When it’s too hot to cook, turn to this easy Thai Crab Avocado Salad for a light and healthy meal solution. Simply made with gluten-free imitation crab, creamy avocado, fresh veggies, and a zesty grapefruit dressing. You can serve this refreshing crab salad tossed or spooned inside an avocado boat. The choice is yours.

Unlike our Kani Salad which has a creamy mayonnaise-based dressing, our Thai crab salad has a light fish sauce, citrus and aromatics infused vinaigrette. Just like all Thai Cuisine dishes, this grapefruit dressing celebrates the balance of savory, sweet, spicy, and sour flavors. So, let’s get to it!
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Ingredients
Imitation Crab Meat (also known as crab sticks, krab or surimi) – or better yet, you can use canned or freshly cooked crab meat. It adds a delicious sweetness to the salad. If fresh crab meat did not cost $$$$, of course that would be our first option. Canned is also nice. We chose a gluten-free imitation crab meat as from a budget perspective, that worked best for us.
Avocado – Medium sized works best for this recipe. You can either add chopped avocado directly to the Thai crab salad or you can put the crab salad on top of an avocado boat.
Grapefruit – We used a pink grapefruit to keep it easy for those living outside of Asia. If you have access to an Asian Market, try adding a pomelo fruit to give you the feel of a Yum Som O (pomelo Salad)
Veggies of Choice – We added cucumbers and a bit of rocket (arugula). Thinly sliced cabbage, napa cabbage and julienned carrots would be nice in here as well. It adds that addictive crunch factor.
Aromatics – Thai chili peppers for a kick of heat, garlic (but of course!), and cilantro (if you wish). You can substitute with other fresh chilis of choice like jalapeno, serrano’s or even Fresno chili peppers that we use to make our Asian chili garlic sauce.
Dressing Ingredients – Fish sauce, grapefruit juice, lime juice, honey, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. If you have an allergy to seafood, substitute regular fish sauce with a vegan fish sauce – just to be on the safe side.
Crunchy Nuts – Optional but so good in this salad. We added toasted sunflower seeds because that is what we had on hand. However, roasted crushed peanuts, toasted desiccated coconut, crispy baked rice or even fried shallots would be delicious too.
How to Make Thai Crab Salad?
- Peel and section the grapefruit (or pomelo fruit).
- Slice and prep Vegetables
- Make the grapefruit vinaigrette, Mix the fish sauce, grapefruit juice, lime juice, garlic, chili peppers, honey, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.
- Add to a big salad bowl the chopped imitation crab meat, avocado and vegetables of choice.
- Drizzle the grapefruit dressing over the Thai crab salad.
- Top with toasted sunflower seeds or crunchies of choice.
Recipe Tips
- Remove the grapefruit peel and then just slice instead of segmenting them – if this is an easier option for you.
- Don’t add the salad dressing to the Thai crab avocado salad until you are ready to serve. Otherwise, it will get soggy.
- If you wish to make avocado boats to serve the salad in, cut off the bottom so they sit flat on a plate like we did with our Vietnamese pickled shrimp.
- To make this imitation crab recipe in advance, make the Thai grapefruit vinaigrette and toss together all the salad ingredients, except the avocado. When ready to serve, slice the avocado and drizzle on the salad dressing.
Side Dishes to Serve with Crab Salad
Don’t forget dessert! Try our quick and easy banana spring rolls or time saving mango sticky rice as a sweet ending to your meal.
Substitutes for Crab in a Seafood Salad
Try adding poached or grilled shrimp, tuna fish, seared scallops or even lobster as a substitute for crab in a seafood salad. For those with a seafood allergy, you may like to try our authentic Thai fish salad. Be sure to substitute the fish sauce in the dressing with vegan fish sauce – just to be on the safe side.
If you want to keep this recipe vegan, prepare king mushrooms like a seared scallops, and add to the “krab” salad.
Fun Recipe Adaptations: Try our Thai Crab salad with a pomelo fruit instead of grapefruit or serve it up in an avocado half!
Frequent Asked Questions (FAQ's)
Oxidation or browning of avocados occurs once the avocado flesh is exposed to air. The best way to keep avocados from browning is not to cut them until you are ready to eat. In addition, sprinkle with a little lime or lemon juice to halt the oxidation process.
Thai Bird chilis can be found in Asian Markets. However, sometimes they can be very difficult to source. They are very high on the Scoville scale for heat index. Alternatively you can exchange with a jalapeño, or other hotter pepper of choice, a little bit of Sriracha sauce or even a few dashes of dried red pepper flakes in our Thai crab salad.
