍😍😍 I am so happy these were such a big success!!!
Quick question here, could the chickpea bread crumbs be used in place of the panko?
-Thanks!
Ooh, great idea! I think that would work deliciously!!!
My family absolutely loved this recipe. Will definitely make them again but next time I will double the recipe. We could not tell these were not real crab cakes.
Yay!!! I am so happy to hear it, Lucy!!!
This was interesting. I’ve never had crab cakes. Or old spice. So I made my own spice blend following a recipe for old spice mix that I found online. It is certainly an interesting mix. And an acquired taste to say the least. So I used half of what the recipe called for. The cakes themselves came about pretty quickly. I used a fork to shred the hearts of palm. Definitely wait when you take them out. They’re suuuper soft. But as they cool they’ll firm up. Honestly I thought they were OK, but nothing else, but then I added lemon and wow. Very good! I also have never had cocktail sauce (I don’t even know what it is. I asked my hubby and he said “it’s a red sauce”… very descriptive). We were getting hungry so we only tried them with lemon. Very tasty. Wil make again and maybe tweak spices a bit more. Old bay may not be for me.
The best vegan crab cake recipe I’ve ever had! Thank you so much!!
We loved these! I made them in advance the mix and put in the fridge. When ready to eat, I just formed into patties. I breaded them in Nut Crumbs (Gluten Free ‘breadcrumbs’ made out of nuts. I bought the hearts of palm from Costco in a glass jar, and had no issue shredding. Delicious recipe!!! Simple, tasty and great! Thanks so much Camilla!
You are so welcome, Sarah! Ooh, yum, nut crumb coating 🙂
A couple of nights ago I asked my husband to open a can of artichoke hearts and he accidentally opened hearts of palm. I was so determined to try something new and I ran across this recipe. OMG! I am floored! These were absolutely delicious and my nine year old even stole the last cake. Win for the whole family! This will definitely stay on our dinner rotation.
Great recipe, I just wish it were easier to shred the hearts of palm. There must be an easier way somehow. It took me a really long time probably 20 minutes or more to shred the whole can. I noticed that the outer part of the heart is very hard to shred. On the inside, it’s like very fine shreds and not hard to shred. I didn’t have old bay seasoning so I ended up making my own and it was very good. I didn’t have celery salt to make the old Bay so I made my own celery salt too. It’s been fun to make but is very time consuming. And hard on the hands if you have arthritis. Still, it taste very good, i used a mixture of grinded up gluten-free Panko, Almond flour, and it worked very well for the breading. Thank you so much for another great recipe. Absolutely tastes amazing, five stars. Like something you’d get in a restaurant, definitely a crowd pleaser.
@CM, use a sturdy metal pastry blender and do it by hand. So easy.
Made vegan & GF, served with arugula salad and quinoa. Such tasty little cakes! A big hit with my whole family.
Wonderful, Christina! So glad you enjoyed them!
These were delicious! Wouldn’t change a thing (:
Omg these were amazing! One of my favorite recipes ever
Wonderful, Radhika! I am so happy you are loving them!
These were recommended the Plant Based and Loving It Group on Facebook. My husband loves crab cakes, but we no longer eat them. We will now be adding this to our round up. He said “This is a Keeper”! I added julienne granny smith apples and fresh fennel! Holy YUM! Thank you for this recipe.
Oh wow, thanks Marcy!!! So glad you loved them 😊 ooh, your additions sounds soooo yummy, too!
Absolutely awesome! I can’t find words to tell you how grateful we are to have this recipe!
Oh wow, thanks so much, Judith!!!
girl you need to be slapped in the face. well no. you need to be hugged. these are to live for. I even used this as a salad. you don’t need to cook it. I used my GF grill instead of turning on a hot oven. used regular bread crumbs also. wow! this is a hit.
This may be one of my favorite comments, Alfreda! xxoo SOOO glad to hear you like these so much. How brilliant that you grilled them! Whoohoo!