When can babies eat crab cakes?

From around 6 months, once your baby is ready for solids, served in a safe shape and texture for their age.

Crab cakes

Shredded crab and mashed potato, shaped into soft fingers. Homemade for babies, picked clean of shell.

Checked against official guidance on October 18, 2026 · How we review

Quick answer

Babies can eat crab cakes from around 6 months, once they show signs of being ready for solids. Prepare it as shown below.

From 6 monthsMedium choking risk as servedAllergens: Shellfish, Egg, Wheat

How to serve crab cakes by age

6 months+

Soft finger-shaped crab cakes

Make them at home: mix fully cooked crab meat, picked clean of shell and finely shredded, with mashed potato, shape into fingers, coat lightly in fine, plain breadcrumbs if you like, and bake until set. Bind with egg only once egg has been introduced on its own, or use potato alone. Offer them once your baby has had crab on its own, and wheat if you used breadcrumbs. Shop-bought crab cakes are too salty for babies: not yet.

Size: Fingers about the size of an adult finger, roughly 6–8 cm long and 2 cm wide (2½–3 × ¾ in).
Check before serving: Break one open and rub the filling between your fingers: no hard or sharp bits of shell. The middle should be soft and set, with no wet mixture, and squash easily between your thumb and finger. Trim off any hard, crisp coating.

US and UK advice differ here. The AAP suggests mashed food or soft pieces no larger than ½ inch; the NHS suggests soft finger-sized pieces your baby can hold in their fist. Both agree the food must squash easily.

Always have your child sit upright in a high chair or at the table, and stay with them the whole time they eat. Keep to the size and texture for their stage. Every baby develops on their own timeline.

How to prepare crab cakes

1
Wash your hands before and after handling crab, and keep raw seafood away from foods that won't be cooked.
2
Use fully cooked crab meat (fresh, pasteurized or canned), or cook whole crab until the flesh is firm, pearly and opaque (145°F / 63°C). Spread the meat on a plate and pick through it with your fingers, removing every bit of shell and cartilage, then shred it finely.
3
Mix the crab with plain mashed potato (and a little beaten egg, if your baby has had egg), with no salt. Shape it into fingers. If you coat them, check the breadcrumb label: choose one lower in salt, with no honey (not safe under 12 months).
4
Bake on a lightly oiled tray at 200°C (400°F) for about 15 to 20 minutes, turning once, until golden and set all the way through. If you used egg, the center should reach 160°F (71°C). Let them cool and trim any crisp edges.
5
First time? Pick a day your baby is well, at home, when you can watch them for a couple of hours afterward.

How much to offer

Start with one small crab cake finger. For ages 1 to 3, the FDA suggests a fish or shellfish serving of about 1 oz (28 g), twice a week, from its 'Best choices' list, which includes crab. Your baby decides how much to eat.

Common mistakes

Sharing shop-bought crab cakes with a baby

A crab cake in FoodData Central has about 430 mg of sodium per 100 g (about 1.1 g of salt), and one brand's shop-bought crab cakes list 824 mg (about 2.1 g of salt), over the NHS 'high' line of 1.5 g of salt per 100 g. The NHS says babies under 1 should have less than 1 g of salt a day, and children aged 1 to 3 no more than 2 g. Make your baby's crab cakes at home with no salt.

Missing bits of shell

Even picked crab meat sold in tubs or cans can contain small pieces of shell and cartilage. Pick through every portion with your fingers before mixing, and feel again when you break a cake open.

Not noticing imitation crab

Some shop-bought crab cakes are made partly with surimi (imitation crab). The FDA says surimi is made from minced fish such as pollock, cod or Pacific whiting, blended with ingredients such as salt, starch or egg white. One brand's crab cakes list surimi made with pollock, wheat starch, egg white and squid. The same brand's surimi also lists isolated soy protein. So check the label for fish, wheat, egg and soy, as well as crab.

Using raw or lightly cooked crab

Only use crab that is fully cooked, until the flesh is firm, pearly and opaque. The NHS says not to give babies raw or lightly cooked shellfish.

Where US and UK guidance differ on crab cakes

United States(AAP and CDC)Your setting

Crab is on the FDA's 'Best choices' list, and among the seafood it names as even lower in mercury. For ages 1–3, a serving is about 1 oz, twice a week. USDA FSIS says to cook fish and shellfish to 145°F (63°C), and egg dishes to 160°F (71°C).

United Kingdom(NHS)Your setting

The NHS notes that brown crab meat (the darker meat from the body) contains cadmium, which can affect the bones and kidneys in large amounts. It sets no maximum for white crab meat, so white meat is the simpler choice for your baby's crab cakes. The NHS counts more than 1.5 g of salt per 100 g as high, so check the label on shop-bought ones.

