The Perfect Sandwich for a Beach Picnic
Come for the surf, sand, and sun. Stay for these scrumptious seafood salad sandwiches.
Jul 10, 2025
Planning a beach picnic involves more than throwing on a bathing suit and flip-flops, packing towels, and filling a cooler with deli sandwiches and adult beverages. Sure, there's nothing wrong with going that route... but why not make your beach picnic shine with homemade seafood salad sandwiches that scream gourmet?
The seafood salad is made with wild-caught shrimp sautéed in garlic & herbs extra-virgin olive oil, and mixed with Dungeness crabmeat, all tossed together in a light, creamy dressing. For bread, make sure you use one that's thick because the sandwiches will hold up in the picnic basket or cooler en route and at the beach. The sandwiches come together quickly and are extra delicious when paired with your favorite white wine.
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 8 ounces Vital Choice shrimp (tails removed)
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 8 ounces lump crabmeat (drained and shell pieces removed)
- 3 tablespoons scallions (sliced thin)
- 3 tablespoons celery stalks (chopped)
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 12 teaspoon salt
- 8 butter lettuce leaves
- 16 slices sandwich bread
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shrimp and season with seasoned salt and pepper to taste. Cook shrimp until bright pink and opaque, about 2 minutes. Raise heat to medium-high and add lemon juice. Continue cooking for another minute or two, remove from heat, and set aside to cool.
- Once cooled, coarsely chop the cooked shrimp into pieces and place in a large mixing bowl with the lump crabmeat.
- Add the scallions, celery, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, hot sauce, seasoned salt, and additional black pepper to taste. Stir together to combine.
- Place a lettuce leaf on the bottom of the bread and top with ½ cup seafood salad and another slice of bread. Slice sandwiches in half to serve on a platter.
AUTHOR
Kristen Hess is a freelance food stylist, photographer, content creator, and recipe developer for many high-profile food and beverage brands, restaurants, and celebrity chefs. She's also the author of The Artful Gourmet food blog.
