Crab Salad is a classic Seafood Salad recipe with imitation crab, shallot and celery in a creamy dressing with a blend of herbs and spices.
While real crab meat is best for more elevated Seafood dishes like Crab Artichoke Dip or a Crab Cake Sandwich, imitation crab is perfect for creamy Salads in the summer.
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Sabrina’s Crab Salad Recipe
Crab Salad, also known as Seafood Salad, is a beloved nostalgic dish that you can find just as easily at a seaside cafe as you can the grocery store deli. Whether it’s made with real crab, loaded with veggies, or spread on a hoagie as a sandwich, there are many favorite ways to make this classic seafood dish. My recipe features imitation crab, shallots, and celery, all enveloped in a creamy dressing infused with a blend of paprika, dill, plus a little salt and pepper.
If you’re wondering what to make with imitation crab, it doesn’t get much better than this easy recipe. There are just a handful of ingredients, you don’t have to do any cooking and there’s hardly any prep work. The imitation crab meat is super inexpensive and easy to find at most grocery stores for a fraction of the price of the real stuff! You can use whole “leg” meat, or you can get the flaked-style crab to save you a step of chopping it up. Either way, it will make a tasty salad with some mayo, spices and fresh, crunchy veggies.
Key Ingredients
- Imitation Crab: Imitation crab, also known as krab meat, is made from a blend of fish, typically Alaskan pollock, and other additives. It has a delicate texture and mild flavor that perfectly mimics the taste of crab, but is much more cost effective than real crab meat.
- Shallots: Shallots add a subtle onion-like flavor to the seafood salad, enhancing its savory profile without overpowering the sweet, mild taste of the crab meat. You could also use red onions but dice them very small so they don’t take over the flavors.
- Celery: Minced celery provides a refreshing crunch and adds a hint of herbal notes, contributing to the overall texture and balance of the salad.
- Mayonnaise: Mayonnaise serves as the creamy base for the dressing, providing richness and a luscious texture to the Crab Salad. The smooth, subtly tangy flavor is perfect with the sweet, mild crab meat and is a classic way to make seafood salad dressing.
- Spices: This delicious salad only needs a few spices to add a bit of flavor without overpowering the delicate imitation crab. Paprika adds a warm, smoky flavor while dill brings a burst of freshness. They provide a pleasant contrast to the richness of the dressing and the sweetness of the crab meat.
How to Make
Time needed: 1 hour and 10 minutes.
- Prep crab meat
If your imitation krab meat isn’t already flaked, you will want to roughly chop it into small pieces.
- Mix dressing
Combine the mayo with the spices until it’s will blended.
- Coat salad ingredients
Add the krab, shallots, and celery to the dressing and stir until everything is well coated.
- Refrigerate
Cover the bowl and chill in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.
Ingredients
- 1 pound imitation crab , krab meat
- 1 shallot , minced
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup celery , minced
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon dill
- 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a large bowl add all the ingredients together gently, stirring until well coated.
- Refrigerate for an hour before serving.
Video
Nutrition
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Make Ahead Options
Yes, Crab Salad can be prepared ahead of time to save you time and it gives all the flavors time to develop. You want to refrigerate the salad for at least an hour before serving, and it’s best in the first day or two. Remember to give it a gentle stir before serving to ensure the dressing coats the ingredients evenly.
Chef’s Note: Why this recipe works
At first, it may sound a bit odd to mix seafood and mayonnaise, but if you’ve every had Tuna Salad or lobster rolls, you know that a creamy dressing is exactly what makes this recipe so amazing! The cool, creamy mayo with the smoky paprika and tangy dill is perfect with the delicate seafood flavor of imitation crab and real crab alike.
What To Pair With Seafood Salad?
This tasty salad can be enjoyed as a light and refreshing appetizer, a satisfying lunch option, or even as a classic sandwich. You can serve it with crispy crackers and veggies like bell peppers and cucumber slices for dipping at parties. Throw it on a bed of lettuce or a thick tomato slice for a low-carb, light lunch. Spread it on a hoagie roll for any easy, inexpensive twist on lobster rolls. Serve your seafood salad sandwich with some Fruit Salad for a classic deli meal that is nostalgic, filling, and delicious.
How to Store
- Serve: It is best to keep this recipe cold in the refrigerator until serving, but at most do not leave at room temperature longer than 2 hours.
- Store: Sealed in an airtight container, Crab Salad will be good in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Give it a good stir before serving.
- Freeze: It’s best not to freeze mayonnaise based salads, as the dressing will separate and not come back together after it thaws.
Ideas To Serve
- For an easy, amazing sandwich serve the salad on a toasted hoagie roll with lettuce and sliced onions.
- Make a Seafood Pasta Salad doubling the dressing and mixing the Crab Salad with cooked pasta.
- You can serve this as a dip with crackers or go low-carb with veggies like cucumber and bell peppers.
- Another low-carb, classic way to serve cold creamy salads is to spread them on top of thick cut tomato slices or make lettuce wraps.
FAQs
This recipe uses imitation crab meat, sometimes referred to as krab or krab meat. However, just because it’s not actually made of crab, it is made with fish. This is actually why many people refer to Crab Salad as Seafood Salad.
Imitation Crab Salad (krab) is actually made with Surimi, a whitefish that is ground then bound with a starch and other additives to resemble crab meat. It is crafted to resemble the texture and taste of real crab meat. Imitation crab is widely available in most grocery stores and provides an affordable alternative to real crab meat for those on a budget or looking for a different flavor profile.
