Crabmeat, to me, means summertime.

I spent my childhood summers in Maine, where there is no shortage of rocky coastlines, cute little seaside towns, and warm-weather seafood festivals.

There is also no shortage of seafood “shacks” (for lack of a better word).

The kind of place where you can stroll in wearing shorts and sandals, order at the counter, take a seat at a picnic table, and then dig into a feast fit for a king (fresh-caught lobster, mussels, clams, etc.).

When I go back to visit Maine in the summertime, I love to eat crabmeat rolls (crabmeat mixed with mayo and stuffed into a butter-slathered, toasted roll).

But for this post, I wanted something a little healthier than crabmeat stuffed into buttered white bread.

So I added lots of flavorful fresh veggies.

And I stuffed the crabmeat into avocados instead of a roll.

If you love crabmeat like I do, I think you just might adore this recipe.

It’s extremely bright, crisp, and flavorful.

And the rich, creamy avocado is the perfect complement to the light and fresh crabmeat.

Bonus: there is no cooking involved in this recipe.

And you should be able to whip this dish together in under 20 minutes flat!

Here’s the line-up of ingredients for this quick and easy dish. So summer-y!

Begin by dicing up about half of a tomato.

Also dice up about half of an orange or yellow bell pepper.

Why orange or yellow?  To add lots of beautiful color to the dish as well as a wide variety of vitamins!

Use a pair of kitchen shears (or a good knife if you don’t have kitchen shears) to chop up some fresh chives.

Chives, by the way, are a healthy cook’s secret weapon.

They have a very light, delicate onion-y taste and they add amazing, zesty flavor to your dish without fat and calories.

They’re also full of vitamins, like Vitamins C and E to keep your immune system strong.  And selenium to fight free radicals and toxins in your body (protecting you from cancer and heart disease).  And fiber to support digestion.

See what I mean by secret weapon?

Next, throw together an easy dressing for the crabmeat salad.

Grab a mixing bowl and whisk together some Dijon mustard and some red wine vinegar.

Slowly whisk in a bit of extra virgin olive oil.

Season with salt and pepper.

And you now have a light, fresh, healthy seafood salad dressing that’s quick and easy to prepare anytime.

Toss your Miracle Whip in the trash, you won’t be needing that any longer!

Next add some fresh, fully cooked crabmeat (you can buy it prepared and fully cooked at the store) to the dressing.

Also add the diced tomato and bell pepper and about a tablespoon of the chopped chives.

Stir until everything is well combined.

Now, slice an avocado in half lengthwise.  You’ll feel a large pit in the center – continue to cut around it.

Pull the two halves apart and immediately pour some fresh lemon juice over the avocado.

This will prevent it from turning brown.  So you’ll end up with a nice, lovely presentation at the end and look like quite the kitchen pro.

Use a spoon to scoop out the pit.

Then scoop out about one-third of the avocado meat from the center of each half.

You should have a nice hollowed-out center to fill with the crabmeat salad.

You can add the avocado meat that you just scooped out to the crabmeat salad as well – just stir it in, and nothing is wasted!

Stuff each avocado full of the crabmeat salad.

Feel free to really pile it on until it’s overflowing – this salad is light and healthy, so serve yourself a nice, heaping portion!

Finally, take a seat and enjoy.

What you’ll taste: fresh crabmeat, combined with bright, crisp veggies, combined with a richly flavorful and zesty dressing, combined with a hint of citrus, combined with creamy  avocado.

Mmmmmmm.  Welcome summer!

Here is the complete printable recipe:

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