Salmon with Avocado Salsa

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

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Salmon with Avocado Salsa is a recipe I loved from the first time I tried it! And 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 salmon and avocado recipe when I tried using that method for roasting the salmon.

The original post for this salmon recipe 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 favorite 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.) 

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 with ingredient amounts.)

• 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 method for roasting salmon?

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 the 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 avocado 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 avocado salsa could you serve with this salmon?

The salmon was so delicious with the fresh tomato, cucumber, avocado, and lime salsa you see in these photos, or 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 (which will be higher in carbs.) If you want to make 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.

How low in carbs is the Salmon with Avocado Salsa?

This tasty dinner idea that uses two of my favorite ingredients has only 4 net carbs per serving and 53 grams of protein!

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 the salmon hot, with avocado salsa or other topping of your choice.

Make it a Low-Carb Meal:

This foolproof and delicious Salmon with Avocado Salsa would be delicious with any of these low-carb side dishes:

• Easy Cauliflower Rice Recipe (with Garlic and Green Onion)
• Barely Cooked Salmon with Lemon Mustard Vinaigrette
• Spring Mix Salad
• Stir-Fried Spinach with Garlic and Parmesan
• Asparagus and Tomato Salad with Hearts of Palm

Want more low-carb fish recipes?

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

Continue to Content

Print

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.

Did you make this recipe?

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This delicious Salmon with Avocado Salsa will be perfect 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 Salmon with Avocado Salsa recipe featuring Mark Bittman’s great method for roasting salmon was first posted in 2008 with Tomatillo and Black Bean Salsa to go with the salmon. The recipe was updated to feature delicious salmon with a lower-carb Tomato-Avocado salsa (and better photos!) in 2021 and was last updated with more information in 2025.

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