Avocado Smoked Salmon Salad with Dijon Honey Vinaigrette

Flavorful smoked salmon, silky avocado, and a bright Dijon honey vinaigrette bring the most incredible flavors and colors to this company-worthy smoked salmon salad!

Welcome to the first salad of 2021! It’s a pretty show-stopping beauty which I think is exactly the kind of energy the new year needs.

Whether you’re looking for a fresh, healthy lunch or dinner option for the new year or need a stunner side dish, this smoked salmon salad is definitely going to deliver!

It’s got protein, cheese, tons of vegetables, silky avocado, a killer vinaigrette, and plenty of spring greens rolling in for salad duty! No going wrong here.

I feel like this part of the year is when winter really starts to hit home, at least in the midwest, and a big colorful loaded salad really helps lift the spirits.

That’s most definitely the case with this salad. Jason isn’t even a huge salad guy and he said this was one of the best he’s ever had and he was actually excited to eat it (let’s be honest, not a common salad trait)

This Smoked Salmon Salad features…

• A bed of fresh, leafy spring greens
• Tender smoked salmon pieces
• Silky avocado slices
• Crisp cucumber slices and sweet cherry tomatoes
• Crumbled feta for a little richness
• A sweet ‘n’ tangy honey Dijon mustard dressing
• Fresh dill sprigs + a handful of pomegranate seeds for garnish

Making the Smoked Salmon Salad

(scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe!)

Building the Salad

I use a spring greens mix as the base for this salad, but you can definitely use another mix of greens if that’s your preference/what’s in season.

For salad vegetables, I keep it simple with sliced cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and avocado. Feel free to throw in sweet peppers, red onions, etc. if that’s what you like!

For salad extras, I recommend feta cheese (pairs best with the salmon!) a few fresh dill sprigs for extra herbiness and a handful of pomegranate seeds for some crunch.

Picking out your Smoked Salmon

For this salad, you won’t need more than about 6 oz smoked salmon. It will come fully cooked and you can then tear it into bite-sized pieces for the salad.

You’ll find smoked salmon in the deli area of most major grocery stores, but if you absolutely can’t locate it you have a couple options:

1. Pan sear a 6 oz salmon filet using this this guide for pan searing salmon
2. Oven bake a 6 oz salmon filet at 375F 12-15 minutes until salmon registers 125F

Making the Dressing

You can make this dressing in a food processor/blender or by hand in a mixing bowl! Whatever you prefer.

Whisk fresh lemon juice, honey, and Dijon mustard until smooth, then slowly begin adding olive oil, whisking constantly until smooth.

Note: if using food processor/blender, drizzle the oil through the top while blending.

Whisk in fresh minced dill and season the dressing with salt and pepper to taste.

Make Ahead Option

1. Make the dressing and store in fridge up to 6 days
2. Build the entire salad (minus the avocado and salmon) up to 8 hours in advance and store in fridge
3. When ready to serve, cut avocado and tear salmon then arrange on salad along with dill + pomegranate seed garnishes. Drizzle with dressing and serve.

The amount of flavors and textures we’re able to build into this salad will almost make you forget you’re eating a salad!

The fresh herbiness from the honey dijon dill dressing, the sweetness from the pomegranate, the smoky salmon, the silky avocado…it’s just incredible.

This is definitely a very company-worthy salad (hello, it’s gorgeous!) but it’s also definitely easy enough to pull off for a quick lunch or dinner salad.

Wherever you choose to eat it, I guarantee you’ll enjoy!

More salad favorites you’ll definitely want to try next!

• Strawberry Poppyseed Spinach Pasta Salad
• Cherry Pistachio Greek Yogurt Curry Chicken Salad
• Balsamic Bleu Cheese Strawberry Steak Salad