This Crab Salad Recipe is a perfect seafood salad that is easy to make and full of amazing flavors you’ll love! Creamy and delicious, the subtle taste of this dish makes it perfect for any gathering.
If you love seafood appetizers, be adventurous and give my sushi bake and sushi bowl a try!
Table Of Contents
Crab Salad Recipe Details
I love this Crab Salad recipe because it has so much flavor and takes very little work. Seafood salads look elegant, too, so it’s perfect for bringing to family holidays and get-togethers.
- TASTE: The unique mix of crab and shrimp with a tasty dill dressing and vegetables is delicious.
- TEXTURE: Creamy dressing, tender seafood, and boiled egg make a satisfying and filling combo.
- TIME: This Crab Salad recipe is so easy to make. It’s perfect for bringing to a last-minute party.
- EASE: This dish is a huge timesaver! No cooking required and done in 30 minutes.
What you’ll need
- Seafood- Imitation crab meat (flake-style) and Cooked shrimp
- Vegetables- Green onions, Petite peas (frozen), and Petite white corn (frozen)
- Eggs- hard-boiled
- Herbs- fresh Dill
- Dressing- Sour cream, Mayonnaise, Salt, and Pepper
How to Make Crab Salad
- Chop up the seafood, eggs, and vegetables. Chop the crab and shrimp and place them in a large bowl. Now do the same for the hard-boiled eggs, green onion, and fresh dill. Then add in the corn and peas.
- Make the dressing. In a small bowl, mix the sour cream and mayonnaise together.
- Combine. Add the crab salad dressing to the large bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir to combine and serve chilled.
Pro Tip: Speed up chopping time for the eggs by using an egg slicer!
Recipe Tips
- Use imitation crab- There is a textural difference between imitation crab and real crab that makes the imitation better suited to this type of salad. It’s also much less expensive.
- Choose fresh dill– Using fresh dill imparts so much more flavor into the crab salad than dried herbs do. This will make a huge difference in taste.
- Chill the crab salad before serving- This recipe is perfect for summer and serving it cool is not only more pleasant, but also tastier. Not to mention, seafood should always be kept at a safe temperature, so put it on ice if you’ll be offering it at a buffet table.
Add-ins and Substitutions
- Add bacon- Shrimp and crab taste great with bacon, so chop up a few cooked strips for added flavor.
- Add some citrus- The dressing for this Crab Salad could be even more bright with some lemon or lime juice added in. Citrus and seafood are always a winning combination.
- Substitute other vegetables- You can also enjoy this with other ingredients, such as chopped onion, celery, carrots, or potatoes.
- Give your dressing a flavor boost- Substitute Old Bay seasoning, paprika, or fresh tarragon. Add some white wine vinegar or Dijon mustard as well.
FAQs
Imitation crab is made by combining minced fish with starch, egg whites, sugar, salt and other ingredients to mimic the flavor, color, and texture of real crab meat.
Seafood and vegetables are generally healthier options than others, such as beef. If you are looking for a lighter version of this Crab Salad, then try substituting Greek yogurt for the mayonnaise in the dressing, and using reduced-fat or light sour cream.
Serving Suggestions
This Crab Salad can be served in so many ways and goes great with lots of dishes. Here are a few serving ideas to try:
- Sandwich: Add this to a roll or sandwich bread, or baked inside puff pastry.
- Salad: Try this crab salad over a bed of greens or with this Cucumber Tomato Feta Salad or Spinach Salad.
- Pasta: Serve it alongside this Tri Color Pasta Salad, Pesto Pasta Salad (VIDEO), or mix it into the chilled pasta of your choice.
- Bread: Crackers, Focaccia Bread, or any toast would be great to dip into this Crab Salad.
- Vegetables- Sliced cucumbers, avocado, or lettuce cups would work, too.
Make This Crab Salad in Advance
Make ahead: This Crab Salad can be made up to 3 days ahead of serving. Enjoy it straight from the fridge or plate it for a party.
Storing: Store Crab Salad in an airtight container or covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Discard it if it’s been sitting out for more than 2 hours.
Freeze: Because this salad is mayonnaise-based, it’s not a good idea to freeze it. However, you can keep the imitation crab, shrimp, corn, and peas frozen until you are ready to assemble this Crab Salad.
