This Crab Pasta Salad is a family recipe, one of my favorites! Packed with veggies and delicious flavor, it’s a staple at summer BBQs! This crab pasta salad is made with Italian dressing and either Spike or Old Bay Seasoning.
It is made with imitation crab, though you could certainly substitute real crab meat int his pasta salad. The pasta shells work perfectly in this recipe, holding on to the sauce and making a great crab pasta salad recipe that you will want to make again and again.
Today my mom would have been 69 years old. And I’m sure that she would have loved me sharing that with the internets.
Or maybe at this point in her life, she would have been completely cool with it. She might have even worn it as a badge of honor.
My mom was diagnosed with fourth stage metastatic breast cancer when she was 57 years old. I was just shy of my 21st birthday. I remember vividly taking a walk with her in the brisk cold April Wisconsin weather just after she was diagnosed. I can remember the exact coat and hat she was wearing. Her doctors had told her to just go home and enjoy the last month of her life with her family. She was talking about fighting. She was talking in terms of years. And she was saying if she could just have two more years. She and I agreed that that would be amazing.
And then two years flew by.
I graduated college, started graduate school, bought a house, got engaged.
Two years wasn’t nearly enough. There was no time that would have been enough.
After I became pregnant with Gavin my mom told me all confession style that she had really wanted to live just to see me get pregnant. And then Gavin was here, and just hours later she made her exit. Like once she knew he and I were safe she could succumb and give her body some peace.
Regularly I think to myself, “Okay, now I really need my mom.” As if all the challenges that came before were just a rehearsal compared to this current challenge. I mean, I’m totally kidding myself. There was nothing about Elliot that was a dress rehearsal. It’s just that when you are in the current challenge, and the past is the past . . . you get it.
I’ve been having those moments recently. The “Okay, now I really need my mom,” moments. And I just keep thinking that if I can’t have her here, the least I can do for myself is try to be the kid that she would have been proud to have raised. Scratch that. My mom would never have wanted to take credit for my poise, strength, patience with my screaming kids, etc. . . . I want to be the kid that I feel like lives up to the amazing mom that Betty was.
So that was kind of intense for a Friday morning, huh?
Let’s have some Crab Pasta Salad, shall we?
This was one of my mom’s recipes and I LOVE it. It was one of those recipes that meant summer to me. One of those recipes that I would just stand in the door of the fridge and eat out of the container with a fork when I was a teenager, until my mom would walk in and say, “Lisa. Just put some in a bowl for yourself.” Sooooooooo good!
One of the things you are going to love about this recipe is that it is super forgiving. My mom didn’t even use a recipe. The recipe I have from her is like, “a generous squirt of mustard.” So if you don’t really like that much dressing on your pasta salads, just cut back on the yogurt. Don’t like olives? Leave ’em out. No celery? Add some frozen peas instead. You get it.
Make it for your summer picnics and love it year after year!
If you make this recipe leave me a comment letting me know what you think!
I tripled your recipe and was very pleased with the outcome. At the gathering I took it to, the people raved. Thank you.
Crab Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb medium pasta shells
- 1 pound package imitation crab meat cut bite size
- 1 can medium black olives sliced
- 1 medium red bell pepper diced
- 3 or 4 green onions sliced thin about two inches into the green
- 3 stalks of celery diced
Dressing
- 1 1/2 cups plain non fat yogurt see note
- 1/4 cup fat free mayonnaise
- 1/2 TBSP Spike found in the spice aisle (you can also substitute with 1/2 a tablespoon of Old Bay Seasoning)
- 1 tsp celery salt
- 1 TBSP yellow mustard
- 1/2 TBSP soy sauce
- 1/4 cup Italian vinaigrette salad dressing see note
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water.
- In a very large bowl, mix the pasta, crab, olives, red peppers, green onions, and celery.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt, mayo, Spike, celery salt, yellow mustard, soy sauce, and salad dressing.
- Pour the dressing over the pasta and veggies and stir to combine. Refrigerate at least two hours before serving.
Notes
did you make this
Crab Pasta Salad
Crissi says
I made this recipe for the second time tonight, without measuring and I left out the mustard. It’s a hit, and I’ll make it again!
Just now, is the first time I actually read your content. I cried. My mom made so many things that I never wrote down the recipe for, and every holiday my sister, or daughter or cousin or niece are calling one another asking for one of moms recipes. She was 63 when we lost her to her third round of cancer.
She loved loved loved imitation crab salad. And I think of her whenever I have imitation crab. So it was such a coincidence that your content leading up to this recipe told a piece of your story about your mom.
