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    Home » Salad Recipes

    Smoked Salmon Salad

    LAST UPDATED: May 14, 2020 PUBLISHED: May 5, 2019 By Pam Greer 12 Comments As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    This Smoked Salmon Spinach Salad features flavorful smoked salmon, tender baby spinach, crisp apples, chewy raisins and toasted almonds all tossed in lemon vinaigrette. 

    So easy to make and amazingly delicious!  This will become your new favorite spinach salad!

    Two bowls filled with a spinach salad with smoked salmon and two forks.

    Why You Should be Using Smoked Salmon for Your Salads! 

    I might be late to the smoked salmon salad party, but I am sooo happy to be here! If you haven't discovered how amazing smoked salmon is in salads, you have no idea what you have been missing.

    We eat a lot of salads around here.  A lot.  This easy salmon salad has jumped to the top of the list.  As I was carrying my empty salad bowl back to the kitchen, I was contemplating how soon was too soon to make this again.

    With smoked salmon, you only need a little bit, because it has such flavor! We were able to make two salads from one 4 oz package of salmon.

    Click here to pin this delicious Spinach Salad now!

    Two bowls of spinach salad with smoked trout and a vase of flowers.

    Easy Weeknight Salad or Light Lunch

    Since the weather is warming up, I've been spending a lot of time weeding the garden and planting new plants.  So, I've been looking for easy salads.

    I turned to one of my favorite cookbooks, Kitchen Express by Mark Bittman. Do you have this book? I love it.

    What I like about it is that it's not in a traditional recipe format.; It's in paragraph form and it's more him telling you how he makes the recipe.  With things like a handful of this, toss in some of that, a splash of this, a dollop of that.

    I was looking for a simple salad recipe to make after a hard day of gardening and I found a spinach salad with smoked trout and figured I could change it up a bit. This spinach salmon salad comes together in under 30 minutes and tastes amazing!

    Ingredients

    • Sliced Almonds - can use chopped.
    • Apples - use your favorite crisp apple.
    • Olive Oil - Since this is for a dressing, I use my best Extra Virgin Olive Oil
    • Lemons - you'll be using the juice for the dressing, can add some of the zest if you want more citrus flavor.
    • Dijon Mustard - can also use a spicy whole grain for more robust flavor.
    • Smoked Salmon - smoked trout, mackerel or chicken would work!
    • Baby Spinach - or your favorite salad blend.  I used baby spinach and baby bok choy.
    • Raisins - or currants or dried cranberries.

    Directions

    Photo collage showing the 3 steps to making a smoked salmon salad.

    To make this salad, begin by toasting the almonds in a dry skillet over medium high heat. When they begin to color, remove them from the heat and place in a small bowl.

    Gather the rest of your ingredients: baby greens, smoked salmon, raisins, mustard, apples, olive oil and a lemon. In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, and mustard (you are making a classic mustard vinaigrette.)

    Core and thinly slice the apples and add them to the vinaigrette and toss to coat. Then break the smoked salmon into pieces and add it to the bowl. Add the greens, the almonds and raisins.

    Toss to coat and taste and add salt and pepper to taste.  (This salad tastes especially nice with some fresh ground black pepper right at serving.)

    Bowl of spinach salad with smoked salmon, almonds and apples.

    I am not exaggerating when I say that this salad was soooo good! It was the perfect blend of healthy and delicious! Each bite had a bit of smokey salmon flavor, some sweet crisp apples, chewy raisins and nutty toasted almonds.

    It's just like one of those fancy salads you'd get at a little cafe, only you make it yourself and it's so easy!

    Make this and then try some variations - maybe use smoked trout or chicken, cranberries instead of raisins, walnuts or pecans (how about my Bourbon Candied Pecans!)

    Click here to pin this for later!

    More Delicious Salmon Recipes

    Salmon Over Warm Lentils with Crispy Pancetta

    Salmon Salad on Arugula

    Roasted Salmon Salad

    Seared Salmon with Mango Salsa 

    You'll find even more salmon recipes on my Salmon Recipes Pinterest Board.

    Recipe

    Two bowls of spinach salad with Smoked salmon
    Print Pin Save Saved!
    4.97 from 27 votes

    Spinach Salad with Smoked Salmon and Apples

    These easy salad is bursting with flavor!  Smoked salmon, apples, almonds and raisins make a delicious lunch salad or a light dinner salad! 
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine American
    Prep Time 10 minutes
    Total Time 10 minutes
    Servings 2
    Calories 557kcal

    Ingredients

    • ¼ cup sliced almonds
    • 5 ounces baby spinach
    • 4 ounces smoked salmon
    • 2 apples
    • ¼ cup olive oil
    • 3 tablespoons lemon juice fresh squeezed
    • 1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
    • ¼ cup raisins

    Instructions

    • Place the almonds in a dry skillet and toast them over medium high heat until they start turning golden.  Remove from heat and place in a small bowl. 
    • In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice and Dijon mustard. 
    • Core the apples and cut them into thin bite sized slices and add to the dressing mixture.  Toss to coat. 
    • Flake the salmon and add it to the bowl along with the almonds, spinach, and raisins.  Toss to coat.   Taste and adjust seasoning.

    Notes

    Instead of almonds you could use pecans or walnuts. 
    Smoked trout, smoked mackerel, and smoked chicken would also work. 
    You can try other dried fruits - cranberries would be nice. 
    To save calories you can reduce the amount of oil. 

    Nutrition

    Calories: 557kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 13mg | Sodium: 593mg | Potassium: 957mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 6795IU | Vitamin C: 38mg | Calcium: 128mg | Iron: 3.9mg

    This was originally published in 2019 and has been updated for 2020.

    « Luxie on the Dining Room Table
    Pasta with Broccoli and Capers »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Allison Schalck says

      April 16, 2021 at 1:39 pm

      5 stars
      I just made this salad for lunch today and it was AMAZING! I substituted dried cranberries for the raisins, and sweet butter crunch and red leaf lettuces for the baby spinach - because it was what I happened to have on hand. This salad was the perfect blend of sweet & salty, smooth & crunchy! I will definitely make this again and would love to try it with smoked rainbow trout too. Thanks for sharing this recipe, Pam!!

      Reply
      • Pam Greer says

        April 19, 2021 at 11:12 am

        So glad you liked it! I bet it would be so good with smoked trout!

        Reply
    2. Jennifer says

      May 14, 2020 at 4:08 pm

      5 stars
      My husband loved this! Thanks for the recipe!

      Reply
    3. Zainab says

      May 14, 2020 at 4:07 pm

      5 stars
      Now this is my kind of salad! I love everything about it. I will definitely be making this for lunch soon!

      Reply
    4. Nellie Tracy says

      May 22, 2019 at 10:24 pm

      5 stars
      Such a delicious recipe perfect for summer!!

      Reply
      • Pam Greer says

        May 23, 2019 at 9:40 am

        It really is the perfect summer salad - so easy and so delicious.

        Reply
    5. wilhelmina says

      May 22, 2019 at 9:25 pm

      5 stars
      I look forward to this salad in my lunch box all morning!

      Reply
      • Pam Greer says

        May 23, 2019 at 9:41 am

        Isn't it the best lunch box salad?!

        Reply
    6. Marjie says

      May 13, 2019 at 1:44 pm

      It looks like a fine lunch! It's still too cold here to not eat a hot meal for dinner, but I'm hoping for a change in the weather sooner rather than later.

      Reply
    7. Ann says

      May 07, 2019 at 4:45 am

      Despite it being a little wintry here, this is going to be my lunch next week.

      Reply
      • Pam Greer says

        May 07, 2019 at 7:39 am

        It's so good! It reminds me of something Donna Hay would make.

        Reply
    8. Naveen Sohail says

      May 07, 2019 at 3:43 am

      I love eating different types of salads so I always search salad recipes and i like this one I will try smoked salad for tomorrow's lunch.

      Reply

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