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Crab Salad is super simple to make, ready in less than 15 minutes, and so delicious. Made with fresh lump crabmeat, veggies and a creamy dressing, this crab salad recipe is great served with veggies, on crackers or in a sandwich.
Want to try a few more delicious crab recipes? Learn How to Cook Crab Legs, and use the meat to make my Crab Mac and Cheese!
Recipe walk-through
Before You Begin
- Chop veggies finely to allow them to blend well into the salad, especially the onion. Finely chop so you don’t get big bites of onion, you want to just add flavor. Green onions could be substituted for a milder flavor.
- Use fresh lump crabmeat for the best flavor and texture. Traditionally, you will probably find crab salad made with imitation crab meat, but I’m a purist when it comes to my seafood and like to use real crab. You can find it in containers in the seafood section of many grocery stores. Canned crab is my preferred substitution because, although it’s processed, it’s still real crabmeat.
- Using imitation crab may be budget-friendly, but it’s also not actually made from real crab meat. Rather, it is a processed fish product that may contain some crab flavoring. It is often used as a less expensive alternative to real crab meat in various dishes, and can be used as a replacement here if that’s your preference.
- Mix the dressing separately from the crab and vegetables so that it will be well-blended and provide the best flavor.
How to Make Crab Salad
See the recipe card below for full, detailed instructions
Step 1: Make the dressing. When making a chilled salad like this, always mix up the dressing first to get all of the seasonings blended in. In the case of this crab salad, that’s mayo, lemon juice, old bay seasoning, dried dill, black pepper, and salt.
Step 2: Mix. Next comes the crab meat and veggies. To the dressing, stir in the flaked crab meat, diced celery, red bell pepper, red onion, and chives. Mix it well to make sure the crab and veggies are completely coated.
Step 3: Finishing touches. Now comes the fun part – taste test! Taste your salad and add more salt and pepper or other seasonings to your liking. Old Bay seasoning contains salt so be sure to taste first before adding additional salt. Cover and chill until ready to serve. Garnish with more fresh minced chives for a prettier presentation.
Serving Suggestions
I enjoy this crab salad totally on its own, but I have played around with different ways of serving it. You can keep it simple and serve on a bed of lettuce, or:
- It makes an excellent sandwich on toasted hoagie rolls.
- Try stuffing it inside a hollowed-out bell pepper, tomato, or avocado
- Spread it on celery sticks or cucumber rounds.
- Use crackers for dipping.
- Add pasta for a creamy crab pasta salad.
Variations
Make it lighter: Use nonfat plain Greek yogurt in place of the mayonnaise.
Make it spicy: Add some diced jalapenos, hot sauce or a pinch of cayenne pepper.
Make it Mediterranean: Add a tablespoon or two of well drained capers or some fresh minced parsley and an extra splash of lemon.
Storage Tips
How to Store Leftovers
If properly stored in the fridge, tightly sealed, your salad will remain fresh up to 2-3 days. Make sure to refrigerate as soon as possible and discard if it sits out longer than 2 hours. It may get a little watery as it sits, so you’ll want to stir it up really well when serving leftovers.
Freezing is not recommended.
More Crab Recipes
Crab Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup Mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon Lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning or more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon Dried dill
- 1/4 teaspoon Black pepper
- 1/2 cup Diced celery about 2 stalks
- 1/4 cup Diced red bell pepper seeds removed, about ½ one bell pepper
- 2 tablespoons Finely chopped red onion
- 2 tablespoons Fresh minced chives plus some for garnish if desired
- 1 pounds Fresh lump crab meat flaked (or imitation crab meat)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Serving Ideas: crackers, sandwich rolls, stuffed into lettuce cups or bell peppers, with with raw veggies
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine mayonnaise, lemon juice, Old Bay seasoning, dill and black pepper.
- Stir in minced chives, celery, bell pepper, red onion and crab meat. Taste and add salt as needed. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
- Serve on it’s own with lemon wedges on a bed of lettuce, or on hoagie rolls or crackers.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of “Yellow Bliss Road” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
I absolutely loved this recipe! The instructions were so clear and easy to follow. As a big fan of dill, I opted for fresh instead of dried, and it made the dish even more flavorful. Other than that, I stuck to the recipe, and my crab salad turned out amazing—it was a huge hit with everyone!
That’s awesome Mrs. Wynne! Thank you so much for stopping by to share.
Here’s a revised version of your review:
I absolutely loved this recipe! The instructions were so clear and easy to follow. As a big fan of dill, I opted for fresh instead of dried, and it made the dish even more flavorful. Other than that, I stuck to the recipe, and my crab salad turned out amazing—it was a huge hit with everyone!
That’s awesome Mrs. Wynne! Fantastic comment, thank you so much for stopping by to share.
Best crab salad! I used more lemon juice and Old Bay for my taste buds!
Nice! Thanks for stopping by Cheryl to share.
Sounds good
It is Stacy, give it a try. Let us know in the comments. Thanks for stopping by.