Thanks for all the work you do, it’s a lot of work blogging, and thanks for sharing a beautiful memory of your mom.
Crissi, your comment made me cry. I’m so used to people offering their sympathy on this post – which I so deeply appreciate – but I’m not used to someone having such a similar experience. My mom was 62 when she passed. She loved this salad and loved imitation crab. She made these Twice Baked Potatoes too, that I bet would also make you think of your mom. Sending so much love your way.
Cheryl says
Was disappointed the dressing was not what I expected I’m going to try to spruce it up. I don’t want to throw the whole thing out. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I think it would be a great dish.
I’m not exactly sure how to help you. I love the dressing as is, and as you can see from the the other reviews, so do many others. In general if a dressing isn’t something you want, you might consider adding a pinch of salt to see if that perks up all the ingredients. If something is too sour in general a bit of sweetness (like from honey) helps. And if something is too sweet, a bit of sour (like from lemon juice) helps.
María says
First of all: thank you for sharing a little bit of your mom ❤️Thank you for sharing her amazing and delicious salad !we love it 👩🍳the wonderful dressing amaizing!
I’m so happy you enjoy this recipe, Maria! Thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know!
Jill Rutter Schwieger says
Hi Lisa! I’ve just now printed your/your Mom’s recipe for Crab Pasta Salad…nearly seven years after you posted it. I haven’t even tried it yet, but I know I will, and I know my family is going to love it! My story is nothing like yours and your Mom’s. I’m 74 years old, and my Mother has been gone for 10 years, so we were blessed to share many years and experiences together. I’m so glad you shared your story and memories of your time together, and so glad I happened upon it today. Thanks for sharing your recipe and your thoughts….both are beautiful. And whenever I make this salad, Sweet Girl, I’ll think of you, and say a prayer for your continuing precious life! Jill
Jill, thank you so much for your sweet words. What I have learned from many others is that it doesn’t particularly matter when you lose your mom. At any age, it feels like such a huge hole is now in your life. Sending lots of love to you too!
Matt Nail says
Hi Lisa,
I loved reading your story about your mom. It made the recipe special for me.
I’m also a Wisconsinite! Milwaukee 😁
I had to make a couple adjustments because I didn’t have everything, but my wife and daughters absolutely loved the crab salad!
Thank you and God Bless!
You are very welcome! I’ve lived in the Milwaukee area my whole adult life, such a great place to live!
Debi says
Hi Lisa! I just found this recipe, and am planning to make it this weekend. We love imitation crabmeat, so I’m sure it will be a hit! My mom is in the late stages of Alzheimers, and I so miss her cooking, and just HER, in general. Can’t wait to try this :) Blessings!
I watched my own mom take care of her mom with Alzheimers, I know it isn’t easy and can totally appreciate what you mean by missing her. So hard to grieve someone who is physically still here. Sending you love and hoping you enjoy the pasta salad!
Anita says
Thanks for sharing your story about your mom’s cancer. My mom had a mastectomy many years ago. Just today the investigation has begun into what could be cancer in the opposite breast at eighty years old. You are absolutely correct…Loosing a parent is devastating no matter how old they are or how old we are. When my Dad passed from cancer in just a few months in his early sixties. It left our entire family devastated. My husband now in his early sixties has just been told he has cancer. Everyone needs to realize that life is short and loss can happen at any time to any of us…let people in your life know they are loved and appreciated…it only takes a moment.
The crab salad recipe was delicious and it is wonderful with lobster when crab is not available.
Oh, Anita. I’m so sorry. That is so much for one person to bare. I’m so glad that you liked the pasta salad and I’m sending you love.
Sue says
This salad is absolutely delicious. I am deciding what I can use the dressing for besides this salad. Would be delicious on grilled chicken after it is cooked. Thank you for your mom’s recipe. I will think about her and you when I make this. She will live on in every cooks’ thoughts when enjoying this.
Thank you so much for your sweet words, Sue!
Denise meyer says
Omg this salad was delicious, my friend and I had a craft fair here in Vermont and I treated for lunch, we unfortunately didn’t sell a lot but our lunch was fabulous, we are always sharing recipes and I’m happy to tell you we both have huge family’s and this recipe will be past for years to come , bless you and your mom ♥️ D meyer Townshend VT
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it, Denise!
Barb says
Can I use real crab instead of imitation?
Yes! But it will not hold up the same in the recipe. That doesn’t mean you can’t use it, just understand that it won’t stay in chunks.