Oven baked salmon rubbed with spices, topped with a cool peach salsa, make for a fresh and healthy dinner to make all summer long.
With every new season, I get way too excited about local, fresh produce; this probably makes me incredibly weird, but I don’t even care. Right now, Florida Peaches are in season, and I couldn’t be happier! I love peach season – esp when it’s locally grown in my home state.
Actually peaches are one the of the reasons, I wanted to do a whole30 over the summer last year. Because honestly, I couldn’t imagine a life without fresh summer fruit, and I was tired of feeling ‘bad’ about eating fresh produce. You guys, I ate a ton of peaches as a side last year, and I’m not mad about it. Florida tree-ripened peaches are the perfect size for school lunches or afternoon snacks! Available late-March through early-May, Florida Peaches can be found at your local grocery store.
This was about the time I stopped yo-yoing with low carb foods, and focused more on whole foods overall. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do low-carb, this just means for me, personally, I couldn’t imagine a world where I can’t enjoy seasonal produce whenever I want to. Plus, fresh Florida Peaches are rich in beta–carotene, which can help to lower cholesterol; high in vitamins A & C, peaches can help improve skin + vision health.
How to make peach avocado salsa:
- To a bowl, add diced Florida Peaches, chopped avocado, red onion, cilantro, fresh lime juice, salt, and pepper.
- Toss to combine. Adjust to taste with additional salt, pepper, and lime juice, if desired.
- Totally optional, but I like to add a generous pinch of leftover blackening season to this peach salsa.
I like to make the peach avocado salsa in advance, and store in a mason jar in the refrigerator, so that all I need to do is prepare my blackened salmon and make a side. This dinner couldn’t be easier to make.
to make a batch of blackened seasoning you will need the following:
- smoked or spanish paprika
- salt
- pepper
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- cayenne pepper
- black pepper
- thyme
- oregano
This blackened seasoning is perfect for baking or grilling salmon, over shrimp, tossed in chicken wings…honestly, just about any protein! It’d be great for ribs over the summer too!
I like to add a generous pinch of this blackened seasoning to the peach avocado salsa too. If you’re making this peach salsa for another dish, not paired with this salmon, I would omit the blackened seasoning.
what kind of salmon to use
When it comes to buying salmon, I personally look for wild-caught Pacific or Alaskan Salmon fillets. Sometimes, I can also find wild-caught coho salmon on sale, which has a more rich, reddish-orange color. All three are my favorite kinds of salmon to prepare at Casa de Crews.
In general, you’ll want look for salmon whose skin is bright + silvery, with a shiny flesh. I like to bake my salmon with the skin on.
You can eat the skin, or remove after baking, by running spatula just above the skin, and the salmon filet should lift right off. Easy af.
You could easily make this baked salmon or grilled salmon with a little fresh lemon, salt, pepper and garlic, and it’s going to be amazing, as-is. But with summer around the corner, I wanted a smoky kick for this baked salmon recipe, with a cool and creamy, peach avocado salsa to balance the spice rub.
The Peach Avocado Salsa is perfect for this Blackened Salmon, but it would also be refreshing over grilled chicken, tossed with shrimp, and obvi as an actual salsa for chips. As a meal, this blackened salmon with peach avocado salsa is perfect with a salad, roasted veggies, or quinoa. It would also be amazing in tacos or lettuce wraps.
The recipe below calls to bake your salmon fillets in the oven, but you can easily grill outside, or pan sear. It’s up to you.
blackened salmon with peach avocado salsa
Ingredients
blackened spice rub
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika - or Spanish paprika
- 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
peach avocado salsa
- 2 peaches cored, and diced
- 1 avocado, pit removed and diced - haas suggested
- 1/4 red onion, diced
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, diced
- juice of 1 lime - plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt - plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon black pepper - plus more to taste
- generous pinch blackened spice rub - optional
blackened salmon
- 2 lbs salmon - wild-caught suggested
- 1 1/2 tablespoons avocado oil - can also use olive oil
- 2 tablespoons blackened spice rub
- juice of 1 lime quartered, for garnish - optional
Instructions
blackened spice rub
- to a ramekin, combine all spices and mix well using fork. Set aside. Will make approx 1/4 cup seasoning blend; may have leftover for another use.
peach avocado salsa
- To a medium-sized mixing bowl, add diced peaches, avocado, red onion, cilantro, lime juice, salt, and pepper. Using a spoon, mix until well-combined. Adjust to taste with additional salt or pepper, and lime juice, if desired. Can be made 1-2 days in advance refrigerated.
blackened salmon
- Preheat oven to 375F. Remove the salmon from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes while you prepare the spice rub and/or salsa. Line a large baking dish or baking sheet with a large piece of aluminum foil or parchment paper.
- Place salmon skin side down, and brush approx 1 teaspoon avocado or olive oil over each fillet. Coat each fillet with 1-1 1/2 teaspoons of blackened spice rub. Bake for 15 minutes or until salmon easily flakes with fork.
- Remove blackened salmon from oven, and squeeze fresh lime wedge over salmon fillet, if desired. Top salmon with peach avocado salsa and serve immediately.
Nutrition
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other salmon recipes you’ll love:
Thank you to Florida Peaches for sponsoring today’s recipe. All opinions are my own. Please see the disclaimer here.
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