Smoked Salmon Salad

This Smoked Salmon 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!

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.

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 in this Smoked Salmon Salad

• 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.

How to Make this Spinach Salad with Smoked Salmon

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.)

Spinach Salad with Smoked Salmon

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!)

Looking for More Healthy 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.