This gorgeous crab salad is certainly dressed to impress (pun intended!). The sweetness of crabmeat and green apple is offset by the slight bitterness of the creamy pink grapefruit dressing. Fibre-rich asparagus, radish, and avocado add a real crunch and flavour to this stunning salad. Trust me, this one’s a keeper!
Jump to: ℹ️ Overview | 🛒 Ingredients | 📷 How To Make | 👩🍳 Recipe Tips | 🥗 Serving Suggestions | 📝 Full Recipe Card | 🍽 More Salad Recipes
This crab salad with avocado and asparagus, drizzled with a creamy pink grapefruit dressing, is a bit of a showstopper. The creamy avocado, crunchy asparagus, and tender crab meat create a wonderful texture profile, while the pink grapefruit aioli dressing adds a unique citrus twist that sets it apart from your average salad.
Packed with protein, fibre, and healthy fats, this salad is both nutritious and delicious. It’s a light yet filling meal that’s ideal for warm days or a quick, healthy dinner. Trust me, you’ll be making it more than once.
👩🍳 If you like this recipe, check out more of my gorgeous salads: pink grapefruit and avocado salad, Persian salad with pomegranate, or Mediterranean halloumi salad.
What You’ll Need
Here is what you’ll need for this crab salad recipe. Find the full measurements in the recipe card below.
- Crab: I use cooked crabmeat (no imitation crab here) which you can get from a fishmonger or even use canned crabmeat. Crab can be swapped with grilled shrimp or flaky grilled salmon.
- Salad: Asparagus, watercress (or other leafy greens like arugula/rocket), avocado, radishes, green apple, green onions, sea salt, and black pepper.
- Dressing: Mayonnaise, pink grapefruit, garlic, onion powder, and sea salt. Use orange wedges instead of grapefruit if you prefer less bitterness.
How To Make Crab Salad With Avocado, Asparagus & Pink Grapefruit Dressing
Find the full recipe and nutritional information below. Here are some handy step-by-step photos.
- Make the dressing: Blend mayonnaise, grapefruit slices, garlic, onion powder, and salt until smooth.
- Cook asparagus: Pan-fry asparagus in olive oil for 2-3 minutes until slightly tender.
- Assemble salad: Layer watercress, asparagus, avocado, radishes, green apple, crab meat, and green onions.
- Dress: Drizzle with grapefruit aioli dressing and serve extra on the side.
Recipe Tips
- Swap crab meat with cooked prawns, scallops, salmon, or white fish.
- If watercress isn’t your thing, try arugula or spinach.
- If grapefruit is too bitter, use orange wedges and add a splash of lemon juice for acidity.
- Store any leftover salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Keep the dressing separate and add just before serving.
- You can serve it as a whole salad on a large platter or as individual appetizer portions (say at a dinner party).
Serving Suggestions
This crab salad pairs beautifully with a chilled glass of white wine and a side of crusty bread. It’s perfect for a light lunch or a refreshing dinner. To make it more substantial, you can serve a side of French fries, roasted potatoes, or some cooked quinoa.
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Ingredients
For the dressing
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup pink grapefruit slices skin and white membranes peeled away
- 1 small clove of garlic
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
For salad
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 10 asparagus spears cut in half (ends removed)
- 3 cups watercress leaves or arugula or rocket
- ½ avocado sliced
- 10 radishes slices or halved
- ½ green apple quartered and sliced thinly
- 5 oz cooked white crab meat 150 grams
- 2 tablespoons green onions chopped, optional
- A pinch of sea salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the dressing ingredients to a blender or food processor. Whiz for 30 seconds until smooth. If you don’t have a blender or a food processor, finely chop the grapefruit and whisk the flesh and juices together with other ingredients.
- Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and asparagus and pan-fry for 2-3 minutes, stirring a couple of times, until just slightly tender. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Prepare the rest of the ingredients. Scatter watercress evenly on a platter or add to a large mixing bowl. Top with the rest of the ingredients and drizzle generously with the dressing. I like to use around 4 tablespoons and then serve more dressing on the side.
Notes
- Storage tips: Store any leftover salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Keep the dressing separate and add just before serving.
- I get cooked crab meat from my fishmonger but you can also find it in the fish and seafood section of the supermarket. Tinned crab meat can be used if you can’t find any freshly cooked stuff. Cooked prawns and scallops, which are also sweet, or even some salmon or white fish, would also work well in this salad.
- I like to use pink grapefruit in this recipe because it gives the dressing a lovely pink color but regular grapefruit is also fine. If you don’t like the bitterness of the grapefruit, feel free to use a couple of orange wedges instead, and perhaps add a teaspoon or two of lemon juice for extra acidity.
- Other leafy greens can be used instead of watercress, although its peppery flavor works well in this salad and it’s highly nutrient-dense.
- To make it more substantial, you can serve a side of French fries or roasted potatoes, or some cooked quinoa.
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