Crab Salad with Cucumber and Tomato Recipe
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Let me start out by saying that store-bought crab salad can’t touch this. I am not a fan of deli-made crab salads with those giant chunks of celery and barely any crab. They are a no-go. After you’ve tried this homemade version, there’s no going back. It’s also super easy to make!
My friend Lyuda who is well known for her recipe: Shrimp and Mushrooms in a Garlic Bisque Sauce, shared this wonderful crab salad recipe with me. She invited us for dinner and served this up. We loved it!
It’s different from our first crab salad recipe in that it has more fresh ingredients. The flavor is wonderful. Surprisingly it tastes great the next day too. I was worried about the cucumber and tomatoes getting weird, but they didn’t. They stayed nice and crisp after refrigeration.
Ingredients for Crab Salad:
l lb (16 oz) package of Imitation crab meat, chopped/shredded up into small pieces
1 English One long cucumber, diced small
2 medium tomatoes, diced and drained of any excess juice
1/4 cup chopped Green onions, fresh or frozen
3 cloves of garlic, pressed
1/2 cup mayo, or to taste (I’m keeping it healthier with a a vegenaise)
How to Make Crab Salad:
1. Chop/shred crab into small pieces. You can chop with a knife or use a food processor and pulse in batches. Try to shred it apart a little for better coating with the dressing. P.S. Imitation crab meat is made of white fish.
I’ve loved this stuff since I was a kid and I can’t get over it (don’t judge me). I’d always ask my parents to buy it when we went grocery shopping together.
2. Chop 2 medium tomatoes and drained them of any excess juice. It wouldn’t be a bad plan to seed them to keep the salad from getting too juicy the next day. Make small dice out of the cucumber. In a large bowl , combine chopped tomatoes, diced cucumbers, shredded crab and 1/4 cup diced green onion.
3. In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup mayo and 3 pressed cloves of garlic. Add the dressing to the crab salad to taste. You can add more mayo if you like a juicier salad. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Crab Salad with Cucumber and Tomato Recipe
Ingredients
- l lb, 16 oz package of Imitation crab meat, chopped/shredded up into small pieces
- 1 English One long cucumber, diced small
- 2 medium tomatoes, diced and drained of any excess juice
- 1/4 cup chopped Green onions, fresh or frozen
- 3 cloves of garlic, pressed
- 1/2 cup mayo, or to taste (I'm keeping it healthier with a a vegenaise)
Instructions
- Chop/shred crab into small pieces. You can chop with a knife or use a food processor and pulse in batches. Try to shred it apart a little for better coating with the dressing. P.S. Imitation crab meat is made of white fish. I've loved this stuff since I was a kid and I can't get over it (don't judge me). I'd always ask my parents to buy it when we went grocery shopping together.
- Chop 2 medium tomatoes and drained them of any excess juice. It wouldn't be a bad plan to seed them to keep the salad from getting too juicy the next day. Make small dice out of the cucumber. In a large bowl , combine chopped tomatoes, diced cucumbers, shredded crab and 1/4 cup diced green onion.
- In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup mayo and 3 pressed cloves of garlic. Add the dressing to the crab salad to taste. You can add more mayo if you like a juicier salad. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Let me know how much you like it! 🙂
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
This is right up my alley and it is delicious! quick and easy. I was able to use perfectly ripe tomatoes and a beauty English cucumber from my garden and they are so tasty! thanks for the recipe!
That’s great, Jeff! Thank you for the feedback.
Can you add some Old Bay Seasoning The imitation crab salad?
Hi Victoria, I haven’t tested that but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
Can I use lump real crab meat?
I really don’t care for the imitation crab.
Hi Carmelina, that should be alright. Please update us on how it goes if you try!
Add a little sliced avacado to this and. A dash of salad supreme dressing. Really sets it off
That sounds like a good idea too, thanks for the suggestion.
Fantastic combination! Perfect snack!
I used cherry tomatoes and best foods Mayo and it was great.
Sounds good, I’m happy that you enjoyed it!
Have you tried this with canned crab meat? Not especially fond of artificial crab meat.
Hi Elaine, I haven’t but that may work! If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe!
