Easy Crab and Shrimp Salad

By Doug DuCap
Updated on 12/4/21
Easy Crab and Shrimp Salad

The Spruce / Madhumita Sathishkumar

Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Total: 20 mins
Servings: 2 to 3 servings

This simple recipe makes a seafood salad with a nice interplay of flavor and texture. The addition of softened panko crumbs extends it without altering the delicate seafood flavors.

Since this is a well-mixed, mayo-based salad, you can use one of the more economical grades of crabmeat. Even imitation crabmeat will work if that is what is easiest to find and fits your budget best. If you are using real crab, you will need to pick through the crabmeat to ensure that all bits of shell and cartilage are removed. They really are inevitable, and better that you discover these before your guests do.

You can use medium or small shrimp, but they must be cooked, peeled, and deveined. It is easy to find shrimp already prepared in this way in many grocery stores, or you can do the work starting with raw shrimp.

There is some prep work with the vegetables, so break out the chef knife and hone your chopping skills. For food safety, use a different cutting board and knife for the vegetables than the ones you used for any raw seafood.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon milk

  • 2 tablespoons panko breadcrumbs

  • 6 ounces small or medium shrimp, cooked

  • 6 ounces white crabmeat, cooked, flaked

  • 1/4 cup finely chopped celery

  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped sweet onion, or scallion

  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped dill pickle

  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

  • 1/2 teaspoon dried dill, optional

  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise

  • Kosher salt, to taste

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Easy Crab and Shrimp Salad ingredients

    The Spruce / Madhumita Sathishkumar

  2. Pour milk over panko breadcrumbs in a small bowl and stir well. Set aside.

    Milk and panko in a bowl

    The Spruce / Madhumita Sathishkumar

  3. Chop shrimp coarsely (big pieces are ideal) and flake crabmeat into pieces about the same size as shrimp.

    Diced shrimp on a cutting board

    The Spruce / Madhumita Sathishkumar

  4. Combine crab and shrimp with softened panko, celery, onion, pickle, lemon juice, dried dill (if using), black pepper, and cayenne pepper.

    Crab and shrimp mixture in a bowl

    The Spruce / Madhumita Sathishkumar

  5. Add just enough mayo to moisten. Adjust salt to taste.

    Mayo added to crab and shrimp mixture in a bowl

    The Spruce / Madhumita Sathishkumar

  6. Chill salad for an hour or more to allow flavors to combine and develop before serving.

    Easy Crab and Shrimp Salad in a bowl

    The Spruce / Madhumita Sathishkumar

Tips

  • Your crab and shrimp salad can be served in many different ways. As an appetizer, serve it with crackers or a baguette.
  • For serving individual salads to luncheon guests, it will go well on a bed of baby greens. You can use a scoop or shape each serving in a small dish or an empty (clean) tuna can. Garnish with a sprig of dill or parsley and place a tomato wedge on each plate.
  • Use this salad to stuff an heirloom tomato or avocado.
  • You can use this salad as a sandwich filler. Make a sub on a fresh sandwich roll, adding leaf lettuce and tomato slices. Or make a hot crab and shrimp salad cheddar melt sandwich just as you would a tuna melt.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
264 Calories
15g Fat
6g Carbs
24g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 2 to 3
Amount per serving
Calories 264
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 15g 20%
Saturated Fat 3g 13%
Cholesterol 183mg 61%
Sodium 1050mg 46%
Total Carbohydrate 6g 2%
Dietary Fiber 0g 2%
Total Sugars 1g
Protein 24g
Vitamin C 3mg 16%
Calcium 126mg 10%
Iron 1mg 4%
Potassium 302mg 6%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)