This Grilled Salmon Salad with Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing is perfect for summer barbecues and outdoor gatherings. Chock full of fresh organic produce, not only is this entree salad healthy and easy to make, it’s bursting with delicious summertime flavor! Keto and Low-carb. Looking for more? Check out our 30+ BEST Salmon Recipes.
This is a sponsored post for SAFEWAY® grocery store.
I’d love for you to meet one of my favorite summer salads! Grilled Salmon Salad with Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing.
Salmon fillets are seasoned and grilled, then served over a bed of organic baby arugula, with avocado, cucumber, grape tomatoes, and shaved red onion tossed in a Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing, sprinkled with pepitas and crumbled cotija cheese.
Grilled Salmon Salad Video
After our recent trip down to Mexico last week, one of the things I craved most while traveling is salad and, with the weather getting warmer, it felt like the perfect time to pull out the grill and make an event out of it!
This week we are thrilled to be collaborating with SAFEWAY®, a one-stop hub for fresh healthy ingredients, including a huge selection of organic produce and ingredients with their exclusive O Organics® brand- perfect for all our summertime creations!
One of the simple joys of summer is cooking meals alfresco, using fresh organic produce. SAFEWAY® is offering up some fun and joyful cooking inspiration with the ease of recipe planning with shoppable recipes, virtual cooking classes with celebrity chefs, and even culinary tips and tricks.
Salmon Salad Ingredeints
- Salmon filets – use wild salmon if possible, skin off! Or sub steelhead trout.
- Baby arugula- for that peppery bite! We used O Organics® brand or sub-baby spinach.
- Veggies and herbs: Turkish cucumbers, red onion, cherry or grape tomatoes, avocado, garlic, jalapeno, and fresh cilantro
- Mayo and Extra virgin Olive oil– we used O Organics® brand for this tecipe
- Sweetener- honey or agave
- Seasonings: Salt, black pepper, chili powder and cumin
- Garnishes: Toasted pumpkin seeds, cotija cheese, cilantro
How to make Grilled Salmon Salad with Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing
Step one: Fire up the grill and make the flavorful dressing.
Fresh cilantro and jalapeno give it such a vibrant color!
Trust me when I tell you, you’ll want this dressing on everything- I usually make a double batch!
Step Two: Prep the salmon. Brush the salmon with olive oil and season with salt, cumin, and chili powder.
Step 3: Grill! Place the salmon on a greased, medium-high heat grill, turning over after 2-3 minutes. Cook to your desired doneness.
Step 4: Assemble the Salad. In a large mixing bowl, add the arugula, cucumbers, and some of the dressing, tossing to coat lightly.
Gently fold in the avocado, onions, tomatoes and pepitas, adding more dressing as needed. You will not need all the dressing.
Step 5: Serve! Place the dressed salad in a wide serving bowl or on a platter, and top with the grilled salmon.
Serving Suggestions
Sprinkle with the cotija cheese, pumpkin seeds, and a few fresh cilantro sprigs over the top, and serve immediately. This would be super tasty with a chilled gazpacho, and toasty bread.
Storage
This salad is best eaten right away! Leftover salmon will keep up to day days in the fridge, and the dressing will keep up to 5 days in an airtight container.
Chef’s Tips
- Vegetarian / Vegan Option- Using the same spices, coat slabs of tofu before pan-searing in a skillet. Top the salad with the crispy seared tofu. make the dressing vegan with vegan mayo if you like!
- Meal prep- I often make a double batch of the grilled salmon and just refrigerate what we don’t use. It’s great for midweek meals in salads and bowls and keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days. Plus, you’ll have extra dressing.
- If using skin-on salmon, make sure to season and crisp up the skin and serve the salmon skin side up so it doesn’t get soggy.
Summer in a bowl! The combination of flavors really satisfies- I know you will love this one! Feel free to plate the Grilled Salmon Salad individually if you prefer.
More Favorite Fish Recipes
- 30+ BEST Salmon Recipes!
