Blue Crab Salad with Herb Vinaigrette

Enjoy this cold Blue Crab Salad with Herb Vinaigrette on a hot day over a bed of fresh greens – or pile high in a bowl and eat it with crackers as a dip at a party.

Going crabbing is such a fun activity in our area. The marshes around the Georgia coast are a perfect habitat for blue crab – the only seafood we eat more of around here is shrimp. Mostly crabbing is an excuse to play outside with our kids while they are on summer vacation, rather than letting them climb the walls inside. But even if you don’t go crabbing on your own, there are lots of places around town that you can pick up a pound of already picked Blue Crab.

Blue Crab Salad with Herb Vinaigrette

This Blue Crab Salad with Herb Vinaigrette is one of our favorite summertime meals. The crab is so sweet and letting the onions rest in the marinade removes the bite and leave them super sweet too. Enjoy this salad cold on a hot day over a bed of fresh greens – or pile high in a bowl and eat it with crackers as a dip at a party. Both are delicious!

This salad is inspired by West Indies Crab Salad – a recipe that looks downright bizarre when you see the ingredient list but tastes amazing. We usually eat West Indies Crab Salad on crisp crackers like the ones you get in the package that are already on the table when you go out for pizza. But for the purposes of an actual healthy meal, we wanted to taste the sweet crab most of all.

I always let everyone dress their own salad at the table. The herb vinaigrette is a derivative of the marinade for the crab. So my husband and I are happy with very little vinaigrette, while my kids like to drown their lettuce before eating it. I just focus on the fact that they are eating salad.

Print Recipe

4.67 from 3 votes

Blue Crab Salad with Herb Vinaigrette

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Total Time20 minutes mins

Course: Soup, Salad & Sandwich

Servings: 4

Author: Cynthia Rusincovitch

Ingredients

• 1 pound blue crab meat drained and picked
• 1 medium Vidalia onion finely chopped
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Italian Seasoning
• 2 green onions green parts only, sliced thin
• 8 cups salad greens
• Herb Vinaigrette
• 2/3 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• tsp ¼kosher salt
• tsp ¼black pepper
• 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard

Instructions

• Drain Blue Crab meat well and pour into a large bowl. Using your fingers, check the crab thoroughly for bits of shell being careful not to break up the lumps of blue crab.
• When you sure the Blue Crab meat is clear of shells, add a finely chopped Vidalia onion. In different bowl, whisk olive oil, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper and Italian Seasoning until emulsified. Pour over the crab and onion and fold in gently.
• Cover the Blue Crab mixture and place it the refrigerator for at least 2 hours up to overnight.
• When you are ready to serve, add green onions and combine gently.
• Fill your serving bowls with your favorite salad greens, top with Blue Crab mixture and a few extra onions. Serve immediately with Herb Vinaigrette.
• For Herb Vinaigrette, whisk olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, Italian Seasoning, and Dijon mustard in a small bowl until emulsified. (It also works great to add ingredients to a Mason jar and shake it up.) Dress salads before serving or allow people to dress their own at the table.