Warm Summer Garden Salad with Salmon – This fresh and easy meal will have dinner on the table in no time. It’s crunchy and light with a nutty, tangy, naturally-sweetened dressing.
Does this story sound familiar? My family has been complaining because they’re getting sick of summer squash. Perhaps you are also getting sick of summer squash. I mean, let’s face it – in the world of delicious summer produce, it’s not exactly the star of the show… The problem is, it’s so readily available and economical that it would be downright foolish to waste it. After my husband and I bought our first home this spring I’m all about economy in the kitchen without sacrificing flavor. Therefore, due to the massive volume of inexpensive summer squash this season, I’ve spent a considerable amount of effort reinventing it for my family each week.
For this recipe all of the vegetables, including the summer squash, are from our CSA which gave me room in my budget for one of my favorites – salmon! The online food world has been zucchini-noodle-crazed, so I thought I’d contribute to the noise with a summer squash noodle while deviating from the expected marinara sauce. This recipe for a Warm Summer Garden Salad with Salmon has a wide yellow summer squash noodle that I made by simply cutting slices with a vegetable peeler; no spiralizer needed. I then added in some red bell peppers and “greennie beannies” as my son calls them. The vegetables are cooked until they are just heated through, giving them a fresh crunch.
The salmon is simply broiled in the oven, which is a quick and easy, no-fail way of enjoying delicious fish. I topped it with a naturally-sweetened and nutty dressing with a touch of tanginess. The little foodie in our family found it acceptable, so that’s always a win!
So, if you’re like me and need to reinvent summer squash every week, I’ve been doing my best to help you out. Here are some of my favorites that I cooked up this summer:
- Zucchini Whoopie Pies
- Leek and Zucchini Fritters
- Zucchini and Chive Quiche
- Grilled Personal Pattypan Pizzas
- Stuffed Pattypan Squash
This fresh and easy meal will have dinner on the table in no time. It's crunchy and light with a nutty, tangy, naturally-sweetened dressing.
Warm Summer Garden Salad with Salmon
Ingredients
Salmon
Salad
Honey Tahini Dressing
Instructions
Allie | Baking a Moment says
Such a lovely dish, and so perfect for this time of year! I adore squash, and salmon is always a favorite too. The dressing sounds out of this world! Sharing this on my FB page tomorrow 😉
Rachel says
You’re so sweet Allie! I’m looking forward to seeing what you have baking-up this week. I’ll be sure to share to love 😉
I love the colours on this! So vibrant. Pinned it for when a salad fancy strikes me 🙂
Thanks for pinning!
Gorgeous dish! I need to try the veggie peeler trick. I have been considering a spiralizer, but don’t want to commit space to another contraption.
I have a spiralizer, which is great for making small veggie noodles, but to be honest with you, I think the peeler is easier for wide noodles like in this recipe, because it makes for a much faster clean-up!
This dish looks so pretty, Rachel. I love salmon too and love that you don’t need a spiralizer for this. I have also been intrigued by all these zucchini noodles recipes but don’t feel like buying another kitchen ustensil that I would probably use once a year and just have it laying around in the meantime.
Thanks Adina! The spiralizer is a little bit of a hassle to set-up and clean-up, but I still like to use it for fine noodles like in my Blushing Rutabaga Noodles and in my Peanut and Daikon Radish Noodle Salad. I find I use it about once a month and the meals are usually a hit. But when it comes to wide zucchini noodles, the peeler is less fuss for sure!
This looks so wonderfully summery.Your photos are absolutely gorgeous!
Thanks Noor!
Wow – so delightfully delicious looking and so healthy too. YUM!
Thanks Byron! I trying to sneak some healthy food past my family, and it worked!
Such a beautiful looking salad. Love everything about it!
Thanks Judy!
Sockeye salmon is food for the gods! I could eat it everyday. Using tahini to make a vinaigrette to slather over the squash and salmon sounds incredible.
