Blackened Salmon with Avocado Cucumber Salsa! It’s a mix of spicy (from the seasoning mix) and cool (from the avocado cucumber salsa) and when you put everything together it’s a recipe for success!
Serving a big side of salmon is my favorite way to feed 6+ people! It’s a no-brainer when it comes to prep work and you can serve it up alongside a big loaded salad and a few of your favorite sides like this.
You’ll have a little bit of the spice mixture left over after whipping this up – and it’s great on some grilled chicken, steak, shrimp or another fish! You could even sprinkle it over a sheet pan of veggies before roasted to give everything a good kick!
Blackened Salmon with Avocado Cucumber Salsa
Ingredients
- 1 2-pound side of salmon
- 2 tablespoons ground paprika
- 1 tablespoon ground cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
For the Avocado Cucumber Salsa
- 2 persian cucumbers diced
- 1/4 cup chopped chives
- 1 lemon juiced
- 2 avocados peeled, seeded, diced
- kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix paprika, cayenne pepper, onion powder, salt, white pepper, black pepper, thyme, basil and oregano.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees and place salmon on foil lined baking sheets. Drizzle with olive oil and season the top liberally with the spice mixture. Reserve extra for another use.
- Bake salmon for about 15-20 minutes until done. Remove and transfer to a serving platter. Top with Avocado Cucumber Salsa and lemon wedges before serving.
For the Avocado Cucumber Salsa
- Combine the ingredients in a medium bowl. Toss to combine and season with salt and pepper.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Photo by Matt Armendariz / Food Styling by Marian Cooper Cairns / Recipe from What’s Gaby Cooking
Yum! Blackened salmon is so delicious!
Kari
This looks tantalizingly delicious. Can we come over??
Oh my goodness! What an amazing main and I’ve never even thought of adding cucumbers to my salsa before! It’s brilliant!!!
Hi Gaby! Would you normally do this with salmon that has skin on one side, and only season the other side? Thanks!
yes!
This is perfection! Love these flavors!!!
I could eat that whole piece of salmon all by myself!
Making this AND cheesy kale pasta tonight! Two of our faves, can’t wait!
This looks so refreshing and the flavors sound awesome!!
Now that’s how to do salmon!!
My mom and I are drooling over this!! so delicious!
Is that 12 pound piece of salmon, or 1-2 pound? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a 12 pound piece before.
1-2 pound!
My mouth is watering over this salmon! I’m loving the salsa too!
I made this salmon and cucumber salsa yesterday it’s
really a wonderful combination!! great flavors!!
Hi Gabby – I love spice but found this to be extra spicy! Is cutting the cayenne your recommendation? I’d like to serve it to a group. Thanks!
yup!! just leave it out next time and you’ll be golden
is there a white fish that this would work with too??
Wonderful Gaby! My salmon never looks this appetizing. I always get the white fat that bubbles up out of top. Do you have any suggestions on how to prevent that from happening?
that happens to me sometimes too!! It’s just the way salmon cooks
This is SO good. And the salsa– I make double the portion because it is AMAZING.
This was a perfect balance of spicy and cool – the cucumber avocado salad paired so well.
Definitely want to make this but we don’t have chives – we do have tons of scallions – would that be a good sub? Or just leave the chives out?
This is on tomorrow’s dinner menu! Looks and sounds fantastic!
I used wild caught salmon and was in a hurry so used blackening seasoning instead of making it – but this avocado cucumber salsa was amazing! I want to figure out other things to put it on! Super easy meal with Harvest Grains from Trader Joe’s. Thank you Gaby!
The flavor combination is amazing! I don’t like a lot of spice so I left the cayenne pepper out and it still turned out great!
I’m currently doing Whole30 and this recipe has been a life saver for our family. We eat it weekly!
Thank you Gaby, I made this on Father’s Day and we loved it!!!!
I’m always coming back to this recipe, it’s so good!
Easy, fast, delicious, healthy! Even my kids ask for seconds. I serve with cilantro rice and roasted broccoli. This recipe has been in regular rotation at my house for a quite a while now.
The seasoning on this is so good! I made extra and store with with my spices and this is one of my go to “I don’t know what to make” meals. We put the salmon on caesar salad and it’s the perfect combo of spicy and creamy.
Huge hit! Super easy and delicious.
Making this tonight and can’t wait! Question- think I can make the avocado/cucumber salsa ahead of time, like 6 hours or is it better to wait until ready to make the salmon?
you can make it ahead of time but wait until last minute to add avocado
Thank goodness for the delicious cucumber salsa! I love spice but this was hella spicy, my hubby couldn’t handle it. I’ll adjust it but will absolutely make it again!