Tender salmon with cilantro, lime, avocado and tomato salsa. This healthy and flavorful meal is bursting with flavor, color, and texture and is ready in under 20 minutes. It can be grilled, pan seared or baked!
Cooking salmon for dinner is always convenient because it cooks super fast and makes a healthy dinner in minutes. One of the biggest mistakes people make when cooking salmon is over-cooking it. Salmon is very delicate and can easily over-cook. The trick to making perfectly cooked salmon is to season it well and cook it on medium-high just until almost cooked through. It will continue to cook after it is removed from the heat.
For this recipe, the salmon is coated with a chili, garlic, cilantro and olive oil rub. It can then be grilled, baked or pan seared just until the outside is nice and crispy (I cooked my salmon in a pan on the stove-top). You can use skin on or off depending on your preference. To make this a complete dish, the salmon is topped with a flavor-packed avocado and tomato salsa. The salsa comes together in minutes and makes a great addition to the salmon. Serve the salmon and avocado with rice, on salad greens or alone like I did!

Grilled Salmon with Avocado Salsa (Healthy, Low-Carb, Paleo, Whole30)
Print RateIngredients
- 2 4-6 oz salmon fillets
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 clove garlic minced or crushed
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- For the avocado salsa
- 1 ripe avocado pitted and diced
- 1/2 cup tomato diced (any type of tomato)
- 2 tablespoons onion diced
- 2 tablespoons cilantro minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Stir the olive oil, garlic, and spices in a small bowl. Brush or rub salmon with the spice mixture.
- Heat a large heavy-duty (preferably non-stick) pan or grill medium-high heat. Add salmon to the pan and cook for 5-6 minutes per side. Remove from pan, top with avocado salsa and serve immediately.
- To make the avocado salsa:Add the avocado, tomato, onion, and cilantro to a large mixing bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, fresh lime juice and a pinch of salt and pepper. Gently mix with a spoon until fully combined. Cover with plastic wrap until ready to serve.
Notes
Jill
This was CRAZY AMAZING!!! Baked in the oven and the flavors….WOWZA! Don’t overcook this, and it will turn out amazing! Thanks for the recipe. We loved it.
Layla
Thanks for the great review and SO glad you liked the salmon! <3
Grace
This looks so good! And that pan looks amazing – would you mind sharing the details about the pan?? 🙂 Thank you!
Wendy
Amazing!!! tHis recipe was so easy to make and delicious. DefInitely one to keep!
Lnelson
Where are the macros fOr this great and flavorful salmon?
Terre
Could You send me the nutrition facts?
Marilyn Reynolds
This dinner was Excellent and delicious and easy to make
Coach Ajjii
made this recip yesterday and tonigHt. The recipe is really Good as written, but for me i was hoping for a bit mOre zip. Tonight i upped the Replaced the chilI powder with Hit Hingarian Paprika, added chilies and more garlic and cilantro to the salsa. Thanks for the great recipe.
vitaly lushenko
rEcipe not make sense
Vipin Prabhakaran
Thank you for the AMAZING recipe. As a beginner cook just SWITCHING To a low carb diet, this was a perfect item to try out.
Charlotte Stevens
Can’t wait to try this