The Best Imitation Crab Salad Recipe (2024)

This is simply the best imitation crab salad you will ever make! Serve it for lunch or as a dinner side. Easy to make, this imitation crab salad is truly fabulous.

Honestly, this is the best imitation crab salad you will ever make! We eat it as our lunch or as a side dish at dinner. We have served it to friends and relatives, and the response has been a resounding, “This is great!” So, the next time you are looking for a delicious side dish or tasty lunch or dinner entree, this imitation crab salad recipe is a great option the entire family will enjoy.

The Best Imitation Crab Salad Recipe

Hubby has refined this imitation crab recipe to the point that he is happy with it (and so am I!) This is one of my very favorites of his recipes. I hope you enjoy this imitation crab salad recipe too.

This recipe has a lot of ingredients, but it is an easy recipe to make. This great side dish imitation crab salad can also be placed inside a hoagie roll to make imitation crab salad sandwiches for lunch or dinner, or served on a bed of lettuce or in a lettuce wrap! This keeps for a day or two, so if you serve it as a dinner side one night, it makes for an easy lunch the next day.

Crab salad is a classic dish, but crab can be quite pricey. Imitation crab is quite reasonably priced in comparison. It is a different product though than the real thing as it is a man-made product. While fresh seafood tastes best, in my opinion, for the price difference, this imitation crab salad cannot be beaten.

Some of my favorite recipes you might enjoy:

● If you are wondering what my favorite “Hubby recipe” is, it is this outstanding Chicken Salad Recipe. In my opinion, it is his best recipe ever, and that is really saying something as my husband is an excellent cook.
● Hot Crab Dip
● Red, white, and blue Potato salad recipe.

Tips and variations for making this Imitation Crab Salad Recipe:

● It does not matter if you use imitation crab sticks or imitation crab lumps. The crab sticks are easier to shred, however.
● The recipe below uses ½ cup of mayo with 1 pound of shredded imitation crab salad. After a lot of experimenting, Hubby has decided that shredding (on a grater) is the way to go when making this salad. It is easier than chopping.
● If you chop your imitation crab (which we have done in the past on this recipe), you may want to cut down the mayonnaise to 1/3 of a cup. When you chop the imitation crab, cut it, then cut it again.
● In the same vein, if you like a “wetter” salad or creamy salads, simply add more mayonnaise than required in this recipe.
● You could use real crab meat in the recipe. However real crab is not sweet as this artificial crab is. Keep that in mind.
● Look for made-in-the-USA imitation crab (we found it at PriceRite and Walmart).
● If you do not have green onions, scallions will work. You may want to consider red onion or white onion, although I do not think either fit the recipe as well as the green onion.
● Hubby made a double batch of this imitation crab salad recipe recently. He decided to use the shred attachment on the food processor. As fast as he could load the imitation crab into the shoot it shredded. (He was THRILLED!) If you are making a double batch, you may want to consider this time-saver. Yes, you could do it with a single batch, but I am not sure how much time you’d save when you consider setting up the food processor blades + clean up.
● This recipe is made with simple ingredients commonly found at your local grocery store.

Imitation Crab Salad Ingredients:

● 1lb Imitation Crab Meat, shredded
● ¼ cup Celery
● 3 Green Onions
● 1 tsp Old Bay
● 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
● ½ cup Mayonnaise
● ¼ cup Sour Cream
● 2 TBSP Tartar Sauce
● 1½ tsp Horseradish Sauce
● 1 tsp Mrs. Dash
● 4 dashes of Hot Sauce
● 1 pinch of Garlic Powder
● ¼ tsp Black Pepper

Imitation Crab Salad Mise en Place:

● Cutting Board
● Knife
● Grater
● Large Bowl
● Medium Bowl
● Rubber Spatula
● Measuring Cup
● Measuring Spoons

Imitation Crab Salad Directions:

1. Shred the imitation crab meat using a grater (if chopping, double chop the crab meat), place the shredded imitation crab meat in a large bowl, and set aside.

2. Chop the crunchy celery and green onions into small pieces. Place in a bowl with the shredded imitation crab meat, and combine.

3. In a medium-sized separate bowl mix together Old Bay seasoning, Dijon mustard, mayonnaise, sour cream, tartar sauce, horseradish sauce, Mrs. Dash, garlic powder, hot sauce, and black pepper. Combine well.

4. Fold the mayonnaise mixture into the imitation crab and vegetables. Keep folding until well combined.
5. Refrigerate for at least two hours (overnight is better) as this is a cold salad.
6. Before serving, mix again. If you think it is too dry, add a bit of mayo. Stir again.

7. Serve cold.
8. Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container.

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