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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 mayonnaise, 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! 🙂
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!