Crab salad is one of the best ways to enjoy crab. All you need are crab meat (I’ve got options), crisp vegetables, fresh herbs, and a creamy lemon dressing that ties it all together. Super easy!
Why You’ll Love This Crab Salad
Crab salad from the deli always feels like a special treat, but this homemade version has completely won me over. It’s simple and classic, with ingredient tweaks that are minimal yet substantial—like a touch of diced shallots and fresh chives that brighten every bite! And while I’m a big fan of shrimp salad, tuna salad, and salmon salad, this crab salad recipe holds its own on a holiday table. It’s one of those nostalgic side dishes I always love serving for Christmas dinner or even the 4th of July as a summer salad. Here are a few more reasons to love it:
- It’s not overly saucy. Crab meat is fairly light in flavor, so you don’t want to overpower it. That’s why I’ve kept the dressing minimal. The goal is to gently enhances the flavor yet still let the crab shine.
- It’s elegant yet easy. While it’s easy enough to make again and again, there’s just something about crab that feels a little “extra.” So if you’re looking for an impressive, crave-worthy salad to bring to your next gathering or party, this is the one you should make.
Crab Salad Recipe Ingredients
- Crab Meat: You can choose from fresh crab meat, canned crab meat, and imitation crab meat. I love to cook crab legs for fresh crab meat. But to keep this salad simple and budget-friendly, imitation crab does the trick! Plus, imitation crab is what’s commonly used to make crab salad.
- Vegetables: Diced celery and shallots give it that crisp texture with every bite. But you could also use red onions or green onions.
- Fresh Herbs: Parsley, chives, and dill always pair well with crab, so choose your favorites. Today, I’m using chives, but feel free to use whatever fresh herbs you have on hand.
- Creamy Dressing: A blend of mayonnaise, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, paprika, salt, and pepper is what makes this crab salad so delicious. And if you have some Old Bay Seasoning on hand, a sprinkle of that really kicks it up a notch!
Find the printable recipe with measurements below.
Types of Crab Meat for Crab Salad
- Fresh Crab Meat: If you want to go the extra step for super fresh crab meat, cook and peel crab legs. It’s a bit more time-consuming, but I can show you how to cook crab legs three different ways in under 10 minutes!
- Packaged/Canned Crab Meat: When buying packaged crab meat, you’ll notice claw crab meat and lump crab meat. Claw meat has a brownish tint to it and a more shredded texture. Lump meat is whiter in color and has meatier whole pieces, since it comes from the crab’s body. For this recipe, lump crab meat is the better choice in terms of flavor and texture. It’s also what I use in my crab cakes and crab dip.
- Imitation Crab (Surumi): If you’re new to imitation crab, it’s made from surimi—which is a paste typically made from wild Alaskan pollock that’s been deboned, washed, and minced. It’s technically not real crab meat, but the texture resembles flakes of crab meat, and the flavor is much sweeter, which gives this crab salad an extra delicious touch.
How To Make Crab Salad
Step one: Stir the mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, paprika, salt and pepper. I recommend making the dressing right before serving and not ahead of time, as it may start to separate a bit.
Step two. Add the crab, celery, and shallot to a large mixing bowl. Stir together with the dressing until everything is fully coated and well-mixed. Then, sprinkle the fresh herbs on top for the final touch!
Ways To Enjoy Crab Salad
- Serve as an appetizer. Add the crab salad to a serving bowl and place it on a platter with crackers. Perfect for a scoopable and fresh appetizer!
- Crab salad sandwich or wrap. Pile spoonfuls into any sandwich bread of your choice with some extra lettuce. For a low-carb option, enjoy this crab salad wrapped with butter-leaf lettuce or even served on a bed of lettuce.
- Serve with summer vegetables. Think grilled corn on the cob, roasted potatoes, or even creamy mashed potatoes! It’s a great pairing for summer cookouts!
Storage Tips
Fresh crab salad is best when it’s freshly mixed. But any leftovers will keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days. This makes it an easy salad to meal prep for the week! Just don’t leave the salad at room temperature for too long because the mayonnaise can spoil.
Frequently Asked Questions
Since this is a mayonnaise-based salad, it’s best not to freeze crab salad. The mayonnaise will separate, and the texture of the crab salad won’t taste as fresh.
You can also use yogurt or sour cream as the base for the dressing. And if you’re dairy-free, feel free to use dairy-free versions.
In the past, packaged imitation crab often contained gluten. But I searched many different brands of imitation crab and found that gluten was no longer included in the ingredient list. But always make sure to read your labels.
More Salad Recipes
- Waldorf Salad: The classic fruit and nut salad.
