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    Home » Recipes

    Healthy Salmon Quinoa Bowl

    Published: Jan 30, 2020 by Sonila · This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

    • 41
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    We all go through cycles of healthy and not so healthy eating habits. Anytime, I try to get back on track I tend to go back to my basics, wholesome food, non processed ingredients and fresh produce. I love different combinations of salmon and quinoa and today I would like to share with you my Salmon Quinoa Bowl.

    Salmon Red Quinoa Bowl with Green Lima Beans, Spinach and Grape Tomatoes.
    Salmon Quinoa Bowl Dinner with Lima Beans and Spinach

    Some links in my posts may be affiliate links, which means that I may receive a commission if you purchase items by clicking on these links. For more details, please see my Disclosure Policy.

    Salmon Bowl – Easiest Family Dinner

    Dinners are usually stressful, especially if you have young kids, school activities or work late hours. