Crab Pasta Salad

At a glance

What stands out: A creamy, lemony Old Bay dressing makes this crab pasta salad a standout, but it’s the tender crab meat, veggies, and pasta shells that make it a satisfying lunch!

How long it takes: 30 minutes (plus 1 hour chilling)
Equipment you’ll need: bowl
Servings: 8

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Best Crab Salad!

Creamy pasta salads can be hard to get right, in our experience. The dressing can be one note (and that note is MAYO). Often, the other ingredients are overwhelmed and weighed down by the heavy dressing.

This crab pasta salad is different, though. For the dressing, we use a combination of Greek yogurt and mayonnaise, then add a generous amount of fresh lemon juice to brighten up the flavor, along with lots of Old Bay seasoning and dill. It’s SO tasty and, of course, Old Bay and lemon both pair well with the crab meat.

In addition to the crab and pasta, we’ve got crisp celery and onion, peas, and red bell pepper to add color, nutrition, and flavor to the mix. The combination makes for a surprisingly vibrant creamy pasta salad recipe!

Straightforward Crab Pasta Salad

The reliable combination of textures. The tender, flaky crab meat pairs evenly with the crunchy vegetables, creamy dressing, and al dente pasta shells. If you’re a texture person, this crab pasta salad is a treat!

A hit however you serve it. This is the kind of dish you bring to a potluck or a summer picnic, and everyone will request the recipe. It also has all the satisfaction of a main dish to enjoy as a straightforward weeknight dinner or a fabulous meal prep lunch. And that’s how we've been enjoying it! Like dill pickle pasta salad, Greek pasta salad, and similar pasta salad recipes, this one’s great as a meal prep lunch.

Straightforward to prepare ahead of time. And speaking of meal prep, you can easily make this crab pasta salad in advance since it tastes even better after chilling in the fridge.

What goes in

• Pasta: We like to use medium pasta shells but another short pasta shape like rotini would also work well. You want the pasta to be bite-sized so it will easily fit on a fork.
• Plain Greek yogurt and mayonnaise: We use a combination of mayo and yogurt as the base for the dressing. We love the tanginess the Greek yogurt adds and it has a few extra health benefits, too.
• Lemon juice: Freshly squeezed lemon juice is a must. Bottled lemon juice has already oxidized, dulling its flavor.
• Old Bay seasoning: A classic pairing with seafood, Old Bay is the primary seasoning in the dressing. Old Bay is a blend of 18 herbs and spices, with sweet, savory, and salty notes. We also use Old Bay seasoning to make our mini crab cakes with lemon aioli.
• Dried dill: There’s no need to buy fresh dill for this crab salad, although if you happen to have some on hand, it would be lovely. However, dried dill adds nice flavor to the dressing for this crab pasta salad.
• Crab meat: You can use lump crab meat, or imitation crab meat which is made from fish and is less expensive than real crab meat. We usually buy the flaked style imitation crab for pasta salad but choose what you like best. (Crab lovers, be sure to check out this crab rangoon dip too!)
• Vegetables: This pasta salad is packed with crunchy vegetables like celery, frozen peas (thawed), bell pepper, and red onion.

How it comes together

Cook the pasta. Follow the package directions and cook the pasta in salted water until it’s al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water.

Cooking Tip

It’s important to rinse the pasta in cold water so it stops cooking. Otherwise, the residual heat will continue to cook the pasta and might make it mushy. In addition, rinsing removes excess starch so the pasta won’t make your salad sticky. Be sure to drain the pasta well. You don’t want to add extra water to your salad.

Make the dressing. Whisk the Greek yogurt, mayo, lemon juice, Old Bay, and dill in a large bowl. Season to taste. You may want to add a bit more Old Bay seasoning, an extra squeeze of lemon juice, or even more dill. Sometimes dried herbs can lose some of their potency.

Finish the salad. Roughly chop the flaked crab. Add it to the bowl with the dressing, along with the cooked pasta, celery, bell pepper, peas, and onions. Stir until everything is well-coated with the dressing. Take another taste of the salad, and add salt and pepper if you think it needs it.

Chill. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the crab pasta salad for at least an hour before serving.

Recipe Tips

Don’t overcook the pasta. Make sure to cook the pasta to al dente as it will hold its shape better and provide the right texture for the salad. Overcooked pasta can become mushy or even start breaking apart once it’s mixed with the dressing.

Chill for maximum flavor. Allowing the pasta salad to chill for at least an hour ensures all the flavors blend together beautifully. Don’t skip this step! We taste-tested the salad immediately and after it was chilled to compare, and the flavor was noticeably better after the salad was chilled.

Balance the seasoning. Taste the dressing before mixing it with the other ingredients, and adjust it by adding more Old Bay seasoning, lemon juice, salt, to taste. We usually taste the salad again after we add the dressing, just to make sure everything is balanced and flavorful.

Keeping leftovers

Store this crab pasta salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator, or divvy it up into smaller containers for meal prep lunches. It’s best enjoyed within 3 to 4 days, as the pasta and fresh veggies may lose their texture or the dressing may begin to separate over time. (If the dressing separates, you can stir the salad before serving to fix it.)

• Yield: 8
• Prep: 20 minutes
• Cook: 10 minutes
• Total: 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 package (16 ounces) medium pasta shells (or other short pasta shape)
• ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt
• ¾ cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
• 1 teaspoon dried dill
• 16 ounces flaked-style imitation crab meat (or lump crab meat, see note)
• 1 ½ cups celery, finely chopped ( 3 stalks)
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed (place in strainer and run under hot water briefly to thaw)
• 1 cup diced red bell pepper ( 1 bell pepper)
• ½ cup red onion, finely chopped ( ¼ large onion)

Method

1. Fill a large pot with salted water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook according to the package instructions until al dente. Drain the pasta and rinse under cold water until cooled.
2. In a large mixing bowl (you’ll eventually be adding all the ingredients to this bowl), whisk together Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, Old Bay seasoning, and dill. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed, with additional Old Bay, lemon juice, or dill.
3. To the same bowl, add the cooled pasta, crab, celery, peas, bell pepper, and red onion.
4. Stir well to coat all ingredients with dressing. Taste the salad, and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
5. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a lid; refrigerate the crab pasta salad for at least an hour before serving. Chilling the salad allows the flavors to blend together.

Notes

Crab meat: You can use lump crab meat, picked over for shells, but we usually use flaked-style imitation crab. It’s less expensive and keeps well. Surprisingly, imitation crab meat is actually lower in sodium than real crab. Nutrition information is calculated using imitation crab meat.

Bell peppers: Feel free to use any color of bell pepper you prefer. Red, yellow, and orange have a similar flavor; green bell peppers aren’t as sweet, and may be more pungent.

Yield: This makes a big bowl of salad, about 14 cups (8 main course servings or 16 side servings). Feel free to make a half batch if you want.

Storage: Keep crab salad refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Stir well before serving. If you bring the salad to a potluck or picnic, it should be discarded after 2 hours at room temperature.