I use a
1 Lb of the Imitation Crabmeat
Celery
Red Pepper
Onion
Light Mayo
Old Bay Seasonings
Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
I made this with my own dressing of mayonnaise, the zest from one lemon and the juice from about 1/2 a lemon
and dill to taste. Thank you Natasha, It was terrific!
Judi from Eagle, Idaho
So nice to know that, thank you for sharing that with us, Judi! Love it.
I’m Sticking With You ! If I needed a recipe I would try different ones online, And some were not so good. NOW I go right to your website and use only your recipes . They are ALWAYS WONDERFUL! My kids think I’m a chef all of a sudden . Great food recipes. I actually made Chinese food last week., DELICIOUS! Every Time!
You’re so nice! Thank you for that wonderful feedback, Judy!
You haven’t n lost me Natasha, I love your recipes, I’ve just been really busy making face masks for nursing homes & for anyone in need.
No worries, Nancy. Stay safe always!
I’ve made this salad as is and was great! Have you ever added a small pasta to the mix? Thinking about lunch for the week. What do yo think?
Hi Lori, I haven’t tried that, but it sounds tasty. You would need more dressing though since pasta tends to dry salads out a bit as they take on dressing.
Yum! I made a few little tweaks… I added frozen corn and skipped the tomatoes. I also skipped the garlic. I used a regular cucumber and just scraped out the seed before I diced it. Instead of 1/4 cup green onion I used about 2 Tbsp green onion and 2 Tbsp red onion… eyeballed the mayo and add 1/4tsp salt. DELICIOUS!!! Thank you so much for posting!!!!
That’s fantastic! Thanks for sharing that with us, these are good tips! Thanks too for the amazing review.
I am taking it to a pot luck at my Quaker Meeting tomorrow….I have the “crab” all cut and back in the fridge until I mix it all up tomorrow. Now to small dice the cucumber and a bit of sweet valdalia onion…I will do the tomato in the morning. I will use Kewpie Japanese Mayonaise and perhaps a little fresh lemon juice and THE GARLIC I almost forgot the garlic…I will put it out tonight so I see it before I mix everything up.
I am going to stuff Hawaiian style hot dog rolls with the salad …it will make it easier for folks to pick-up and and not hold up the line. I might defrost some cooked and shell off cleaned shrimp ….and chop that up with the “crab”…but probably no need. (guilding the lily my mom used to say about going overboard). Thanks for your recipe
You’re very welcome, Bond! I’m so glad you enjoyed that.
This is so good!!! Followed the recipe with no alterations. After having a HUGE craving i tried 3 other recipes found online that left me disappointed, this one does not disappoint!!! Having again tomorrow for lunch on a bed of romaine…if I can wait that long!
That’s so great! I’m so glad you enjoyed that! Thank you for sharing your awesome review with me, Tasha!
I made this with a few twists as our family doesn’t really care for mayo. I used everything but the mayo. I added a cap full of lemon juice a bit of dill weed and 2 tablespoons of ranch. I used red onion instead of green and we used it as a salsa with tortilla chips . Delish
That sounds so good! Thank you for sharing that with us, Amanda!
Delicious. I have played around with this and found a table spoon of lemon juice and 1/4 tsp of smoked paprika when mixing the mayo is a nice twist.
That sounds like a great combo! Thanks for sharing that with us, Jens.
I made this on 8 Aug 2017, and I will say nothing short of perfect, you can easily adjust the ingredients to what you have. I used more that the crab stated, probably less cucumber, maybe more tomato, and more mayo, very forgiving dish. This is my 3rd dish I have made from Natasha, all three, spot on! Thank you for the excellent recipe! 5 stars easy!
You’re welcome Lee! I’m glad you love it so much! Thanks for following and sharing excellent review! 😀
I too like imitation crab, it just fish, and no need to pick a crab, always a bonus. I will be making this soon.
Please let me know what you think of the recipe Lee!
I have made this a few times since I stumbled on this recipe… maybe a couple years ago. It is JUST SO EASY. The only time it was compromised was when I bought a batch of bitter cucumbers (a sad day indeed) Thank you for an amazing recipe with easy-to-find ingredients (here in S Korea!)
