19 Amazing Side Dishes You Can Serve With Crab Cakes

Crab cakes, whether they be a sophisticated appetizer or a quick and easy dinner for the family, look great, taste even better, and are incredibly versatile when it comes to being able to serve with a wide range of side dishes.

Both savory and crispy, crab cakes offer the perfect combination of texture and flavor, making them a big hit with families all over the United States.

For most people, crabs cakes also bring back fond memories of summer vacations in Florida.

Made from chunks of crab meat, bread crumbs, and then topped with a creamy sauce, deciding what to serve with your crab cakes can be quite tricky.

With so many awesome options to choose from, picking the best isn’t easy. That’s why we want to help.

In this article, you’ll find a list of our favorite 19 side dishes you can serve with crab cakes (see also ‘13 Fun Side Dishes To Serve With Crab Legs‘) .

Without wasting any more time, let’s take a look at our list straightaway!

1. Roasted Vegetables

As far as making a quick, easy, and incredibly delicious side dish goes, roasted vegetables take some beating. 

Simply made by seasoning your vegetables before throwing them in the oven, roasted vegetables will give your crab cakes that elegant, rustic feel and plenty of extra flavors.

As if that wasn’t enough, the veggies will caramelize beautifully, releasing a divine sweetness at the same time.

Not to mention, roasted vegetables are also super healthy and good for the body.

2. Grilled Vegetables

If you don’t want to roast your vegetables, why not grill them instead!

Grilled vegetables look stunning, taste great, and blend perfectly with the savory and sweet flavors of tender crab meat. When charred to perfection, we find grilled vegetables to be the perfect crab cake side dish. This is particularly true during the summer.

Put a variety of veggies on a kebab stick, add your spices, get the BBQ going, and throw the vegetables on. This recipe contains all your favorite vegetables such as sweetcorn, pepper, and onion.

3. Apple Sweet Potato Bake

If you’re on the lookout for a side dish that will impress your guests, look no further than this apple sweet potato bake recipe. 

The perfect autumnal recipe, this apple, and sweet potato bake is packed with flavor and warmth. The perfect holiday side dish, the flavors from the apple and sweet potato are enough but the cinnamon takes things to another level (see also ’33 Christmas Side Dishes To Try This Holiday Season’). 

This recipe will help you perfectly balance out the savory flavor of the crab meat with a gorgeous burst of sweetness.

4. Roasted Garlic Parmesan Potatoes

Super simple to make, yet wonderfully elegant and flavorful, this tasty garlic parmesan potato recipe is an epic crab cake side dish.

Key ingredients used to make this side dish are garlic, baby roasted potatoes, parmesan, and your choice of spices. The dish is crispy on the outside and amazingly soft inside. 

Seasoned with bacon, butter, and herbs, once prepped, all you need to do is roast your potatoes until crispy.

5. Herbed Potatoes

Another easy potato side dish (see also ‘Easy Potato Side Dishes ‘)  you can make is herbed potatoes. This is a great recipe to follow if you’re short on time and ingredients.

All you need to make the dish is some potatoes, preferably Russet or Yukon Gold, and your favorite spices. The best thing? You don’t even have to use the spices from the recipe. Instead, you can use any spices available to you.

However, for the best flavors try your best to stick to the recipe. These potatoes are also crispy and soft.

6. Green Salad

Green salads are always an excellent side dish to serve with crab cakes. They are refreshing, light, and loaded with an array of health benefits. 

Packed with healthy vitamins, nutrients, and minerals, a fresh green salad takes very little time to make but can easily elevate your crab cakes. Finished with a tart lemon vinaigrette, this side dish is perfect for the summer and larger gatherings. 

You can also play around with the recipe to make the dish suit your palette better.

7. Corn Salad

If you really want to go for those summer vibes when making a side dish to go with your crab cakes, you should consider making a fresh corn salad. Nothing says summer more than a combination of corn and crab cakes.

To make this corn salad, all you need to do is combine the corn with scallions and basil and sprinkle on some salt and a vinegar dressing. Add in some extra veggies too. 

You’ll be left with a sweet, tangy, crunchy bowl of goodness. 

8. Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Next, we have a gorgeous mashed sweet potato recipe for you. Sweet potatoes go brilliantly with crab cakes, especially when mashed. 

They’re beautifully buttery and super smooth. This makes them ideal for smothering over your flaky, salty crab cakes. 

This recipe is also versatile. Whether you’re making a batch of crab cakes for a Sunday dinner or cooking for the week ahead, simply roast and mash your potatoes to create a fantastic side dish.

9. Sweet Potato Wedges

If you don’t want a mash with your crab cakes, why not use your sweet potatoes to make some delicious sweet potatoes instead.

Made in under 40 minutes, sweet potato wedges are quick to make, full of flavor, healthy, and easily stored. That means you can use any leftover wedges later in the week. 

Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, this wedges recipe uses garlic, black pepper, and salt to perfectly season each potato, enhancing flavors further.

10. Grilled Avocados

The next crab cake side dish on our list is grilled avocados. Continuing to grow massively in popularity, this green superfood is rich and creamy, just like crab cakes. This is what makes the two dishes go so well together.

As if avocados couldn’t get any tastier, grilling unlocks even more flavors and takes things to a new level.

Ready in no time at all, adding salsa to the grilled avocados only enhances flavors, adding a delicious layer of freshness and tartness. 

