Phillips Mini Crab Cake Appetizers (Costco) Review
Author’s note: These are my own crabby little opinions. I have no affiliation with Phillips Seafood nor Costco. This is a completely unpaid and unbiased review.
I love these crab cakes, but I’m poor.
I’m one of those weirdos who enjoys a mini crab cake at least as much as the full-size version. You know why? More surface area for that delightful “crust.” Yaaaas.
Anyway. This is the second time I’ve purchased these frozen Phillips Crab Cake Minis from Costco. They’re not cheap, so I wait for them to go on sale around the holidays.
These crab cakes come in a shallow plastic tray, with a cozy dimple for each little fishy nugget. Mine were in great shape — free from freezer burn or significant ice crystals, and none of them were stuck together or deformed.
(If you are looking for fresh seafood cakes, check out my review of The Fresh Market’s Maryland Crab and Salmon Cakes. You know you want to.)
Cooking the Crab Cakes
I followed the baking instructions for conventional oven preparation (you can also air fry or even pan sauté these). Except, the instructions said to butter a baking sheet, and I didn’t do that — I lined mine with parchment paper. Sorry-not-sorry.
I baked mine at 450 for 9 minutes, and then flipped each sweet baby crab cake over and baked for another 3 minutes. But, “flipping” these over isn’t really flipping them over. They’re a dome shape with a flat bottom, so the best anyone can do is just tip them sideways. They wobble drunkenly, and roll around a bit, but them’s the brakes. You know.
Mine only oozed a tiny bit of oil onto my parchment paper. They didn’t stick or burn or get soggy. Parchment is definitely the way to go.
The finished mini crab cakes are tender and moist and full of flavor. They’re soft little dudes — not crisp or crunchy — but they do have a thin, enjoyable crust. The crust is where the flavor concentrates. You know.
They hold their shape pretty well, but it helps to let them cool down first — they are squashier when hot. Visually, the crab cakes are nicely browned, and speckled with green herb fragments. They have a pleasingly natural, handmade appearance, due to the irregular shape.
The insides feature finely shredded crab meat and savory herbs. I have had other crab cake appetizers that were more bread crumbs than anything else, so I’m pleased to say that is not the case here — the crab meat is the main event. As it should be.
I would describe the flavor as deeply savory and multi-faceted. The ingredients list Worcestershire sauce, garlic, onion, mustard, turmeric, parsley, and paprika. There’s a smidge of sweetness from the molasses and sugar in the sauce, which compliments the delicate crab meat. I enjoyed the bright tanginess from the added vinegars. These crab cakes are flavorful enough that even *I* did not want added salt or seasonings. A miracle.
Serving the Crab Cake Appetizers
I served mine with a homemade creamy sauce (keep reading for recipe). Now, here’s the conundrum: these crab cakes taste best hot, or at least warm. But, they cool down lickity-split. And they’re difficult to handle when they’re truly piping hot. So. For a party buffet, you may end up serving them room temperature. It’s not ideal, but it’s not terrible, either. They taste good regardless.
If you’re looking for some strategies to keep party food hot, here are some tips from Taste of Home.
Sauce for the sweet baby crab cakes
The back of the box has a recipe for a Spicy Aioli Dipping Sauce. I really wanted to make this sauce. But I also did not have the ingredients. And, if you read my bio, you already know I hate mayonnaise.
Undaunted, I used what I had. I made a similar sauce with full-fat Greek yogurt, lemon juice, hot sauce, and buffalo spice seasoning (because I had no Cajun seasoning, mmmkay? I sure wish I did!). I was too lazy to mince fresh garlic, so I used dry garlic powder instead.
I really love onions, and I didn’t have green onions for the sauce, so I finely diced half a white onion.
And then I remembered my garden still had a few desperate twigs of basil — hanging on for dear life — so I added fresh minced basil.
The finished sauce was delicious, although not the same as the box recipe. I measured with my heart, but here’s the (estimated) recipe. Please don’t hate me if I estimated wrong. This isn’t a recipe blog. I will cry:
- 3/4 cup full-fat greek yogurt
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 2-3 tablespoons hot sauce
- 2 tsp garlic powder (remember: measure with your heart!)
- 1/2 medium onion, minced
- 2-3 teaspoons buffalo or Cajun spice seasoning
- Fresh basil, minced
- Salt to taste
If you don’t want to serve this sauce ice cold, you can warm it slightly first.
(Looking for another dipping sauce option? Here is my review of Aldi’s Park Street Deli Mexicali Dip, which features sour cream, cheese, and lots of tasty spices.)
Ingredients in Phillips Mini Crab Cakes from Costco
Here are the ingredients, from the label:
- Crab Meat
- Sauce (Soybean Oil, Water, Acetic Acid, Mustard Sauce [Acetic Acid, Water, Mustard Flour, Salt, Turmeric, Xanthan Gum], Eggs, Worcestershire Sauce [Malt Vinegar, Spirit Vinegar, Molasses, Sugar, Salt, Anchovies, Tamarind Extract, Onions, Garlic Spice, Spice Flavor], Salt, Sugar, Seasoning [Salt, Spices, Paprika], Mustard Powder, Xanthan Gum and Tara Gum [Stabilizers], Spices)
- Breadcrumbs (Wheat Flour, Salt, Sugar, Yeast)
- Parsley
- Soybean Oil
I mean, if you’ve been reading my other reviews, you already know I shan’t ever be enthused by soybean oil. So, not enthused. But not really surprised, either. These little crab cakes aren’t an item I’ll be eating as a meal — just a dainty treat — so the soybean oil isn’t a huge deal. Kinda a bummer to see it listed twice, though!
Minus that, these are great ingredients! I love seeing “crab meat” as the first ingredient. I also love that there are no preservatives, artificial flavors or colors.
These are made in Indonesia. But distributed by Phillips Seafood Restaurants in Baltimore Maryland.
Nutrition Facts in Phillips Frozen Crab Cake Appetizers
Welp, there are only 6 servings per box, which is kind of sad. Each serving has 220 calories, 17 grams of fat, and 10 grams of protein. There’s less sodium than I expected, with only 12% of your daily value. I’m surprised to see 0 grams sugar per serving.
You also get some slivers of nutrients, with 6% of your daily value of iron and vitamin D, and 4% of your daily value of calcium.
Price and Servings in Costco Mini Crab Cakes
The regular price for this 18 ounce box of mini crab cakes is a whopping $20 at my local Costco. Since there are only 6 servings per box, this is an eye-watering $3.33 per serving. Definitely the most expensive Costco appetizer I’ve purchased so far. It’s pricey for a frozen product imported from Indonesia, anyway.
Fortunately, this item (usually) goes on sale once a year, in November. I bought it this year for $16. Which is still not cheap, but I’ll take it.
At the regular price, these frozen crab cakes are $1.11 per ounce.
Shelf Life
My box had a “best-by” date of approximately 7 months after purchase. That’s a relatively short life span for a frozen product. It’s too short for me to buy these and hoard them all year, anyway. Hmmph!
Dramatic Conclusion
I love these crab cakes, but I’m poor. So, I’ll stick to buying them once a year when they go on sale. They make great party food, are easy (and reliable) to prepare, and feature quality ingredients. Minus the soybean oil! I gotta find a rich man to marry me so I can eat more crab cakes.
The End.
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