This avocado and crab salad with crispy bacon, lump crab meat, juicy tomatoes, and garlicky croutons is a restaurant-inspired salad that I’ve perfected at home! Tossed with creamy homemade yogurt dressing, it’s super flavorful and delicious as a side or a meal.
I love using lump crab in everything from crab cakes to Japanese kani salad. This avocado and lump crab salad is another refreshing favorite!
Crab and avocado was the salad combination I never knew I needed until I walked into Gibson’s Steakhouse in Chicago. After I polished off their avocado crab salad with bacon in record time, I knew I needed a homemade version STAT. Safe to say, it was a success. My avocado and crab salad is a colorful blend of sweet crab, rich avocado, and smoky, crunchy bacon tossed with greens in a creamy yogurt dressing. It’s light, satisfying, and perfect on its own for lunch or as a side salad with a ribeye steak dinner.
About This Creamy Avocado Crab Salad
- Fresh and flavorful. I can’t get over how delicious this combination of flavors and textures is. This crab avocado salad is fresh, creamy, and crunchy with a hint of smokiness from the crumbled bacon. Each bite had me coming back for more.
- Homemade dressing. I’m a big fan of homemade salad dressings. This yogurt dressing with green onions is some of my best work. It’s easy to make with 5 ingredients.
- Quick to make. Assemble the salad ingredients, whisk up the dressing, toss, and serve. This crab and avocado salad is ready to eat in under 25 minutes.
What You’ll Need
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make this easy avocado crab salad. Scroll to the recipe card after the post for the printable recipe amounts and step-by-step instructions.
- Romaine Hearts – Chopped. You can use another mild, crisp lettuce, like iceberg or butter lettuce, or your choice of salad greens. I find that crunchier leaves are best.
- Avocado – Choose an avocado that’s dark green and slightly tender (not mushy) to the touch. Remove the pit and dice the avocado into bite-sized chunks.
- Bacon – Cooked to your desired crispiness and diced. I usually make a quick batch of air fryer bacon.
- Lump Crab – Lump crab is large chunks of meat from the body and legs of a crab. Lump crab is a nice in-between from more expensive jumbo lump and cheaper, flakier claw meat.
- Cherry Tomatoes – Or halved grape tomatoes. I love the sweetness of smaller tomatoes, but feel free to use larger varieties and chop them into smaller pieces.
- Croutons – Use your favorite brand of store-bought garlic croutons. Or, if you have day-old crusty bread to use up, make your own croutons by cutting or tearing the bread into bite-sized chunks. Spread the bread chunks out on a baking sheet, drizzle with garlic butter or olive oil, and bake at 350ºF for about 10 minutes, or until the bread is crispy.
- Dressing – I make a quick homemade dressing from yogurt, olive oil, and lemon juice flavored with fresh basil and thinly sliced green onions. See below. I think this crab salad would also pair well with my creamy avocado salad dressing or the parmesan vinaigrette from this copycat La Scala chopped salad.
Crab Meat vs. Imitation Crab
I prefer the taste and texture of lump crab meat over imitation crab, or surimi, which is made from white fish that’s processed and flavored like crab. I’ll save surimi to use in recipes like homemade maki rolls! For this salad, where crab is a stand-out ingredient, I recommend the real deal.
Creamy Green Onion Salad Dressing
The best salads come down to a great salad dressing. For this avocado and crab salad, I made a creamy yogurt dressing with green onions and basil that’s light, tangy, and balances out the richness of the crab meat. It’s super quick to make. I usually do this while the bacon cooks.
- To make the dressing, combine the ingredients in your blender or food processor. Pulse until you have a smooth, creamy consistency. Taste and adjust the seasonings as needed before you dress the salad.
I love using this green onion dressing with more salad recipes, like a Macedonian shopska salad, this salmon salad, or even as an alternative to blue cheese dressing in a Cobb salad.
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Start with the greens. Arrange the chopped romaine lettuce on a large serving plate or in a salad bowl.
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Add the toppings. Top with diced avocado, diced bacon, crab meat, cherry tomatoes, and croutons; set aside.
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Make the dressing. In a blender or food processor, combine all the ingredients for the salad dressing; process until creamy and smooth.
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Toss and serve. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Serve.
Calories: 373kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Cholesterol: 47mg | Sodium: 806mg | Potassium: 1064mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 8199IU | Vitamin C: 46mg | Calcium: 182mg | Iron: 3mg
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
How to Make This Avocado and Crab Salad
Like most salad recipes, all you need to do is layer the ingredients into a bowl, add the dressing, and serve. Here are the steps:
- Assemble the salad. First, arrange the chopped romaine in your choice of salad bowl or on a serving platter. Next, top the leaves with diced avocado, bacon, crab meat, cherry tomatoes, and crispy croutons.
- Make the dressing. Blend the dressing ingredients in the food processor, then pour the dressing over the salad.
- Toss and serve. Give everything a good toss with salad tongs, and enjoy!
Can I Substitute the Crab Meat?
Absolutely. If crab isn’t available, or if you’re not a fan of crab, swap it with cooked salmon, white fish, or skip the seafood and use diced chicken.
How to Store Leftovers
- Refrigerate. Whenever possible, try to keep your prepared toppings, dressing, and the chopped romaine lettuce separate until it’s time to serve. Otherwise, the dressed avocado crab salad will last for a day or two in the fridge. The romaine may become softer with time, so eat your leftovers sooner rather than later.