More Crab Recipes
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Thai Crab Avocado Salad with Grapefruit Vinaigrette
Ingredients
Thai Crab Avocado Salad
- 1 large grapefruit peeled and segmented (Reserve the scraps from peeling to squeeze 2 tablespoons of grapefruit juice. This juice will be used in the vinaigrette)
- 8 ounces crab meat gluten-free imitation crab, canned crab or steamed fresh crab picked over for shells. Cut or pulled into bite sized pieces.
- 1 cup cucumber chopped
- 2 large avocados either chopped and tossed into the salad or halved to serve the Thai crab salad inside the avocado.
- 2 cups arugula (rocket) or a mixture of julienned sliced cabbage and carrots is extra delicious.
- 2 tablespoons cilantro (coriander) roughly chopped
Grapefruit Vinaigrette Dressing
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and finely minced.
- 2 Thai bird chili (or to taste) seeds removed and finely chopped or any chili pepper you wish. Hold for a mild dressing.
- 2 tablespoons grapefruit juice freshly squeezed from the reserved grapefruit peel and pith.
- 2 tablespoons lime juice freshly squeezed or juice from 1 lime
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or light flavored oil
- 1.5 tablespoons honey or maple syrup to taste
- salt and pepper
to taste
Garnishes
- ⅓ cup sunflower seeds toasted or other crunchy nuts and seeds of choice.
Instructions
- Peel and segment grapefruit. (Reserve the peel and the pith as we will use 2 tablespoons of the grapefruit juice for the grapefruit vinaigrette). * See Notes below
- Squeeze the grapefruit peels and pith to extract about 2 tablespoons of grapefruit juice into a small bowl. Then, add minced garlic, finely chopped Thai chili peppers (or chilis of choice), fresh lime juice, fish sauce, honey and oil to the same bowl. Stir well to mix and set aside. * See Notes
- Chop cucumbers and prepare 2 cups veggies of choice such as rocket (arugula) or julienned cabbage and carrots - love that extra crunch!
Choose (Tossed as a Salad or Served in an Avocado Cup)
- Option 1 - Tossed as a Salad: Peel and chop the avocado and add to a large bowl. Then, add the prepared crab meat, chopped cucumbers, grapefruit segments, 2 cups rocket (arugula) or prepared veggies of choice and chopped cilantro to the bowl. Drizzle the grapefruit vinaigrette dressing over the top and toss the salad. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with toasted sunflower seeds.
- Option 2 - Served in an Avocado Cup. Cut your avocados in half. Carefully remove the pit a small teaspoon full of the the avocado meat to give more room for the Thai Crab Salad. (That extra spoonful is a treat for the cook of course!) Hint: if you cut a little portion off the bottom of the avocado half they will stand upright and not tip over. In a large bowl, add the prepared crab meat, chopped cucumbers, grapefruit segments, 2 cups rocket (arugula) or prepared veggies of choice and chopped cilantro to the bowl. Drizzle the grapefruit vinaigrette dressing over the top and toss the salad. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with toasted sunflower seeds. Place a few mounding tablespoons of Thai Crab Salad in the center of the avocado and mound up high. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Remove the grapefruit peel and then just slice instead of segmenting them – if this is an easier option for you.
- 2 cups of Veggies of Choice: We actually prefer julienned sliced cabbage and carrots to rocket (arugula) but we are all about use what you have on hand camp!
- Substitute easier to find chili peppers like jalapeno or serrano peppers. Skip them all together, if you prefer a mild dressing.
- Taste the salad dressing BEFORE you dress the salad as every grapefruit is different in it's sweetness and so are your taste buds. If you want it more sweet, add more honey. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Don’t add the salad dressing to the Thai crab avocado salad until you are ready to serve. Otherwise, it will get soggy.
- If you wish to make avocado boats to serve the salad in, cut off the bottom so they sit flat on a plate.
- To make this imitation crab recipe in advance, make the Thai grapefruit vinaigrette and toss together all the salad ingredients, except the avocado. When ready to serve, slice the avocado and drizzle on the salad dressing.
Michelle says
A beautiful salad for those days where it's too hot to cook! So fresh, vibrant and full of flavor!
Hannah says
I really don't think about grapefruit enough! That tangy, spicy dressing definitely has me intrigued. The salad itself has so many of my favorite things (cucumbers, avocados, etc) I feel like you can't go wrong.