Smoked Salmon Breakfast Salad

This delicious smoked salmon breakfast salad is light, yet packed with protein and nutrient dense veggies! With a creamy dill dressing, fresh herbs and crisp veggies, this is the perfect dish to serve at your next brunch of make for yourself. Think of it as a deconstructed breakfast bagel sandwich!

I love to make myself a protein forward, savory breakfast salad, when I just want something a little different than my favorite bacon egg bites or protein packed pancakes. This savory smoked salmon bagel salad is a delicious way to shake up the boring breakfast routine, and is loaded with all the vital macronutrients to make your day great! Healthy fats, quality protein and fiber-rich slow digesting carbohydrates. A perfect breakfast dish to fuel your day so it starts off on the right foot!

Jump to:

• Why you’ll love this smoked salmon breakfast
•  Ingredients
• Assembling this easy salmon recipe
• Other smoked salmon breakfast ideas
• More High Protein Breakfasts
• Smoked Salmon Breakfast Salad

Why you’ll love this smoked salmon breakfast

• A great source of protein, healthy fats and carbs, as well as vital micronutrients that are satiating, nourishing and delicious!
• Easy prep and simple ingredients, this smoked salmon salad is perfect as a single-serve dish or to feed a crowd.
• A unique dish to get you out of an egg and oatmeal breakfast rut. 

 Ingredients

• 1 pound of smoked salmon (or adjust quantity if making a single serving) – for this dish you can use whichever type of smoked salmon you prefer, be it the thin pieces I use here or a smokier, large chunk of salmon filet. We won’t get into the particulars of the different smoking methods here, but just know there are differences, which you can read about in this Eater article. 
• Red onion and English cucumbers or Persian cucumbers. Finely dice the red onion and slice the cucumbers.
• Green leaf lettuce of choice – I used a mix of butter leaf and romaine lettuce.
• Soft-boiled or hardboiled eggs for more protein and because they are delicious! 
• Capers for a bit of tang
• 1-2 fresh bagels to make toasted bagel croutons. I used Dave’s Killer Bread brand healthy whole wheat bagels for my salad, cut into chunks and then lightly toasted. 
• Ingredients to make a homemade fresh dill dressing, or use your favorite store-bought dill dressing. The vegan dill dressing from Trader Joe’s is pretty fantastic.  
• Fresh herbs to garnish including fresh chives and dill.

Assembling this easy salmon recipe

Begin by soft-boiling the number of eggs you want, or for a quick shortcut, use store-bought hard boiled eggs. To soft boil, my easy favorite way is to add cold water to a pan and then add eggs, and cook on medium heat. When the water comes to a boil, turn off the heat, cover the pan and let eggs sit for 2-3 minutes. Immediately remove from the pan and place in a ice water bath to cool down. Peel and cut in half to serve.

Note that this method will not produce a runny yolk, so if you wish for your egg to be truly soft boiled with a runny egg yolk, refer to these directions.

Once you have your eggs all set, now it’s time to assemble the salad. 

Place the lettuce in a bowl or platter, then begin adding the remaining ingredients. I like to layer ingredients on top of each other instead of tossing them all together, to add visual texture to the salad. 

​I also love toasting the bagel first before adding it to the salad. Either toast whole, then cut up, or cut up bagel into pieces and toast on a sheet pan.

​To make a homemade dill dressing

For an easy and fresh healthy dill dressing, without mayonnaise or buttermilk (common dill dressing ingredients), here is my go-to recipe. 

• ⅓ cup Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice and lemon zest from ½ lemon
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus a little water to thin out the dressing to your liking
• 2 teaspoon each finely chopped fresh chives and finely chopped fresh dill
• ½ teaspoon sea salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper to taste

Add all ingredients to a small bowl, lidded mason jar or my favorite OXO dressing bottle, and give it a good shake. 

If you want a fresh dressing with a bit of a kick, you can try my spicy ranch dressing. Or if you prefer bottled dressings, I recommend either the Trader Joe’s vegan dill dressing or Bolthouse Farms yogurt ranch dressing.

Other smoked salmon breakfast ideas

As I mentioned in my Costco healthy finds post, I always have a large pack of smoked salmon on hand. Here are the many ways we enjoy it for breakfast, lunch and snacks!

• Add smoked salmon to cottage cheese toast for a super nutritious open-faced breakfast sandwich.
• Chop up and add smoked salmon to scrambled eggs for an elevated breakfast staple.
• Enjoy as a nutritious afternoon snack piled on a piece of wasa crispbread, a smear of laughing cow cheese or cream cheese spread.
• Serve on a toasted English muffin with an over-easy egg for a delicious breakfast sandwich.
• For your next brunch, create a bagel bar and serve with all the toppings to create the perfect bagel sandwich.
• Make a smoked salmon wrap with a low-carb tortilla, laughing cow cheese, smoked salmon, tomatoes, sprouts and capers, a classic combination!

As you can see, the possibilities are almost endless! I hope you have found some inspiration for adding smoked salmon to your morning meals. It’s a great addition for an easy breakfast that is nutritious and fully of essential fatty acids. Let me know if you give this easy breakfast recipe a try!

More High Protein Breakfasts

Tried this recipe? Please leave a comment and/or rating, letting me know how you enjoyed it! Connect with me on Instagram and Pinterest, and never miss a post by signing up for my weekly newsletter!