Salmon Quinoa Salad
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Salmon Quinoa Salad combines leftover grilled salmon, grilled asparagus, quinoa, and arugula with a zesty lemon dressing. This salad is delicious at room temperature or chilled, and makes great meal prep for your busy week!
Try my Mexican Quinoa Salad with Avocado Crema next!
Leftover Salmon and Quinoa
Whenever we make salmon, we make extra so that we can enjoy THIS salad. Fire up your grill and make a large batch of salmon and asparagus and you’ll be good-to-go to prep this salad the next day.
We love the flavors of all of these ingredients together. The tender salmon, the crunchy asparagus, the nutty quinoa, and the extra savoriness of the onions, tomatoes, and arugula. Zesty lemon dressing is a lovely topper but a drizzle of olive oil is also delicious too.
More Salmon Recipes:
Salmon is a go-to here because it’s healthy and cooks so fast!
Ingredients Used:
- Salmon – We prefer to use wild-caught salmon in place of farm-raised salmon. I used skinless salmon here.
- Quinoa – We go through tons of quinoa and it’s full of protein to help fill you up!
- Asparagus – The key to great-tasting asparagus is to leave it a little firm. Mushy asparagus is a no for me!
- Arugula, Red Onion, and Tomatoes – These are perfect additions to this salad. Color, crunch, and flavor!
- Lemon Dressing – A super simple dressing pairs perfectly.
Substitutes for Arugula:
If you aren’t a fan of peppery arugula like I am, feel free to use another type of green. Here is what I suggest:
- Baby Spinach
- Romaine Lettuce
- Baby Kale
- Mixed Greens
- Dandelion Greens
How to make Salmon and Quinoa Salad:
Feel free to use any leftover salmon that you have. Or follow my directions (step 1) below.
Step 1
Prep salmon. I used my Grilled Cedar Plank Salmon for this salad.
- Several hours before grilling salmon, soak the cedar planks in cold water, making sure that they are fully submerged. Try to make sure they don’t stick together in the water. Soak the planks for at least 3-4 hours.
- Remove planks from the water, and pat dry. Brush a little olive oil over the smooth side of the planks.
- Place salmon on the planks and then add a bit more olive oil to the tops. Then add the seasoning mixture (the salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, paprika, and garlic powder), pressing it in with your fingers.
- Grill salmon over high heat until it flakes easily with a fork, approximately 10 minutes.
Step 2
Make quinoa. Follow the packaged directions to make your quinoa or make it in the instant pot. For the instant pot method, combine 1.5 cups of quinoa and 2.25 cups of chicken broth.
Cook at high pressure for one minute and then do a 10 minute natural release. Stir with a fork.
Step 3
Grill asparagus. If you are grilling your salmon, it’s easy to just cook your asparagus on the grill too. Otherwise, sauté it in a cast iron skillet (in a bit of oil) until fork tender. Don’t overcook!
Step 4
Combine ingredients. In a large serving bowl, combine the salad ingredients – the cooked and crumbled salmon, the quinoa, chopped asparagus, red onion, tomatoes, and arugula. Add salt and pepper to taste, and stir to combine.
Step 5
Make dressing. In a small mason jar, combine the olive oil, fresh lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper. Shake well.
Step 6
Serve salad. Serve the salad with a drizzle of lemon dressing and additional salt and pepper, if desired.
You can serve this salad at room temperature or chilled from the refrigerator. It’s delicious with lemon dressing or just a drizzle of olive oil.
Recipe FAQs
Quinoa is an edible seed that has become increasingly popular among the health-conscious. It’s loaded with many important nutrients. Quinoa is non-GMO, gluten-free and usually grown organically. Even though it’s technically a cereal grain, it still counts as whole-grain food.
There are many types of salmon available to buy in the U.S., including Atlantic, Chinook, Chum, Coho, Pink, and Sockeye Salmon. All but the Atlantic salmon are harvested from wild fisheries in the Pacific Ocean, while the Atlantic salmon is primarily farm raised.
Be careful to avoid over-cooking the asparagus. It will take around 10 minutes to roast/grill depending on your temperature and/or the thickness of the asparagus spears.
xoxo ~Sue
Salmon Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
For the salmon:
- 1 ¼ pound salmon – wild-caught recommended
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- you'll need cedar planks if making outside on grill
For the quinoa salad:
- 5-6 cups cooked quinoa
- 1 pound grilled asparagus – chopped
- 1/3 cup red onion – sliced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes – quartered
- 1 ⅓ cups arugula
For the lemon dressing:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice – freshly squeezed
- 1 teaspoon honey
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper – to taste
Instructions
- Prep salmon. I used my Grilled Cedar Plank Salmon for this salad.
- Make quinoa. Follow the packaged directions to make your quinoa or make it in the instant pot. For the instant pot method, combine 1.5 cups of quinoa and 2.25 cups of chicken broth.
- Cook at high pressure for one minute and then do a 10 minute natural release. Stir with a fork.
- Grill asparagus. If you are grilling your salmon, it’s easy to just cook your asparagus on the grill too. Otherwise, sauté it in a cast iron skillet (in a bit of oil) until fork tender. Don’t overcook!
- Combine ingredients. In a large serving bowl, combine the salad ingredients – the cooked and crumbled salmon, the quinoa, chopped asparagus, red onion, tomatoes, and arugula. Add salt and pepper to taste, and stir to combine.
- Make dressing. In a small mason jar, combine the olive oil, fresh lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper. Shake well.
- Serve salad. Serve the salad with a drizzle of lemon dressing and additional salt and pepper, if desired.
Notes
- You can serve this salad at room temperature or chilled from the refrigerator.
- It’s delicious with the lemon dressing or just a drizzle of olive oil.
Awesome recipe! Works great as a meal prep lunch for the week.