- Caesar Salad: The creamy dressing is everything.
- Caprese Salad: Mozzarella and juicy tomatoes work so well together!
- Ultimate Chicken Salad: The best chicken salad you know and love.
- Classic Potato Salad: A creamy potato salad that gives nostalgic vibes.
If you try this crab salad recipe, let me know how it turns out in the comments below! Your review will help other readers in the community. And if you’re hungry for more healthy food inspiration and exclusive content, join my free newsletter here.
Description
Video
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- pinch of freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound crab meat (or imitation crab meat), roughly chopped
- 2 ribs of celery, finely diced
- 2 tablespoons finely diced shallot (or red onion)
- 1 tablespoon roughly chopped fresh herbs (parsley, chives, or dill)
Instructions
- Make the dressing. To make the dressing, stir together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, paprika, salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Stir it all together. Add the crab, celery and shallot to a large mixing bowl. Pour the dressing on top and stir it all together.
- Garnish. Sprinkle fresh herbs on top for garnish. Serve immediately or chill.
Lisa’s Tips
- Although I bought my imitation crab in store, here is a similar imitation crab meat you can order as well!
Nutrition
©Downshiftology. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
Recipe originally published August 2023, but updated to include new photos and information for your benefit!
Thanks. Good recipie. Gotta go with fresh caught MD crabmeat… I would rather use canned tuna than fake crabmeat. Bought it once when it first came on the market. Even the cats wouldn’t eat it.
Glad you loved this crab salad, John!
Didn’t have Dijon mustard – had whole mustard grain or horse radish. Decided to use the former and hoped it wouldn’t be overpowering. It works. I never buy imitation crab as I never know what to do with it. So it was with trepidation I followed the recipe. To my surprise, it tastes similar to prawn cocktail! I most definitely will be buying imitation crab knowing exactly how I’m going to use it.
Glad this salad changed your mind about imitation crab, Dorothy!
Surprisingly amazing! I personally substituted the celery for cucumber because i had it on hand, but I honestly didn’t expect it to come out so yummy! I’ve been trying new poké-style things at home and the imitation crab works perfect for this. I knew i was missing something!
Cucumber sounds great as well! Enjoy, Allyson.
Love love love!!!
Amazing salad. Is the nutritional value per serving?
Yes, it’s per serving.
Delish! Made with canned crab. Only change was to add a dice of bread and butter pickles. It adds piquantness that I like with fish based salad. Looking forward to trying it with real crab next time.
Glad this crab salad worked out great with canned crab, Ann!
Glory in every bite. I tried today in a gluten free wrap with avocado. 🥑🌯 Was a blast. Yummy!!! Blessings!
So happy you loved it, Kary!
I made this for our football 🏈 tale gate party. It was a HUGE HIT! Definitely making this again..,,,,, thank you
Glad this crab salad was a hit for a tailgate party, Anita!!
Made this just exactly as you had in the recipe. OMG! Totally awsome! Totally tasty. Had it for a nice dinner and then lunch on a sandwich the next day. I love, love, love your recipes. You give me confidence to cook!
Thrilled you’re loving this crab salad and have found confidence in cooking again, Jamie!
Yummy! And so easy to make under 10 min
Glad you’re loving this quick and easy crab salad, Marlow!
I made this recipe for dinner on this very hot Wednesday, served with garlic bread and baked potatoes and fresh asparagus. It was fabulous. So simple and the favors were so complimentary of each other. Nothing overpowered anything else.
Hi Brenda – Great to hear this crab salad was the perfect meal to enjoy on a hot summer day!
Your recipes are easy to follow, use ingredients that are easy to find at the grocery store, and are delicious! I am not a good cook at all, but when I first made your lemon chicken, my granddaughter said YOU made this?! 😂.
I am from Maryland, near the Chesapeake Bay, and this is a wonderful crab recipe. Thank you
Oh yay! Happy to hear all the recipes are easy to follow along to, as that has always been my goal with the recipes on my website. Enjoy the recipes, Bobbi!
That crab salad is delicious! Thank you for sharing!
Of course, Valerie! Glad you’re loving this crab salad.
Great recipe, very tasty!
Glad you enjoyed this crab salad, Harriet!
If you don’t consume all the Crab Salad, how long will it stay good in the refrigerator? By the way, your Shrimp Salad is fantastic.
Hi there! I typically will always provide the storage instructions in the post or recipe notes, but this will keep for 3 to 4 days in the fridge.
