Creamy Crab-Style Pasta Salad with Cucumber & Dill

Ingredients

Salad

• 300 g (10–11 oz) small pasta — rotini, shells, or macaroni

• 300 g imitation crab meat or cooked crab meat, chopped

• 1½ cups cucumber, diced

• ½ cup celery, finely diced

• ¼ cup red onion, finely diced

• 2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped

• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

• ½ tsp black pepper

• ½ tsp salt, or to taste

Creamy dressing

• ¾ cup mayonnaise

• ½ cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt

• 1½ tbsp lemon juice

• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard

• 1 tsp sugar

• 1 tsp dried dill

• ½ tsp garlic powder

• ¼ tsp onion powder

• ½ tsp salt

• ¼ tsp black pepper

Instructions

1. Cook the pasta
   Boil pasta in salted water according to the package directions until just tender. Don’t overcook it.

2. Cool completely
   Drain and rinse briefly under cold water. Drain very well and let it cool.

3. Prepare the seafood
   Cut imitation crab into bite-sized pieces or pull it apart into strips.

4. Prepare vegetables
   Dice the cucumber, celery and red onion. For a less watery salad, remove excess seeds from the cucumber.

5. Make dressing
   Whisk mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, Dijon, sugar, dill, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper until smooth.

6. Combine
   Add pasta, crab, cucumber, celery, onion, dill and parsley to a large bowl.

7. Dress
   Pour over the dressing and gently fold until everything is evenly coated.

8. Chill
   Cover and refrigerate for 1–2 hours. The flavors develop as it chills.

9. Final adjustment
   Before serving, stir gently. Add 1–2 tbsp mayonnaise or sour cream if it has become too dry, and adjust lemon juice, salt and pepper.

 Nut & allergen information

No nuts are required in this recipe.

Potential allergens:

• Fish/shellfish: crab or imitation crab may contain fish and/or shellfish.

• Egg: mayonnaise commonly contains egg.

• Milk: sour cream/Greek yogurt contains milk.

• Wheat/gluten: regular pasta and some imitation crab products may contain wheat.

• Soy: many imitation crab products contain soy.

• Mustard: Dijon mustard contains mustard.

For a nut-free version, use products labeled according to your allergy requirements and avoid cross-contact with nuts during preparation.