Canned Salmon Salad
As kids get older, I find myself buying packs of canned salmon and tuna every Costco trip. Time seems to be slipping away from me. That’s why 10 minute canned salmon salad is often on the menu.
In Ukraine, we always made meat and fish salads. Soups and salads, see the similarities?! Because they are poor people’s meals where you throw everything you have on hand and mix. Almost anything will taste delicious mixed together, I swear.
This canned salmon salad recipe is light and crunchy, heavy on vegetables and healthy fats. I also added capers, a few tablespoons of avocado mayo and a bit of Greek yogurt.
The juices from salmon are added to the salad as well which leaves no waste and no need to add much more salt.
Pink Vs. Sockeye Salmon:
Good news is majority of canned salmon is wild – pink or sockeye. And it is very affordable. However, canned sockeye salmon is more expensive. And for salad it doesn’t matter which one to choose. So I often buy pink salmon because it is twice cheaper.
Tips for Best Canned Salmon Salad:
- I add just a few tablespoons of mayo to kick up yogurt and avocado a notch. You can skip if you don’t have any. But I wouldn’t.
- Replace matchstick carrots with shredded carrots.
- Use any pickled vegetables like asparagus, olive or pickles in place of capers.
How to Eat Canned Salmon?
Canned salmon is fish that has been cooked and preserved with salt and water. You can eat the bones which are super soft and good for you. And skin as well. They are both soft and contain essential vitamins and nutrients. Also, in Ukraine we often boiled whole potatoes, mashed them a bit right on a plate and then topped with canned salmon and its juices.
What Else to Make with Canned Salmon?
I don’t have many more canned salmon recipes. Because we often eat it with potatoes described above. Or make this easy canned salmon salad. But if you are feeling adventurous, try my canned salmon cakes. Uses for canned salmon are truly limitless.
Also try my tuna salad with avocado and healthy tuna salad.
And If You Can Afford Fresh Salmon:
- Baked salmon recipe in foil with super simple sauce!
- Honey garlic salmon – delicious sweet pan fried salmon.
- Lime ginger salmon – this combo is the bomb dot com.
- Healthy shrimp salad – meal prep for easy lunches.
Canned Salmon Salad
Hungry and lazy? Make my Healthy Canned Salmon Salad crunchy bell peppers, creamy avocado and tangy capers. It’s my go-to when I’m tired.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: No cook
- Cuisine: American Ukrainian
Ingredients
- 1 package (10 oz) carrot matchsticks*
- 3 large bell peppers, thinly sliced
- 3 oz jar capers, drained**
- 2 cans (8 oz each) wild salmon
- 1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tbsp mayo
- 1/4 cup Greek yogurt, plain
- 2 large avocados, diced
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add carrots, bell peppers and capers. Mash salmon a bit with a fork inside the can and add to the salad.
- Add parsley, salt, pepper, mayo, Greek yogurt and gently toss to coat. Add avocado and give a few more stirs. Serve cold.
Store: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Notes
*A few cups of coarsely shredded carrots would work. **Use any pickled goodies like asparagus, beans, olives etc.
Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating in the comments.
i did not have any carrots so I added some celery and scallions also grated lemon rind and juice
★★★★★
Great substitutions Francoise!
Loved this! I had to taste immediately, but your right, its even better chilled.
★★★★★
Hahaha yep. Glad you like it Jana!
Super fresh tasting and healthy. Also very easy, quick, and fun. Added tomatoes and fresh cilantro, and used sour cream in place of yogurt (didn’t have any). Anyways thanks for sharing, will continue to make this and play with variations.
★★★★★
My family loved this salad. It was very tasty and quite different.
★★★★★
Fantastic to hear that Carleen!
I too live on that island in the Pacific Ocean, Qualicum Beach
Going to have this tonight. But have no Avocado mayo.
Joy Dennie
Hello Neighbour! hehe. You can substitute regular mayo or even greek yogurt.
This was extremely tasty. I had no yogurt and only used mayo. Next time I’ll try it with mayo & yogurt. It’s a keeper. My husband loved it too. Next time I might add some spicy heat to it, just because I love heat.
★★★★★
Hi Kathleen! Happy to hear you liked the recipe! And you can definitely adjust to your taste with some heat!
I am English but live in Spain,I make lots of salads especially in the summer months, this salmon salad recipe is the best yet , hubby loved it, delicious!
★★★★★
Yay! Fantastic! Glad you and your hubby enjoyed the recipe, Jeanette.
GREAT recipe!!! I made it a bit more creamy by adding more non-fat greek yogurt. To cut salt, one might make it with fresh, poached salmon. I’ll try that next. THANK YOU for sharing. =)
★★★★★
You are very welcome, Mich!
This recipe is delicious! I had never had capers before. They made it awesome! (I made it again using pickles and they just weren’t the same). I used half salmon and half tuna for the recipe, which was perfect. Thank you Olena, for this site you’ve put together for us. You have helped me more than you know.
★★★★★
Awesome!!! I help you and you help me too by making my recipes and this dream job a reality! Yes, salmon and capers are a match made in heaven. Try smoked salmon and capers – OMG I died lol.
Delicious, fresh, healthy and inexpensive.
★★★★★
That is so amazing to hear! Glad you enjoyed my recipe!
We loved this! I think this summer it is going to be really refreshing and helpful in not heating up the kitchen.
★★★★★
Hi Olena
I have started to mix canned salmon with canned tuna, and for whatever magical reason – it tastes even better then each individually! Love your recipe, thank you!
That’s a great idea! I don’t love tuna, so I should try that!
Affordable, healthy and delicious. Thank you, Olena!
★★★★★
I love this salad! It’s delicious and healthy.
Yay, Tracy! You made me think to make a tuna salad with lots of veggies now. Or another canned salmon. So convenient to have in a fridge for a few days on hand.
This was good. We added a cucumber and tomato to it plus black olives.
Sounds delish!!!
Be careful about albacore tuna. It contains mercury and you need to limit your tuna to two cans a month. For kids.. I’d be a lot more careful. Mercury, a neurotoxin, is cumulative, your body collects it, and you don’t want that in your body.
Hi Edna. That is a good point. Luckily the one I buy Ocean’s Pole and Line tuna is yellowfin which is lower in mercury but still. We eat it not more often than every 3 weeks, definitely less than 2 cans per person per month. I think now I will buy more canned salmon anyways. Thanks for the reminder!