Creamy Crab Pasta Salad is an easy, crowd-pleasing recipe made with tender pasta, crab, and a rich, tangy dressing. Perfect for potlucks, BBQs, and make-ahead sides!
We love to have this with a simple green salad and/or grilled chicken, or with a veggie tray and cottage cheese ranch.
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I love a good deviled egg pasta salad, but I wanted a good warm weather summer pasta salad that I could make ahead to bring to gatherings.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Taste: Lemon, Old Bay seasoning, and a creamy dressing over the pasta and crab.
- Ease: Cooking the noodles, mixing up the dressing, and combining all the ingredients. Beginner, no baking needed.
- Time: About 15 minutes to cook the noodles and assemble the salad.
📝 Ingredient Notes
- Veggies - I use celery, purple onion, and green onion.
- Seasonings - a mix of salt & pepper, Old Bay seasoning, and garlic powder.
- Mayonnaise - you can use regular, light, olive oil mayo, all of them work just fine.
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
✏️ Substitutions & Variations
- Veggies - it's easy to swap out celery for peas, diced bell pepper, or even grated carrot.
- Swap out the sour cream for Greek yogurt to give it a different flavor profile.
🧑🍳 Instructions
- Step 1. In a large pot, heat about 2L water with salt. Cook noodles according to package directions, about 9-10 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water to help stop the cooking process.
- Step 2. Prep veggies by washing and chopping small, especially the celery.
Rinsing the noodles will help stop the cooking process and prevent the noodles from becoming mushy and super sticky, don't skip this step if you can help.
- Step 3. Chop up the crab into bite sized pieces, or get the flaked style.
- Step 4. Make the sauce by combining the mayo, sour cream, lemon juice, zest, and all seasonings. Whisk together until smooth.
- Step 5. Add the noodles (cooled and veggies to the bowl of sauce. Stir until combined and the sauce coats everything. Garnish with fresh dill. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Enjoy!
📌 Troubleshooting
- Too dry: noodles can absorb moisture as they sit. Add a splash of milk and stir.
- Too much sauce: add another chopped vegetable like peppers or peas.
❄️ Make Ahead, Store, and Freezing Tips
If you make this ahead, the noodles may absorb moisture and it can dry out a bit. You can add more mayo or lemon juice, but I usually add a splash of milk and stir it in.
Refrigerate: up to 4 days. Freezing not recommended.
❓Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! It's actually better when it refridgerates overnight so the noodles can marinate in the sauce.
Noodles firm up when chilled, and soak up additional moisture. You can add a splash of milk or water to help.
I use imitation crab because it's easily accessible and affordable. You can also use cooked lobster, canned crab meat, or cooked crab meat.
🍽️ Serving Ideas
- Breads - delicious with cheddar garlic biscuits or
- Roasted veggies - broccoli, asparagus, or other greens would be lovely with this.
🥗 Delicious Summer Salad Recipes
Did You Try This Recipe? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Make sure to leave a star rating and a comment below the recipe card. I love hearing from you, and it is so helpful to other readers! Better yet, share it with family and friends. Thank you!!
📝 Printable Recipe
Creamy Crab Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 16 oz medium pasta shells uncooked
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 ribs celery (About ½ cup)
- ¼ cup Red onion finely chopped
- 8 oz imitation crab
- ¾ cup mayonnaise
- ¾ cup sour cream
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest (1 lemon)
- 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
- 2 Tablespoons green onion chopped
- 1 Tablespoon fresh dill (½ teaspoon dried)
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat about 2L water with salt. Cook noodles 16 oz medium pasta shells s according to package directions, about 9-10 minutes. Drain and rinse with cool water to stop the cooking process, and set aside.16 oz medium pasta shells , ¼ teaspoon salt
- Prep veggies by washing and chopping finely, especially the celery.2 ribs celery, ¼ cup Red onion, 2 Tablespoons green onion
- Chop up the crab into bite sized pieces, or get the flaked style.8 oz imitation crab
- Make the sauce by combining the mayo, sour cream, lemon juice, zest, and all seasonings. Whisk together until smooth.¾ cup mayonnaise, ¾ cup sour cream , 2 teaspoons lemon zest, 3 Tablespoons lemon juice, 1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon garlic powder , ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
- Add the noodles, crab, and veggies, to the sauce. Mix well until all of the ingredients are coated in the sauce. Garnish with fresh dill and refrigerate until ready to serve. Enjoy!1 Tablespoon fresh dill (½ teaspoon dried)
Notes
Nutrition
Hi, I'm Sara!
Registered Nurse by day, food blogger by weekend. Perfect dip tester & snack quester. I love short walks on the beach and long naps. Sharing my love for food, one bite at a time.
Sara says
This was really really good with dill relish in it too.