TikTok Swears Sam's Club Imitation Crab Legs Taste Just Like This Pricey Seafood

TikTok has turned the general public onto a lot of different food trends, techniques, and hacks, like the viral Turkish pasta that emerged toward the end of 2024 or the toaster quesadilla that saves you from dirtying a pan. So it's no surprise, what with the exorbitant cost of food today, that they are spreading the good word on TikTok about Sam's Club's Gadre Surimi Snow Leg Style, which some content creators are saying is a pretty good dupe for actual snow crab legs.

@nick_kratka

Best imitation crab on the market? 🧐 #crab #samsclub

♬ original sound – Nick Kratka

In the video above, TikToker @nick_kratka, who tried the imitation crab legs and only heated them on the stove with butter and garlic, said, "You know that this is not real crab as you're eating it, you know." But, he added (somewhat erroneously), "You really can't beat it. It's like 10 bucks for 10 pieces of crab," which is somewhat misleading. It actually costs a little over $10 for two 1-lb. packs and the amount of pieces you get can vary. But if you want to try them, they can be found in the refrigerated seafood cooler.

Indeed, two pounds of actual crab legs from Sam's Club would cost you in the range of almost $30 — that's $20 more, and you have to go through the laborious process of cooking the crab legs (which can take awhile if you're heating them up from frozen), then cracking and peeling them. Real crab legs are an event, a to-do for sure, and these imitation crab legs make for a quicker, fuss-free weeknight meal.

Did you know that imitation crab isn't made of any real crab? It's typically derived from a mild whitefish, like pollock, which is processed and turned into surimi (a sort of paste made from the fish meat) before being shaped into sticks, or in this case, larger hunks that resemble crab leg meat. These imitation crab legs are indeed made from wild-caught, sustainably sourced Alaska pollock, as well as Pacific whiting fish, plus a host of other ingredients, like tapioca starch, potato starch, egg white powder, and sugar. We've gotta say, they do have a close approximation of the appearance of real crab leg meat, and even, to some degree, the texture of it.

Tiktoker @bonannuhtit for @yungfoodbeast picked up a package of the imitation crab legs and initially remarked on how thick the individual legs are. After her first bite, she went on to remark, "It doesn't taste like crab, but the bounciness of this imitation crab is not like any other imitation crab."

Commenters under her video mirror those sentiments, with one saying, "Just so long as you go into [it] understanding that it's imitation, it's not bad at all." Another had a more negative take: "I did this, better than I expected, but it's just okay. Won't do it again." They did not, however, elaborate on whether it was the taste, texture, or both that put them off.

Perhaps the most popular preparation for these imitation crab legs is to make a stove-top seafood boil with them, melting down a big slab of butter and adding spices like garlic and onion powder, cajun seasoning, and Old Bay. But you can and should make it your own and add whatever you like, such as Tony's creole seasoning or a seasoning mix from Kinder's (the Butter Garlic & Herb flavor would work well here, or the Red Jalapeño Garlic). Once everything is combined and bubbling, toss in the imitation crab legs and let them cook for just two or three minutes. They're actually already cooked, so this is just to warm them through without drying them out or burning them.

But you're not limited to just faux seafood boils. You can use this product to make sushi at home — after all, sushi restaurants use imitation crab in some of their rolls (namely California rolls). Make crab rangoon with it, or chop it up and use it as the protein in fried rice. It would be great in crab dips, in salad, or even incorporated into a seafood soup. Whatever you use this Sam's Club imitation crab leg meat in, its unique texture and flavor will no doubt make an impact.