Salmon, Arugula, and Avocado Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our privacy policy.

Adding avocado and chunks of flaky cooked salmon to a salad always feels like the height of luxury to me…at least as far as salad luxury goes. (Lobster or shrimp also don’t suck.) This is the kind of salad I would be truly elated to see on a menu, and probably order without looking to see what else was on offer. But while this salad looks beautiful and sophisticated, it is just a handful of ingredients tossed together with a very simple lemon dressing. If you have leftover simply cooked salmon on hand (baked, air fried, poached, grilled) use that instead of baking it as instructed below! Or try substituting shrimp for the salmon.

Serve this with some Sweet Potato Fries, or maybe some popovers.

Ingredients

Salmon fillets – You can roast salmon filets with or without the skin (see Tips below)

Butter – Use unsalted butter and bring it to room temperature before smearing it on the salmon for baking.

Arugula – Baby arugula is best in this salad, with its smaller, more delicately peppery leaves.

Avocado – Make sure it’s perfectly ripe!

Olives – you can use any kind of olives you like from kalamata olives to green olives with pimentos. Cut them in half before adding to the salad.

For the Lemon Vinaigrette

• Lemon juice – Use fresh if possible!
• Rice vinegar – If you don’t have rice vinegar, just add another tablespoon lemon juice or white wine vinegar.
• Olive oil
• Shallot – Adds sweet onioney flavor.
• Jalapeno – Seeded deveined, and minced

How to Make Salmon, Arugula, and Avocado Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

1. Bake the salmon: Smear the salmon with butter, season, and bake at 350 degrees for about 12 to 15 minutes, until just cooked through. Let cool on the baking sheet. Remove the skin from the filets if applicable.
2. Make the salad: Combine the arugula, diced avocado, and olives.
3. Make the vinaigrette: Pour most of the dressing on the salad, and toss to combine.
4. Finish the salad: Distribute bite-sized chunks of the cooked salmon over the salad. Drizzle the remaining dressing over the salmon, toss, and serve.

Salmon, Arugula, and Avocado Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette: Brightly flavored and beautiful, light and substantial at the same time.

Tweet This

Tips and Make Ahead

• You can roast salmon filets with or without the skin. If you roast them with the skin, roast them skin side down and you can use a thin spatula to slide under the salmon and separate it from the skin, which then gets discarded. I happen to love a piece of crisp salmon skin, but not much of a fan of soft salmon skin.
• If you want to make the salad ahead, make the dressing, bake the salmon and store them separately in the fridge. The dressing will keep for 5 days, the salmon for 2. Dice the avocado and assemble the salad just before serving.

FAQs

Are jalapenos in salad hot?

Wondering if the whole jalapeno is going to blow the roof off this salad? The heat in a hot pepper resides in the seeds and the veins, so if you are diligent about removing those, the jalapeños will only have a very light heat. I once made this salad with a few deveined and seeded roasted jalapeños I had left from something else and there was a nice extra layer of roasty flavor in the dressing, but still not too much heat.

More Main Dish Salad Recipes:

• Fully Loaded Spinach Salad with Bacon and Blue Cheese
• Fattoush
• Chopped Salad with Chicken and Blue Cheese Dressing
• Herbed Salmon Salad

Like this recipe? Pin it to your favorite board on Pinterest.

Pin This

Salmon, Arugula, and Avocado Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

5 from 5 votes

Prep: 15 minutes mins

Cook: 12 minutes mins

Total: 27 minutes mins

Servings: 4 People

Proof that salads can be sexy.

SaveSaved Pin Print

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 pound salmon fillet
• ▢ 2 tablespoons softened butter
• ▢ Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• ▢ 6 cups baby arugula
• ▢ 1 avocado
• ▢ ½ cup halved pitted kalamata olives

For the Lemon Vinaigrette

• ▢ 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• ▢ 1 tablespoon rice vinegar or another tablespoon lemon juice
• ▢ 3 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• ▢ 1 large shallot thinly sliced
• ▢ 1 jalapeno seeded deveined, and minced

Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and spray it with nonstick spray.
• Place the salmon the baking sheet and smear the butter over the top. Season with salt and pepper. Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes, until just cooked through. Let cool on the baking sheet. Remove the skin from the filets if applicable.
• Place the arugula in a large serving bowl. Peel and dice the avocado. Add the avocado and olives to the bowl. In a small container, combine the lemon juice, rice vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper, shallots and jalapenos. Shake to blend, pour most of the dressing on the salad, and toss to combine. Flake the salmon into bit sized chunks and distribute them over the salad. Drizzle the remaining dressing over the salmon, give it a light final toss, and serve.

Notes

• You can roast salmon filets with or without the skin.  If you roast them with the skin, roast them skin side down and you can use a thin spatula to slide under the salmon and separate it from the skin, which then gets discarded.  I happen to love a piece of crisp salmon skin, but not much of a fan of soft salmon skin.

• If you want to make the salad ahead, make the dressing, bake the salmon and store them separately in the fridge. The dressing will keep for 5 days, the salmon for 2. Dice the avocado and assemble the salad just before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 424.29kcal, Carbohydrates: 7.83g, Protein: 24.73g, Fat: 33.55g, Saturated Fat: 7.6g, Cholesterol: 77.42mg, Sodium: 375.29mg, Potassium: 930.94mg, Fiber: 4.7g, Sugar: 1.87g, Vitamin A: 1109.6IU, Vitamin C: 17.08mg, Calcium: 76.41mg, Iron: 1.84mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Like this? Leave a comment below!