Crab Salad Recipe
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Simple Pasta Crab Salad
This pasta crab salad can be made with fresh or imitation crab and the creamy dressing with mustard is simple to make. The celery, onion, and carrot add crunch to an otherwise soft and creamy crab salad recipe. The sugar in the crab salad recipe dressing adds a touch of sweetness but you can leave it out if you do not like overly sweet salads. Feel free to add other salad ingredients, fruit, or diced vegetables. You can get really creative with this crab salad.
Pasta crab salad is very versatile. Serve it as an appetizer. It would look great with a little scoop on scallop shell plates, for instance. You can serve it as the main event for lunch, or for a side dish at dinner. This is a wonderful change of pace to the run of the mill macaroni salad. The seafood adds that something extra that will make this salad a hit at potlucks, picnics and family gatherings.
If you want to add even more flavor and color, try mixing in a little smoked paprika into the dressing. It will turn the salad dressing to a warm orange-yellow and add a hint of smokiness to the pasta crab salad. This is a great salad to use canned crab in. Pick the crab apart and rinse to remove any remaining bits of shell that may have made it into the can. Fresh crab, of course, is the best, but this salad also works well with imitation crab.
Pasta Crab Salad with Carrot and Celery
Ingredients -
12 oz shell pasta, cooked, and cooled
6 stalks celery, sliced thinly
2 green onions, minced
1-½ cups crab meat or imitation crabmeat
2 carrots, peeled and chopped finely
For the Dressing:
1-½ cups mayonnaise
6 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dried parsley
2 Tablespoons sugar
½ cup apple cider vinegar
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Preparation:
Whisk the mayonnaise, mustard, parsley, sugar, and vinegar together. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Mix in the cooked pasta, celery, onions, carrots and crab meat.
Chill for 30 minutes and serve.
(Serves 2)
Photo Description:
This is a nice twist on macaroni salad. Use shell pasta to continue the seafood theme. Our Simple Pasta Crab Salad is definitely delicious. Serve it up as a side dish at your next summer picnic or potluck. It also makes a terrific lunch on its own. You can make it look fancier by presenting it on a crisp bed of lettuce or spring greens. The flavor of the crab comes through nicely and the crunch of the onions and celery add a nice textural touch. Sprinkle the top with a little dill to really make it look nice.
