Ina Garten Crab Salad

The Ina Garten Crab Salad is an easy recipe that is great as a side dish or as a filler for crab salad sandwiches. You’re going to love this delicious and simple recipe.

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What Makes This Recipe So Good:

It’s so easy to make: Ideal for warm days when you don’t want to work in a hot kitchen!
Serve it as a side or as its own meal: I love it on lettuce wraps, buttery crackers, or on hot-dog-style buns for an easy crab roll. The filling is light but it is filling.
If you have leftovers: they make great lunches or snacks the next day.

What Is Imitation Crab?

Many people make crab salad with imitation crab because it is inexpensive, available year-round, and can be found in almost every grocery store.

Crab imitation is a product made with mild white fish, usually, Alaskan Pollock, which is blended with other ingredients to create a product that looks and tastes like a real crab. In your Ina Garten crab salad, you can use real crab if you wish, but imitation crab is certainly easier to prepare.

Ingredients That You’ll Need:

Lump crab meat: Both fresh crab meat and the fancy refrigerated canned stuff are expensive-but the quality makes all the difference in this recipe. If you go cheap on shelf-stable canned crab, you will regret it.
Fresh herbs: Any fresh herbs you have on hand will work well scallions, Italian parsley, dill, chives, and tarragon work particularly well.
Spicy hot pepper or sweet bell pepper (optional): I like to add a finely diced Thai chili pepper to this salad because it adds a punch of color, flavor, and heat you can leave it out or add some chopped red bell pepper if you’re not a fan of spicy things.
Paleo mayonnaise: This Ina Garten recipe can be made with homemade or store-bought mayonnaise. To be honest, I haven’t made my own mayonnaise in years and normally buy Primal Kitchen mayonnaise.
Salad greens or avocados: To serve the crab salad as a complete meal, serve it with salad greens or pitted and halved avocados!
Belgian endives or small sweet peppers (optional): To make this Ina Garten crab salad into a fancy appetizer, spoon it into endive spears or hollowed-out mini sweet peppers

What Kind Of Crab Should You Use?

The best choice is to use freshly cooked crab meat that you prepare yourself or purchase from a trusted fishmonger. The second best choice is the canned crab jumbo lump meat that is found in the seafood department in the refrigerator section.

Use fresh crab meat instead of canned crab meat because shelf-stable crab meat is dry, mealy, and tastes bad. You can substitute cooked salmon for crab if you cannot find high-quality crab.

Recipe Variations

Turn it into a crab macaroni salad: stir in a cup of cooled and cooked macaroni noodles. Add more dressing to taste.
Make it Russian-style: Serve it with horseradish sauce, hardboiled eggs, drained canned peas, and drained corn.
Make it healthier: Include more greens, such as spinach, kale, lettuce, and carrots. You can also add chopped boiled eggs and canned corn.
Add heat: Chunks of jalapenos add some zing.

How To Make Ina Garten Crab Salad?

Mix the crab with the scallions, parsley, and chili pepper (if using) in a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
Combine the mayonnaise and lemon juice in a small bowl.
Mix the mayonnaise dressing into the crab meat mixture carefully. Adjust seasoning with more mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt, and/or pepper if desired.
Serve the crab salad over greens or spoon it over halved and pitted avocados as a light dinner.
Prepare Belgian endives by cutting off the ends and cutting them into spears.
Place the spears on a platter and spoon in the crab salad.
Are there no endive spears? The crab salad can also be spooned inside halved and deseeded mini sweet peppers!

What To Serve With Ina Carten Crab Salad?

You can also use it to fill roles, with crackers, or as is. You can also serve it as a light side dish to other quick meals like Baked Lemon Thyme Chicken or Cheesy Chicken Fajita Quesadilla here are some other ideas:

Chicken Souvlaki
BBQ Beef Brisket Sandwiches
Philly Cheesecake Sandwiches
Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs
French Dip Sandwiches
Italian Beef Sandwiches
BBQ Chicken Sandwiches
Chicken Enchilada Soup
Roasted Lemon Garlic Butter Shrimp

How To Store Ina Garten Crab Salad?

In The Fridge: Typically your Ina Garten Crab Salad lasts between 3-5 days however, keep in your mind that the vegetables may weep some liquid to drain excess moisture.
In The Freezer: Technically you can freeze your Ina Garten Crab Salad For up to 1 month in the freezer, keep in mind tho that the texture of the meat and veggies will be slightly different, that’s why I do not recommend freezing it.

Recipe Tips

If you aren’t using Old Bay Seasoning, season the steaming water with about 1 tablespoon of salt.
Real crab meat should be used instead of imitation crab meat. You can serve it with lettuce wraps, avocados, or cucumber slices.
It is recommended that you chill for at least two hours. If possible, chill overnight.

FAQ Section

Can I make the Ina Garten Crab Salad recipe ahead of time?

Yes. The Ina Garten Carb salad can be made earlier in the day and served later if you don’t add the dressing until you’re just about to serve it, you’ll get a really vibrant color on the corn and lump crab salad.

Can I eat imitation crab raw?

For use in hot and cold recipes, it can be unwrapped right out of the package. Many people enjoy it as a snack as well.

Is crab salad healthy?

This is definitely a healthier option. Imitated seafood contains fewer calories and less fat. If you are concerned about additives, there are healthier versions available. Look for ingredients such as oat fiber, pea starch, and natural sugars.

How is imitation crab made?

rab imitations are made from surimi, a paste made from finely shredded or pulverized fish. A minced fish is heated and pressed into shapes resembling crab legs after it has been minced. The color and texture of the imitation crab are similar to those of the original crab.