This salmon quinoa salad with honey soy dressing checks all of my weeknight dinner requirements – nutritious, easy, fast, and delicious. It’s one of my favorite recipes for using up leftover salmon, and is a healthy salmon salad recipe that comes together in a snap!
After eating my face off in Austin, TX last weekend (and gaining a whopping 4 pounds in 4 days), I returned home to my little kitchen craving something clean and green. Enter this salmon quinoa salad with honey soy dressing. It’s bursting with nutritious green veggies and vitamin packed salmon, and topped with a zingy honey soy dressing that is finger licking tasty.
This is the ultimate detox salad following a moms-gone-sort-of-wild weekend without kids. (No, not that crazy…but there may or may not have been a visit to a tattoo shop. Yes, there are photos. No, I’m not sharing them.)
Anyway…salad. vegetables. detox. clean. Yes, yes, yes. Even my carb-loving carnivorous husband loved this dinner, and I was able to eke out a meal for The Kid by omitting most of the vegetables and subbing with sliced apple. Mother of the Year.
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Salmon Quinoa Salad Recipe Notes
Ya know what’s kinda gross? Reheated leftover salmon (or any fish for that matter). But for some dang reason, I almost always have leftovers. This is unequivocally the fault of me and me alone.
I tend to purchase wild salmon only when it’s on sale and then when it’s on sale I’m like “Oooh! Salmon’s on sale. I’ll take eleventy billion pounds please.” I inevitably make more than we’ll eat and then I’m stuck with leftovers.
This salmon quinoa salad is the perfect solution for using up leftover salmon because it’s absolutely perfect with chilled salmon straight from the fridge. Simply flake it up with a fork and toss it in – no reheating required.
If you don’t have any leftover salmon on hand (am I the only weirdo that has this issue?) it only takes ten minutes to pan sear a filet or two while the quinoa cooks. If you’re a pan searing salmon novice, check out my step-by-step recipe for perfectly seared salmon every time.
This honey soy dressing is sweet yet tart and crazy delicious. Feel free to be liberal when you dress your salad (I was).
I chose to go with all raw veggies here because, well, I’m lazy and it makes for a really fast weeknight dinner. Lightly steam or sautee your veggies as desired.
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Salmon Quinoa Salad with Honey Soy Dressing
Print Recipe Rate this Recipe Pin RecipeRecommended Equipment
- Small Sauce Pot
- whisk
Ingredients
Salmon Quinoa Salad
- ¾ c. quinoa
- pinch sea salt
- ½ bunch chard, stems trimmed, thinly sliced
- 1 c. snap peas, chopped
- 2 medium carrots, julienned or grated
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1-2 c. leftover cooked salmon, flaked (or ½ lb fresh salmon pan-seared)
Honey Soy Salad Dressing
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- ½ tbsp rice vinegar
- ½ tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp whole-grain mustard
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes, optional
- ¼ c. extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
Salmon Quinoa Salad
- Place the quinoa in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Swirl around and allow to soak for 10 minutes. While the quinoa is soaking, start preparing your vegetables.
- Strain and rinse the quinoa and place in a small saucepan. Add 1.5 c water and a pinch of salt. Heat over medium-high until boiling, then reduce to low and cover. Cook 10-15 minutes until the water is absorbed. Remove from heat and allow to rest another 5 minutes.
- In a large bowl, combine the quinoa, chard, snap peas, carrots, sesame seeds and flaked salmon. Dress with the Honey Soy Vinaigrette and toss. Divide into four equal portions and serve immediately.
Honey Soy Salad Dressing
- In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, red wine vinegar until the honey dissolves. Add the whole grain mustard and red pepper flakes and whisk until incorporated. Whisk the olive oil into the sauce in a steady stream until ingredients are incorporated. Taste for seasoning and adjust to your preference.
Nutrition Information
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Elizabeth
Hi, I am Elizabeth jasper professional recipe developer, tv chef, and cookbook author.
Come join me in my culinary adventures where we’ll be using simple, fresh ingredients and transforming them into sophisticated and elegant meals for the everyday home cook. please check my food blogger http://www.recipestomake.net/