We cover US and UK guidance in detail. Elsewhere, check your national health service's advice too.

Questions parents ask

Can crab cakes be a choking hazard for babies?

Crab cakes are soft inside, but bits of shell, firm lumps of crab and hard, crisp coating are the things to watch for. Official choking advice doesn't name crab shell, but the CDC lists bones in meat or fish as a choking hazard, and shell is hard and sharp in the same way. Pick crab meat clean of shell, shred any lumps, trim crisp edges for young babies, and break cakes into small pieces from about 9 months. Stay with your child during meals.

Can babies be allergic to crab cakes?

Crab cakes usually contain three common allergens: shellfish (crab), egg to bind them, and wheat (with gluten) in the breadcrumbs. Introduce each on its own first, one at a time and in small amounts. Crab is a crustacean, the shellfish group behind most shellfish reactions (ACAAI). A shellfish allergy is different from a fish allergy, but shop-bought crab cakes made with surimi contain fish too, and some also contain soy, squid, mustard, celery or a sulphite (mustard, celery and sulphur dioxide are on the NHS allergen list), so read the label. People allergic to one type of shellfish often react to other types (NHS), and shellfish allergies typically last a lifetime (ACAAI), so if your baby reacts, talk to your pediatrician before offering other shellfish.

Are crab cakes healthy for babies?

A crab cake in FoodData Central has about 14 g of protein, 2.8 mg of zinc and 430 mg of sodium (about 1.1 g of salt) per 100 g, with about 0.8 mg of iron. Making them at home from plain crab and potato lets you leave out the salt.

Can babies eat crab cakes?

Yes, homemade ones from around 6 months, once your baby has had crab on its own (and egg and wheat, if you use them). Pick the crab clean of shell, shred it finely, bake until set, and trim crisp edges. Shop-bought crab cakes wait until 12 months because they're salty.

Can toddlers eat shop-bought crab cakes?

From 12 months, now and then. Compare labels and pick one lower in salt: the NHS counts more than 1.5 g of salt per 100 g as high. Check the ingredients for surimi (fish), wheat, egg and soy, cook them as the package says until steaming hot, and cut them into small pieces.

Can I use canned crab?

Yes. Canned crab meat is already cooked. Drain it, pick through it for shell, and check the label for salt. Skip imitation crab sticks: they're processed fish, not crab.

If your baby refuses crab cakes

Many babies need 10 or more tries before they accept a new food. Keep offering it alongside foods they already like.
Mix shredded crab into foods your baby already likes, such as mashed potato or pasta.
Try fish cakes: the same shape with a different seafood.
Eat some yourself at the same meal. Babies copy what they see.

Never force or pressure your baby to eat. Some days they'll eat more, some days less, and that's normal.

Buying and storing crab cakes

Keep crab meat in the fridge and use it by the date on the pack. Once opened, use it within 2 days. Keep shop-bought crab cakes frozen or chilled, as the package says, until you cook them.
Cooked crab cakes keep for 3 to 4 days in a covered container in the fridge.
Homemade crab cakes can be frozen for 1 to 2 months if you used egg, or 3 to 4 months if they're bound with potato only (freeze them in a single layer first). Reheat them only once, to 165°F (74°C), until steaming hot, then let them cool and check they're still soft before serving.
Throw away any food left out at room temperature for more than 2 hours (1 hour if it's hotter than 90°F / 32°C).

When to talk to your doctor

Contact your pediatrician, GP or health visitor if:

Your baby has had any reaction to crab, egg or wheat, even a mild one. Stop offering crab cakes until you've talked to your pediatrician, and ask before trying other shellfish such as shrimp or lobster.
Your baby vomits a few hours after eating crab cakes. This can be FPIES, a delayed type of food allergy: egg, fish (in surimi) and shellfish are known triggers. If they vomited once or twice and seem alert and like themselves, call your pediatrician or GP. If they vomit again and again, or are pale, floppy, very sleepy or hard to wake, call your emergency number.
You notice mild signs of an allergic reaction after eating, such as a few hives or a little vomiting. See signs of a reaction.
You're worried about how much your baby eats, their growth, or they refuse most solid food for weeks.

Call 911999your local emergency number (such as 112 in Europe or 000 in Australia) now if your baby has trouble breathing, wheezing, can't cough or cry, has lips, mouth, tongue or throat that suddenly swell, or becomes pale, bluish, floppy or unresponsive. Also call if hives come with repeated vomiting.

Offered crab cakes?

Add it to your first 100 foods.

Helpful guides

Sources

More first foods

Adzuki beans

Almond butter

Anchovies

Arctic char

Free printable: The First 100 Foods checklist

Tick off foods as your baby tries them. Print it or save it as a PDF, no sign-up needed.

Get the checklist More printables