This recipe for Smoked Black Pepper and Salmon Caesar Salad is sponsored by Marie’s Dressing. All thoughts and ideas are my own.
Wanna know the secret to making a restaurant-caliber salad at home?? Well, in this recipe for Smoked Black Pepper and Salmon Caesar Salad I’m going to tell you!
Think about all of the restaurant salads you’ve had in your lifetime. What are some of the defining features? Two that come to mind for me are:
-
The lettuce is always tossed perfectly in the dressing and cut in the perfect shape
-
They don’t skimp on toppings
-
They’re paired with the perfect dressings
For this Smoked Black Pepper and Salmon Caesar Salad, I recommend cutting your chopped romaine very fine (see photo below) or buying it already chopped like that. Then, toss your lettuce in the amount of dressing you’d like to use, along with the toppings you want, and everything will be perfectly mixed together!
The dressing I use in this recipe is Marie’s Smoked Black Pepper Caesar Dressing. It’s full of flavor,and quickly becoming my new favorite.
Many salad dressings you see at the grocery store are loaded with added sugar, sodium, and other unnecessary ingredients. And when you can find one that is “better,” it often comes with a hefty $7-9 pricetag per bottle. But, with Marie’s you don’t get either of those. Their new Marie’s Market Reserve line comes in five seriously delicious flavors:
- Wildflower Honey and Lime Vinaigrette
- Smoked Black Pepper Caesar Dressing
- Caramelized Onion & Sesame Seed Dressing
- Meyer Lemon Basil Dressing
- Southwest Style Ranch Dressing
And here are a few key thing’s to know about these dressings that i was really excited about:
- They retail for less than $3. Yes, under $3.
- They come in a smaller bottle that’s only 7.5 fl oz., which means I’m more likely to finish the bottle than be left with a half empty jar to throw out a few months from now.
- They’re all 60 calories or less per serving.
- They’re all gluten free.
- A few of the flavors have no added sugar.
But, back to this recipe, or any other salad recipe for that matter. The second point I listed above, aka toppings, is crucial to any good salad. Here’s how I choose my salad topping combos:
-
Pick one meat or plant-based protein: fish, chicken, steak, beans, etc.
-
Pick a cheese: feta, parmesan, goat cheese, etc.
-
Pick 2-3 veggies. This could really be anything: broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, green beans, peppers, asparagus, cucumbers, etc.
-
Pick something creamy: avocado, nut butter, dressing,, hummus, tahini, etc.
-
Pick something crunchy: bacon, seeds, nuts, croutons, crackers, etc.
And then combine it all together with a leafy green you actually enjoy eating. Yes, this means that if you don’t like kale… don’t force yourself to eat kale!
Smoked Black Pepper and Salmon Caesar Salad
Ingredients
- 5 oz. finely chopped romaine leaves about 3-4 cups
- 2 Tbsp Marie’s Smoked Black Pepper Caesar Dressing
- 1/2 cup broccoli florets chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 1/4 cup parmesan flakes
- 1/2 small avocado chopped
- 6 oz. salmon filet (cook as desired)
Instructions
- In a large bowl gently toss the chopped romaine with the Marie's Smoked Black Pepper Caesar Dressing, broccoli, red bell pepper, and parmesan.
- Transfer the salad to a serving bowl and top with the avocado and cooked salmon. Enjoy!
