Easy Seafood Salad Recipe (with Creamy Dressing)
Published Aug 01, 2024 Updated Apr 10, 2025
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This classic, cold seafood salad recipe features a combination of shrimp and crab, mixed with fresh vegetables and a creamy dressing. This delicious dish can be whipped up in 15 minutes and makes a great make-ahead side dish or lunch option.
Table of Contents
What Makes This Recipe Great
It’s still so darn hot and humid here so I’m embracing recipes that are easy to throw together and don’t require any baking! Enter, the best Seafood Salad Recipe! I can’t even handle how good this salad turned out.
It features a mix of crunchy raw veggies like red onion, green onion, and celery, all chopped finely and seasoned with fresh dill, and a little salt and pepper. Every bite offers tender chunks of crab and shrimp, all brought together by a creamy, tangy, and subtly spicy dressing.
This dish is a great accompaniment to any summer picnic or BBQ or can be made for an easy lunch or meal prep meal. Even better, it can be served atop lettuce, in a sandwich, by itself, or with crackers, chips, and more! It’s versatile and so darn easy, and I know you’re going to love it!
If you want more seafood recipes, check out these:
Ingredient Notes
This salad is made with a blend of imitation crab (or real crab meat) and cooked shrimp. Seafood lovers, it’s the perfect salad for hot summer days and makes the most delicious, easy high protein lunch option. There are many different ways to serve it, but the result is always the same: Delicious!
Seafood Salad
- cooked medium shrimp: You can use pre-cooked shrimp or fresh shrimp and cook it first.
- imitation crab meat or cooked lump crab
- red onion
- green onions
- finely chopped celery
- fresh dill
- salt/black pepper to taste
Creamy Dressing
- mayonnaise
- sour cream or Greek yogurt
- fresh lemon juice
- Dijon mustard
- minced garlic
- salt and pepper to taste
- Old Bay seasoning
- hot sauce
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Prepare the Salad Ingredients: In a large bowl, combine the cooked shrimp, imitation crab (or lump crab), red onion, green onion, celery, and fresh dill. Mix gently.
- Make the Dressing: In a separate bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream (or Greek yogurt), lemon juice, Dijon mustard, minced garlic, Old Bay seasoning, and hot sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Combine Salad and Dressing: Pour the dressing over the salad ingredients. Toss gently to combine, ensuring everything is well coated with the dressing.
- Chill and Serve: Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to let the flavors meld. Serve chilled.
Mac’s Pro TipS
Expert Tips
- You can use imitation crab or cooked lump crab– both work great!
- The real key to this salad is making sure the vegetables are all chopped into smaller pieces– this adds to the texture and crunch.
- To make this seafood salad dairy-free, use vegan mayo and either dairy-free sour cream or plain non-dairy yogurt.
- Feel free to adjust the spice to your liking. This salad is relatively mild, but you can spice it up with more Old Bay and hot sauce.
- For extra heartiness, you can add a cup of cooked and cooled short pasta to make this a seafood pasta salad.
Serving & Storage Tips
Serve as an appetizer, side dish, or a light lunch. You can serve it atop lettuce wraps or a bed of lettuce, wrap it in a tortilla, or in between sliced bread or hoagie rolls. Make it a sandwich or a dip (with crackers or pita bread), or serve it atop a bed of lettuce. You can’t go wrong!
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Give it a good stir and serve. The flavors will continue to meld overnight making it even better the next day!
Recipe FAQs
If you don’t have fresh dill, you can substitute dried dill. However, if you don’t prefer the flavor of dill at all, feel free to omit it and use another fresh herb like fresh parsley, fennel, thyme, rosemary, or basil.
More Salad Recipes
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Easy Seafood Salad Recipe (with Creamy Dressing)
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 lb. cooked medium shrimp peeled and deveined (I use the 41-60 count bag)
- 8 oz imitation crab or cooked lump crab
- ½ cup red onion
- ¼ cup green onion
- ¼ cup finely chopped celery
- 2 tbsp fresh dill chopped
- salt/pepper to taste
Dressing
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1-2 clove garlic minced
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning or more to taste
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
Instructions
- Prepare the Salad Ingredients: In a large bowl, combine the cooked shrimp, imitation crab (or lump crab), red onion, green onion, celery, and fresh dill. Mix gently.
- Make the Dressing: In a separate bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream (or Greek yogurt), lemon juice, Dijon mustard, minced garlic, Old Bay seasoning, and hot sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Combine Salad and Dressing: Pour the dressing over the salad ingredients. Toss gently to combine, ensuring everything is well coated with the dressing.
- Chill and Serve: Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to let the flavors meld. Serve chilled.
Notes
Expert Tips
- You can use imitation crab or cooked lump crab– both work great!
- The real key to this salad is making sure the vegetables are all chopped into smaller pieces– this adds to the texture and crunch.
- To make this seafood salad dairy-free, use vegan mayo and either dairy-free sour cream or plain non-dairy yogurt.
- Feel free to adjust the spice to your liking. This salad is relatively mild, but you can spice it up with more Old Bay and hot sauce.
- For extra heartiness, you can add a cup of cooked and cooled short pasta to make this a seafood pasta salad.
Serving & Storage Tips
Serve as an appetizer, side dish, or a light lunch. You can serve it atop lettuce wraps or a bed of lettuce, wrap it in a tortilla, or in between sliced bread or hoagie rolls. Make it a sandwich or a dip (with crackers or pita bread), or serve it atop a bed of lettuce. You can’t go wrong! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Give it a good stir and serve. The flavors will continue to meld overnight making it even better the next day!Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
