This easy Crab Salad is made with imitation crab meat, diced onion, and celery all tossed in a creamy mayonnaise dressing. Delicious served over a bed of lettuce, scooped onto buttery crackers, or piled between your favorite sandwich roll.
Easy Crab Salad
Creamy crab salad made with imitation crab meat (or real crab meat) is delicious – I don’t care what anyone says. Perfectly tangy, salty, and so easy to make with just the right amount of crunch – it’s incredibly difficult to resist shoving spoonfuls into your mouth once you’ve had a taste.
At least this was my experience.
You see, I didn’t grow up with creamy seafood salads. My parents were more interested in traditional potato salad or the occasional pasta salad. I learned about crab salad later in life and I couldn’t believe what I was missing out on all those years. This salad is made with imitation crab meat, but feel free to substitute it with real lump crab meat if that’s more your style.
What is Imitation Crab (Krab)?
Imitation crab is made of surimi – fish flesh (typically pollock) that is washed and deboned to remove anything unwanted and then chopped and turned into a paste. This paste is then mixed with other ingredients, heated, and molded into shapes, like sticks and flakes. Highly processed, imitation crab typically contains no crab, but it is made from seafood and is made to taste like crab.
How to Make Crab Salad
- Combine the crab meat, red onion, celery, and chives in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl whisk together the mayo, sour cream, fresh lemon juice, dijon mustard, Old bay seasoning, salt, and black pepper.
- Combine the creamy dressing with the crab and veggies – gently mix to combine. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.
Is Crab Salad Keto?
Crab salads made with imitation crab are not considered keto. This is because imitation crab meat is highly processed and is not keto-friendly. If you are following a strict keto diet, I recommend swapping the imitation crab for real lump cran meat instead.
Recipe Tips
- You can use imitation crab flakes or sticks, it doesn’t really matter. For this recipe, I used one package of each.
- Feel free to use low-fat mayonnaise and substitute Greek yogurt for the sour cream.
- Add other veggies and herbs like green onions, fresh dill, chopped bell pepper, or cucumbers.
- Add small cooked shrimp to make it a seafood salad!
- This recipe is best enjoyed within 2 days. Keep leftovers stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
How to Serve Imitation Crab Salad
One of the best ways to enjoy this easy recipe is by making it into a crab salad sandwich. Use your favorite sandwich bread, rolls, or hamburger buns and pile on with crisp lettuce and juicy tomatoes. When I’m in a hurry, I’ll make a salad with fresh lettuce and tomatoes and serve it with some buttery crackers.
Have you tried making this Crab Salad Recipe?
Tell me about it in the comments below! I always love to hear your thoughts. And tag me #theforkedspoon on Instagram if you’ve made any of my recipes, I always love to see what you’re cooking in the kitchen.
Crab Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 24 ounces imitation crab meat - flaked style or sticks, chopped
- ½ red onion - diced
- 1 stalk celery - diced
- 2 tablespoons chives - chopped, plus more for serving
- ¾ cup mayonnaise - full-fat or low-fat
- ¼ cup sour cream - or plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- salt + pepper - to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine the imitation crab meat, red onion, celery, and chives.
- In a separate mixing bowl mix together the mayo, sour cream, fresh lemon juice, dijon mustard, Old Bay seasoning, salt, and black pepper.
- Pour the creamy mayo dressing over the crab and gently mix to combine. Season with additional salt and black pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately or transfer to an airtight container and keep stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Jessica’s Notes
- This recipe can also be made with real lump crab meat.
- Keep leftovers stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Best enjoyed within 2 days.
Nutritional Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.)
This is my go to recipe! But, I only use 1/4 cup mayo. It is delicious.
I tell my family to let me know. If they like something or if it’s horrible. I trust they would tell me the truth. I used butter milk instead of sour cream an the family loved it.
this was the exact kind of crab salad I was looking for, and it turned out very well.