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Calories · American & British

Calories in crab cakes

A typical restaurant serving of crab cakes (two crab cakes, a restaurant entrée, without sauce or sides, about 170 g) is about 360 calories, usually 180–480.

Restaurant portions vary; this is a typical estimate, not a label. Also called crab cake, Maryland crab cakes, crab cake sandwich.

~360
Crab cakes

The usual range

Drawn on one 0–2,000 scale shared by every dish page, so plates compare at a glance.

Protein, carbs and fat

  • Protein25 g
  • Carbs8 g
  • Fat25 g

One serving

Serving
two crab cakes, a restaurant entrée, without sauce or sides
Weight
~170 g
Per 100 g
~214

The dish

About crab cakes

A crab cake is crab bound with mayonnaise, egg and breadcrumbs, then pan-fried or broiled. USDA puts one 3 oz cake at about 180, so a two-cake entrée is about 360, and about 420 with two tablespoons of tartar sauce.

Ways it comes

One dish, a few numbers

Crab cakes · rough numbers

  • One crab cake~180
  • Two-cake entrée~360
  • Two cakes with tartar sauce~420
  • Crab cake sandwich~420
  • Two large 4 oz cakes~480

What moves the number

Why one plate is 180 and another 480

  • Mayo and breadcrumb filler versus mostly crab
  • Pan-frying versus broiling
  • Tartar or remoulade sauce
  • Fries and slaw on the side

Ordering lighter

If you want a lighter plate

  • Ask for them broiled
  • Order one cake as a starter
  • Take the sauce on the side

Side by side

Next to other American & British dishes

American & British · typical restaurant servingAll about American & British food →

  • Mimosa~120one 6 oz mimosa: sparkling wine and orange juice · usually 80–150
  • Glass of red wine~130one standard 5 oz pour · usually 100–230
  • Green bean casserole~130one cup of green bean casserole · usually 60–190
  • Yorkshire pudding~130one large pub-style Yorkshire pudding (about 60 g) · usually 60–350
  • Pint of beer~210one 16 oz US pint of regular beer · usually 100–280
  • Scotch egg~270one standard Scotch egg (113 g) · usually 220–450
  • Hot dog~300one beef hot dog in a white bun with mustard · usually 250–650
  • Mashed potatoes and gravy~300one cup of restaurant mashed potatoes with gravy · usually 150–450
  • Gumbo~330one restaurant bowl, about 1½ cups, with rice · usually 220–430
  • Mac and cheese~340one restaurant side, roughly a heaped cup · usually 250–1,000
  • Clam chowder~350one bowl of New England chowder, about 1½ cups · usually 200–900
  • Sausage roll~350one bakery sausage roll in flaky pastry · usually 250–550

In PlateDiary

A rough number for the dishes you save — only if you want one.

Off unless you turn them on

Calories in PlateDiary are off unless you turn them on. Switch them on and, when PlateDiary AI reads your photo of the table, each dish gets one rough “~” number. Accept it or change it; a number you correct is remembered for that dish. With Calories off, the app looks exactly as it did before.

A read sends small pictures of the cut-out dishes, with the place's name as a hint — never the table photo, faces or your location. Calorie numbers never go to analytics, and nothing is written to a health app. PlateDiary AI starts with free tries; here is how it works.

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How these numbers were made

Method and sources

Last reviewed

Restaurant portions and cooking vary, so these are typical estimates for one serving, built from the sources below. Treat it as a rough number: your plate may land anywhere in the range.

If you manage a health condition, ask a doctor or registered dietitian.

AI helped draft this page; every number was checked against the sources.

  1. USDA FoodData Central (FNDDS 2021–2023) — Crab, cake (1 cake 85 g), FDC 2706549
  2. USDA FoodData Central (FNDDS 2021–2023) — Crab cake sandwich (regular 180 g), FDC 2707022
  3. USDA FoodData Central (FNDDS 2021–2023) — Tartar sauce, FDC 2710173

Questions

Questions people ask.

How many calories are in crab cakes?

A typical restaurant serving of crab cakes (two crab cakes, a restaurant entrée, without sauce or sides, about 170 g) is about 360 calories, usually 180–480. The number depends mostly on the portion and how it is cooked.

How many calories are in a crab cake?

About 180 for one 3 oz restaurant crab cake, and about 360 for a two-cake entrée.

How many calories are in a crab cake sandwich?

About 420 for a regular crab cake sandwich by USDA's numbers.

Are crab cakes high in calories?

Crab itself is lean; the mayonnaise binder and the frying bring the fat, about 13 g per cake. Two tablespoons of tartar sauce add about 60.

What changes the calories in crab cakes?

Mayo and breadcrumb filler versus mostly crab. Pan-frying versus broiling.

How can I order crab cakes lighter?

Ask for them broiled. Order one cake as a starter.

Can PlateDiary show calories for the dishes I eat out?

Yes, if you want it to: calories in PlateDiary are off unless you turn them on. Switch them on and each dish you save from a photo of the table gets one rough “~” number you can accept or change.