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Home > Vegan Recipes

Vegan Crab Cake Sauce Recipe

6/12/22 by Nicole | 1 Comment

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5 from 2 votes. Leave a review!

This simple vegan crab cake sauce recipe is a perfect compliment to any crabless cake! Made with dairy-free sour cream base, it has a slightly tangy, super fresh flavor.

Whether you pair it with homemade or store-bought vegan crab cakes, this sauce is sure to take your experience to a higher level. Make a quick batch and enjoy!

Glass bowl of vegan crab cake sauce on platter with crab cakes, lemon and parsley.

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Is Crab Cake Sauce Vegan?

There are many ways to make crab cake sauce. Some people prefer tartar sauce while others use Remoulade sauce. Sometimes a simple spiced mayonnaise is served with crab cakes.

Tartar sauce or Remoulade are made with a base of mayonnaise which isn’t vegan (contains egg), but it’s often easy to buy vegan mayonnaise and it’s also easy to make at home.

This recipe uses a base of vegan sour cream for an ultra rich, slightly tangy crab cake sauce. You can use vegan mayonnaise as the base ingredient if you prefer!

Three vegan crab cakes each topped with dollop of sauce; bowl of sauce in background.

Ingredients to Make Vegan Crab Cake Sauce

This is an easily customized recipe with plenty of options for substitutions and additions. Use ingredients you enjoy or whatever you have on hand!

  • Vegan sour cream: I start with a base of homemade vegan sour cream, but any store-bought option can work too. Crab cake sauces made with vegan mayo can certainly work as well.
  • Parsley: Add delicious fresh flavor to the sauce with some chopped parsley! Fresh dill is another tasty herb that you can either replace or use alongside parsley.
  • Dijon mustard: Some Dijon mustard brings plenty of flavor to this sauce. Any type of mustard you like can work (grainy, yellow, brown, etc.).
  • Apple cider vinegar: A touch of vinegar helps round out flavors in this sauce and brings a tanginess that works great with crab cakes. Lemon juice or another type of vinegar can easily work instead of apple cider vinegar.
  • Onion and garlic powder: I add onion and garlic powder to this sauce for added flavor. Other recipes may call for fresh, minced garlic which you could certainly use if you’re a garlic-lover and like the raw garlic flavor (you won’t cook the sauce, so garlic stays raw).
  • Salt and black pepper: Balance the sauce flavors with salt and black pepper. Use seasoning salt if you like; Old Bay seasoning is a fantastic option for this crab cake sauce as it brings a seafood-like flavor.
  • Hot sauce (optional): Hot sauce is a fantastic way to boost flavor; use any type you like. Prepared horseradish can also add a nice kick and is a common ingredient in sauces paired with crab cakes or other “seafood” (as a vegan, I prefer to use the term “sea life”).
Ingredients to make vegan crab cake sauce (spices, sour cream, sriracha, mustard, vinegar and parsley).

How to Make Dairy Free Crab Cake Sauce

This is an incredibly quick and simple recipe to make. If you already have sour cream (or mayonnaise), you can prepare vegan crab cake sauce in minutes.

Step 1: Prep Sour Cream (Optional)

If you don’t have store-bought vegan sour cream options available, you can always whip together a quick batch of cashew sour cream at home!

This is a great choice when you want a nourishing base for your crab cake sauce.

If you want vegan mayonnaise as the base, you can also prepare some vegan mayo too!

Whipped mayonnaise (creamy white sauce) sits in a glass jar with an immersion blender handle placed inside the jar (handle visible coming out of jar). White-grey marble background with two lemons to the left of the jar.

Step 2: Mix Ingredients

After your sour cream (or mayo) base is ready, simply combine it with the remaining ingredients in a small bowl or jar. You’ll need to mince some parsley first, but otherwise, there’s minimal preparation.

Small bowl filled with ingredients for crab cake sauce (sour cream, parsley and spices).

Stir the sauce until everything is well-mixed.

Stirring sour cream crab cake sauce in small bowl.

Step 3: Chill and Serve

You can serve this sauce right away, but it is best after chilling for at least one hour. This gives time for the sauce’s flavors to come together.

If you prepare homemade vegan crab cakes, make the sauce first so it’ll be perfect by the time your crab cakes are ready!

Close up of artichoke crab cake cut in half with sauce on top.

How to Serve Crab Cake Sauce

This recipe is designed for vegan crab cakes but is super versatile! Any breaded and baked (or fried) foods will taste delicious alongside this fresh, tangy sauce.

It’s also perfect for sandwiches or wraps or even as a veggie dip!

Whatever foods you use with tartar sauce, remoulade sauce or a flavored mayo/ sour cream dip can work well with this sauce.

