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Hearty Main-Course Salads
Recipe
45 min

Lemony Salmon and Roasted Beet Salad

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Lemony Salmon and Roasted Beet Salad

The sweet, earthy flavor of roasted beets is paired with rich salmon and a bright lemon-caper dressing.

Time

45 min

Yield

Serves 4

Why This Recipe Works

The sweet, earthy flavor of roasted beets is especially nice when paired, as it is here, with rich salmon and a bright lemon-caper dressing. But roasting beets in the oven takes an hour or so, and canned beets are hardly a worthy substitute. So for this recipe, we found a faster way to cook beets: We peeled and cut them into cubes before cooking them in the microwave, which reduced their cooking time to just 4 minutes. Poaching the salmon fillets in barely simmering water ensured that the fish emerged moist and perfectly cooked. We took the time to dress each ingredient of this composed salad separately to make sure that it was properly seasoned.

*For perfectly easy-to-peel hard-boiled eggs, see the recipe in our Essential Eggs class.

Ingredients

1 (1¼-pound) skin-on center-cut salmon fillet, 1 inch thick
½ teaspoon plus ⅛ teaspoon table salt, divided
¼ teaspoon plus pinch pepper, divided
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest plus 7 tablespoons juice (3 lemons), divided
½ pound beets, trimmed, peeled, and cut into ½-inch pieces
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 shallot, minced
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed
3 tablespoons minced fresh dill or parsley, divided
6 ounces (6 cups) baby arugula
2 Easy-Peel Hard-Boiled Eggs, grated

Instructions

Cook along with these step-by-step instructions

step 1 imagestep 2 imagestep 3 imagestep 4 image
  1. Cut salmon crosswise into 3 fillets. Pat salmon dry with paper towels and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Bring 4 cups water to boil in 12-inch skillet. Add ¼ cup lemon juice, reduce heat to medium-low, and gently slip salmon into water. Cover and simmer until center is still translucent when checked with tip of paring knife and salmon registers 125 degrees (for medium-rare), 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer salmon to plate. Using 2 forks, flake salmon into 1-inch pieces and transfer to medium bowl.
  2. Place beets in second medium bowl and sprinkle with remaining ⅛ teaspoon salt and remaining pinch pepper. Microwave, covered, until tender, about 4 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, whisk oil, shallot, capers, 1 tablespoon dill, and lemon zest and remaining 3 tablespoons juice together in large bowl; set aside dressing.
  4. Add 2 tablespoons dressing to bowl with beets, toss to combine, and let cool slightly. Add 2 tablespoons dressing to bowl with salmon and gently toss to combine. Add arugula to bowl with remaining dressing and toss to coat; season with salt and pepper to taste. Arrange arugula to serving platter or individual plates and top with eggs, salmon, beets, and remaining 2 tablespoons dill. Serve.

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Lemony Salmon and Roasted Beet Salad

Recipe By

Published on August 27, 2026

Time

45 min

Yield

Serves 4

Lemony Salmon and Roasted Beet Salad

Ingredients

1 (1¼-pound) skin-on center-cut salmon fillet, 1 inch thick½ teaspoon plus ⅛ teaspoon table salt, divided¼ teaspoon plus pinch pepper, divided1 teaspoon grated lemon zest plus 7 tablespoons juice (3 lemons), divided½ pound beets, trimmed, peeled, and cut into ½-inch pieces⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil1 shallot, minced2 tablespoons capers, rinsed3 tablespoons minced fresh dill or parsley, divided6 ounces (6 cups) baby arugula2 Easy-Peel Hard-Boiled Eggs, grated

Instructions

  1. Cut salmon crosswise into 3 fillets. Pat salmon dry with paper towels and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Bring 4 cups water to boil in 12-inch skillet. Add ¼ cup lemon juice, reduce heat to medium-low, and gently slip salmon into water. Cover and simmer until center is still translucent when checked with tip of paring knife and salmon registers 125 degrees (for medium-rare), 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer salmon to plate. Using 2 forks, flake salmon into 1-inch pieces and transfer to medium bowl.
  2. Place beets in second medium bowl and sprinkle with remaining ⅛ teaspoon salt and remaining pinch pepper. Microwave, covered, until tender, about 4 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, whisk oil, shallot, capers, 1 tablespoon dill, and lemon zest and remaining 3 tablespoons juice together in large bowl; set aside dressing.
  4. Add 2 tablespoons dressing to bowl with beets, toss to combine, and let cool slightly. Add 2 tablespoons dressing to bowl with salmon and gently toss to combine. Add arugula to bowl with remaining dressing and toss to coat; season with salt and pepper to taste. Arrange arugula to serving platter or individual plates and top with eggs, salmon, beets, and remaining 2 tablespoons dill. Serve.
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