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Grilled Salmon Salad with Strawberry Salsa

Grilled Salmon Salad with strawberry salsa, baby arugula, avocado, and homemade balsamic vinaigrette. This clean and refreshing dinner recipe is packed with nutrients for a delicious healthy dinner!

White bowl with grilled salmon on top of salad with strawberry salsa and homemade balsamic vinaigrette with a napkin to the side and balsamic vinaigrette in the background.

There’s so much going on in this bowl, I can barely contain my elation. 

We’ve got perfectly cooked grilled salmon with fresh strawberry salsa on top of a peppery arugula salad, creamy avocado slices, all dressed in homemade strawberry balsamic vinaigrette.

The freshness and flavor of the balsamic vinaigrette and the strawberry salsa, paired with the rich buttery salmon tickles the taste buds and gives you that sensational refreshed feeling.

Fancy enough to serve for a special occasion and easy enough to make on any given weeknight, this easy recipe is perfect for grilling season. 

While I use a simple dry rub for the salmon, you can also marinate the fish using The Best Salmon Marinade

If you enjoy main dish salads, add this wild salmon salad to your arsenal! 

Grilled salmon on a bed of baby arugula with strawberry salsa, avocado, radishes and balsamic vinaigrette, ready to eat

Let’s discuss the fresh ingredients in this salmon salad recipe. You can find them at any grocery store.

Ingredients For Grilled Salmon Salad:

For the Salmon:

Pick up a fresh salmon filet (or individual fresh salmon fillets) and choose your favorite seasonings. Simple sea salt and pepper is plenty for seasoning the salmon or you can do as I do and sprinkle it with a dry rub consisting of garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika. 

Use your favorite type of salmon here. I like wild-caught salmon for a hefty dose of omega-3 fatty acids, but you can also use sockeye salmon or Atlantic salmon.

Salad Ingredients:

Baby arugula, avocado and radishes are all I use for the green salad. Add in your favorite veggies for a winning salad!

Strawberry Salsa Ingredients:

The strawberry salsa consists of fresh strawberries, jalapeno, red onion, a small clove of garlic and fresh lime juice. You can sweeten it up by adding pure maple syrup. 

Balsamic Dressing Ingredients:

Extra virgin olive oil (or avocado oil), balsamic vinegar, honey, dijon mustard, fresh strawberries and some sea salt is all we need for the homemade balsamic dressing. I also like adding a little fresh lemon juice and lemon zest but this is purely optional.

Grilled salmon in a bowl with salad ingredients, strawberry salsa and avocado on a green background.

There are plenty of ways you can mix up this recipe to make it your own. Here are some ways you can customize this healthy dinner recipe.

Recipe Adaptations:

  • Get creative with the fresh veggies and fresh greens. Baby spinach, spring greens, kale, romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, carrots, sprouts, kalamata olives, bell peppers, hard-boiled eggs, are all great options along with any of your favorite fresh vegetables.
  • You can use any type of fruit for the salsa, including blueberries, peaches, mango, or pineapple.
  • Swap the grilled salmon out for The Best Grilled Chicken Thighs, Perfect Grilled Steak, or your favorite type of animal protein. Rotisserie chicken works great here!
  • Cheese lovers, toss in some feta cheese, goat cheese, or blue cheese.
  • Use your favorite store-bought or homemade dressing. My Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette or Homemade Italian Salad Dressing Recipe is great here!
  • Add nuts such as pistachios, walnuts, or pecans. Sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds are great in this application too!
  • Use any spice blend you like for the salmon. Chili powder is a great option, and ground cumin and ground coriander are lovely too.
  • If you have fresh herbs like fresh mint, fresh basil, fresh dill, or fresh parsley on hand, feel free to chop them up and mix them in with the salad greens.
White bowl of grilled salmon and salad with dressing drizzled on top, ready to eat.

Now that we’ve covered the healthy ingredients list, let’s make this amazing Grilled Salmon Salad!

How to Make Grilled Salmon Salad:

Prepare the Salad Ingredients:

Add all of the ingredients for the vinaigrette to a small blender and blend until smooth. Transfer to a jar or sealable container and refrigerate until ready to use.

Stir together the ingredients for the salsa in a bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Add the ingredients for the salad to a large serving bowl and toss in your desired amount of strawberry vinaigrette. Refrigerate until the salmon is ready.

Prepare the Grilled Salmon:

Scrape any food particles off of your grill and spray (or brush) it with oil. This ensures the fish will not stick to the grill. Preheat the outdoor grill to medium-high heat (about 400 to 450 degrees F), keeping the grill covered. 

Note: if you’re using a charcoal grill, ignite the coals in a charcoal chimney starter and allow them to heat until many of the coals are white before spreading them into the grill.

Place the salmon on a large plate, baking sheet, or in a large casserole dish. Drizzle with olive oil. Use your hands to spread the oil over the flesh so that the whole surface is coated. Stir together all of the spices (or use your favorite spice blend) and sprinkle them over the fish.

Place the salmon skin-side down over direct heat and cover the grill, leaving the fish untouched for 5 to 6 minutes. Note: some people prefer cooking salmon skin side up first. If this is your preference, feel free to do so.

Carefully flip and cook on the other side for about 2 minutes, or until grill marks appear. Move the salmon to indirect heat at any point to keep it from getting too charred.

Salmon filets that are one inch thick or less will take about 8 minutes total on the grill. Thicker filets will require 10 to 12 minutes. You can cook the salmon for less time if you want the center of the fish to be rare).

Salmon is considered fully cooked once it reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees F. Insert a meat thermometer into the thicket part of the filet to get an accurate read on the temperature.

Transfer the grilled salmon to a cutting board and let salmon rest for at least 10 minutes. Use a sharp knife to cut smaller filets to serve.

