Salmon with Avocado Salsa

Salmon with Avocado Salsa uses a great salmon cooking method from Mark Bittman, and you can vary the salsa any way you prefer! And this tasty roasted salmon recipe is probably a dinner you’ll make over and over!

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You might have noticed I’m a huge fan of Air Fryer Salmon, and you can’t go wrong with that for easy salmon. But years ago I discovered a fantastic method for roasting salmon in a sizzling hot pan that came from cookbook writer Mark Bittman, and I loved this recipe for Salmon with Avocado Salsa when I tried out that method for roasting salmon.

But the original roasted salmon recipe I shared had Tomatillo and Black Bean Salsa with Avocado that I knew would be high in carbs for many current readers. So today I’m updating this old favorite salmon recipe with a new lower-carb salsa option. (If you were a fan of the original salsa, you can still find that in the notes in complete recipe below. And if you prefer to cook the salmon in the air fryer, no problem!) 

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

• salmon fillets (skinless salmon is easiest, but use skin-on salmon if that’s what you have)
• Olive Oil (affiliate link)
• Szeged Fish Rub (affiliate link) or other dried herbs or rub that’s good on salmon
• salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
• cherry tomatoes
• cucumber
• avocado
• green onion
• Green Tabasco Sauce (affiliate link) or other hot sauce
• fresh-squeezed lime juice, I used my fresh-frozen lime juice

What is special about this roasted salmon recipe?

Mark Bittman’s salmon cooking method involves coating a roasting pan with olive oil (or butter), then heating the pan in the oven at very high heat for 5 minutes before you add the salmon. The fish cooks quickly, so rub salmon with olive oil and dried herbs or my beloved Szeged Fish Rub (affiliate link) and let it come to room temperature and make the quick salsa before you add the salmon to the heated pan. This method produces perfectly seared and delicious salmon that’s ready quickly and makes an amazing dinner.

What other types of avocado salsa can you use?

The salmon was so delicious with the fresh tomato, cucumber, avocado, and lime salsa you see in these photos. You can scroll down to the recipe notes to see the ingredients for the original Tomatillo and Black Bean Salsa with Avocado if you like the sound of that. If you want to make an avocado salsa with frozen avocado that comes in a bag, check out the recipe for Tomato-Avocado Salsa. And if you’d like to skip the tomatoes, Avocado-Cilantro Salsa would also be delicious on salmon.

Want more amazing low-carb fish recipes?

Any time you’re trying to eat more fish you can find great dinners in my collection of Low-Carb and Keto Fish Dinners!

How to make Salmon with Avocado Salsa:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. Rub salmon with olive oil and fish rub or dried herbs and let it come to room temperature while oven heats to 450F/232C. 
2. Cut up tomatoes, cucumbers, avocado, and green onion and combine with olive oil, fresh-squeezed lime juice, and hot sauce to make the salsa.
3. When the oven is hot, rub roasting pan with olive oil (or melted butter) and heat pan in the oven for 5 minutes.
4. When the pan is sizzling, put salmon on the hot pan, skin side up if you’re using salmon with skin.
5. Put roasting pan back in oven and roast 5 minutes.
6. If using skin-on salmon, take pan out of the oven and remove skin from salmon, and turn the salmon pieces over. (No need to turn for skinless salmon.)
7. Put the pan back in oven, and roast about 2 minutes more (or a total of 7 minutes), or until fish is done to your liking. 
8. Season salmon with salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste.
9. Serve hot fish with Tomato-Avocado salsa or other topping of your choice.

Make Salmon with Avocado Salsa a Low-Carb Meal:

This foolproof and delicious Salmon with Avocado Salsa would be delicious with Green Beans with Tahini and Lemon, Cauliflower Rice with Garlic and Green Onion, or Stir-Fried Spinach for a low-carb meal!

More Delicious Ways to Cook Salmon:

• Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Salmon Sheet Pan Meal
• Salmon with Tomato Olive Relish
• Air Fryer Salmon with Mustard Herb Sauce

Continue to Content

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Yield: 4 servings

Salmon with Avocado Salsa

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 7 minutes

Total Time 22 minutes

Salmon with Avocado Salsa uses a fantastic method to book salmon from cookbook author Mark Bittman, with a fresh-tasting tomato-cucumber-avocado salsa that makes this a really low-carb meal.

Ingredients

• four six-ounce salmon fillets (skinless salmon is easiest, but use skin-on salmon if that's what you have)
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 T Szeged Fish Rub (affiliate link) or other dried herbs or rub that's good on salmon
• salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 1 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
• 1 cup chopped cucumber
• 1 avocado, diced small
• 1/4 cup sliced green onion
• 2 tsp. Green Tabasco Sauce (affiliate link) or other hot sauce
• 2 T fresh-squeezed lime juice, I used my fresh-frozen lime juice

Instructions

1. Rub both sides of the salmon (or just the fleshy side for skin-on salmon) with fish rub or dried herbs of your choice.
2. Let salmon start to come to room temperature while oven preheats to 450F/232C. 
3. Cut up tomatoes, cucumbers, avocado, and green onion and combine with 1 T olive oil, fresh-squeezed lime juice, and hot sauce to make the salsa.
4. When the oven has reached 450F/232C, rub the roasting pan with the other 1 T olive oil (or melted butter) and heat pan in the oven for 5 minutes.
5. When the oil in the pan is sizzling, put salmon on the hot pan, skin side up if you're using salmon with skin.
6. Put roasting pan back in oven and roast 5 minutes.
7. If using skin-on salmon, take pan out of the oven and remove skin from salmon, and turn the salmon pieces over. (No need to remove pan or turn for skinless salmon.)
8. Put the pan back in oven, and roast about 2 minutes more (a total of 7 minutes), or until fish is done to your liking. 
9. Season salmon with salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste.
10. Serve hot fish with Tomato-Avocado salsa or other topping of your choice.

Notes

To make the simple Black Bean and Tomatillo Salsa in the original recipe, just combine 1 diced avocado, 3 T fresh lime juice, salt, one can black beans (rinsed), 1 cup chopped fresh tomatillos, 1 cup chopped cilantro, Green Tabasco sauce to taste, and 1 T olive oil.

I love Szeged Fish Rub (affiliate link) but use any fish rub you prefer

Recipe adapted slightly from Mark Bittman’s Salmon Roasted in Butter. (No longer online except on a site where you have to pay to access it.)

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 632Total Fat: 42gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 31gCholesterol: 145mgSodium: 387mgCarbohydrates: 9gFiber: 5gSugar: 2gProtein: 53g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This delicious Salmon with Avocado Salsa will be a great dish for low-carb or Keto diet plans and for any phase of the original South Beach Diet. 

Find More Recipes Like This One:

Use Seafood Recipes to find more salmon recipes. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for This Recipe
This recipe featuring Mark Bittman’s great method for roasting salmon was first posted in 2008 with a Tomatillo and Black Bean Salsa with Avocado to go with the salmon. The recipe was updated with a lower-carb Tomato-Avocado salsa (and better photos!) in 2021 and was last updated with more information in 2023.

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