7 Imitation Crab Brands, Ranked Worst To Best

Any crab fans in the house? Personally, I adore crab — so much so, I don't really mind the chore of picking crabs to get to the succulent center. Crab-fests are an annual occurrence and a day-long affair in my family, and the other side of my family were Maryland natives, so I'm no stranger to the region's plentiful crabby offerings. All of which is to say, I've had my fair share of crab-laden foods over the years. Something I haven't much delved into, though, is the world of imitation crab. 

Beyond seeing it listed as part of rolls in nearly every conveyor belt sushi spot, I've never had much contact with the seafood substitute (which, actually, is also typically made with seafood). As it turns out, there's no shortage of imitation crab brands on the market, all of which promise to be adequate mimics of the real deal — but how many are up to snuff? Out of the seven brands I tried for this ranking, the differences between each were truly very subtle. There wasn't even as wide of a margin between my first and last choices as I'm used to seeing. That said, I sussed out the minor differences in flavor and texture of each to rank them according to which was the best imitation of actual crab. Whether you want to grab a package for your next homemade sushi rolls or one of the many popular non-sushi uses for imitation crab, here are my thoughts on which brands are the best. 

Last and unfortunately least is Trans Ocean's Seafood Snackers, which cost me all of one dollar at my local Walmart. I must say, its price point didn't make me particularly excited to try this product, yet try it I did — and though it wasn't unpalatable, I was wholly underwhelmed. Since these are presumably meant to be eaten solo (given their "snacker" label), I wanted something that held up better on its own.

These legs, however, begged to be masked in a tuna salad made with imitation crab or something similar. They definitely weren't inedible, and they boasted a good amount of crabby flavor, but I took more issue with the clear presence of sugar. While crab is naturally sweet, it was obvious that this had sugar added to it, and it led to an unsavory sweet taste that I didn't find very appealing. I also didn't love the textures here — the legs were spongy, with almost a grainy, powdery interior texture. The whole thing was somewhat squishy and its overall texture was too uniform, almost tofu-esque. It was obvious that this was imitation crab, and it didn't do a great job of mimicking the real thing. A too-sweet flavor and lackluster, offputting texture gave it an easy bottom spot. 

Well, while I'm usually impressed by Kroger's own product line, I can't quite say the same about its imitation crab meat — though, again, the differences between all of these were marginal. However, this was my second to last choice for a couple reasons, and if you have access to any of the following options, they'd probably serve you better. This, as with many others on this list, is made primarily from Alaskan pollock.

As with my last pick, it's blatantly obvious that these legs have been sweetened with sugar, which did nothing to endear me to them, unfortunately. Also similar to the seafood snackers, these were rather spongy in texture, while many of my later picks were firmer and shredded easier. Something I will give this pick, though, is that it tasted like crab — it's a shame that its sweet notes were so overpowering, otherwise I could have ranked this higher. On the plus side, if you typically swap out imitation crab for something sweeter in your sushi rolls, you likely wouldn't have to make such adjustments if you use Kroger's.  

Up next, we have Crabjoy's take on imitation crab, which is made from surimi — a processed seafood that's generally either Alaskan pollock or Pacific whiting. Crabjoy doesn't specify which fish is used in its surimi (or if it may be a combination of both), and though I'd be interested to know, that knowledge wouldn't change its spot in this ranking. It could, however, give me more context as to the biggest issue I had with this particular imitation crab.

The issue in question is that this was the least flavorful of all the selections on this list — in fact, it wouldn't be a stretch to call it completely flavorless. On the plus side, this meant it didn't exude the faux-sweetness exhibited by the above brands, which is what earned it a slightly higher spot in this ranking. Unfortunately, its lack of flavor also meant I couldn't rank it any higher. It had a pretty good, firm texture that tore readily as I bit into it, a welcome diversion from the spongy quality of my bottom two picks. I don't think this could fully satisfy a crab craving, but it would be a suitable enough way to add some protein to your next mac and cheese dinner. 

The Trans Ocean brand does feature twice on this list, but I thought the dollar-value seafood snackers differed enough from this leg-style imitation crab for each to merit its own spot on this list. I expected to like these slightly more than I did — after all, it says right there on the package that it's made from "Wild Alaskan Pollock with Real Crab Meat added," making it seem like one of the most authentic offerings here. On the whole, it was good, but there was one huge downside that made me unable to give it higher than the fourth-place spot.