Serve arugula salad with salmon and top with strawberry salsa. 

Store any leftover salmon in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

If you would rather bake the salmon, follow My Go-To Crispy Salmon Recipe or my Crispy Skillet Salmon for a pan seared salmon method.

Close up on grilled salmon on a bed of salad in a white bowl with strawberry salsa on top.

And that’s it! A simple dinner recipe that is big on flavor and relatively easy to prepare. 

This delicious salad is also a perfect complete meal for meal prep for those who like to batch cook ahead of time. It may just be your new favorite hearty salad no matter the time of the year!

If you love healthy salmon recipes like this, also try out these reader favorites.

More Salmon Recipes:

Enjoy this easy grilled salmon salad during the warm summer months and beyond!

White bowl with grilled salmon on top of salad with strawberry salsa and homemade balsamic vinaigrette with a napkin to the side and balsamic vinaigrette in the background.

Grilled Salmon Salad with Strawberry Salsa

Grilled Salmon with Strawberry Salsa is the only salmon salad recipe you'll need all summer long!
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
2 Large Salads

Ingredients

For the Grilled Salmon

  • 1 pound salmon fillet
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt, to taste

Strawberry Salsa:

  • 6 large ripe strawberries, finely chopped
  • 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
  • 1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
  • Pinch sea salt, to taste

Arugula Salad:

  • 5 ounces baby arugula
  • 1 large ripe avocado, diced
  • 3 radishes, thinly sliced

Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 3 ripe strawberries, chopped
  • 2 Tbsp honey, to taste
  • 1 Tbsp dijon mustard, to taste

Instructions

Prepare the Strawberry Vinaigrette:

  • Add all of the ingredients for the vinaigrette to a blender and blend until smooth. Transfer to a jar or sealable container and refrigerate until ready to use.

Prepare the Strawberry Salsa:

  • Stir together the ingredients for the salsa in a bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Prepare the Arugula Salad:

  • Add the ingredients for the salad to a large serving bowl and toss in desired amount of strawberry vinaigrette. Refrigerate until the salmon is ready.

Prepare the Grilled Salmon:

  • Place the salmon on a large plate, baking sheet, or in a large casserole dish. Drizzle with olive oil. Use your hands to spread the oil over the flesh so that the whole surface is coated. Stir together all of the spices (or use your favorite spice blend) and sprinkle them over the fish.
  • Scrape any food particles off of your grill and spray (or brush) it with oil. This ensures the fish will not stick to the grill. Preheat the grill to medium-high (about 400 to 450 degrees F), keeping the grill covered. Note: if you're using a charcoal grill, ignite the coals in a charcoal chimney starter and allow them to heat until many of the coals are white before spreading them into the grill.
  • Place the salmon filet on the grill skin-side down and cover the grill, leaving the fish untouched for 5 to 6 minutes. Carefully flip and cook on the other side about 2 minutes, or until grill marks appear. Note: Salmon filets that are one inch thick or less will take about 8 minutes total on the grill. Thicker filets will require 10 to 12 minutes. You can cook the salmon for less time if you want the center of the fish to be rare). Salmon is considered fully cooked once it reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees F. Insert a meat thermometer into the thicket part of the filet to get an accurate read on the temperature.
  • Transfer the grilled salmon to a cutting board and let salmon rest for at least 10 minutes. Use a sharp knife to cut smaller fillets to serve.
  • Serve arugula salad with salmon and top with strawberry salsa.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Serving (of 2)Calories: 1020kcalProtein: 54g
Course: Main Dishes
Cuisine: American
Keyword: clean eating, gluten free recipes, grilled salmon salad, healthy dinner recipe, healthy salad recipes, paleo dinner recipe, salmon salad recipe
Servings: 2 Large Salads
Calories: 1020kcal
Author: Julia

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.

I originally shared this recipe April 15, 2016. I updated the photos, blog post copy, and made a few changes to the recipe to make it even better. 

Recipe Rating




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julie

Sunday 18th of June 2023

This was delicious!! I had arugula and salmon, so I did a Google search and came upon this gem! Followed the recipe almost exactly- but cooked the salmon in the oven. Loved the salsa, and the dressing and it all worked really well together. After dinner was over, it occurred to me that a little fresh mint in the strawberry salsa would have been amazing too- I'm going to try it next time!!

Julia

Friday 23rd of June 2023

Ooh, I love the idea of adding mint to the salsa! This is genius! Happy you enjoyed it ;) xo

Kitty

Monday 23rd of May 2022

Too much lime juice. Beautiful and tasty but tart!!!. Next time I will cut down the lime.

Julia

Wednesday 25th of May 2022

Hi Kitty! Thanks for the feedback! I like a lot of lime in my salsas, but I can see how some folks would prefer less subtle flavor. I appreciate the note! xo

Justyn Haley

Thursday 1st of August 2019

well it seems really delicious and super tasty.i must try it as soon as possible. thank you for this healthy diet.

Sheri

Wednesday 9th of May 2018

Though I live in the San Juan Islands of Washington state Sonora, CA is my hometown! I hope you have a lot of fun there. I have very fond memories growing up there and still have family & friends in area. I actually moved up here to be closer to the Salmon! Can't wait to try this! Looks YUMMY! Cheers!

Julia

Saturday 12th of May 2018

Hi Sheri! Too funny...what a small world! It's so nice to connect with you and I appreciate you sending the note! I really enjoyed living in Sonora and working in Murphys (at Lavender Ridge Vineyard) - it truly is a beautiful area! Thanks dropping in! xoxo

Natalie Ellis

Wednesday 9th of May 2018

Super YUMMY! One of the most hearty and delicious plate ? Next time, maybe you want to try with raw salmon, it is amazing!

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