This crab salad is a flavorful take on seafood salad, made with imitation crab meat, celery, green onions, mayonnaise, and some Old Bay seasoning for tons of flavor. Delicious with crackers or stuffed into buns for an inexpensive but delicious play on lobster rolls!
What Makes This Crab Salad So Good
- It’s so easy to make, with absolutely no cooking required. Perfect for warm days when you don’t want to work in a hot kitchen!
- Serve it as a side or as its own meal! I love it on lettuce wraps, buttery crackers, or hot-dog-style buns for an easy crab roll. It’s filling but super light.
- Any leftovers make a great lunch or snack for the next day! Store the crab salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It’ll keep up to 3 days.
Key Ingredients for Crab Salad
Imitation Crab Meat (Krab Meat) – Imitation crab is a cost-effective alternative to real crab that’s available year-round in most places. When I say “cost-effective”, I mean it – imitation crab is usually around $6/pound, compared to roughly $25/pound for real crab meat. Imitation crab doesn’t actually contain any crab meat. It’s typically made from a combination of white fish, egg whites, sugar, and starches to mimic the taste and texture of real crab.
Old Bay Seasoning – That classic blend of pepper, paprika, and celery salt. It’s good on just about everything but it’s extra good on seafood! Feel free to use more or less than 1 teaspoon in your crab salad to get your perfect flavor!
Chef’s Tips
- Finely chop the celery and green onion so you don’t get large chunks of them in a mouthful. Their flavors can be a little strong, so smaller pieces keep everything balanced.
- Serving your crab salad on a hot-dog-style bun? Lightly toast the bun first! You can even butter it slightly if you’d like. It adds a really great flavor and texture that compliments the chilled creamy crab salad nicely.
- If you’re taking this to an indoor shower or potluck, it can sit out for a maximum of 2 hours before it needs to be refrigerated. For an outdoor picnic or cookout where the temperature outside is above 90° Fahrenheit, it can only sit out for a maximum of one hour before needing to be refrigerated. Watch the clock!
More Delicious Salad Recipes
Hey – you’ve made it this far, and now we’re best friends! If you make this recipe, I’d love for you to give it a star rating ★ below. Make sure you follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook, too!
Crab Salad
Equipment
- Large bowl
- Large spoon
Ingredients
- 1 pound imitation crabmeat flaked
- ⅓ cup finely chopped celery
- ¼ cup finely chopped green onions approximately 2 green onions
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- squeeze of fresh lemon juice plus wedges for serving
- crackers or hot-dog-style buns for serving
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to large bowl. Gently stir until well mixed.
- Serve immediately, or refrigerate until ready to eat. Stir again before serving. Serve with buns or crackers, and lemon wedges to garnish.
Notes
- Make it Keto: Use real crab meat instead of imitation crab. Serve on lettuce wraps, in avocados, or with slices of cucumber.
Nutrition
If you enjoyed this recipe, be sure to check out 40 Aprons Premium! 40 Aprons Premium offers exclusive recipes, monthly meal plans, grocery lists, and more – all completely ad free!
Cheryl Malik is the recipe developer, writer, and photographer behind the healthy, flavorful, family friendly recipes at 40 Aprons. She’s been a blogger for 10 years and is known for her delicious recipes and detailed recipe instructions. Cheryl is a mom of two who lives in Memphis, TN.
Leave a Reply