This salmon salad has it all - flaky baked salmon, crisp celery, red onion, radishes, and fresh herbs, tossed in a creamy lemony dressing. Oh yes, this is how you give salmon a fresh new lift.
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What type of salmon to use
If you like my tuna salad recipe which has millions of views, by the way, you are going to love this new salmon salad recipe. A big filet of salmon with the easiest spice blend is quickly baked in the oven giving you these large flaky bits of salmon, that's then chilled and combined with crisp veggie textures, fresh herbs and a creamy lemony dressing with the right amount of zing.
This cold salmon salad is healthy, protein packed, loaded with omega threes, and I think it tastes pretty darn fantastic. So, if you're looking for tasty ways to get more salmon into your diet, or you just want to switch up your regular rotation of tuna salad or chicken salad, this recipe is sure to be a winner.
All right, let me show you how to make it. To get started you'll need a salmon filet that's about one and a quarter pounds. Though if it's slightly bigger or slightly smaller that's totally fine as this recipe is flexible. I'm using King salmon today, but you could also use Sockeye or Coho salmon as well.
Just make sure to look for the wild caught designation as it's better for you with more Omega-3s and nutrients, and it's better for the environment. Now, if you're new around these parts I have two blog posts that go into much more detail on both the types of salmon to buy and why you should buy wild caught, and I'll link those in the description box below, and I know I'm going to get the question.
Can you use canned salmon in this recipe? Well, because we're going for a flaky salmon salad today, I do recommend you buy fresh salmon, as canned salmon often has the bones and skin inside, and it will naturally just be a bit mushier, so it won't have that same fresh look. Canned salmon is fine for recipes like salmon patties, but for this salad, I'd stick with a whole filet.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, or 190 degrees Celsius, and get out a baking dish or baking sheet. I love quarter size baking sheets for baking large fish as they're perfectly sized, and then I'll just line that with a piece of parchment paper.
Season and bake the salmon
Place the salmon on top and then drizzle a small amount of olive oil, about a half a tablespoon or so, and then rub that in with your hands or a brush. For the spices I'm keeping things really simple today, and all you need is smoked paprika, salt, and pepper.
So, add about one teaspoon of smoked paprika, if you've still got the shaker top on your spice jar you can just shake out as much as you'd like. I tend to remove those as I use measuring spoons so often, so I'll just take out my portion and rub that amount in with my fingers, and then add a good sprinkle of kosher salt or sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Bake the salmon for about 16 to 18 minutes depending on its size and thickness.
Make the creamy lemony dressing
I always check on it a few minutes before it's done just to make sure that it's not overcooked, because salmon should be moist and succulent and definitely not dry. While the salmon is cooking you can make the dressing, so zest half of one lemon, which is about a half a tablespoon of zest then cut the lemon in half and take your zested half and juice that.
And from an average sized lemon one half should give you about one and a half tablespoons of juice. In a small mixing bowl add one third cup of mayonnaise, the zested lemon plus the lemon juice, two teaspoons of Dijon mustard for a subtle yet awesome kick of flavor and a sprinkle each of salt and pepper to your liking.
Now I almost screwed this up because I started stirring and then went uh oh, I forgot the garlic, and you can't forget the garlic. So make sure to add one minced garlic clove as well, and now the dressing is done, and you can just place that in the fridge to chill while the salmon cooks.
Flake the salmon into chunks, then chill
When the salmon is done it should be cooked through and opaque, and you may see some albumin, which is the white stuff on the outside, and that's normal and to be expected with baked salmon. Let the salmon cool to room temperature for a few minutes, then use a fork to flake the salmon into large chunks.
Again, if you've cooked your salmon perfectly it should flake easily, and I know it's hard to see on this article, but my salmon is incredibly moist, but that's also because it's King salmon, which has a higher fat content so it's pretty much impossible to overcook and dry out.
It always just stays so moist. Add the flaked salmon to a large mixing bowl and then place it in the fridge for about five to 10 minutes or until the salmon is completely chilled, because remember this is supposed to be a cold salmon salad.
Slice, dice, and grate the veggies
So, while the salmon is chilling, you can slice, and dice, and grate a few veggies starting with two ribs of celery. Slice the celery two or three times lengthwise, and then cut across for the perfect small dice and little bite sized pieces.
Then dice up half of a small red onion, I like red onion for the pop of purple color, and side note I think it should be called a purple onion, and not a red onion, but if you don't have a red onion, you could thinly slice some green onions as well. Next up are three radishes, and this is my secret ingredient that adds crisp texture and punchy peppery flavor to this salad.
At first, I thought about dicing these, and you could certainly do that, but I prefer to grate the radishes for small thin bits of radish that gets scattered throughout the salad. It's all so much faster and easier to grate the radishes, so of course I prefer to do that. The last two ingredients are the fresh herbs, and if you've made my tuna salad or chicken salad recipes, you know it's all about the fresh herbs, and the same is true for this salad.
So, slice up some chives until you have about two tablespoons worth, and I'm just gonna push those off to the side for now. And then you'll also need about two tablespoons worth of chopped dill, if you're not a fan of of either of those herbs feel free to replace them with your favorite tender herbs, just don't leave the herbs out.
Assemble the salmon salad recipe and serve
All right, the salmon is chilled, so let's add the red onion to the bowl along with the celery, radish, chives and dill, then pour the creamy lemony dressing on top. Give it a stir but do be gentle as the salmon will easily flake apart, and you do wanna try and keep this salad a bit chunky.
You're gonna wanna eat this salad straight out of the mixing bowl, trust me, but if you're serving it up for a healthy lunch, or maybe even a starter salad for dinner guests, you can transfer to a prettier serving bowl. This salmon salad has a slightly fancy and elegant look to it, but it's really just an elevated version of my tuna salad recipe.
The creamy dressing is a bit more complex in flavor, the radishes at a crisp peppery bite, and the bigger salmon flakes add visual appeal, and give a nod to the healthy main star of the recipe, which of course is the baked salmon.
In addition to eating this straight out of the bowl, you can also turn it into sandwiches and wraps or simply place it on top of romaine or butter lettuce leaves for a light bite. No matter how you serve it up it's sure to be a hit, and with your thumbs up and comments on this article hopefully we can get this flaky salmon salad recipe to rival the millions of views on the tuna salad recipe. So smash that like button and I will see you again in the next recipes.
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