This Summer Salmon Chopped Salad is packed with fresh juicy tomatoes and flavorful herbs, all brought together with your choice of a vinaigrette or creamy dressing. We love piling all these ingredients over arugula, and adding a bit of tangy crumbled feta cheese to top it all off.
This salmon salad came about naturally with the leftovers I had from my Cedar Plank Greek Salmon. I piled all the leftovers from recipe testing over the top of some arugula and topped it with a tangy vinaigrette. I ended up loving it so much, I had to make it into it’s own recipe to share with you.
This salad is really easy to customize according to what you have on hand. And while we’ll talk about that below, let’s just take a moment to think about how good grilled salmon is topped with fresh summer tomatoes. Now that you have that tasty picture in mind, I hope it means you’re going to need to make this right away!
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Salmon – I’ve been making this with leftover salmon whenever I grill it. But you can also use drained canned salmon as well.
- Veggies – This salad is all about juicy tomatoes and cucumbers, so it’s really best made in the summer months. I used a mixture of red cherry tomatoes, and sungolds for their incredible flavor.
- Greens – You can pick any type of green you love for salads, but I would lean towards the softer lettuces to compliment the salmon. I’ve been using arugula because we’ve been getting the tastiest local arugula. But definitely go with whatever is best in season where you’re at.
- Feta – While some crumbled sheep’s milk feta cheese is indescribably tasty in my opinion, you can easily leave it out if you’re dairy free or paleo.
- Herbs – When I made this with leftovers from the Cedar Plank Greek Salmon there was lots of chopped fresh oregano. But I’ve also made this with dill, and with basil on another occasion, all 3 are quite good.
- Red onion – I’ve also made this with thinly slivered green onions from the farmers market. And sometimes that’s even better. Red onions can be a bit strong for some people’s taste right now, unless you’re somewhere with a fresh crop!
- Dressings – The vinaigrette in the recipe below is based off my Lemon Dill Green Beans. But I also love my 2-Ingredient Balsamic made with white balsamic vinegar here. For something creamy, consider whisking in 1-2 good quality mayo into either dressing.
How to make this from leftovers or from scratch
From leftovers: First up assess what you have leftover if you’ve just made salmon for another dinner. Then you can chop up the veggies, and make a dressing according to how much you’ll need.
From scratch: If you don’t have leftover salmon, decide if you want to grill a fillet, or open a can or two of salmon. For dinner salads, fresh grilled salmon fillet is the way to go. But for a quick and easy lunch, I just opt for the canned salmon.
How to serve this salad
For a dinner salad, toss all the salad ingredients together. Then serve the salad with the freshly cooked salmon fillet on the side. For lunches, I just toss it all into a container/bowl, and add the dressing right before I eat it.
More Dinner Salad Inspiration
- Guacamole Salad with Grilled Chipotle Chicken
- Caprese Dinner Salad with Pesto Dressing
- Crispy Buffalo Chicken Salad with Creamy Ranch
- Grilled Chicken Shawarma Salad with Tahini Dressing
- Triple Berry Spinach Salad
There’s definitely lots of options for how to assemble this salad. So I really hope you’ll give it a go with whatever you have on hand! It’s been a super tasty lunch lately, and can even be turned into a stunning light dinner.
And if you do get a chance to make it, I hope you’ll leave me a comment/rating below. I always love hearing from you here in the comments. And also over on Instagram where you can tag me at #getinspiredeveryday with your photos of what you make.
Easy Salmon Chopped Salad
INGREDIENTS
- 1 pound cooked salmon - see notes
- 8 cups greens - I used arugula
- 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
- 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced halved cucumber - 1 regular
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced or minced red onion - or thinly sliced green onion
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese - optional
- 1/4 cup halved Kalamata olives - optional
Lemon Dill Vinaigrette:
- 3-4 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice - to taste
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh dill - basil, or oregano
- 1/2 tsp sea salt - or to taste
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup olive oil - the best quality extra virgin you have on hand
INSTRUCTIONS
- Start by adding all the ingredients for the dressing to a mason jar and shake the dressing together. Set it aside to let the flavors develop, but you will need to shake it back together right before you eat.
- Prep all the ingredients for the salad, and place them into a large serving bowl. If you're using leftover salmon, flake it into bite sized pieces and add it to the salad bowl.
- If you're cooking your salmon from scratch, serve it on the side as a whole or individual fillets.
- Scatter the feta cheese and kalamata olives over the top if you're using them.
- Serve the salad with the dressing on the side.