It’s delicious alongside fries or onion rings, tofu nuggets or barbecue cauliflower bites!

Small bowl of crab cake sauce on a plate with 3 crabless cakes.

Vegan Crab Cake Sauce Variations

There are endless ways to customize this crab cake sauce. Firstly, you can use vegan mayonnaise as the base of the recipe instead of sour cream.

Since crab cakes are often served with tartar sauce or remoulade sauce, you can also add some flavors typically found in those.

Tartar sauce often includes a sweet pickle relish for added flavor. If you want tarter flavor, chopped dill pickles are another option.

Adding capers can boost the saltiness of this sauce. If you can find vegan Worcestershire sauce, a splash of that can add some salty flavor too.

For extra seasoning, Old Bay and/or sweet paprika are also great additions.

Play around with the recipe to find which flavors you enjoy most!

Top view of a blue plate with arrangement of crab cakes around the outer edge, surrounding a small glass bowl in the center that is filled with pale orange creamy dip. Lemon wedges and sprigs of parsley arranged around the crab cakes. Image is cropped so only ¾ of plate showing, with white marble background.

How to Store Leftover Sauce

Refrigerate leftover sauce in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Sometimes you’ll have extra crab cake sauce after al your crab cakes are finished. If this happens, see my suggestions above for fun ways to serve this sauce with other foods!

Platter of hearts of palm crab cakes with lemon wedges and a dish of dipping sauce.

If you make this recipe, please rate and comment below to help others benefit from your experience!

Close up of a glass bowl of vegan crab cake sauce on platter with crab cakes.

Vegan Crab Cake Sauce

This easy, delicious vegan crab cake sauce is made with a sour cream base. It’s rich and tangy, pairing perfectly with any vegan crabless cake!
5 from 2 votes. Leave a review!
Prevent screen going dark
Prep Time 5 mins
Total Time 5 mins
Servings 4 Servings
Calories 83 kcal
Cuisine Vegan

Equipment

  • Cutting board
  • Knife
  • Small bowl (or jar)
  • Measuring cups and spoons

Ingredients
  

  • ¾ cup vegan sour cream
  • 2 tablespoons parsley , finely minced
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • ½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper (or to taste)
  • hot sauce (of your choice, optional)
Prevent screen going dark

Instructions

Step 1: Prep Sour Cream (Optional)

  • If you need to, prepare a batch of homemade vegan cashew sour cream. Store-bought options also work well.
    ¾ cup vegan sour cream

Step 2: Mix Ingredients

  • Finely chop some parsley.
    2 tablespoons parsley
  • Add all ingredients into a small bowl or jar and stir until well combined.
    ¾ cup vegan sour cream, 2 tablespoons parsley, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, ½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, hot sauce

Step 3: Chill and Serve

  • You can serve the sauce immediately if you need to, but it’s best to chill in a refrigerator for at least an hour. If possible, let sit overnight so that the flavors to come together.
  • Serve alongside some delicious vegan crabless cakes!

Video

Notes

Accuracy of nutrition information cannot be guaranteed (certain ingredients may not have all nutrients listed in the database); amounts may vary (and will vary depending on brands of ingredients used); all nutrition fact values rounded to the nearest whole number.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 Serving (¼ of recipe)Calories: 83 kcalCarbohydrates: 6 gFat: 8 gSaturated Fat: 2 gSodium: 276 mgPotassium: 29 mgFiber: 3 gVitamin A: 192 IUVitamin C: 3 mgCalcium: 67 mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

More Vegan Dip and Sauce Recipes

Like this recipe? You should also try:

  • Close up of a bowl of vegan chicken or turkey gravy.
    Vegan Turkey Gravy Recipe
  • Close up of a plate of linguine tossed with oat milk bechamel and a forkful of twirled pasta resting on top with parsley garnish.
    Oat Milk Bechamel Sauce Recipe (Vegan)
  • Close up of two bowls filled with cranberry sauce, with an apple garnish.
    Vegan Cranberry Sauce Recipe (with Apples)
  • Close up of two jars of chipotle mayo with paprika garnish and a lime slice.
    Vegan Chipotle Mayo (Aioli) Recipe

About Nicole Stevens

Nicole is a vegan Registered Dietitian (RD) and founder of Lettuce Veg Out.

She helps people thrive on a vegan diet with balanced recipes and easy-to-understand nutrition science.


Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Schyler

    December 23, 2022 at 9:16 pm

    This sauce is a vivacious bomb of flavor. It pairs so well with the vegan crab cakes, I can't even comprehend trying it with other things (although I'm confident it would be delicious with anything).

    Reply

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Hi, I'm Nicole! As a vegan Registered Dietitian, I empower vegans to live a balanced life and gain confidence in the kitchen.

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