Crab Louie Salad

By John, 11 October, 2026
Region
American Fancy
Description
Crab Louie Salad

An authentic traditional Crab Louie salad is a composed West Coast classic featuring a generous mound of fresh Dungeness crab meat on a bed of crisp iceberg or romaine lettuce, accompanied by hard-boiled eggs and tomato wedges, all topped with a rich and tangy Louie dressing.

Sources are divided on whether this was developed in San Francisco or Seattle in the early 20th Century. It's a simple salad of Dungeness Crab dressed with Louie Dressing, a sort of piquant version of Thousand Islands Dressing. 

I made this one for a big party, so for portion control I set out the crab in sections of Belgian Endive, it worked out great. 

Yield
16 Servings
Preparation time
30 minutes
Cooking time
0 minutes
Total time
30 minutes
Ingredients
2 Romaine Lettuce (cored and cut into ribbons)
16 oz Dungeness Crab
4 Belgian Endive (Attractive outer leaves only, cleaned and trimmed)
4 Hard-Boiled Eggs (quartered)
4 Plum Tomato (quartered lengthwise)
1 Crab Louis Dressing (see Crab Louie Dressing link in sidebar)
Instructions

Key Components

This is a composed salad, meaning ingredients are artfully arranged on a large platter rather than tossed. 

Assemble these on a platter.

  • Crisp Lettuce: Typically a bed of shredded iceberg or romaine lettuce serves as the base, providing a crunchy contrast to the other ingredients. Arrange this first.
  • Dungeness Crab: The star ingredient, traditionally the sweet meat from Dungeness crabs of the Pacific Northwest. If you get it canned, you may want a little lemon juice to bring back some of its sparkle.
  • Belgian Endive: For portion control if you have many diners. You can fit an ounce of Crab into each of 16 attractive out leaves of the Endive.
  • Hard-Boiled Eggs: Quartered or wedged hard-boiled eggs are arranged around the crab.
  • Tomato Wedges: Fresh, ripe tomato wedges add color and a burst of juicy flavor. These should more or less mirror the egg quarters around the platter.
  • Crab Louie Dressing: A creamy, pink dressing made with a base of mayonnaise and chili sauce or ketchup, along with various seasonings. 
    See Crab Louie Dressing link in sidebar.

Optional Additions

Common additions that have become popular over time include:

  • Asparagus spears, blanched and chilled
  • Avocado slices or chunks
  • Black olives, sliced
  • Lemon wedges for garnish and a finishing squeeze