The Best Salmon Salad
Delicious and satisfying this is the recipe for The Best Salmon Salad! Made with fresh cooked salmon and loaded with flavors and textures, its a lunch idea you will never get sick of!
Every week, for more weeks than I can count, I have been meal prepping this salmon salad to eat for lunches. It has undergone many iterations, but I’ve finally landed on what I believe is The Best Salmon Salad! You give it a try and let me know if you agree!
What You’ll Need
Cooked Salmon – obviously… see below for how to prepare it.
Yellow and Red Onion – I like to use both because they each offer a little something different and I like a LOT of onion in my salmon salad.
Capers – delicious, salty little bits, to me a salmon salad is not complete without caper! (hate them? we can’t be friends… jk… leave them out and add a dash more salt).
Dijon Mustard – chicken salad, tuna salad, salmon salad, if I’m making it it will have a touch of mustard – it helps take the flavors up a notch – just do it!
Sweet Relish – may seem a little odd, but it adds the perfect amount of sweet to something that really shouldn’t be sweet… does that make sense? probably not… you have to try it to see what I mean!
Dill Weed and Dill Seed – Like capers, salmon salad should also have dill, IMO.
Salt – for flavor – adjust to your own taste.
Mayo – The mayo is the glue, it holds everything together. You can substitute plain, full-fat, greek yogurt if you prefer.
Fresh Lemon Juice – For best results, finish off the salad with a big squeeze of fresh lemon juice!
How to Cook Salmon for Salmon Salad
Though you can use canned salmon for this recipe if you like, cooking the salmon yourself will make the salad taste fresher and more delicious. There are 2 easy ways to prep fresh salmon for salmon salad.
- Bake It – Place the salmon on a baking sheet that is lined with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Pat the salmon dry, sprinkle with sea salt and garlic powder (optional), Bake at 450°F for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and cool before using in salmon salad
- Air Fry It – You guys know I love air frying – it’s easy and I think the salmon comes out more flavorful than baking. Slice the salmon into pieces that will fit in your air fryer basket. Preheat the air fryer at 400°F for 5 minutes. Spray the basket with olive oil spray. Place the salmon in the basket, spray the top with the olive oil spray, sprinkle with salt and garlic powder (optional). Air fry for 12-15 minutes depending on the thickness of your salmon. Remove from basket and let cool before using in salmon salad.
Ideas for Serving Salmon Salad
This salmon salad can be enjoyed many different ways! Here are 5 of my favorite ways:
- Spread on a piece of toast
- Eat as a dip with pretzels, pita chips, pita bread, potato chips, celery or carrot chips
- English Muffin Melt – Spread on an open english muffin, top with a slice of cheese and toast until cheese is melted
- Stuffed into an avocado (see below)
- Rolled up in tortilla as a wrap
The Best Salmon Salad
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 8-10 servings 1x
Description
Delicious and satisfying this is The Best Salmon Salad! Made with fresh cooked salmon and loaded with flavors and textures, its a lunch idea you will never get sick of!
Ingredients
2 pounds salmon cooked, skin removed*
1/2 cup yellow onion, diced
1/2 cup red onion, diced
1/4 cup capers
2 tbsp sweet relish
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 cup mayonnaise**
2 tsp dry dill weed
1/2 tsp dill seed
1/2 tsp salt
juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
Add the salmon to a large bowl
Use a fork to flake the salmon into small pieces
Add the yellow and red onions, capers, sweet relish and dijon mustard to the bowl, mix to fully combine
Add the mayo, dill weed, dill seed and salt to the bowl, mix until all the salmon is broken apart and mayo is evenly distributed
Squeeze the lemon juice over the salad, give a final mix
Serve salad cold or at room temperature***
Notes
*See post for ideas for cooking the salmon
**May substitute plain, full fat, greek yogurt
***See post for serving ideas
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Category: salad
Keywords: #salmonsalad, #lunchideas, #salmonrecipes, #lunchrecipes
Pin It For Later:
If you make this Salmon Salad let me know how you like it! Leave a star rating and comment below! If you snap a photo, I’d love to see it – share it over on Instagram and tag me @sprinklesandseasalt!