When you’re busy and need a healthy recipe that doesn’t take long to make, stir up this Salmon Salad. This salad comes together so quickly – literally in 5 minutes or less. And it’s also loaded with protein and healthy fats, which makes it a satisfying meal that won’t leave you hungry just an hour or two after you’ve eaten. This recipe is Whole30 friendly, dairy free, and gluten free. See our suggestions in this post for several popular ways we like to enjoy it.
Recipe Highlights
This salmon salad recipe is a lot like a canned tuna salad, but featuring salmon instead. Here’s why we absolutely love this salad as an easy high-protein lunch and easy dinners.
- It requires a prep time and total time of just 5 minutes, start to finish, to stir this healthy salad together.
- It’s made from simple, everyday pantry and refrigerator ingredients like canned salmon, red onion, celery, and mayo.
- Features 15 grams of protein per serving, the majority of which are good-for-you monounsaturated fat (like what you get in olive oil and avocados) as well as those ever-important omega-3 fatty acids (a type of polyunsaturated fat).
- The recipe is easy to cut in half for fewer servings or double for more servings.
Health Benefits of Salmon
Salmon is one of our go-to proteins to use in healthy fish and seafood recipes. It cooks well in many different ways and it’s loaded with important nutrients!
Salmon is …
- High in protein, containing all essential amino acids
- A great source of vitamin D, a nutrient lacking in many people’s diets
- One of the best food sources of omega-3 fatty acids
- An excellent source of vitamin B12
- A good source of important minerals, including potassium and selenium
Can I Use Fresh Salmon?
This recipe calls for 10 to 12 ounces of canned salmon (2 cans) for ease of preparation while still gaining many health benefits. However, you can certainly use fresh salmon that you grill, bake, saute, or poach – and then flake.
And you can also use cooked salmon fillets (like grilled, smoked, or baked salmon) that you purchase from the store or leftover salmon you have from another salmon recipe.
For canned salmon, we like sustainably caught, mercury-tested brands Wild Planet and Safe Catch. You could also use canned tuna.
Customize Salmon Salad With Mix-Ins
Use this recipe as a starting point for any other mix-ins you want to add. Some of the yummy additions we sometimes like to stir in are:
- green, black, or kalamata olives
- capers
- white beans
- sliced or roughly chopped almonds
- Dijon mustard
- scallions, shallots, or chives
- seasonings, like paprika or garlic powder
Make It Egg-Free
Eggs are used to make mayonnaise. So to make this an egg-free salmon salad, use vegan mayo or use plain Greek yogurt instead of mayo.
How To Meal Prep and Store
Store this recipe in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Since it stores well, this recipe is a great one for make-ahead high-protein lunches. Divide portions into meal prep containers along with veggies and other salad ingredients, or some crackers or bread slices for eating the salad. Voila! You’ll have healthy lunches ready to go for days!
5 Ways To Serve Salmon Salad
There are many ways you can serve this easy salmon salad either at room temperature or chilled. Here are a few of the ways our team of dietitians love to enjoy it.
- as a salmon salad sandwich made with toasted sourdough bread or any favorite bread
- as a roll-up inside a tortilla wrap, such as our grain-free tortillas or corn tortillas.
- inside of Bibb or Boston lettuce as lettuce wraps – try this sprinkled with feta cheese on top
- as a topping for crackers or cucumber slices
- as a main-dish salad served on top of crispy romaine lettuce with other chopped veggies (like bell peppers, tomatoes, or cucumbers), croutons, cheese, and a drizzle of a vinaigrette or another light salad dressing
While this salmon salad is high in protein and healthy fats, it is very low in carbohydrates, which means it’s low in fiber. To round out the nutrition in this low-carb recipe, consider serving it alongside one of these high-fiber foods.
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5-Minute Salmon Salad
Made from canned salmon (or other leftover cooked salmon), this salmon salad is fast and full of healthful nutrients, including protein and omega-3 fatty acids. Enjoy it for easy lunches and make-ahead meal preps, too.
Ingredients
- 2 (5-6 oz) cans of salmon, drained
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise*
- 1 medium stalk celery, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried dill
- 1–3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (optional, added to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- In a medium or large bowl, combine the drained salmon, mayonnaise, celery, red onion, dill, lemon juice (if using), and black pepper. Stir until well mixed and add additional mayo to reach your desired consistency.
- Serve salmon salad as a sandwich, in a lettuce wrap, on a bed of greens, or enjoy with cucumber slices, crackers, or chips.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
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Notes
*For egg-free, choose a vegan mayo or use plain Greek yogurt.
Two brands of canned salmon we like are Wild Planet or Safe Catch.
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size: 1/4 of recipe
- Calories: 232
- Fat: 16 g
- (Sat Fat: 3 g)
- Sodium: 393 mg
- Carbohydrate: 1 g
- (Fiber: 0 g
- Sugar: 0 g)
- Protein: 15 g
- Cholesterol: 48 mg
Dietary
Frequently Asked Questions
When buying canned salmon, look for brands that test for and minimize mercury. For sustainability, opt for canned salmon that is wild caught Alaskan or Pacific salmon versus farmed or Atlantic salmon. For these reasons, two of the brands we like are Wild Planet or Safe Catch canned salmon.
Absolutely! You can add salmon to a salad when it’s hot (right after cooking, grilling, or sauteing), at room temperature, or chilled and cold on top of a salad. Salmon flakes after it has been cooked, whether it’s hot or cold. It’s an easy protein addition to salads, and people eat it at many different temperatures.
Some healthy dressings that pair well with salmon served over lettuce are a red wine vinaigrette, a strawberry or raspberry vinaigrette, balsamic vinaigrette, or honey mustard.
This recipe for mixed salmon salad (similar to tuna salad) already has dressing built in – in the form of mayonnaise. So you can simply serve it over greens without adding additional dressing.
For ultimate success, we highly recommend reading the tips in the full blog post above. All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use our photos without prior written permission. If you wish to republish a recipe, please rewrite the recipe in your own unique words. Link back to the source recipe here on The Real Food Dietitians. Thank you!
Sounds good but it wouldn’t be egg free using mayo.
Hi Valerie, we state in the blog post that if you want to make this egg-free, to use a vegan mayo or to substitute the mayo with yogurt instead. I just repeated this text in the recipe notes so it’s easier for others to find. Thanks!
Omg this is so good.Took no time to make and only problem took even less time to eat.
Hahaha! That’s not the worst problem to have 😉
Made it last night for dinner and it was absolutely delicious.
Very good recipe
Quick, easy, delicious.
So great to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks for leaving a 5-star rating!