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Smoky Grilled Salmon with Avocado Salad

Need a quick summer dinner? Simple grilled salmon topped with fresh avocado and corn salad is a quick-summer-dinner overachiever.

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salmon in foil with avocado tomato salad in tin foil on a baking sheet

Salmon + Grill = Summertime Dream Team.

We’re pretty familiar with the summertime routine that is known as “loose track of time while having far too much outdoor fun and scramble to figure out what the dinner game plan is”. Oh, you too? Well, we have a few go-to meals to help with this particular summertime issue. Enter this smoky grilled salmon with avocado salad! It comes together in under 30 minutes, start to finish. Oh, and it’s healthy, too! For more Salmon inspiration check out our Best Salmon Recipes.

A fillet of salmon in foil with taco seasoning, limes and olive oil
a fillet of salmon wrapped in foil

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How To Grill Salmon

If you ever see a salmon recipe that says it needs to cook for 20 minutes, run. Salmon cooks quickly—anything longer than about 10-15 minutes, and you’ll have major dryness issues, especially if a grill is involved. You’ll know it’s done when you can flake it with a fork and it’s nice and slightly opaque in color. Just pop the salmon on your grill, and leave it alone for about ten minutes. For this recipe, we wrap the salmon in foil before we toss it on the grill. Wrapping it in foil allows for all the spices to steam into the salmon, giving it an extra punch of flavor! Hello, fast, healthy dinner!

How to Season Salmon

Salmon is one of those proteins that can handle a lot of flavor and a lot of varieties of flavor. You can go as simple as roasting it with salt and pepper or as exciting as a simmer in green curry sauce. You can even glaze the fish with your favorite sauce and lay it directly on the grill if fussy cooking isn’t your thing. Here we’ve paired it with our favorite homemade taco seasoning. Topped with a fresh summery salad, it’s easy grilled salmon perfection!

salmon in foil with limes and taco seasoning

Grilled Salmon Seeks Delicious Salad For Dinnertime Partnership

To really take this delicious salmon to the next level, we’ve topped it with a fresh, summery avocado and tomato salad. Whether you want to impress your guests or just serve a quick and healthy dinner to your family at the end of a long day with *very* little effort, this salmon dinner is sure to get the job done. Here’s what’s in our corn and avocado salad:

  • Grilled corn
  • Plenty of lime juice
  • Jalapenos
  • Garlic
  • Lots of creamy avocado
  • Fresh herbs
a corn and avocado salad in a bowl with tomatoes and cilantro

Is Salmon Healthy?

YES. Salmon is incredibly healthy. To begin with, it’s very high in pmega-3 fatty acids—if you aren’t familiar with these fats, they’re the good ones. Your body doesn't produce these heart-and-brain boosting fats on its own, so you need them in your diet. Salmon is also high in protein, and lots of other beneficial nutrients. It’s a great choice!

Salmon In Foil With taco seasoning and an Avocado Tomato Salad

Tools You’ll Need

More Delicious Salmon Recipes to Try

Coconut Rice Salmon Bowl
Green Curry Salmon
Salmon Salad with Grapefruit and Avocado
Roasted Salmon with Spring Pesto

Salmon In Foil With taco seasoning and an Avocado Tomato Salad
Salmon In Foil With taco seasoning and an Avocado Tomato Salad

New Favorite Grilled Salmon Recipe?

We’d love to see you serving your new favorite grilled salmon recipe in action! Don’t forget to tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper or #themodernproper so we can check it out and give you a virtual high-five!

Smoky Grilled Salmon with Avocado Salad

  • Serves: 6
  • Prep Time:  30 min
  • Cook Time:  15 min
  • Calories: 603

Ingredients

Salmon

  • 1 (1½ pound) skin-on salmon fillet
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
  • 2 limes, cut into wedges

Avocado Salad

  • 2 ears fresh corn, cooked
  • 2 slightly firm avocados, peeled, pitted, and diced
  • 1 jalapeño, seeded and diced
  • 2 limes, juiced
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • ¼ cup roughly chopped cilantro
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Method

  1. Preheat the grill to medium heat.

  2. Transfer the salmon fillet to the center of a large piece of foil. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with taco seasoning. Squeeze limes over the seasoned salmon and bring edges of foil together to wrap the salmon.

  3. Set foil-covered salmon directly on the grill. Close the lid and cook until the salmon easily flakes with a fork, about 12 minutes.

  4. Meanwhile, make the avocado salad. Remove kernels from the corn cobs. In a large bowl, combine the corn kernels, avocado, jalapeño, lime juice, olive oil, cilantro, garlic, tomatoes, salt and pepper, stir well and set aside.

  5. Once the salmon is done, divide it into 6 pieces, top with avocado salad and serve.

Nutrition Info

  • Per Serving
  • Amount
  • Calories603
  • Protein61 g
  • Carbohydrates30 g
  • Total Fat29 g
  • Dietary Fiber9 g
  • Cholesterol0 mg
  • sodium584 mg
  • Total Sugars7 g

Smoky Grilled Salmon with Avocado Salad

Questions & Reviews

Join the discussion below.

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  • Amie

    Suggestions for time/temp baking instead?

    375° for 15 to 20 mins with same foil/seasoning treatment!

  • Carole

    Absolutely love this one!! Super easy, but packs a punch flavor and texture wise. We didn’t change a thing and it was perfect!

    Thanks Carole, we are so happy you love it!

  • Lisa

    WOW! This is a keeper. A great and impressive salmon dish. IT looks amazing with the toppings. Everytime I make it, somoone asks for the recipes! Fun summer bar b que or lake recipe.

    Thanks Lisa, we are so glad you love it!

  • Kelsey

    I made this tonight and holy cow this is SO DARN GOOD. We did some swaps bc you know pandemic cooking is a bit different. We used homemade Turkish seasoning instead of taco bc it was what I had on hand and skipped the tomatoes bc our grocery was out. The salsa is to die for and the clean up was soooo quick (and didn't make my kitchen smell like salmon!). I ate all the left over salsa as my dessert bc it was that good. Also my 18 month old torn this up! Thanks for this recipe guys!

    Yay! Love this review. So glad it was a hit!

  • Mary

    I made this for the first time on vacation looking for something delicious that didn’t take long to make. Holy cow! PACKED with flavor and colors. Everyone loved it!

    yay! so glad.