Trader Joe's Surimi Imitation Crabmeat

Trader Joe's Surimi is one of the best imitation crab meats I've ever had. It's made with top-shelf Alaskan pollock fish, it's lightly sweet, and the texture is on point. Like your typical "krab," it's got those pinkish edges that resemble real cooked crab fresh out of the shell, and the rest of it is beautiful unblemished white fish.

The product is only four bucks for 12 oz, and it comes in a resealable bag. Our best by date was a full month and some change after the day we bought it. Of course, it's been in the fridge the whole time, but that's very convenient to be able to keep it that long.

It's perfectly edible straight from the bag, but we did find a recipe online that we wanted to try out. I guess we'll give ChatGPT the credit for this one. It's simply chopped cucumbers, Kewpie brand mayonnaise, lemon juice, and Trader Joe's Everything But the Bagel Seasoning. Stir it all together, and you can serve it in the manner of a "tartine" open-faced sandwich or as part of a snack bowl with crackers and veggies.

We opted for the former selection and ate ours with sourdough toast on camera for our illustrious YouTube channel. Although Sonia intended to make some ceviche with the remainder of our surimi, she actually wound up making another batch of that same crab salad—this time with less EBtB and more lemon juice and mayo. The second batch was even better than the first. In an attempt to drive some of our YouTube viewers to this written blog, I did promise to share Sonia's ceviche recipe on here, so...for you folks, here it is. Enjoy.

There are zero grams of fat in this surimi, but it packs eight grams of protein per serving. The pink dye comes from tomato lycopene, a natural pigment with antioxidant properties. There's a bit of sea salt in the ingredients, but honestly, the sodium isn't even that bad. Added sugar? Sure. But it's not excessive. From a health perspective, this is one of the better offerings from TJ's we've reviewed in quite a while.

This product gets a solid thumbs up from us. As far as seafood goes, Trader Joe's Surimi Imitation Crabmeat is convenient and tasty. It's not quite as fancy or sumptuous as the recently reviewed Black Cod Sablefish or the Patagonian Scallops but we would definitely buy this product again. $3.99, found in the refrigerated section. Eight out of ten stars from me. Eight and a half out of ten stars from the beautiful wifey.

Bottom line: 8.25 out of 10.