Kitchen notes · a little help before you start
Seafood Salad
Creamy seafood salad makes a refreshing plate when something cool sounds good. Shrimp and sweet imitation crab sit together with a little celery crunch and fresh dill. Give yourself a generous spoonful and enjoy a lunch that is easy to linger over.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 3 min
- Total
- 13 min
- Original yield
- Serves 4
- Ingredients
- 11 listed
Make it part of your week
Recipe categories & planning details
- Meal type
- Main course
- Primary protein
- Seafood
- Cuisine
- American
- Preparation & total time
- Prep: 15 minutes or less · Total: 30 minutes or less
- Dish type
- Salads
A few quick notes
1. Cool the shrimp promptly
Move the cooked shrimp into ice water once pink and opaque, stopping their cooking before the salad is mixed.
2. Dry after draining
Drain the chilled shrimp and pat them dry before adding the dressing ingredients and other salad components.
3. Toss gently
Combine the shrimp, imitation crab and remaining ingredients with a gentle toss so everything is coated with the mayonnaise mixture.
Get to know the ingredients
Imitation crab forms
Flaked imitation crab is listed, or sticks cut into slices, ready to add to the drained shrimp.
Quartered lemon
Add the lemon quarters to the salted boiling water before the raw shrimp go in for their brief cook.
Finely diced celery
The celery stays finely diced for mixing with the seafood, adding its crunch throughout the mayonnaise-coated salad.
Let’s make it
Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.
Original recipe: Serves 4. Original quantities shown.
Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.
How to make it
0 of 5 steps completeMake room for Seafood Salad
Review ingredients in your pantry before anything is added. Meal plans use your household size; grocery-only additions use the servings selected above.
The last little job
A little more dill
Garnish the gently tossed salad with extra fresh dill, then serve or use the covered refrigeration option given.
A little more help as you go
Refrigeration is included
The directions allow covering and refrigerating the finished salad for up to two days instead of serving immediately.
Keep the two lemon uses separate
Lemon quarters flavor the cooking water; the measured lemon juice joins the mayonnaise and seasonings in the salad bowl.
A few questions you might have
Are the shrimp raw when mixed into the salad?
Cook them in the lemon-salted water first, cool in ice water, then drain and dry before mixing.
Does the red onion get cooked with shrimp?
The minced red onion goes directly into the salad bowl with the cooked shrimp, crab, dressing ingredients and dill.
When do I add Old Bay?
Add it in the salad bowl with the seafood, vegetables, lemon juice, mayonnaise, dill and seasoning before tossing gently.
Is the dill only a garnish?
Some chopped fresh dill mixes into the salad itself, with more used over the finished salad as garnish.
How do I know when to chill the cooked shrimp?
Once they are pink and opaque in the pot, transfer them to the ice water to stop the cooking.
Storage & reheating safety
For cooked, perishable leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), using shallow containers for prompt cooling. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, and reheat hot leftovers to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Follow any shorter package limit.
These are general safety limits, not a tested storage or freezing recommendation for this particular dish. USDA leftovers guidance · Safe cooking temperatures
Recipe source: dinneratthezoo.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.
Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.
