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®’s Summer Starts Here content hub 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.
Take a peek at safeway.com/summer to find your inspiration.
What you’ll need!
Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing
- O Organics® olive oil
- fresh limes
- O Organics® mayo
- garlic cloves
- jalapeno
- honey or agave
- fresh cilantro
- salt and pepper
Grilled Salmon Salad
- salmon filets (or sub steelhead or ocean trout)
- salt
- chili powder
- cumin
- O Organics® baby arugula
- Turkish cucumbers
- red onion
- O Organics® cherry or grape tomatoes
- avocados
- toasted pumpkin seeds
- Cotija cheese, crumbled
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.
Place the salmon on a greased, medium-high heat grill, turning over after 2-3 minutes. Cook to your desired doneness.
Step Three: 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.
Place the dressed salad in a wide serving bowl or on a platter, and top with the grilled salmon.
Sprinkle with the Cotija cheese. Scatter a few fresh cilantro sprigs over top and serve immediately.
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.
Can this be made vegetarian?
Yes, absolutely! Using the same spices, coat slabs of tofu before pan-searing in a skillet. Top the salad with the crispy seared tofu.
TIP: 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.
Give this grilled summery salad a try over the weekend and let us know what you think in the comments below!
Happy Cooking!
More recipes you may like!
- 30+ BEST Salmon Recipes!
- 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
I made this yummy salad for dinner last night and loved the combination of flavors. The creamy cilantro dressing was bright and flavorful with just the right amount of heat from the jalapenos. I grilled the red onions with the salmon because I love grilled onions. Enjoyed my leftovers for lunch today and added a fresh ripe peach. Great summer lunch!
I took your advice and made extra dressing. Just curious, what other uses have you found pair well with this dressing?
Loving your recipes! #Feasting at Home is becoming well known in our family 🙂
Thanks so much Danette! I love the dressing as a dip for radishes and jicama, or drizzled over tacos and buddha bowls. 😉
Great suggestions! Thx!
Hi
This looks a gorgeous recipe -one question – to save grilling the salmon when you have a crowd could you prep before hand and serve the salmon cold? Thanks 😊
Yes, it would taste great cold- I’d try to use skinless salmon if possible here.
Looks delicious please keep me posted I’m leaving my email for you
Great thanks!
Absolutely amazing!
I added diced cantaloupe to it.
Oh perfect! Sounds refreshing!
Made this grilled salmon salad as a light meal for friends on the deck last week, paired with a pinot noir rosé, and followed with a summer berry compote. Simple, colorful, and delicious. A little dressing goes a long way, and the remaining dressing added YUM to sandwiches and veggies over the next few days.
Awesome Crystal- hope you are having a great summer. ❤️
Loved this salad!! I knew I had to make it as soon as I saw it in my fb feed. All the flavors were great together and it was easy to prepare. Will definitely make again!
Awesome Angela- glad you enjoyed!
Wow! This is excellent. The flavors compliment each other beautifully. I used feta (couldn’t find cojita locally), a regular cucumber sliced quite thinly, and served it on baby spinach fresh from our garden. It worked beautifully. Highly recommend.
One question which actually applies to all recipes on your site: When one of your recipes calls for salt, do you mean table salt or Kosher salt? Most culinary recipes in my experience tend toward using Kosher salt. There’s a huge difference!
Hi Mary- Thanks and happy you liked the salad! We use Kosher salt or sea salt. I never use table salt. 🙂
Good to know! You might consider specifying the type of salt in your recipes so folks don’t inadvertently oversalt their recipes. Just a thought. But from here on in I’ll consider it to mean Kosher salt when your recipes include “salt.“
Thanks!
We normally do. I just missed this one!
This was so delicious! Can’t wait to make it again!
Glad you enjoyed this!
Looks delicious
thanks so much!
Thank you for a delicious dinner recipe!!
Glad you enjoyed!
Delicious and perfect summer salad with fresh grilled salmon! Yummmmm
Glad you enjoyed this!
Looks delicious. How long do you think the dressing would keep in the refrigerator? Planning ahead for meals for a family week over the 4th.
Up to 4 days in the fridge. 🙂
Thank you!
Can greek yogurt be used instead of mayo?
Yes, that should be fine! Use full fat and even a splash more olive oil!
I can confirm that this is fantastic with full fat greek yogurt.
Yay! good to know- thanks Cat!
I can’t wait to try this recipe!
We have already had the dressing and it is smazing!!!
Awesome Kelly!
I’m going to make this one for lunch today. It just so happens I have left over grilled salmon from last nights dinner, and a perfectly ripe avocado. I have everything except the pepitas but will sub some chili roasted pistachios. I’ll let you know how it comes out!
Sounds like you are ALL set Robin!
The perfect balance of creamy perfection! Light, crisp and full of flavor. This is at the top of my salmon recipe list.
Thanks so much Lisa! Happy you enjoyed this!
We tried the grilled salmon with cilantro dressing……D-LISH-US!!!
I’ve tried several recipes……all very good and healthy, which is a big plus!
Since I discovered Feasting at Home, our meals are probably 80% plant-based. THANK YOU!
Great to hear Shirley! Sounds like the perfect diet!
Absolutely delish. Will become a once a week favourite over summer
Great to hear Alan!
Salmon with Creamy Cilantro Lime dressing is a 5 star. I love fresh green herbs and veggies when I grill Salmon. Lemon adds the tang to the freshness. Delicious!
Thanks Monte!
The cilantro lime dressing is AMAZING! Love the combination of flavors!
Glad you enjoyed this Karen!
OH mylanta…this ticks all the right boxes. The dressing is the perfect jewel on this crown of a salmon dinner. Get a little crispy edge on the grilled salmon paired with the creamy cheese and your mouth is doing a happy dance! Move this one to the top of the list.
Thanks Kay- I really liked this one too!
The Grilled Salmon Salad with Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing was absolutely delicious, I’ll definitely make it again. I did make a couple of changes: cooked the salmon on the indoor grill pan, substituted the pumpkin seeds for sunflower seeds and the honey for agave. It was great. Thanks
Perfect Jackie- love your substitions!
What a healthy, delicious way to enjoy grilled salmon as a whole meal salad! Satisfying in every way. The perfect summer dinner.
Thanks Tina! Happy you enjoyed this!
This was one of the best salads I have had. Just perfect!
Great to hear Carrie!
Lovely, healthy, creamy. A perfect way to eat Salmon.
Glad you liked this Sue!