Smoked Salmon Salad with Bagel Chips

This quick and simple smoked salmon salad is loaded with cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, onion, fresh dill, and capers, and finished with a Greek yogurt dressing and crunchy bagel-chip croutons.

When You Don't Want to Cook

When the afternoon sun has turned the patio into an oven, and the thought of firing up a grill or smoker feels more exhausting than exciting, this is the salad I turn to.

I walk into our neighborhood grocery store, pick up a $5.00 4-ounce package of smoked salmon, and head home.

Ten minutes later, my wife and I are sitting around the dining room table enjoying this Smoked Salmon Salad, and neither one of us misses standing outside in the heat.

As someone who spends much of the year hunting, fishing, smoking meat, and encouraging people to cook wild game and fish more often, I occasionally hear a harsh question.

"Isn't buying smoked salmon cheating?"

Not even a little.

Is it OK to Buy Smoked Salmon?

I love smoking my own fish with this recipe. Few aromas compare to opening the smoker to find beautifully bronzed fillets slowly absorbing the smoke from the fragrant alder, pecan, or apple wood chips. But life gets busy. Sometimes the weather is miserable. Sometimes you simply want lunch sooner.

I've never felt a moral dilemma buying a perfectly cooked rotisserie chicken, and I certainly don't have one picking up smoked salmon every now and then. Even professional chefs and food bloggers like me deserve a day off. Convenient ingredients like smoked salmon also make it far more likely that you'll prepare something fresh and healthy instead of heading through a drive-thru.

One of the simplest techniques in this recipe is also one of the most important. Letting the smoked salmon, cucumbers, and onions rest in the lemon dressing for five minutes allows the vegetables to soften slightly while the salmon absorbs the fresh dill, capers, and olive oil. Then fold in the tomatoes and bagel chips so they stay crisp.

Whether you're looking for an easy smoked salmon salad for lunch or a quick summer dinner, this recipe proves that great meals don't always require hours in the kitchen. Sometimes the smartest cooking decision you make all week is giving yourself permission to make something simple.

Salad with Smoked Salmon Ingredients

• ¼ cup chopped fresh dill, divided
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons capers, drained
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice plus ½ teaspoon, divided
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt, divided, plus more to taste
• ½ teaspoon black pepper, divided, plus more to taste
• 4 ounces sliced smoked salmon, torn into 1-inch pieces
• ½ English cucumber, halved lengthwise and sliced into ¼-inch thick half moons (about 1 cup)
• ½ small red onion, quartered and thinly sliced into half moons (about ¼ cup)
• 2 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
• 1½ teaspoons everything bagel seasoning, divided
• 12 cherry tomatoes, halved (about 3 ounces)
• 2 ounces bagel chips, broken into 1-inch pieces

How to Make Smoked Salmon Salad

1. In a large bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons dill, olive oil, capers, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper until the dressing is well combined.

2. Add the smoked salmon, cucumber, and red onion, then gently toss until everything is lightly coated. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes so the cucumber and onion can soften slightly while absorbing the bright, lemony dressing.

3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together the Greek yogurt, 1 tablespoon fresh dill, 1 teaspoon everything bagel seasoning, the remaining ½ teaspoon lemon juice, and ¼ teaspoon each kosher salt and black pepper until smooth. Set aside.

4. Add the cherry tomatoes and broken bagel chips to the smoked salmon mixture and gently toss just until combined. The bagel chips should remain crisp while picking up a little of the dressing.

5. Divide the salad between two dinner plates. Spoon a dollop of the yogurt mixture over the top, then sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon fresh dill and the remaining ½ teaspoon everything bagel seasoning. Serve immediately while the bagel chip croutons are still wonderfully crunchy.

Bagel Croutons

I love making bagel croutons for salads. But like I said before, I didn't want to turn the oven on. So I used these broken bagel chips.

Functionally, they're little crunchy miracles.

Unlike traditional croutons that can become soggy almost immediately, bagel chips stay delightfully crisp while soaking up just enough of the lemony dressing to become even more irresistible. Their toasted garlic, onion, sesame, and poppy seed flavors echo the everything bagel seasoning sprinkled over the finished salad with smoked salmon, tying everything together beautifully.

Smoked Salmon Cucumber Salad Tips

A handful of small details make this one of those smoked salmon salad recipes you'll come back to repeatedly.

• Use fresh dill. Dried dill simply doesn't provide the same bright, grassy aroma that makes this salad taste like summer.
• Slice the cucumber evenly. Quarter-inch slices stay crisp while still absorbing the dressing.
• Wait until the very end to add the bagel chips. Their crunchy texture is one of the highlights of the salad, so don't let them sit in the dressing longer than necessary.
• Taste before adding extra salt. Smoked salmon, capers, and everything bagel seasoning all contribute saltiness. The measured amount in the recipe balances everything nicely.

Can You Make This Ahead

This smoked salmon cucumber salad is best enjoyed immediately after assembling. However, you can whisk together both the dressing and yogurt mixture several hours ahead and refrigerate them separately. Likewise, slice the cucumbers, onions, and tomatoes ahead of time if you're preparing lunch for work or a quick weeknight dinner. When you're ready to eat, simply combine everything according to the recipe and add the bagel chips last for maximum crunch.

Need Another Salmon Recipe?

If you loved this Smoked Salmon Salad recipe and are looking for another great salmon recipe, look no further than our Blackened Salmon Caesar Salad and popular bacon-studded Easy Salmon Chowder.

You can also find dozens more of our fresh, delicious, and easy fish recipes right here.

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