Great recipe! And so easy. My husband loves it. Says it tastes better than any other he’s had! I used surimi and left out the he shallot/onion, but doubled the chives and lemon juice. We agreed we like this salad even better with a smidge of grated horseradish.
Hi there! Happy to hear you both are loving this crab salad recipe!
Delicious. Very fresh for summertime
Hi Amanda – Happy to hear you love this crab salad!
Great recipe! Always a hit, we use it to make crab salad sandwiches for dinner.
Hi Jess – Happy to hear this crab salad is always a hit!
I made this and absolutely love it!! The celery made it so crunchy. The dressing was so yummy. Had mine with crackers for lunch. ❤️❤️❤️
Hi Jamie – I’m glad you love this crab salad!
This is a delicious crab salad. In a rush so used Surimi, can’t wait to try it with fresh crab. I confess to jazzing up the sauce with whisky/cocktail/a bit more heat. My husband liked spicy food! This is a great quick go-to if guests drop in.
Nothing wrong with adding a bit more flavor for the sauce! Enjoy, Beverly!
Made this last week – it was so good. I added celery salad and subbed with avocado mayo! Delicious!! Ate this with vegetable crackers when I felt peckish throughout the week.
It’s truly a versatile dish. Happy to hear you loved it!
This was so good! I had never tried crab salad before and was thrilled with the results of this salad. I kept going back for just one more bite. I will definitely be making this often.
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, Cheryl! I’m happy you loved it!
This recipe is SOOO GOOD! I made it last night. Hands down the absolute best crab salad I’ve ever had. I refrigerated it for about 30 minutes after assembly to get it crispy cold. Excellent. This one will be in my regular rotation. I used the imitation lump Krab, but next time real crab is on sale, this will be on thr list of recipes to make. Thanks!
Wonderful! I’m so thrilled you loved it. And yes, it’s delicious either way – with imitation crab or lump crab meat. :)
Delicious and simple! I love its versatility. I ran out of lemon juice so I used white wine vinegar instead and finely chopped red onions instead of the chives. Old Bay takes it up another notch too!
I’m sure the Old Bay seasoning made this crab salad extra delicious!
I made this crab salad today. I don’t like celery, so I change it for cucumber. I must say that this is the best salad ever. So easy to made, so tasty. I should have prepared more than one serving!
Thanks Lisa for this recipe.
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Hice esta ensalada de cangrejo hoy. No me gusta el apio así que lo cambié por pepino. Tengo que decir que es la mejor ensalada. Muy fácil de hacer y muy sabrosa. ¡Debería haber preparado más de una ración!
Gracias Lisa por esta receta.
Hi Olaya – happy to hear you’re loving this crab salad, especially with cucumber!
I don’t see anything on your Amazon link for the imitation crab. Love all your recipes! I’m a GF girl too, and it’s fun to see what options you come up with next!
Thanks for the catch on the link – I just fixed it! And glad you’re enjoying all my recipes as well. :)
Any suggestion for a mayo substitute?
Hi Marvin – see some tips in the post above!
Lisa, that is so fascinating about imitation crab! I had NO idea lol I’m excited to make this recipe again using that so my mom can enjoy it too (she can’t have crab). Another winning recipe!
Awesome! Let me know how it turns out. I hope you both enjoy the recipe!
Delicious! Perfect for a summer day when you don’t want to put on the oven. Nice blend of flavours. Paprika adds a very slightly kick which pulls it all together. Will definitely make it again. Thanks Lisa!
Thanks Ali! I’m happy you loved this crab salad. :)
I make a similar salad that includes rotini pasta and shrimp. My seasoning is dried tarragon.
That sounds delicious, Catherine! It’s almost like adding tarragon into my chicken salad recipe :)
Dear Lisa, my daughter put me on to your recipes and I think they are just fantastic. I live in Jamaica and love cooking and entertaining. You’re my go chef when I’m looking for delicious, easy to prepare and great looking recipes. For savoury dishes or salads I always add Scotch Bonnet pepper. A special J’can pepper with an amazing flavour! Keep those recipes coming I’m spreading the word to my friends about your recipes. Thanks👍🏾
Thanks for your kind words, Maxan! Glad you discovered Downshiftology recipes and continue to enjoy them in your kitchen.
Another really great seafood salad recipe! I noticed this base is a little different than the shrimp salad (mainly a lack of dill in this one). If you were to make a shrimp and crab salad, which base would you recommend? The one used with the shrimp salad recipe, or this crab salad recipe? I do love dill, but haven’t tried it with crab, so not sure how those flavors would mingle. Thanks and love your book too…so many great recipes.
I personally love the way this crab salad is, but you could also try it with the base from the shrimp salad!