I love sockeye salmon too! There is a couple that live nearby who spend part of the year in Alaska on a salmon boat. They freezer the catch as soon as it’s caught, and sell it locally. It’s always much tastier than what I find at the grocery store!
Once again you’ve come up with another beautiful, healthy dish that I want in front of me ASAP!
Thanks Sarah!
This looks wonderful. It’s so light and fresh!
Thanks Tina!
We love our salmon and I’m always searching for ways to incorporate it in our diet. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks Marisa! I try to severe salmon a couple of times a month, on account of the DHA and such. Plus my family loves it. We would eat it every week if it was less expensive!
Looks beautiful and delicious! Excited to try this one.
Thanks! Let me know if you give it a try!
This salad is almost too pretty to eat. Almost!! I’m putting this on my to make this week. Our weather is still so warm that light meals are perfect.
Thanks Renee! I’d love to hear how it turns out. It’s still pretty warm where I live too. 90s all this past week. I’m not quite ready to dive into fall flavors!
Great work on those pictures..instant drooling over my keyboard 😉 Love the recipe and the way you use summer squash to make this fresh salad! Pinned it!
Thanks Niels. Your complement really means something because your photos are so fabulous! Thanks for pinning!
yummy! must try sooooon!
Thanks Claudia!
Such beautiful colours and your tahini dressing sounds divine, I’ll definitely be trying that some time soon 🙂
Thanks Brian! If you give it a try let me know how it turns out!
Sockeye salmon is my most favourite salmon – amazing flavours! Your salad is beautiful with such bright colours! I already printed this off and will be making it!
Thanks Cassandrea! Enjoy, and let me know how it turns out!
This dish looks beautiful and sounds amazing. Can’t wait to try the tahini dressing, even though I seldom eat dressing on salads.
I can’t imagine eating salad without dressing. The dressing is the best part! I suppose no dressing is healthier. Fortunately this one is pretty healthy!
Salmon salad sounds perfect for a hot summer day. The veggies look so light and summery!
Thanks Patti!
We love summer squash and salmon. I am going to have to save this one! Looks delicious!
Thanks Chris!
Wow, this looks delicious, I love warm salads and anything with salmon. Great recipe.
Thanks Rosemary!
What a delicious light summertime meal! Perfect with a glass of white wine on a patio with friends!
That’s funny, because when I made this recipe I thought it might be nice with a glass of wine and some girlfriends!
The salad looks so good with the salmon. Fresh and delicious.
Thanks Molly!
I want a plate of this now! I’m putting it on the meal plan soon. Looks so good!!
Thanks Melanie!
I currently have more zucchini than I can handle! This looks like such a perfect way to use some of it up!!
Well, I’m glad that I could help you out with your zucchini problem!
The dressing is perfect for this warm salad.
Thanks Faye!
Look at the pretty squash ribbons ! What time is dinner ? I’ll bring the wine 😉
If you’re bringing the wine, come on over! We’re late eater though. 8 pm!
I love the summer you’ve put into this salad, and the salmon looks great too!
Thanks 🙂
Beautiful photos, love the tahini dressing.
Thank you!
Rachel that looks stunning. I love the fresh, summery flavors in this dish. Pinning this as well!
Richa, thanks so much for pinning 🙂
What a lovely dish Rachel! Still so perfect for this time of year..it has been such a nice, warm weekend. Hopefully will get the chance and try it soon!
Thanks Oana! The warm weather keeps hanging on this year… I can’t say I mind. I’m always so sad when the growing season winds down!
Perfect healthy dish for any time of the year! Gorgeous pics and I can’t wait to try this!!
Thanks Heather!
The whole dish is beautiful, but what really has me swooning is the honey tahini dressing. I’d want to make a big batch of it, so I could drizzle it on every salad all week long.
Thanks Laura! I love this dressing. The play of sweet and savory is sooo good!