More Tasty Seafood Dishes!
- Garlic and Ginger Shrimp Recipe
- Cilantro Lime Salmon
- Smoked Salmon Appetizer
- Crab and Artichoke Dip
- Potato Salad with Baked Salmon
Watch Recipe VIDEO Here
Full Recipe Instructions
Crab Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb flake style imitation crab meat
- 1 lb cooked shrimp
- 6 hard boiled eggs
- 3-4 green onions
- 2 tbsp chopped dill
- 3/4 cup petite peas frozen
- 1/2 cup petite white corn frozen
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Chop the 1 lb crab and 1 lb shrimp.
- Then chop 6 hard-boiled eggs, 3 green onions, and 2 tablespoons of fresh dill. Tip: use an egg slicer to speed up chopping the eggs.
- In a large bowl add the crab, shrimp, eggs, green onion, dill, corn, and peas.
- In a separate smaller bowl, combine 1/2 cup sour cream and 3/4 cup mayonnaise using a whisk. This will be the crab salad dressing.
- Add the dressing to the bowl of vegetables and seafood and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir just to combine and serve chilled.
Notes
- How to make it healthier?
- Add-ins and substitutions
- Can I make it ahead of time?
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted on November 25, 2015, we’ve tweaked it a bit since then.
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Yelena Cantwell says
I substituted 1can of sweet peas instead of frozen and cucumber instead of corn. It was a big hit. I would make it again. Delicious.
Dina says
Hi Yelena 🙂 Glad to hear you loved this crab salad! Awesome that those substitutions worked out for you! Thank you for your feedback and support! 🙂
Lara says
Could I substitute plain greek yogurt instead of the Mayo? How would I adjust the recipe to do this? Thanks.
Dina says
Hi Lara 🙂 I am not too sure how that will taste. Since the mayo has more of a salty flavor and the plain greek yogurt has a tart or sour flavor. If you give it a try let me know how it goes! 🙂
Ray says
I love this stuff!
Dina says
Thank you Ray!
Melissa says
Hi, I was wondering if here is a substitute for the dill? I really don’t like it! Or just leave it out? Thank you in advance..
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Melissa, you can totally leave out the dill and it will still taste great! 🙂
MONIQUE says
Bonjour Dina , je suis française et votre recette me plaît énormément et j’aimerai bien la faire , mais par quoi je peux remplacer la crème sure car en France on a pas ce genre de crème, nous avons de la crème entière épaisse , ou bien est-ce-que je peux utiliser que de la mayonnaise ? Vos photos sont magnifiques et la salade donne vraiment envie de la manger . Je sais qu’il y a le décalage horaire , mais j’espère avoir votre réponse . Merci .
simplyhomecooked says
Salut Monique 🙂 Tellement heureuse que tu sois tombée sur ma recette! Je recommanderais d’utiliser la crème fraiche. Cependant, vous devrez peut-être ajouter un peu de sel supplémentaire ou un tout petit peu de jus de citron. Il s’agit d’ajouter un peu d’acidité pour se rapprocher de la crème sure. J’espère que cela aide et j’espère que vous aimez cette salade de crabe! Faites-moi savoir comment ça se passe 🙂
Anya says
Question regarding peas and corn: are these canned or frozen? If frozen do you cook them first? The frozen bags says “needs to be fully cooked”. Where do you buy the “petite” kind? Thanks!
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Anya 🙂 I use frozen. Canned will have a different taste. No, you don’t have to cook them first. They can be eaten as is. You don’t have to only get the petite corn. You can use any frozen corn 🙂 I hope you love this crab and shrimp salad! Let me know how it goes 🙂
DM says
Thumbs up 👍
simplyhomecooked says
So happy that you loved this crab salad! Thank you for your feedback 🙂
Linda says
Great recipe I used lump crab meat. And let me say it was a huge hit. I’m sure it’s good using the imitation crab meat.
simplyhomecooked says
Thank you for the feedback Linda! I will have to try it with lump crab meat too.
Lyuda says
This is a delicious salad!
I replaced the peas with diced pickles!
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Lyuda, thank you for taking the time to leave such kind feedback! I am glad that you enjoyed this recipe!