Salmon Quinoa Caesar Salad is made in under 30 minutes and uses healthful ingredients you will love! A delicious main dish for lunch or serve as a side.
This is one of my favorite salads ever! When creating this Salmon Quinoa Caesar Salad, my goal was to make it healthier and delicious. After serving it to my boyfriend and getting the best response ever, I knew I had to share it with you!
When thinking of which recipe to create for this Bob's Red Mill Partnership, my thoughts automatically were drawn to creating a quinoa salad. To me, this quinoa salad is unique because it's a Caesar salad, yet my variation is healthy and packed with protein from the quinoa and salmon. Thanks to Bob's Red Mill Organic Quinoa Grain for making this salad superb!
Here's how you can make this salad!
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INGREDIENTS YOU'LL NEED
For the salad you will need:
- Romaine hearts
- Raw Salmon fillets
- Bob’s Red Mill Organic Quinoa Grain
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Avocado
- Gluten free bread of choice
- Olive oil
- Sea salt
- Ground black pepper
- Garlic powder
For the dressing you will need:
- Hummus or tahini
- Dijon mustard
- Lemon juice, to taste
- Capers
- Garlic cloves
- Sea salt
- Black pepper
- Olive oil or water
HOW TO MAKE SALMON QUINOA CAESAR SALAD
- Prepare the salmon. Line a baking pan with parchment paper and place the salmon onto it. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Bake for 15-18 minutes at 400°F!
- Cook the quinoa. In a medium pot, combine the quinoa and water. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Homemade Croutons! Spread pieces of bread onto a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake at 400°F for 15-18 minutes. Bake for less time if bread cubes are small!
- Make the dressing. Combine all the dressing ingredients and mix in a medium bowl. Voila, it's that easy!
- Assemble the salad. Either in a large serving bowl or individual plates, add the chopped romaine lettuce, tomatoes and avocado, cooled cooked quinoa, croutons. Either drizzle or toss with some dressing. Don't add all the dressing at once. Add more as needed. I like to mix it the salmon at the very end so it doesn't fall apart too much!
QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE
Does this dressing *ACTUALLY* taste like caesar dressing?
Yes!!! It truly does. I tasted it and was wowed and shared the leftovers with my boyfriend and couldn't believe what it was made out of. He had the dressing variation using Hummus, but the tahini version is fantastic too!
What kind of bread can I use?
I used Udi's gluten free bread in this recipe, but I am also a HUGE fan of Canyon Bakehouse breads. Those are two great gluten free bread options! Feel free to use any bread you love.
How do I store this salad?
I'd recommend assembling the salad right before eating it! Then, if you have leftovers that are already dressed, simply store in an airtight container in the fridge. If your leftover salad is not dressed though, store the salad ingredients & dressing separately, then mix together when ready to eat.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:
- Broccoli Crunch Salad
- Gluten Free Greek-Style Panzanella Salad
- Gluten Free Pasta Salad
- No Mayo Potato Salad
- Kabocha Squash Salad with Chicken & Parsley Lime Dressing
Salmon Quinoa Caesar Salad
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 2 stalks romaine hearts cut into pieces
- 2 approx. 5oz each salmon fillets
- ½ cup uncooked Bob’s Red Mill Quinoa
- Cherry Tomatoes quartered
- 1 avocado sliced
- 4 slices Gluten free bread of choice cut into 1” cubes
- Olive oil
- Sea salt
- Ground black pepper
- Garlic powder
“Healthier” Caesar Dressing:
- ½ cup tahini or hummus
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 4-6 tablespoons lemon juice to taste
- 4 teaspoon capers finely chopped
- 2 teaspoon whole capers
- 4-5 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2-3 tablespoon olive oil if using hummus or 2-3 tablespoon water if using tahini
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
- Place the salmon fillets on the baking sheet, and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
- Bake the salmon for 15-18 minutes, or until the salmon flakes with a fork and looks cooked through -- not overcooked! Allow salmon to cool.
- Meanwhile, combine ½ cup raw quinoa with ¾ cup water in a medium-small pot. Bring water to a boil, then cover and reduce to a simmer, cooking for 20 minutes. Once cooked, allow to cool with the lid on for 5 minutes, then remove the lid and fluff the quinoa with a fork. Allow to cool completely in the pot.
- While quinoa is cooking, make homemade croutons by placing the cubed bread onto a baking sheet and drizzling with 1 tablespoon olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Allow to cool.
- Next, prepare the dressing by whisking together everything in a medium bowl or container. Add more olive oil or water, as needed, to thin out the dressing.
- To assemble the salad, arrange lettuce, cooked quinoa, cherry tomatoes, avocado, and homemade croutons onto a large plate or bowl. Add enough dressing to the salad to coat, and mix. Carefully add the flaked salmon to the top of the salad. Drizzle with remaining dressing if necessary, as garnish!
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