This is the best Imitation Buttermilk Crab Pasta Salad recipe! Imitation crab meat is tossed with your favorite noodles and a creamy seasoned sauce for a delicious, cool summer pasta salad. This is a perfect make-ahead meal for a Sunday afternoon lunch or late supper when we have evening activities!
This is normally a dish I reserve for summertime, but if the truth be told, we eat it year-round at my house. It's so easy to put together that my kids make it most of the time these days.
We love to make it Saturday night for Sunday lunch after church. Or if we have a busy day, I'll make it in the morning and let it chill until suppertime. For our big family, we always double it and leftovers (if there are any) are fought over on day two.
If you don't know this already, I'm a huge pasta lover. I love hot dishes, cold dishes, salads, side dishes, main dishes... you get the idea.
Favorite Pasta Dishes:
- Bacon & Tomato Ranch Pasta Salad
- Spicy Turkey Sausage Pasta
- Baked Penne : My Husband's Favorite Pasta Dish
And this recipe, it's one of my favorites! It's so creamy and delicious!
Easy Imitation Crab Pasta Salad Recipe
A few notes about the recipe...
- First, this is a big batch. Be sure to grab a very large bowl to mix it up! It's usually enough for my family of 8 to have lunch (we usually add fruit or bread or both as side dishes).
- Second, this recipe is really easy to put together. My super cute son Christian has even made it for the family several times - he's awesome!
- Third, I don't eat raw onions. Ever. And I mean never EVER. Green or otherwise. Therefore, I never use them in this recipe. But if you like them,
go ahead and ruin your pasta salad...I mean,add them to your pasta salad and enjoy. I was just kidding. About ruining it. Maybe. The bottom line is, the original recipe given to me did include them if that's something you like. - Lastly, if you don't have buttermilk on hand, use this substitution. I've done it many, many times and nobody ever comments about the pasta salad tasting different.
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What's the best pasta for imitation crab pasta salad?
This totally a matter of opinion, but we've made this recipe with penne, rotini, bowtie (farfalle), shells, pipette, cellentani... and more! Our favorite is rotini!! Why? Because my tractor-loving child calls it "plows" instead of rotini and he requests it so often that it's become a family favorite.
That aside, I really feel like bowtie or rotini work best in this recipe.
What goes with crab pasta salad?
Because we most often eat this cold pasta salad in the summertime, we love to eat it with other fresh and cool/cold foods. Sometimes we'll have a green salad. Or freshly sliced cucumbers and/or tomatoes. Another option is a side of fresh fruit.
You might also add fresh sliced bread or crackers. My favorite bread is a croissant. I've also served it with saltine crackers but that's not something most of my family enjoys.
Are you ready for the recipe?
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Imitation Crab Pasta Salad Recipe
- Total Time: 22 minutes
- Yield: 8 Servings 1x
Description
This Imitation Crab Pasta Salad Recipe is cool, creamy, and delicious. It's easy to make-ahead and filled with chunks of yummy crab meat.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. dry pasta (I usually use bowtie or rotini)
- 12 - 16 oz. imitation crab, torn into small pieces
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon seasoned salt (I use Lawry's)
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 2 Tbsp. sugar (optional, good with or without)
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
- 4 green onions, thinly sliced (optional)
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water for 10 to 12 minutes (or according to package directions).
- Rinse with cold water, drain and set aside.
- In a very large bowl, combine the crab meat, mayonnaise, buttermilk, onions*, garlic, lemon juice, and seasonings.
- Whisk together until well combined.
- Add the pasta and toss until well coated. It can be eaten immediately but it's really better if you cover and chill it for a few hours or overnight.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 12 mins
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: crab, crab pasta, pasta salad, buttermilk, immitation crab, immitation, crab pasta salad
Emily
I love crab and I love pasta of any kind, so yeah, this sounds delicious! I am also envious of your 70-degree weather! The weather here in Ohio can't make up its mind... one day it's in the 50s and the next it's snowing! Ugh! Anyway, thanks for linking up with Merry Monday! I love checking out your recipes each week 🙂
Rose Atwater
Thank you so much Emily! xx
Jeanne Grunert
Fantastic recipe! I love easy recipes like this, and crab is one of my favorite tastes. Printed, pinned and following you. Thanks for sharing it via the #HomeMattersParty
Lynn
Just put in the cooler to chill. Can't wait to try this! I left out the onions too. Glad to find one that doesn't have celery too.
Rose
Oooh, I wish I had some today! So good!!
Robin
I just found this recipe. Great for us non onion people. I don't use the lemon juice though. And I add frozen peas. Robin
Lisa
Omygoodness!! I made this for a potluck dinner, and it was a hit!! It's like 1 of my favorites now.
Rose
YAY!!
Haley
How big is each serving ?
Rose
Around 1 cup.
Michele
This Crab Pasta Salad looks amazing! I've been seeing so many potato salad and macaroni salad recipes, it's so nice to come across this gem of a recipe! We love crab!
★★★★★
Jenny
Pasta salads make a great side. My husband would love this! Thanks for sharing at #HomeMattersParty
Linds
We had fresh Dungeness crab so I used that. Cut the recipe in half since it was 2 people eating. Delicious and easy.
★★★★★
Rose
That sounds amazing!!
Dawn
I'm so glad that you made it with fresh crab meat. I always keep some in the freezer and was wondering about using it. Much prefer the taste of the real thing to imitation any day.
Dawn
I'm so glad that you made it with fresh crab meat. I always keep some in the freezer and was wondering about using it. Much prefer the taste of the real thing to imitation any day.
Rita
I found this recipe thru Pentrist, tried it for a lite supper but my family likes it so well I use it for special side dishes. It will be on our Thanksgiving buffet n if any left over it will go with them too....
★★★★★
Beverly
I live in Maryland so do you think I could use Maryland jumbo lump crab meat rather than imitation?
Rose
Absolutely - that would be amazing!
Shweta
What a great idea for a salad – this would be loved by many!!
★★★★★
Susan Hach
Do you use real mayo or miracle whip?
Rose
Real mayo!
Susan Hach
Thank you!!
Melanie
My family likes miracle whip so that is what I used. I also used the two ingredient substitute using lemon juice and milk for the buttermilk which I did not have. The only extra ingredient I added on my own was a bit of Old Bay.
★★★★★
Helen at the Lazy Gastronome
This looks so good - makes me excited for summer and all those bbq salads! Thanks for sharing at the What's for Dinner party. Have a fabulous weekend.
Robin
This looks really good and I will try it soon. I love to use bowtie pasta but I have a problem with it breaking down in the finished dish. I've tried cooking it al dente but they seem too chewy then. What is the secret to getting the bowties to not break down?
Rose Atwater
I honestly don't love bowties - I always have trouble with them one way or the other.
Cindy
if I make this I will use real crab meat
★★★★