Salmon Quinoa Salad

5 from 2 votes

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!

Course Main Dish, Salad

Cuisine American

Keyword leftover salmon salad, salmon quinoa salad

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 12

Total Time 42

Servings servings

Calories 451kcal

Author Sue Ringsdorf

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.
1 ¼ pound salmon, 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
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.
5-6 cups cooked quinoa
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!
1 pound grilled asparagus
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.
1 ⅓ cups arugula, 1/3 cup red onion, 1 cup cherry tomatoes
Make dressing. In a small mason jar, combine the olive oil, fresh lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper. Shake well.
1/4 cup olive oil, 2 Tablespoons lemon juice, 1 teaspoon honey, kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
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.

Nutrition