I'll start with the pros. These crab legs had a definite crab flavor without tasting too sweet, and flavor alone could have convinced me it was the real thing. In terms of texture, it completely fell apart — literally. My first qualm was that these were far too firm for my liking, and after I took a second bite, they started to unroll. Remember Fruit Roll-Ups? Yeah, that's exactly what I experienced with these bad boys. I unrolled the one I was eating until it was flat as a pancake, and such an obvious sign that it's an "imitation" product just didn't sit well with me. I imagine this would be less of an issue if you used this imitation crab in a sushi roll, but for snacking purposes alone, it was enough to dock a few points from this product. 

Aquamar's Surimi Legs were pretty good, though I'm not sure why the company seems to talk around being imitation crab — it claims being "Real Fish. Never Imitated" and "Crab Flavored Seafood" on the package. Reasoning aside, it fit the bill, and the Alaskan pollock-based selection even made the top three on my list. I was somewhat surprised it got a high ranking, because it was the most vibrant of any selections I tried, and I figured that vibrancy might be an attempt to mask a less-than-stellar product. I was wrong. 

Now, it wasn't all sunshine and roses with these crab legs, and I had a hard time deciding between the placements of this and the previous pick — each got the flavor right, but erred in terms of texture. Ultimately, I found unrolling to be the more egregious fault. The texture of Aquamar's take, however, was somewhat powdery. On the plus side, I actually found that this likened it more to crab, which often isn't as firm as some selections on this list. On the downside, it just didn't make for a great mouthfeel. It did boast fantastic flavor, though, and could easily crab-ify whatever you may use it in. 

My number two imitation crab pick goes to Louis Kemp, the brand behind the aforementioned Crabjoy. Fortunately, this selection boasted much more flavor than its counterpart. Is that because the surimi used here is made from wild caught Alaskan Pollock? I'm really not sure, but I suspect that may have something to do with it. Regardless, it wasn't hard to enjoy this selection, which actually vied with the next pick for first place. 

I thought Louis Kemp's take on imitation crab was perhaps the most well-balanced selection of the bunch. Its flavor was remarkably true to crab, and though it was still slightly sweet, it wasn't at all overwhelmingly so. Moreover, it had a great texture. It was fairly firm but readily flaked when I bit into it, reminiscent of real crab. It was mild enough to not grab too much attention while still adding that crab quality to whatever you may include it in. I found myself snacking on quite a few pieces from this package. 

Finally, my top pick. A freezer-section find that's meant to mimic Alaskan snow crab legs, Waterfront Bistro's creation is also made from wild caught Alaskan pollock (which, in case you didn't already gather, seems to be my surimi fish of choice when it comes to imitation crab). I thawed the bag in the fridge overnight before this taste test and, well, it's the brand I'll definitely pick up again should the craving for imitation crab strike. 

For starters, just look at them — they're the most visually similar to actual crab leg meat out of any selection on this list. I want to say that didn't play a role in them taking the top spot but, after all, we eat with our eyes first. Fortunately, its texture and flavor held up to what its appearance promised. The singular reason I debated between these and Louis Kemp's selection for the top spot is because these were ever-so-slightly sweeter (which, as you've learned by now, isn't my favorite imitation crab quality). However, its other qualities more than made up for this small misstep. Its crab flavor was very present and its sweetness was balanced by a slight salty quality. Moreover, its texture was superb — very thick, meaty, and slightly firm, yet it still tore apart just like crab when I bit into it. I could (and just might) make these a regular snack staple. 

To compile a list for this ranking, I grabbed one of each brand of imitation crab available at a few different stores local to me. You'll see some brand overlap — for example, Trans Ocean had both imitation crab and seafood snackers on this list, and Louis Kemp looks to be the parent company of Crabjoy — but the items were different enough from each other to merit their own spots. This likely isn't a comprehensive list, and there may be brands available near you that I didn't cover.

I ranked each based on how well it mimicked the texture and flavor of real crab. My top spots gave a slightly sweet, definitely crabby flavor, with a tender shreddable crab texture. The bottom spots were given to imitation crabs that were obviously artificially sweetened, bland, and/or had a too-uniform, squishy texture. Still, it's worth reiterating what I said at the beginning of this piece — the differences between each were slight, and aside from perhaps my bottom pick, each of the imitation crabs I tried are comparable to one another.