Ingredients
Sweet-n-Spicy Sauce:
- 2 pitted Medjool dates (or 4 Deglet Noor)
- 1½ cups silken tofu
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons mustard
- 1 clove garlic
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Cakes:
- 6 oz. Lion’s mane mushrooms (or see Notes)
- 1 cup cooked cannellini beans, rinsed and mashed well
- 1 cup small-chopped celery (about ribs)
- ½ cup small-chopped yellow or white onion
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
- ½ cup rolled oats
- 6 tablespoons Sauce
- Lemon wedges
Instructions
- To start the Sweet-n-Spicy Sauce, place the pitted dates into a small bowl and cover with hot water; set aside. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (for this recipe, I’ve found that parchment crisps and browns the better than a silicone baking mat).
- To prepare the Cakes, start by pulling apart the mushroom florets/large pieces, then shred each by pulling smaller pieces off, which will look like crab meat. This takes me about 15 minutes, as it’s careful work, and you should have about 3½ cups once shredded. Put into a mixing bowl.
- Add the mashed beans, small-chopped celery, onion and parsley to the bowl of shredded mushroom. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- For the oats, place them into a blender, and pulse 1 or 2 times, just enough so the oats are broken up coarsely; we don’t want a fine flour. Add the oats to the bowl.
- To finish the Sweet-n-Spicy Sauce, drain the water off of the dates (discard the water) and put the dates into a blender. Add the tofu, lemon juice, mustard, garlic and red pepper flakes, and blend until very smooth.
- Add 6 tablespoons of the Sauce to the mixing bowl. Use your hands to mash all of the ingredients, so everything sticks together well.
- Using a ¼-cup measuring cup, pack the cup fully with the mixture and press it in tightly. Shake the measuring cup so that the mixture pops out and place it on the parchment paper-lined baking sheet (this will yield 11 Crabless Cakes). Press each down to make a patty.
- Bake for 25 minutes uncovered on the middle or just above middle rack. Gently flip the patties over and bake for 15 more minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack, and let cool for 5 to 10 minutes before serving for best results (to let the inside firm up a bit). Serve with the remaining Sweet-n-Spicy Sauce on the side and lemon wedges.
Equipment
Tribest PB-250 Personal Blender and Grinder
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Tupperware Mixing Bowl with Lid
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Zyliss Easy Pull Food Processor
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Instead of mushrooms: I have seen other vegan crabless cakes recipes use other ingredients besides mushrooms for the crab, including hearts of palm, jackfruit, and artichoke hearts. I have not tried these substitutions, but if you’re feeling creative, I think they would taste great too!
Other mushroom types: If you’re okay with mushrooms but can’t find Lion’s Mane (which I find at Whole Foods), a good second choice is trumpet or oyster mushrooms; and my last choice would be white button mushrooms.
Tofu: I have used Mori Nu silken “organic” (green box) and “soft” (red box) tofu for the sauce (in the 12-ounce box, which is 1½ cups), as well as 365 brand (Whole Foods) organic soft tofu.
If you’d like to add some seafood flavor, add 1 to 2 teaspoons of kelp granules (found in the Asian cooking or spice aisle).
Leftover sauce: I wanted to use the whole box of tofu in the Sweet-n-Spicy Sauce, so it makes 2 cups. For any leftover sauce, it makes a great creamy salad dressing or topping for baked potatoes (use within 2 to 3 days).
- Prep Time: 40 mins.
- Cook Time: 40 mins.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 patty (makes 11 total; see above photo caption of sauce for nutrition information for sauce alone). Sodium based on no-salt mustard.
- Calories: 52
- Sugar: 2g
- Sodium: 25mg
- Fat: 1g
- Saturated Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 9g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 0g