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Simple Crab Salad Recipe

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updated: 03/12/26

4.94 from 59 votes
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy

Crab Salad is an easy recipe that works great as a side dish or a filler to make a crab salad sandwich. You will love this delicious and easy side dish recipe!

side view of a bowl of crab salad garnished with fresh dill

Whenever I am getting remade salads from the deli, my eyes are always drawn to the Seafood Salad and the Crab Salad. They are absolutely delicious, but they are so easy to make at home. I love the simplicity of this recipe and it’s generous creamy dressing.

Reader Review

Thank you for this recipe.rnMy friends and family love itrnEverytime I make it I get requests for the recipernMy 22 year old son even asked for the recipe after he polished off a big bowl!!! ♥️

How to Make Crab Salad

This delicious recipe is so simple to make. First combine the main ingredients. Then make the dressing. I like to taste the dressing before then tossing it with the main ingredients. You can eat it right away or refrigerate it for a few hours to let the flavors combine.

overhead of ingredients for crab salad in a bowl

Tips and Tricks

  • Use imitation crab. While I typically get dragged for this on Facebook whenever I share my mom’s Crab Pasta Salad, it is such an affordable option and so delicious.
  • Use real crab. On the other hand, if you can afford to use real lump crab, it will be fantastic in this recipe. I love to sort through it with a fork to pull out any stray pieces of shell that can sometimes pop up.
  • Make your own Old Bay Seasoning. This is a seasoning mix that is very popular in the United States to eat with seafood. If you can’t find it, you can use my recipe for homemade Old Bay Seasoning.
overhead view of imitation crab salad in a bowl

How to Eat Crab Salad

  • As a salad side dish. Eat it with a fork as a side dish.
  • Eat it in lettuce cups. Serve it in lettuce cups for a great low carb option.
  • Make a crab salad sandwich. It makes for a filling lunch that you will really love.
  • Use it as a topping on salad greens. Throw in some other vegetables and make it a really healthy lunch option.

Leftovers

This recipe is best when eaten within twenty-four hours of being made. Leftovers should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator and given a stir before serving. I do not recommend freezing this salad.

crab salad sandwich on a cutting board

What to Serve with Crab Salad

If you are putting out a full spread for a get together and this salad is part of it, here are some other great recipes that you will love.

If you make this Crab Salad recipe or any of my other recipes, leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

side view of a bowl of crab salad garnished with fresh dill
4.94 from 59 votes

Crab Salad

Author: Lisa Longley
Serves: 8 servings
(tap # to scale)
Prep: 10 minutes
Total: 10 minutes
Crab Salad is an easy recipe that works great as a side dish or a filler to make a crab salad sandwich. You will love this delicious and easy side dish recipe!

Ingredients

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, combine the crab meat, red onion, and celery.
  • In a small bowl whisk together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, Old Bay Seasoning, fresh dill, and salt. Taste and add pepper to taste.
  • Stir the dressing into the main ingredients and serve. This recipe can be stored in the refrigerator for up to four days in an air tight container.

Recipe Video

Serving: 0.5cup Calories: 108kcal (5%) Carbohydrates: 7g (2%) Protein: 7g (14%) Fat: 7g (11%) Saturated Fat: 1g (6%) Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g Monounsaturated Fat: 2g Cholesterol: 54mg (18%) Sodium: 660mg (29%) Potassium: 32mg (1%) Sugar: 1g (1%)
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
side view of a bowl of crab salad garnished with fresh dill

did you make this

Crab Salad

I’d love to see what you made! Tag me @lisasimplejoy and hashtag it #simplejoyrecipes!

Lisa is the founder of Simple Joy. Lisa, is a self taught cook and avid lover of all things food, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. For the last 10 years Lisa has been reading cookbooks, experimenting in the kitchen, and learning everything she possibly can about cooking. The result has been the ability to create recipes, both classics and new twists, that readers fall in love with and make with ease. Lisa loves not only providing delicious and easy recipes, but also giving the why behind what we are doing in the kitchen. She gets such great joy in sharing my love for food.

Lisa has been featured in many media outlets. These outlets include Country Living, Real Simple, Today, Parade, Good Housekeeping, Buzzfeed, Delish, Elle, and many others.

Prior to becoming a food creator, Lisa was a social worker. She received her master’s in social work from the University of Milwaukee and worked in child welfare.

Lisa is the mom to four amazing kids: Gavin, Elliot, Quinn, and Piper. Gavin, Quinn, and Piper are happy, amazing kids she loves spending time with.

Her husband, Nathan, is her partner in life and in business. He is her rock in more ways than one and supports all of her crazy dreams.

Lisa and Nathan lost their second child, Elliot, when he was 8 days old. If you want to know more about Elliot, you can read it here. If you want to read more of Lisa’s experience of grief, you can read this post.

Reader Interactions

    4.94 from 59 votes (32 ratings without comment)

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  1. Kris says

    I really liked this recipe but I made some changes to it. I hate celery. I can eat it cooked but I won’t eat it raw. So I used water chestnuts to get the crunch. And I went with the green onions instead of the red, but red onions would be good also. I also used Miracle Whip to give it more of a tang. I liked this recipe because it gave you the chance to swap things out if you didn’t like them. We served this on garden fresh tomatoes and cucumbers. Awesome! Thanks!

  2. Julie J says

    5 stars
    I made it using my leftover crab from last night. It is very good 👍, I used dill and green onions from our garden. I had to hide some for me otherwise my husband will take the entire container and I won’t get any.

    • Lisa Longley says

      I’m so glad it was a hit!

  3. sandy says

    5 stars
    This was very good and easy to make. I served it on a toasted buttered roll. Yum

    • Lisa Longley says

      I’m so glad to hear you liked it!

  4. Dianne says

    Love new recipes

  5. Deb says

    5 stars
    Hello Lisa! I made this AWESOME crab salad. I added some peel & eat shrimp. This is the BEST seafood salad I have ever eaten. Thank you for sharing! L<3VE IT.

    • Lisa Longley says

      I’m so glad you liked it!

  6. Karen says

    I found this recipe a few weeks ago and just made it for the third time! It’s so good! Only change I made was I used half the Old Bay seasoning it called for.

    • Lisa Longley says

      I’m so glad you liked it, Karen!

  7. Joanna says

    5 stars
    Absolutely NOTHING WRONG with using Surimi! I wish they didn’t call it imitation crab/Krab here in the States. Surimi is just another ingredient used in Asia. It’s delicious and it’s made from fish! Use it and don’t be ashamed! This is a great recipe I can’t wait to try!❤️

    • Lisa Longley says

      I hope you love it!

  8. Mary says

    Everything I look at sounds so delicious and easy. Looking forward to trying more ‼️

    • Lisa Longley says

      Thanks, Mary!

  9. Freeda says

    I loved the crab salad. Only thing I changed was adding frozen peas. I let the peas thaw out. I also put it on top of some lettuce. I will make this from now on. Thank you.

    • Lisa Longley says

      I’m so glad you liked it!

  10. Jackie says

    5 stars
    So yummy! I left out the onion and did a little less old bay. Used split top brioche hot dog buns and toasted them in butter first. Reminds me of a lobster roll. Thanks for the recipe, Lisa!

    • Lisa Longley says

      I’m so happy you liked it so much!

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