I’m so happy to hear you find the recipe easy and delicious! Thanks for sharing 🙂
What about eggs? What do you think if I will add some hard boiled eggs?
I personally prefer this version of crab salad without eggs because of the tomatoes and cucumber in the recipe, but you could add it if you wish. My original crab salad does have eggs in it and they do work really well in that recipe.
This looks so good and I’m going to try making it with real crab, since I’m gluten intolerant and most imitation crab has gluten in it. They make a paste to hold the fish together. Have you ever tried it with real crab?
Hi Wanda, I haven’t tried real crab for this one and I really had no idea artificial crab has gluten in it!! I’ll have to share that with my sister who is also gluten intolerant. Thank you!
This is the crab salad i have wanted all my life. SO GOOD.
Shannon, that’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review 🙂
I love this salad, its one that i always make when i have guests. I typically put two sticks of chopped celery and fresh dill in my crab salad. You should try it, its super good!
Mmm that does sound really really good! Thank you for sharing your tips! 🙂
So so good! I made it and ate it with Triscuit dill and sea salt and olive oil crackers which added tonthe already delicious salad. It’s going to make a great lunch!
I’m so happy you enjoyed it! It sounds wonderful the way you ate it! 🙂
This salad is soo yummy and so simple to make!! This is the Best Crab Salad!!
I’m so happy you loved it! Thank you for sharing your great review! 🙂
Great shrimp salad, looking for recipe of tomatoe,cucmber, and avocado salad.
Thank you Lorraine, click here for the tomato avocado salad. You won’t be disappointed ?.
delicious love it! do know the calories for a cup of it??
Hi Becca, I don’t typically include calorie counts, but if you go to caloriecount.com you can plug in the ingredients and servings and figured out pretty easily that way. I hope that helps!
I’ve served this two ways. On hot summer days the crab salad is the main course on top of a simple romaine and balsamic vinegar salad (my favorite). Secondly as a crab salad slider – the cold salad only on lightly toasted bun (hubby’s favorite). Thanks for sharing a great recipe!
Wow! I love both of those ideas! DELICIOUS!!
I love imitation crabmeat as well.I make a recipe similar to this one except I add a bit of lemon juice,chopped black olives,parsley and a dash of basil.
Oh yum! Your version sounds wonderful also!
This looks delicious! I’m planning on making it tonight; do you have any suggestions on what to serve with it?
It works well with most rice dishes or mashed potatoes.
Going to try it. Looks absolutely delicious. Thanks for posing.
Thank you Catherine! 🙂
Your recipes look really good. I wish you would put the number of calories with them as a lot of people like to know how many calories they are consuming. Just a thought. Thanks..
I don’t typically put nutritional info, but a great resource is caloriecount.com – it’s free to have an account and you can copy and paste your ingredients into their analyzer.
I made the crab salad but added some hot seasoning and it is very tasty
Mick, thank you for the great review and for the seasoning tip :).
Just found your site and you have reinvigorated my zest for trying new dishes. I made your Crab Salad tonight, it looks and smells really good! I didn’t read the tip about leaving the tomatoes out if making it the night before, I will know for next time. Thank you for sharing your recipes, there are so many that sound good, I hardly know where to start.
Welcome to the site Shelagh :). I hope that you’ll find many new favorites :).
Do you think the taste might be altered if I make this the night before? I want to make it Saturday night for Sunday lunch? Just wondering if the tomatoes will hold up?
Thanks!
It might be best to add the tomatoes before serving so the salad doesn’t get too juicy. You can prep and pre-chop all of the ingredients and keep them separate and then just stir everything together with the dressing before serving.
I’ve made similar fish salads with the same ingredients (only with raw fish instead of imitation crab … it’s a Tongan delicacy called “‘ota”). I always love it the next day and even day after. Try it out with the imitation crab. It might be more delish the next day. Just stir a little before serving. The tomatoes will mix in more with the mayo and create a slightly more acidic taste. I always spritz in a half lemon to this recipe. Never tried with garlic though. Going to give that a go.