- Salmon Wellington
- Halibut with Lemony Zucchini Noodles
- Greek Salmon Bowls
- Perfect Grilled Salmon
- Salmon with Braised French Lentils
- Blackened Salmon Sandwich
- Japanese Salmon Rice Bowls
- Cobb Salad
(This is a sponsored post for SAFEWAY® grocery store.)
Print
Grilled Salmon Salad with Creamy Cilntro Lime Dressing
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 15
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: salad, fish
- Method: grilled
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Grilled Salmon Salad with Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing is perfect for summer barbecues and outdoor gatherings. Chock full of fresh organic produce, not only is this entree salad healthy and easy to make, it’s bursting with delicious summertime flavor! Keto and Low-carb.
Ingredients
GRILLED SALMON SALAD RECIPE
Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup lime juice, more to taste
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 a jalapeno, sliced (more for more heat)
- 1/2 teaspoon honey, more to taste
- 1/2 cup cilantro, packed (tender stems OK)
Grilled Salmon Salad
- 4 x 4-6 ounce pieces of salmon (or sub steelhead or ocean trout)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 5 ounces O Organics® baby arugula
- 3 Turkish cucumbers, sliced, salted
- 1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half
- 2 avocados, sliced
- 1/3 cup toasted pumpkin seeds
- 1/3 cup cotija cheese, crumbled
- cilantro leaves for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the grill to med-high heat.
- Make the Dressing: Place all ingredients except the cilantro in a blender, and blend until smooth, scraping down sides as needed. Add the cilantro and blend again. Taste, and adjust jalapeno, honey, and lime to your taste.
- Grill: Brush each piece of salmon with olive oil, then lightly season each side with salt, chili powder and cumin. Place the salmon on a greased, hot grill. Check after 2-3 minutes for grill marks, then turn. Continue grilling for a few more minutes, to medium (or your preferred doneness), and turn the heat off.
- In a large mixing bowl, toss arugula, cucumber, and onions with a little dressing (you won’t need all) then fold in the avocado, tomatoes, half the pumpkin seeds, and half the Cotija cheese. Taste and add salt if needed.
- Place on a serving platter or in a big wide serving bowl (or divide among four plates), and top with the salmon.
- Sprinkle with remaining pumpkin seeds, Cotija cheese, and cilantro leaves. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 585
- Sugar: 5.2 g
- Sodium: 742.9 mg
- Fat: 44.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 7.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 20.8 g
- Fiber: 10.1 g
- Protein: 33.7 g
- Cholesterol: 70.2 mg
Made this twice already. Excellent!
Great to hear Randy!
Not sure why it took me so long to try this, but I’m so glad I finally did! Another winning recipe. I love this flavor profile with the salmon…will definitely go into my summer rotation. Thank you Sylvia!
Glad you enjoyed Angie!
Perfect Salmon salat
This was wonderful, and
perfect for a hot summer evening. Used cilantro and lettuce straight from the garden. We didn’t have Cojita on hand, but good feta worked fine. And we can’t say enough good things about your cilantro lime dressing. It is SO good!
Yay! So glad you enjoyed this one Mary!
Changed the dressing to no mayo, and used Greek yogurt, marinated the salmon in chipotle hot sauce, otherwise followed the recipe. Great salad, will make it again.
Thanks Ann!
I’m wondering how a salad that is almost 600 cal & has 44gms of fat labeled as “healthy” (?) It may be very flavorful, but not healthy.
This salad is perfect as the main dish for a meal so calories are reasonable for that? We believe wild salmon to be a heart healthy fat, that actually can decrease inflammation and support brain health . Not all fat is bad. 🙂
I continue to make this salad for an easy weekday lunch while working from home. It is simple, delicious and healthy. The only “cooking” is to blend the dressing and cook the salmon…which is super fast in the air fryer. Everything else is assemble. I’ve shared the food and recipe many times, always with applause.
Wonderful Erica, so happy you are enjoying!
Air fryer: what temp & for how long? No need to flip the salmon halfway thru cooking?