Neptune Salad is not the same as a Crab Salad, but it’s more like a seafood salad with the works. It often has baby shrimp as well as crab plus ingredients like eggs, corn, carrots, peas, etc.
Crab Salad and Surimi Salad are often used interchangeably, but they do have a subtle difference. While both salads use imitation crab as the main ingredient, Surimi Salad typically refers to a dish that incorporates more Asian-inspired flavors, such as soy sauce, sesame oil, or ginger. On the other hand, Crab Salad often features a mayo-based dressing with herbs and spices, like a more traditional creamy salad, similar to a tuna or egg salad.
Variations
- Veggies: Add some more fresh, crunchy veggies to your seafood salad like green onions, red onions, black olives, or bell peppers.
- Cheese: If you love all things indulgent, add some shredded sharp cheddar cheese or chopped up slices of American cheese.
- Dressing: Instead of mayo, you can use Greek yogurt, mashed avocado or sour cream in the dressing to lighten up the salad. It’s best to do half mayo and half the substitute so it’s still got that deliciously smooth texture.
- Seafood: You can add other seafood to the salad like baby shrimp, cooked mild flavored fish like cod or tilapia, or cooked scallops. If you want to splurge, you can use real crab or even make this salad with steamed lobster!
- Seasonings: Some other popular flavorings are Old Bay seasoning, celery seed, and even some cayenne pepper for a little kick. A squeeze of lemon or lime are a great way to add some zesty freshness.
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The following pictures were used in previous versions of this post:
I’m gonna try it with real crab meat. It will be delicuous!
I made this exactly as written. I used my food chopper to mince the vegetables finely. Just enough mayonnaise!
This was outstanding. My husband said it was better than the one I bought at the grocery store. Thanks so much for the recipe!
That sounds like a “win”! Thank you Regina and thank you for the 5 star rating.
This satisfies the craving of going out to eat it in a restaurant!
This was excellent. The only thing I mucked up was using smoked paprika, which was a bit overpowering immediately after mixing. However I kept the leftovers in the fridge and it was perfect the next day, so I might just make ahead next time instead and keep that smokiness.
Infinitely better than the soupy store-bought stuff. Also check your grocers, some sell larger packages of krab in their freezer section at much better prices. Just leave it in your fridge to thaw for a day.
Delicious ??
The recipe doesn’t have the celery amount to use!!
1/2 cup celery , minced
Made it , is delicious.
Thank you Rosa and thank you for the 5 stars!
This crab salad is the best. I added black olives. Wish I could freeze it as I made way too much. Since it’s just myself eating it, I’ll definitely have to cut it way down.
I have made this several times and it’s always delicious. It goes so well with most any fish.
Nice juxtaposition of the sweet imitation crab meat tempured by the paprika, dill, and pepper.
This is the crab salad recipe I have been looking for. The shallots did not overpower the mild taste of the “crab” but along with the celery, gave it the crunch that I like. I will say I didn’t use as much crab meat as called for but that was to my liking and not necessarily anything wrong with the recipe. And I used an extra spoonful of mayonnaise, again because I like it extra creamy. The only thing I would suggest is leave out the salt. Even that little bit makes it a bit saltier than I would like, but again, a personal taste thing. All in all, this is right on the money for a crab salad. I will definitely be making this again and again and again.
Thank you!
Made this week while camping. Big hit!! Everyone was raving about it!
Love hearing this Judy and thanks for the 5 star review!
Sounds delicious!!! Will try later!!
You mentioned you can use red onion instead. How much would you use?
Thank you!
1 small shallot is approximately 2 teaspoons minced so 2 teaspoons of minced red onion. Enjoy!
Added a sprinkle of PaYaa Cajun seasoning and thyme and left off the dill. It is over the top.
Hi. Did you use fresh dill or dried?
Hi Sara,
The dill is dried. Thank you for asking.
I used green onions instead of shallots and added chopped cucumber. very good
Delicious! ?I made this today and it was gone in 5 minutes,,my grandkids loved it!
Going to try it
Hello, I made this salad and it seemed to be less juicy than I like it. I added 1/2 C. Daisy Light Sour Cream and then I liked it much better. That is the only reason I gave it a 4 star rating. I will definitely be making this again with the Daisy Light Sour Cream.
I had all the ingredients and used a 1.25 lb package of imitation crab meat that I had as well. I added just a little bit of each ingredient to even it out. I took some hot dog buns that I also had on hand and removed the crust from each end carefully with a very sharp knife. Using a little bit of butter in a frying pan, I seared three sides of the bun. Using the finest leaves from the 50/50 salad mix that was in the refrigerator I lined the inside of the buns. I then packed each full of this crab awesomeness.
I just made this. I did not have any dill weed or paprika but I added some garlic instead and it is delicious!! I had organic smoked paprika and added that to the recipe and that took it up a notch delicious!!
I’m a sea food lover , my family and I had a restaurant that served a sandwich call a shrimp boat! Big hit ,
This recipe is very similar! We served ours in a warm pita bread with lettuce and arugula, yum
Just made this recipe… Yum!
My mom is allergic to dill. Is there anything you’d suggest as a substitute?
You could substitute tarragon for dill in equal measurements and it would give you a very similar flavor.
Would not change a thing ?. Just let it marinate in fridge as long as possible to let everything meld together…