Just made this salad and it’s delicious. The garlic really makes the salad. I thought the 1/2 cup of mayo wouldn’t be enough but it definitely was. Thank you for this recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
I can’t believe I haven’t reviewed this already. I’ve made this recipe at least half a dozen times since I found it first several months ago. It’s one of my favorites and will remain in my recipe book for years to come. I switch it up sometimes and I add kosher pickle in place of some of the cucumber. I also use red onion instead of green onion. And from time to time I add a little seeded chopped jalapeno. GREAT RECIPE!
Thank you so much for the great review Rowlanda :). I’m so glad you liked it and the pickle does sound like a good idea. Do you still use tomato with the pickle?
I had seen another crab salad recipe that was served in jumbo pasta shells but I liked the ingredients in yours better. I made these for a covered dish luncheon at church and there were none left to bring home. Thanks for sharing.
I’m so happy you enjoyed it! 🙂
This is really tasty! Very jealous of your knife skills – mine wasn’t as pretty as yours, but still looked pretty good. Since the audience that meal likes their food highly seasoned, added 1/2 tblsp of seasoned rice vinegar, a scant 1/2 tsp of celery salt, and a scant 1/2 tsp of sriracha. Still had that comforting crab salad appeal, but with the tiniest bit of heat. YUM.
Thanks for sharing how you made it. I always love to try new ways of making things. I love the idea of adding sriracha! I love that stuff and never would have thought to put it in. Thanks so much!
I don’t care for mayo. Could I substitute yogurt or something. Im Going to try to find veganaise at my local market.
I haven’t tested this salad with yogurt. You might try plain greek yogurt or even sour cream, but you’ll probably have to season it up more since mayo gives this salad some nice flavor. I found the Vegenaise at Fred Meyer 🙂
This crab salad was good..The combination was perfect. It’s like making a cucumber and tomato salad just with crab meat making it extra special and different. Thanks!
You’re welcome! I’m so glad you liked it 🙂
Hey Natasha!
I love your recipes.. Russian myself but living in USA, I still cook just like you lots of recipes from home!
Have ever tried this salad with white rice? My mom always made it with rice, she’s would cool it off and add it up to the ingredients! She always would make it for big holidays.. So none would be left
I’ve had crab salad with rice before (and it wasn’t mine, so maybe it was just That specific recipe), but I didn’t dig it, so I never tried making it myself. If you try it witih this recipe, let me know how you like it!
Looks really good! I’m gonna try with Shrimp and Crabmeat for this week!
Oooh nice! That sounds like a good combo but I haven’t tried it before. Let me know how you like it 🙂
I make this salad but i have never used tomatoes… one if my favorite
The tomatoes are a nice addition. 🙂
Thank you it is very good. Made it and loved it:)
Thanks for the great review! I’m so happy you loved it 🙂
Hello, Natasha
I work at local Austin Meat/Seafood market and was looking for a recipe that was as you said, [a recipe that] “store-bought crab salad can’t touch….”. On that point my idea is to make small batch (2 lbs), with fresh produce, to sell it out of our seafood case.
If you don’t mind me using your recipe shoot me an email, I think its perfect!
Let me know,
Thanks
Lee.
That would be fine 🙂 thanks for asking 🙂
Just curious what knife brand do you use? I noticed a knife (couldn’t see the brand) in one of pictures and since i’m sure you do a lot of chopping I’d ask. 🙂
Thanks
I love my Henckels knives. Seriously the best!! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0035GWY8M?tag=natashaskcom-20&camp=213381&creative=390973&linkCode=as4&creativeASIN=B0035GWY8M&adid=0WDYQCSFMNY88XZH3RQT&&ref-refURL=http%3A%2F%2Fnatashaskitchen.com%2Fshop-3%2F
I knew it! I had a choice between Henckels and Palm and I ended up going with the Palm brand.. Oh well.
I haven’t tried the Palm brand. Do you love them?
I Haven’t used them enough to give them a rating especially because I grew up with Cutco knives. But I think one of the paring knives is a little dull :-/
How did you like the Cutco?
Cutco knives were pretty good. We’ve had them for over 10 years. Really expensive though.
What’s the best place to buy them?
Im really not sure. My cousin used to work for that company as a sales person, thats how we got ours.
