Gordon Ramsay’s crab salad is fresh white crabmeat piled on a bed of rocket, watercress and radicchio with halved cherry tomatoes, dressed in a passion fruit vinaigrette. There’s no mayo, no fuss, just five ingredients and about 10 minutes. It serves 2 as a starter.
It sits in the Dinner for Two chapter of Make It Easy, so it’s built for a quick, impressive first course when you want to show off without hours in the kitchen. He suggests shaping the crab in a ring mould for a restaurant finish.
What sets it apart is the passion fruit. The seeds and pulp get whisked straight into a classic vinaigrette, so every bite has that sharp, tropical pop against the sweet crab. No other UK recipe site pairs crab with passion fruit, which makes this a genuine Ramsay original.
Gordon Ramsay Crab Salad
Course: SaladCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy2
servings10
minutes220
kcal10
minutesEasy
An elegant crab and passion fruit salad from the Dinner for Two chapter in Gordon’s Make It Easy. Five ingredients, no cooking, ready in 10 minutes. Around £5 per serving using pre-picked crab from the fishmonger.
Ingredients
200g (7 oz) fresh white crabmeat
125g mixed salad leaves (rocket, watercress and radicchio)
100g yellow or red cherry tomatoes, halved
2 passion fruit, halved
2 tbsp classic vinaigrette
Directions
- Check the crab: Put the crabmeat into a bowl and run your fingers through it to feel for any fragments of shell. Ramsay repeats this step across three of his books because even pre-picked crab often has tiny sharp pieces hiding in it.
- Build the salad: Arrange the mixed leaves and halved tomatoes on individual serving plates. Pile the crabmeat into the centre. If you want a restaurant-style presentation, use a ring mould to shape the crab into a neat cylinder.
- Make the dressing: Scoop out the passion fruit pulp and seeds and whisk into the vinaigrette. The seeds add crunch and the pulp gives it that sharp, tropical edge that cuts through the sweetness of the crab.
- Dress and serve: Drizzle the passion fruit vinaigrette over the salad leaves and serve straight away.
FAQs
Where should I buy crab meat in the UK?
In Quick and Delicious, Ramsay says “you can now buy ready-picked brown and white crab meat from fishmongers and supermarkets, which saves you the bother.” Tesco and Sainsbury’s stock it in the chilled fish section, usually around £5 for 100g of white meat. A fishmonger will be fresher and often cheaper if you buy a whole dressed crab for around £8 to £10.
Why does Ramsay always check for shell fragments?
He repeats the same instruction across Make It Easy, Sunday Lunch and Fast Food: run your fingers through the meat before using it. Even pre-picked crab has tiny sharp pieces that slip through, and biting into one ruins the whole dish. It takes 30 seconds and saves your guests a trip to the dentist.
Can I use tinned crab instead of fresh?
You can, but the texture is softer and wetter, so drain it well and press it gently in a sieve first. Fresh or chilled crab has a firmer, sweeter bite that holds its shape when you pile it on the plate. In Teaches Cooking II, Ramsay says he “often prefers the flavour of crab” over lobster, so it’s worth spending a bit more on the good stuff here.
What should I serve this crab salad with?
Ramsay places it in his Dinner for Two chapter, so it’s designed as a starter before a main like his pan-seared sea bass or a sirloin steak. For a lighter meal, serve it with crusty bread and let the crab be the star.
He also uses crab as a filling for his Sunday Lunch crab wraps with mango salsa, which shows how well it works with tropical fruit across his cooking.
How is this different from Rick Stein’s crab salad?
Rick Stein takes a classic British seaside approach: both brown and white crab meat dressed in a mayo-based sauce with fennel, samphire and tarragon. It’s rich, creamy and coastal.
Ramsay goes the opposite direction with no mayo at all, just a sharp passion fruit vinaigrette over white meat only. His version is lighter, brighter and more tropical. The two barely overlap, so if you like crab it’s worth trying both. For more dinner party salads from Ramsay, see the full guide.
