Pasta & Crab Salad

Cold pasta salad meets sweet crab meat in this no-cook crowd-pleaser that gets better the longer it sits in the fridge.

The beauty here is flexibility. Start with chilled pasta and crab, fold in a generous amount of garlicky mayo dressing, then raid your crisper drawer. Broccoli florets, green peas, cauliflower, carrots, celery... toss in whatever you have on hand or skip the extras entirely.

Chilling for at least two hours is key. That resting time lets the mayo soak into the pasta and all those flavors marry together into something much bigger than the sum of its parts.

Pro Tips

• Cook the pasta just until al dente. It softens further as it absorbs the dressing in the fridge, so overcooked pasta turns mushy.
• Rinse your cooked pasta under cold water immediately to stop the cooking and wash off excess starch that makes salads gummy.
• If the salad looks dry after chilling, stir in a couple extra spoonfuls of mayo before serving. Cold pasta drinks up dressing.
• Blanch the broccoli and cauliflower briefly (about 60 seconds) so they stay crisp-tender rather than raw and tough.

Variations

• Use imitation crab for a budget-friendly version that still delivers that sweet seafood flavor.
• Swap mayo for Greek yogurt to lighten things up while keeping the creamy base.
• Toss in Old Bay seasoning and a squeeze of lemon for a Chesapeake Bay twist.