11. Gazpacho

For those that have never tried it before, gazpacho is a soup (see also ‘23 Of The Most Popular American Soups‘) that goes well with a wide range of foods, especially fried food.

It also goes well with crab cakes. Gazpacho is smooth, tart, and cold. It is all of these things that contrast wonderfully with the richness and crispiness of your crab cakes.

This soup is made by soaking bread in water, blending tomatoes with a variety of vegetables, and adding plenty of herbs and spices. Some mango can be a nice touch too.

12. Mango Salsa

Mango and crab meat (see also ‘35 Insanely Delicious Crab Recipes To Try‘) might seem like an odd combination but you won’t know how good the combination is until you’ve given this refreshing mango salsa recipe a try.

Like no other salsa you’ve ever tried before, this mango salsa is super sweet, light, and amazingly refreshing. The sweetness and lightness of the dish go perfectly with the savory flavor of crab cakes 

If you’re unsure about this recipe, you could always try the salsa with some tortilla chips first.

13. Bread Rolls

It isn’t uncommon for people to eat their crab cakes in a bread roll. After all, crab cakes look quite similar to a burger patty anyway.

The best thing about using bread rolls as a side dish is that you can quite easily buy a pack of bread rolls from the store if you’ve run out of time and need a quick solution.

Having said that, nothing beats a freshly made homemade bread roll. This recipe shows you how to make a batch of freshly baked bread rolls in less than 4 hours.

14. Bloody Mary Cocktail

If you’re throwing a party and want to spice things up a little bit and impress your guests, making a cocktail to serve alongside your crab cakes is a great option.

When it comes to cocktails that go well with crab cakes, a bloody Mary is the best. Aside from tasting pretty spectacular, the flavors of the tomato, vodka, and peppers complement the richness and savory flavors of the crab cakes. 

Of course, a fresh cocktail is also very refreshing on hot days.

15. Asparagus And Tomatoes

A great healthy option that accompanies crab cakes brilliantly is a combination of asparagus and tomatoes.

Before doing anything to them, the earthy, sweet, and tangy flavors of asparagus and tomatoes go well with crab cakes.

However, once roasted and sprinkled with herbs and parmesan, even more, natural sweetness, texture, and flavors are unleashed.

Add a drizzle of balsamic reduction to add some stronger flavors and complete the dish.

16. Cucumber Tomato Salad

Despite being an incredibly simple, quick dish to make, this cucumber tomato salad recipe packs a punch. 

Continuing with our trend of light and fresh side dishes, this salad will leave your taste buds tingling. 

Thanks to the crunchiness of the vegetables, the texture of the salad is also much nicer, making it a very satisfying side dish. Aside from being pretty straightforward to make, this side dish is also very cheap to make whilst still delivering complex flavors.

17. Cheesy Garlic Broccoli

Let’s be honest here, anything with melted cheese on it tastes great, right?

Well, it certainly does in this cheesy garlic broccoli recipe. Full of earthy flavors, this mouth-watering, crispy broccoli side dish is something even the fussiest of eaters will enjoy.

Complementing the saltiness of your crab cakes perfectly, the broccoli in this side dish is packed with essential nutrients, vitamins, and antioxidants.

This makes this side dish one of the healthiest and most beneficial on our list, as well as one of the tastiest.

18. Colorful Slaw

Full of healthy veggies, vitamins, and minerals, this colorful slaw is an awesome side dish for many reasons. First of all, it looks unbelievably good. The vibrant colors of each vegetable will make your crab cake dish look even better.

Secondly, it takes very little time to prepare and costs very little. Finally, this colorful slaw recipe tastes amazing. The lightness of the vegetables, the sweetness of the carrots, and the earthiness of the cabbage blend together perfectly. 

Served alongside a creamy crab cake, things can’t get much better.

19. Tabbouleh

The final recipe on our list is a delicious tabbouleh recipe. The chances are you haven’t heard of this dish before. 

Tabbouleh is a bright, fragrant, fresh dish that originated in Lebanon. Bursting with flavors from the Mediterranean, it contains little gems of fresh fruit combined with a variety of herbs to enhance flavors. 

It might look quite complex and impressive but in reality, it only takes approximately 30 minutes to make if you’re in a rush.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Sauce Should You Eat With Crab Cakes?

One of the greatest things about crab cakes is how versatile they are. Thanks to this versatility, you can virtually use any sauce you like. Some like to use sweet chili but for us, our favorite would have to be a remoulade.

What Type Of Wine Goes Well With Crab Cakes?

Generally speaking, most wines go nicely with crab cakes. However, if you’re looking for the best, we recommend choosing a bottle of Champagne or Cava, Pinot Blanc, or New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. 

What Non-Alcoholic Drinks Go Well With Crab Cakes?

There is a wide range of non-alcoholic drinks that go well with crab cakes. Some of our favorites are iced tea, strawberry lemonade, carbonated beverages, and ginger ale.

Final Thoughts

There you have it, 19 amazing side dishes (see also ‘27 Amazing Sides For Grilled Chicken Dinner‘) you can serve with crab cakes. 

Now you’ve been through our list, you should have a much better understanding of the foods and dishes that pair well with crab cakes.

Our list has given you plenty of excellent options to choose from, all of which vary massively in flavors, textures, and cooking times.

Despite being so different, every side dish on our list works perfectly with crab cakes. This might make it hard for you to pick your favorites. 

We recommend using our list to try something new with your crab cakes every time you make them, so why don’t you start planning your next crab cake dinner or appetizer now!