Imitation Crab Ceviche
Imitation Crab Ceviche is a fresh, no-cook recipe loaded with crunchy vegetables, creamy avocado and tender imitation crab meat. This easy imitation crab ceviche recipe is light, refreshing and perfect for game day, a healthy lunch or a quick appetizer. It’s like a seafood salsa you can’t stop eating!
WHY YOU’LL ❤️ THIS RECIPE
If you love fresh, healthy recipes with bold flavor, this imitation crab ceviche will be your new go-to.
- 🦀 Imitation Crab is so tasty and easy! Healthy, sweet and delicious!
- 💪 Good for you! With only 145 calories in 1/2 cup – this is so good for you!
- 💵 Affordable! Fresh veggies and a package of crab is all you need! And this makes a BIG bowl!
What is Imitation Crab Ceviche?
Imitation crab ceviche is a quick and easy version of traditional ceviche made with pre-cooked imitation crab instead of raw seafood. It’s mixed with fresh vegetables, lime juice and herbs for a bright, refreshing dish.
Imitation Crab Ceviche Ingredients
Traditional ceviche is made with raw fish and the acid in the lime juice “cooks” the fish. Here – our fish (the imitation crab) is already cooked! This ceviche has all the flavor of the original but with pre-cooked fish. (Oh and it’s super healthy!)
- Imitation Crab – Already cooked and slightly sweet, making this recipe quick and budget-friendly. I prefer the chunk or flake style vs “legs” for recipes like this recipe.
- Fruits & Veggies
- Red onion – these are great raw and have a crispy crunch
- you could also use 2-3 shallots instead of a red onion
- Jalapeno peppers add a little spice but without the seeds it’s not too spicy
- If you’re really spice averse, you could use 1/4 of a green bell pepper
- Cucumbers – crunchy and such a clean flavor
- Tomatoes – I went with 3 small roma tomatoes because there’s less of the juice. You could also use 2 large tomatoes and just clean out some of the insides
- Avocado – adds creaminess that balances the acidity
- Limes – this is how everything “cooks” – the key to bright, fresh flavor in ceviche
- You could use bottled lime juice but fresh is best in this recipe
- Red onion – these are great raw and have a crispy crunch
- Seasonings – garlic salt, salt
- Herbs – fresh cilantro
- If you’re one of those anti-cilantro people, you can use a flat leaf Italian parsley
Make it Quicker & Easier or Tastier!
Crab Ceviche is pretty easy – I mean – there’s no cooking! But I still have a few ways you can make it your own.
- Pico de Gallo – you could add crab, avocado and cucumbers to a store-bought pico de gallo for a quicker short cut ceviche
- Real Crab Meat – get fancy and buy lumb crab meat from the seafood department (it’s already cooked too)
- Fruit – mango or pineapple would be delicious with this ceviche
How to Make Easy Imitation Crab Ceviche
I love a no-cook lunch and this is one of my favorites! As soon as it was done – I dove in and it was delicious! Here’s how to make this crab ceviche recipe:
- Squeeze juice from 1/2 lime over the diced avocado.
- Combine the onion, jalapeno, garlic salt, lime juice from 2.5 limes and 1 tsp salt in a large bowl and stir to combine. Add the cucumbers, tomatoes and cilantro and toss together.
- Gently add remaining salt, avocado and crabmeat to the bowl of vegetables and toss lightly so to not break up the avocado and crab meat.
- Taste and season to taste with salt, lime juice or hot sauce.
- Serve with tortilla chips – or get fancy and use a tostada (with a light smear of mayo) and pile it on!
Tips Tricks & FAQs
More Imitation Crab Recipes
- Chinese Buffet Crab Casserole
- Crab & Pasta Salad
- Imitation Crab Dip (coming soon!)
Want to save this recipe for later?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it anytime!
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.
Imitation Crab Ceviche
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 large avocado diced
- 1/2 red onion finely diced
- 1 jalapeno peppers seeded & minced
- 1/2 tsp garlic salt
- 3 limes juiced
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 mini seedless cucumbers finely diced
- 3 Roma tomatoes finely diced
- 1/3 cup cilantro chopped, about ½ a bunch of cilantro
- 12 oz imitation crabmeat shreds, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Squeeze juice from 1/2 lime over the diced avocado.1 large avocado
- Combine the onion, jalapeno, garlic salt, lime juice from 2.5 limes and 1 tsp salt in a large bowl and stir to combine.1/2 red onion, 1 jalapeno peppers, 1/2 tsp garlic salt, 3 limes, 2 tsp salt
- Add the cucumbers, tomatoes and cilantro and toss together.2 mini seedless cucumbers, 3 Roma tomatoes, 1/3 cup cilantro
- Gently add remaining salt, avocado and crabmeat to the bowl of vegetables and toss lightly so to not break up the avocado and crab meat.12 oz imitation crabmeat
- Taste and season to taste with salt, lime juice or hot sauce.
- Serve right away or refrigerate, covered for up to 4 hours before serving.
