12 Tasty Imitation Crab Recipes
Imitation crab is a great way to get the flavor of crab and nutrition of fish in your meal. These delicious recipes will have you using it all the time!
Imitation crab is a great way to get the flavor of crab and nutrition of fish in your meal. These delicious recipes will have you using it all the time!
You may think imitation crab, or surimi, sounds like a cheap knockoff, but it tastes so much like real crab. It’s just fish flavored to taste and feel like crab, and it’s really good.
It’s typically white fish meat – often pollock or hake – ground and then mixed with starch, egg whites and flavorings, and then shaped it sticks. The final product is cooked and colored to resemble real crab meat.
It’s served in a lot of sushi restaurants because it really is that hard to tell from real crab. It’s nearly as good as the real thing, but at a much lower price.
It is also a good source of protein and low in fat, making it a healthy choice for you to serve your family. This is one imitation you can feel good about!
Some of these recipes are one-pot dinners – all you need for a weeknight meal. Others are dips and sides that are perfect with entrees or as snacks or appetizers. Enjoy!
Imitation Crab Recipes
Crab Rangoon Dip
What if you want the flavor of crab, Rangoon, but in dip form? This recipe answers that need.
Serve this dip with crispy wonton chips, and it's a perfect appetizer or dish to bring to a party. It's also great for family snacking.
The Best Crab Rangoon Pizza Recipe
Or you could make your Crab Rangoon into a pizza! That's exactly what this recipe does.
It comes with a sweet chili sauce drizzle that gives you the flavor of a sweet-and-sour dipping sauce.
Crab Pasta Salad Recipe
Everybody needs pasta salad recipes in their lives, so here's one you don't want to miss. Rotini pasta meets imitation crab along with celery ribs, bell peppers, and light mayonnaise for sauce.
It makes a great summertime light meal or terrific snack any time of year.
Buffalo Crab Dip
Instead of buffalo chicken, this dip gives you buffalo crab. It uses imitation crab and buffalo sauce, along with cream cheese, sharp cheddar and bleu cheese crumbles for a savory, delicious flavor.
Crab Rangoon Egg Rolls
Ever wish you could make crab Rangoon eggrolls at home without having to order out? This recipe does just that, using imitation crab, green onions, cream cheese and spices. And it comes with a homemade sweet-and-sour dipping sauce.
Easy Mock Crab Ceviche Recipe
If you're not familiar, ceviche is a seafood dish featuring raw seafood cured in lime juice. However, this recipe uses imitation crab, which is always fully cooked.
It includes tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and avocado for so much fresh flavor.
Southwest Cold Crab Dip Recipe
This recipe has all the flavors of the southwest, with chopped jalapeños, garlic, red bell pepper, and more. It's creamy and delicious and just a little bit spicy.
Slow Cooker Crab And Vegetable Medley
This is a simple crockpot recipe that features imitation crab. While the recipe does list a bunch of vegetables to include, the truth is, you can put in or take out any vegetables that you want.
It's great for your weeknight meal rotation because it's so easy.
Spicy Kani Roll | Spicy Crab Roll (Kani Sushi Recipe)
Like the title says, this is a recipe for a spicy crab roll similar to what you would go to the sushi restaurant. The imitation crab means it's already pre-cooked.
To that you just add some sriracha and spicy mayo, which is included in this recipe.
Spicy Mango Kani Salad
This version of a spicy crab roll as a salad includes ripe mango. That gives it a very different flavor from the other spicy Kani salad recipe.
You can serve this as a salad or serve it with wonton wraps or lettuce leaves for rolling.
Spicy Kani Salad (like in sushi!)
Imagine, taking the filling out of a spicy crab roll and making it into a salad. This is a great recipe if you love the flavor of a spicy crab roll, but don’t want to bother rolling it together.
It also gives you the option of leaving out the rice if you're trying to be low carb.
Sushi Without Raw Fish: Easy California Rolls
In case you didn't know, California rolls have always used cooked imitation crab so there’s nothing raw here - except the veggies, of course.
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