I just bought two Henckels 4″ paring knives and I love them! This size of a knife you can do practically everything with it. Will be ordering more soon!
Crab salad is a big hit with our family, especially my brothers and brother in laws:). We make it for every party. I’m pretty sure it’ll be on the menu this Christmas as well. We’ll have to try your version too.
I hope you love it if you try it. Most of our family loves crab salad too except my Mom who stays away from shellfish. But I sure do love the stuff! 🙂
I made this yesterday along with the Pomegranate cake. It was really good! I’m not a big fan of Crab meat but I didn’t mind it in the salad because the rest of the ingredients balanced it out, and the mayo made it nice and creamy. And my family liked it so it’s definitely a keeper!
That’s awesome! I’m so glad you liked it 🙂
Natasha,
Where did you buy Vegenaise? I think Ive tried every mayo thats organic/non gmo and can’t seem to find one that tastes good.
Fred Meyer 🙂
I love your blog, your recipes are wonderful. I’m from Poland and many polish and ukrainian dishes are very similar. Thumbs up!
Edyta, thank you for your sweet comment :). I agree, there are many similarities in Polish/Ukrainian dishes.
Can I use regular mayonnaise ?? Does vegenaise taste much different ??
Yes! Absolutely! It tastes pretty much the same 🙂
I make similar salad with crab and tomatoes but I don’t add cucumbers to it. I read it in a Russian cook book and it’s really good 🙂 I’ll try these version too thank you so much for sharing recipes with us ❤
Was there anything else different in yours? I’ll need to make one of those one of these days; a Russian cookbook 😉
yes we also add dill and black pepper 🙂 btw I made this salad today and we loved it 😉 thank you very much. my fiancé kept telling me don’t forget to add this to your recipe book =D
Ha! that’s awesome. Congrats on the engagement! 🙂
Omg! How funny, today is the first time I bought crab meat (imitation). Was wondering how to make crab salad. You are amazing. It feels like you read my mind. Lol
I’m not a mind reader, but that reminds me of a funny story. I work in telemetry and when I first got my job as an RN my sister (who is my hair stylist) told people that I was in Telepathy (mind reading) instead of telemetry. lol.
Lol. I love all your recipes. Thank you so much for sharing them with all of us.
Natasha, thanks for sharing this recipe. This looks like a good salad, I want to try this recipe for our coming up family Christmas 🙂
I hope you love it!! I’ll be scouring your site and the rest of my foodie favorites in preparation for my upcoming holiday parties 🙂
I have noticed :::))))
Do you think I could use a real crab meat in this salad?
Though I like that fake stuff so much, I still buy these “palochki” for myself to snack on.
I think it might work but I haven’t tested it with the real stuff to see the taste difference. If anything, I bet it would taste even better 😉 I can’t get past the imitation crab meat. I just cant stop. oh well. lol
Thank you for “enlightened” version of this salad!
Anytime 🙂 It does feel lighter on the gut lol.
I love your blue bowl! Where did you get it? I’m always on the lookout for food styling props! 🙂
It’s from Home Goods a.k.a. TJ max 🙂 I bought it at “home goods” on our trip to Sacramento.
Mmm, so light and refreshing. My husband calls it “Russian Salad”, although to be fair anything with mayo he calls Russian salad. 🙂 I make mine with canned corn and dill but would love to try this version. Thank you for sharing!
Oh goodness corn and dill do sound amazing! My other crab salad is made with corn. So true, anything with mayo is Russian salad. What is it with us and mayo? I’m not complaining 😉
Just recipe sounds so yummy. Can’t wait to come home from work and make it today. Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome. I hope you love it! 🙂
This looks really good, Natasha! I make your other crab salad quite often 🙂 What did your friend serve this with? Does it go as a dinner side salad or more like for lunch with a sandwich?
She served it like a dinner side salad, but you could serve it for lunch with a sandwich. She served it with rice and that shrimp and mushrooms in a bisque sauce recipe that I have linked at the top of this post. It was super yummy! 🙂
Thanks for posting this recipe! I like crab salads very much so this new version is appreciated…
I’m a major fan too! It was my favorite salad growing up 🙂