Fresh Ensalada de Cangrejo Recipe – Spanish Crab Salad

There are some Spanish salads that can be enjoyed all year long and if you love crab sticks, this is a great recipe for you.

We are talking about the ensalada de cangrejo, one of the tastiest crab dishes that you will find, and you don’t have to be an expert to prepare it.

Continue scrolling down this article and you will learn how to make crab salad at home, plus some helpful tips that will make the whole process easier.

You, dear reader, support this blog. If you purchase through a link, we earn a small commission. As an Amazon Affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Background of the Dish

Among other salads of the region, like the Spanish potato salad or the Spanish grilled octopus salad, this one is the newest.

Imitation crab was created in Japan during the 1970s, and it arrived in Europe during the following decade, but it wasn’t an instant hit.

People from Southern Spain started trying different ways to add this ingredient to their recipes, and they loved to add it to their potato salad, so that’s how the ensalada de cangrejo was born.

Pin for later!

Things You’ll Need for Ensalada de Cangrejo

This ensalada de cangrejo stands out from other crab meat recipes because you only need the following main ingredients: potatoes, crab sticks, onions, tomato, and mayonnaise.

Ingredients

• 10 crab sticks (imitation crab)
• 4 potatoes
• 2 onions
• 1 tomato
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup (185 g) mayonnaise
• Salt and black pepper (to taste)
• Lettuce leaves (optional)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

How to Make Ensalada de Cangrejo – Step by Step Guide

1. For the first step of this crab salad recipe, you have to peel the potatoes and cut them into cubes. Then, cook them in a pot filled with water and a tablespoon of salt for about 20 minutes. Drain the excess water and set them aside to cool down.

2. Now cook the eggs in a smaller pot, for 15 to 20 minutes (depending on how you like them). Let them cool, peel them, and set them aside.

3. After that, cut the onions in julienne style or small cubes, depending on how much you want to feel the texture of the onion on the crab salad.

4. Then, cut the crab sticks into squares. Also, wash and cut the tomato into cubes and remove the seeds.

5. Now grab a large bowl and add the crab with the cooked potatoes. Mix them well.

6. Next, add the chopped tomato and onions. Mix all the ingredients well and add the mayonnaise. Taste it to see if it needs more salt or pepper (you could add more here)

7. As an optional step for this seafood salad recipe, use lettuce leaves and fresh chopped cilantro to decorate and serve the salad.

8. Finally, you can take the ensalada de cangrejo to the fridge for 30 minutes before serving, or serve it right away. For serving, put the chopped hard-boiled eggs on top.

Substitution of Ingredients

We adore this ensalada de cangrejo, and we are sure that you will love it too because you can make dozens of replacements for its ingredients.

For example, you can turn this into a fresh crab meat salad, just buy crab at your favorite fish shop, cook it, and serve the meat with the salad.

If you want this dish to taste like the best Mediterranean salad, you can add some chopped and pitted black olives on top, and dress it with olive oil or Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise.

As long as it has crab it will be an ensalada de cangrejo, so feel free to play with the vegetables that you use for this Spanish salad as much as you want.

Finally, you can turn this into something like a Spanish seafood salad if you add other ingredients like shrimp, squid, or mussels.

The ensalada de gambas is a salad with shrimp that you should also try from our salad ‘menu’.

Or go for the Spanish potato salad with tuna or ensalada de broccoli with prawns, two protein-packed salads that are both nutritious and healthy.

If you want a delicious salad for summer, we recommend you try the ensalada de pepino, an easy-to-make cucumber salad just perfect for hot days.

Tips on Serving Ensalada de Cangrejo

The ensalada de cangrejo is the perfect side dish, but there are other ways of serving it too.

For example, if you place it between two slices of your favorite bread then it will be the perfect crab salad sandwich.

You can have it for lunch or dinner, and if you serve a large amount then it can be the main dish.

If you have a party planned or some guests over, then you can prepare other Spanish salad recipes like the Spanish tuna salad or the Ensalada Malagueña and make it a salad bar.

Serve them in small glasses with a sliced boiled egg on top and transform them into Spanish tapas.

The fresh chopped cilantro and lettuce leaves are optional for serving, but they go really well with any type of fish salad, so we encourage you to add them.

The Spanish tomato salad and the Spanish octopus salad are an absolute must-try, especially with the warm season already here.

How to Store Ensalada de Cangrejo

You can only store this ensalada de cangrejo for up to 4 days in the fridge.

It isn’t recommended to freeze it because once you thaw the salad it might get a weird taste and texture.

The recipes with imitation crab that can be stored for longer are the hot ones, like stews or soups.

Recipe Card: Ensalada de Cangrejo

---

---