Healthy Mini Crab Cake Sliders with a Citrus Slaw

I just would like to point out the fact that even though there is both “healthy” & “mini” in the title of this recipe, it does not give you the right of passage to consume the entire meal in one day. I almost feel like I deserve food poisoning at this point due to gluttony. That or a sudden shellfish allergy causing me to go into anaphylactic shock. 

But on the other hand, I guess that just shows how good these are? Maybe??? No – yes, they are good. However the eight buns that I used for each mini crab cake = not so good. I am definitely going to need assistance getting out of bed tomorrow.

Good thing for me *I have so many friends*. See ya never.

Hello bed sores. Fancy meeting you. 

But really, these mini crab cake sliders are da bomb. And the citrus slaw? How have I not tried this before!? Probably laziness. Really my only excuse for life at this point. But back to the slaw, it is the perfect balance between the subtle sea flavored patty and the tanginess of the spiced mayo sauce. It really brings the whole thing together. 

And if you’re really wanting to ruin any chance that you had with that super cute someone you were planning on mingling with at lets just say…. the upcoming Super Bowl….  then you have the best death in your mouth option right here! Kidding. But not so much kidding. My breath could kill a thousand men right now. 

Recipe Notes:

You can prep the crab cakes and make both the slaw & sauce a day ahead! PERFECT for any party! Or life in general. 

Fresh lump crab meat is of course always best however if you would like a more affordable option you may use the already packaged kind. Just make sure the crab meat is shelled. And honestly? I can hardly tell a difference between fresh and pre-packaged. Especially because of all of the other fresh flavors that you have going on in this slider. 

You want to avoid the membrane/pith (the white fleshy part of the grapefruit) all together. For both texture & flavor purposes. The best way I found to do this was to with a knife to peel/slice the skin and then slice the grapefruit in half. Next you can just sort of “pop” out the grapefruit flesh, the part you would normally cut out to eat. The reason why you do this is because the white membrane is incredibly bitter on grapefruit. 

If you would like to lighten this recipe even further you could replace the mayo with greek yogurt. HOWEVER I did this at first and found that mayonnaise is almost essential to making the perfect crab cake slider. You almost need the tanginess of the mayonnaise to bring all of the flavors together.

5.0 from 3 reviews

Healthy Mini Crab Cake Sliders with a Citrus Slaw

Prep time:  25 mins

Cook time:  25 mins

Total time:  50 mins

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Ingredients

For the Crab Cake

• 8 oz shelled lump crab meat
• 3 tbsp pank crumbs
• 2 tbsp greek yogurt
• ¼ lime squeezed
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• ½ cup diced red onion
• 1 tbsp chopped cilantro
• ¼ tsp dried mustard
• ⅛ tsp allspice
• ¼ tsp paprika
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• dash of cayenne

For the slaw

• 1 grapefruit peeled and sliced in half
• 3 cups slithered cabbage
• 2 tsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp basil, chopped
• 2 tbsp diced red onion
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Mayonnaise Sauce

• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 1 tsp paprika
• ½ lime squeezed
• Salt & Pepper to taste

12 slider buns

Instructions

For the Crab Cake:

1. In a medium sized bowl add all ingredients except crab. Mix until well blended.
2. Next add lump crab meat and fold together.
3. Take about 2-3 tbsp of crab meat and form a ball. Flattening very slightly with the palm of your hand to form more of a thick patty (that is miniature)
4. Line a plate with wax paper or plastic wrap, set crab cakes on top and place in fridge for about thirty minutes (or up to one day ahead)
5. Preheat your oven to 425.
6. When ready to bake add a little bit of vegetable oil to a baking sheet and then add your crab cakes. Using a pastry brush, brush the vegetable oil on top of each crab cake.
7. Place in oven for about 25 minutes. Or until the crust is nice and golden. Remove and set aside until ready to assemble

For the Slaw

1. In a small bowl add the fleshy/meaty part of one grapefruit (no skin). Mash/break apart with a fork until smaller chunks are remaining.
2. Add vegetable oil, basil, red onion. Mix together.
3. Add cabbage. Mix together & then salt/pepper to taste. Set In fridge until ready to use (may do this up to two days ahead)

For the Mayonnaise

1. In a small bowl add all ingredients. Mix together, salt & pepper to taste. Set aside in fridge until ready to use (may do this up to 3 days ahead).

For the Slider

1. Take one bun, add crab cake, a little bit of slaw and drizzle mayonnaise on top. May serve warm or at room temperature.

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