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spicy crab pasta salad

(1 rating)
dawn01 avatar
Recipe by
Dawn Whitted
@dawn01
Spearfish, SD

This salad is something I came up with after canning cole slaw & mustard over the summer. I wanted to use the ingredients along with a package of immitation crab that needed to be used up. This seems daunting but it really is a nice change from the standard pasta salads we are used to. It's tangy, sweet & spicy with lots of flavor. It would be a great salad to share at a BBQ gathering.

(1 rating)
yield 8 -10
prep time 15 Min
cook time 20 Min
method Stove Top

Ingredients For spicy crab pasta salad

  • 3 c
    pasta, cooked (elbow, bow tie or other salad pasta)
  • 1/2 c
    canned coleslaw *spicy*
  • 1 c
    mayonnaise, light
  • 1 Tbsp
    yellow mustard
  • 2 Tbsp
    spicy sweet mustard or course ground mustard
  • 1/4 c
    creamy salad dressing *italian/ranch*
  • 3 Tbsp
    dill pickle relish or diced dill pickles
  • 2 clove
    garlic, minced
  • 1 Tbsp
    sugar
  • 2 Tbsp
    white vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp
    mrs. dash herb garlic blend
  • 1 Tbsp
    black pepper
  • 12oz pkg
    immitation crab, diced
  • 1 c
    block cheese, diced (cheddar, colby, jack)

How To Make spicy crab pasta salad

  • 1
    Bring 4 qts water to a boil and add pasta. Cook according to package directions until pasta is al dente approximately 9-11 minutes, drain and rinse with cold water.
  • 2
    Add spicy canned coleslaw (optional) to pasta and chill for 30 minutes to an hour. *See Evelyn Horsley's Canned Cole Slaw Recipe on JAP - to make it spicy I simply followed the recipe and added 2 finely sliced or chopped jalepenos and 2 finely diced serrano peppers to the batch before canning into jars.
  • 3
    For the sauce: In a mixing bowl combine all remaining ingredients except crab & cheese. Refrigerate covered until you are ready to put the salad together. *Spicy Sweet Mustard - There are lots of mustards on the market so either purchase one or I made my own version taking a little of JAP'ers Evelyn Horsley's & Dana Ramsey's spicy pepper mustard recipes adding honey or sugar and making some adjustments to my taste.
  • 4
    After all has been chilled add 3/4 of the sauce to the pasta and mix well. Add 2-3 Tablespoons of milk or water to the remaining sauce and mix well then pour into pasta and stir. This just makes it so the sauce isn't so thick.
  • 5
    Add cubed cheeses of your choice and finely chopped immitation crab and combine well. Garnish with green onion if you like
  • 6
    You may serve this immediatly but I really prefer to chill this salad for at least another hour to let the flavors marry. **Not a spicy person just use regular course ground mustard in the sauce and don't put the spicy in your canned coleslaw.
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