Summer Seafood Salad with California Ripe Olives

A cool and crisp, crowd pleasing salad that serves well as an entree or a lovely side dish for summer barbecues.

I cherish those blissful summer days when the windows are thrown wide open, inviting a gentle breeze to wander through the house. Music hums softly in the background while family gathers on the patio, sharing stories and laughter as the sun slowly sinks toward the horizon. On evenings like these, dinner should feel simple, fresh, and effortless.

That’s when I love serving this Summer Seafood Salad.

While summer is often synonymous with barbecue, there are plenty of warm evenings when I crave something lighter and more refreshing. This seafood salad recipe is exactly that — a bright, flavorful dish filled with fresh seasonal ingredients and topped with a luscious seafood dressing and California Ripe Olives.

Light, satisfying, and beautifully balanced, it’s the kind of summer meal that feels both casual and a little special.

Why You’ll Love This Summer Seafood Salad

This salad is one of my favorite warm-weather meals because it’s incredibly versatile and filled with vibrant flavors. The combination of fresh greens, crisp vegetables, and tender seafood creates a dish that feels both refreshing and satisfying.

The real magic, however, is in the seafood and the olives. California Ripe Olives bring a mild, buttery flavor that pairs beautifully with delicate seafood. Their consistent curing process creates a dependable taste and texture, which is why they are always a staple in my pantry.

Together with the seafood dressing, the olives elevate this salad from simple to something truly memorable.

Choosing the Seafood

This Summer Seafood Salad appears often on my dinner table, and one of the reasons I love it so much is that it’s easy to adapt depending on what seafood you have on hand.

My favorite combination is Dungeness crab and Oregon shrimp, which bring a sweet, delicate flavor that works perfectly with the fresh vegetables.

However, there are many delicious options:

• Grilled salmon

• Smoked salmon

• Grilled scallops

• Poached Gulf shrimp

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Each brings its own unique flavor to the salad while keeping the dish light and refreshing.

Fresh Ingredients That Make This Salad Shine

When preparing seafood salad, I like to keep the vegetables simple and fresh so the seafood remains the star of the dish.

Most often, I begin with a mixture of tender baby lettuce greens and crisp romaine, which provides both softness and crunch — my favorite salad combination.

To that base I add:

• Cucumbers

• Green onions

• Radishes

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These vegetables bring brightness and texture while pairing beautifully with seafood.

And of course, no seafood salad of mine would be complete without California Ripe Olives, which add a savory richness that ties all the flavors together.

Light, fresh, and beautifully balanced, this chilled seafood salad is perfect for warm evenings when you want something simple yet special.

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Chef Tips for the Best Seafood Salad

A few small details can make this salad even better:

Use very fresh seafood: Fresh crab or shrimp makes all the difference in flavor.

Keep the ingredients chilled: Cold seafood and crisp greens make the salad especially refreshing on warm days.

Dress the salad lightly: Seafood has a delicate flavor, so a light touch with the dressing keeps everything balanced.

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What to Serve with Seafood Salad

This salad works beautifully as either a light dinner or an elegant first course.

It pairs especially well with:

• crusty sourdough bread

• grilled baguette slices

• a chilled glass of rosé or Sauvignon Blanc

  
  

Simple accompaniments allow the fresh seafood flavors to shine.

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A Simple Summer Favorite

This Summer Seafood Salad with California Ripe Olives is one of those dishes that perfectly captures the feeling of the season — fresh ingredients, simple preparation, and meals enjoyed outdoors with people you love.

With just a handful of beautiful ingredients and a light seafood dressing, it’s a salad that feels both effortless and memorable.

This post is sponsored by California Ripe Olives; as always, all opinions are my own.

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Summer Seafood Salad

Ingredients

• 1 cup mayonnaise

• 1/3 cup chili sauce

• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

• 1 teaspoon chopped capers

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

• 1 tablespoon dill pickle relish

• 2 good dashes of Worcestershire sauce

• 2 cups chopped fresh romaine lettuce

• 2 cups baby greens

• 1 cucumber, thinly sliced lengthwise, making ribbons

• 2-3 green onions, thinly sliced

• 3 radishes, thinly sliced

• ½ cup sliced California Green Ripe or Black Ripe Olives

• 1 tablespoon capers

• ½ cup finely shredded cheddar cheese, optional

• 8 ounces fresh crab meat (canned is fine if you can’t find fresh. Just use a high-quality canned crab)

• ½ pound cooked small salad shrimp

• Lemon Wedges for serving
  

Directions

1.     Whisk together the mayonnaise, chili sauce, lemon juice, capers, chives, pickle relish and Worcestershire sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.

2.     In a large bowl, combine the chopped romaine and baby greens. Add about a quarter of the dressing to the greens and toss to combine. Divide the greens among 4 plates. Top each salad with a few cucumber ribbons, sliced green onions, sliced radishes, olives, capers and cheddar cheese.

3.     Then top each salad with crab and shrimp. Drizzle a little more dressing over each salad and garnish with additional olives and sliced green onions. Serve with lemon wedges.

4.     To serve this as a side dish, place the dressed greens on a rimmed or shallow platter and layer with the cucumber, green onion and radishes. Then top with the olives, capers and cheddar cheese. Last, top with the fresh seafood and drizzle with additional dressing. Garnish with chopped fresh chive or green onion and additional sliced or whole olives. Serve immediately.