Salmon Salad
Refreshing and satisfying salmon salad enjoys perfectly seared filets and fresh veggies. This unapologetically delicious recipe is gorgeous to the eyes and flavor-packed to the palate. The incredibly easy garlic lemon dressing makes a colorful, healthy, and hassle-free meal.
Who says comfort food has to be bad for you? Honestly, anything that satisfies cravings, like this salad, is comfort food, in my opinion. Maybe it’s the perfectly seared salmon with all its healthy fat or the veggie fiesta. All I know is that this salad hits the spot every single time.
And the homemade dressing! 🤤 The perfect zing with fresh lemon juice and red wine vinegar balances the fresh herbs, like dill, Italian herbs, and minced garlic. Even non-salad lovers can appreciate this is a salad.
How to Choose the Best Salmon for Salad
Salmon can be expensive, so go for quality salmon to get the most bang for your buck. Make sure the color is vibrant and the fish is plump and moist. It should spring back if you give it a little press, and it shouldn’t smell overly fishy or have brown spots or bruising. Frozen salmon also works well for this recipe, especially if you have a trusted brand.
How to Make Salmon Salad
- The Dressing – Whisk together all the salad dressing ingredients in a small bowl: olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, dill, garlic (or garlic powder), onion powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Then, set it aside or store it in the refrigerator if you’re making it ahead.
- Season fresh salmon fillets with salt and pepper, and heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat. Sear the salmon on both sides until it’s crispy and cooked to your liking. (Photos 1-2)
- Assemble Salad – Layer the Romaine lettuce, cucumber slices, halved cherry tomatoes, sliced red onion, sliced red bell pepper, and halved black olives. (Photos 3-8)
- Serve – Arrange the salmon over the salad. Drizzle everything with the salad dressing, and serve with avocado and lemon wedges.
Recipe Tips and Twists
- Slap your salmon filets on the grill for an easy grilled salmon salad recipe. Or stick them in the oven for baked salmon salad.
- Feel free to top your Caesar salad with salmon for a healthy and filling salad. Or add elbow macaroni or penne pasta for a great salmon pasta salad.
- Add feta cheese, and use whole Romaine lettuce leaves to make a tasty salmon lettuce wrap. Or chop all the ingredients a little smaller and stuff a pita for a delicious salmon salad sandwich.
- Salad dressing can be made a few days before and stored in the refrigerator. But bring it to room temperature before drizzling it on your salad.
- Use different colors of bell peppers if you want a more Instagram-worthy plating. 🌈
- Don’t be afraid to mix and match other meats, such as chicken, tuna, or shrimp, with this dish. You might be happily surprised. Red leaf lettuce, purple cabbage, and kale are also deliciously healthy additions.
Make-Ahead and Storage Instructions
You can totally make the salad dressing and the salmon ahead of time for this salad. Make them as instructed and store them in the fridge for 1-2 days. Then, toss everything together whenever you’re ready to eat.
Store leftovers in the fridge, but try to consume them within the next day or so. The dressing will make the greens wilt, so store it separately if possible.
What Goes With Salmon Salad
For sides, try a salmon salad with roast potatoes and carrots, which will make your meal keep you fuller longer. You could also add a side of homemade garlic bread!
More Easy Salmon Recipes to Top Salads
Conclusion
Fresh, colorful, super healthy, and filling! What’s not to love? ❤️ Give this salmon salad a try, and let me know if you love it as much as I do! For more fun salad recipes, follow me on Facebook or Instagram. See you there! 😘
Watch How to Make It
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”bHvfgaLe” upload-date=”2021-04-14T06:00:00.000Z” name=”Salmon Salad” description=”A refreshingly beautiful plate of Salmon Salad hits your palate with a fiesta of greens paired with chunky seafood. You’ll surely fall in love with this healthy light dish you can serve on a weekly basis. Whip up this easy, colorful, and tasty recipe for your hassle-free weekend dinner!” player-type=”collapse” override-embed=”false”]
This blog post was originally published in August 2019 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video
Salmon Salad
Ingredients
Marinade/Dressing
- 3 tablespoons (45ml) olive oil
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) red wine vinegar (optional)
- 1 teaspoon (4g) Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon (15g) fresh dill
- 1 teaspoon (4g) garlic, minced
- ¼ teaspoon (1g) onion powder
- ½ teaspoon (2g) dried Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon (5g) salt
- ½ teaspoon (2g) pepper
- 2 4-6-ounce skinless salmon fillets
Salad
- 4 cups (188g) Romaine lettuce leaves, washed and dried
- 1 cup (119g) cucumber, quartered
- 2 cups (400g) cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 red onion, sliced
- ½ cup (75g) red bell pepper, sliced
- ⅓ cup (60g) black olives, halved
- 1 avocado, sliced
- lemon wedges, for garnish
Instructions
- In a small bowl, Whisk together all of the salad dressing ingredients: olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, dill, garlic, onion powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Set aside in the refrigerator.
- Season salmon with salt and pepper, and heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat. Sear salmon on both sides until crispy and cooked to your liking.
- While the salmon is cooking, prepare the salad ingredients and mix them in a plate or bowl.
- Arrange salmon over salad, and drizzle with the salad dressing. Serve with avocado and lemon wedges.
Tips & Notes:
- Make the dressing ahead: Salad dressing can be made a few days ahead and stored in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before using.
- Make it colorful: Use different colors of bell peppers if you want a more Instagram-worthy plating.
- Mix and Match: Don’t be afraid to mix and match other meats, such as chicken, tuna, or shrimp, with this dish. You’ll never know what’ll surprise you.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.
I love this recipe! Do you by chance have the calorie information or servicing size for just the dressing itself?
Hi Chelsea
Total (without optional red wine vinegar): Approximately 380 calories
Total (with optional red wine vinegar): Approximately 383 calories
If you divide this into, say, 8 servings, each serving would have around 47-48 calories without the optional red wine vinegar, or around 48 calories with it.
Please note that these are approximate values and could vary based on the specific brands or types of ingredients you use. Always consult with a nutritionist or use a specific calorie-counting tool for the most accurate information.
Hope this helps
I was not convinced at first about this marinade/salad dressing; I thought it might not go well with the salmon because it seemed too strong tasting. But it does go! It goes splendidly well! We ladled it over the finished salads topped with the cooked salmon fillets. Delicious. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe.
You’re welcome, Dee. I’m happy that you tried this one. Thanks for stopping by.
This right here is all I needed today…. Thanks Imma
Love it! Thank you, Shirley!
Looks great. Trying tonight. Thankyou.
Hope you enjoyed it! Thank you for dropping by.
Looks great!
I’m a diabetic this recipe sounds great would love to try it calories are high for some other ingredients can it be reduce for a diabetic to enjoy type 2
In the size of the salmon you say 4 to 6 pound each.
Did you mean, 4 to 5 ounces each. 4 to 6 pounds is a lot for two people.
My bad Joanna, recipe has been updated . Thanks for bringing this to my attention.
Easy but great recipe, we always enjoy salmon and iam always looking for new way’s to serve it
Thank you for dropping by. It’s a fantastic salmon recipe indeed.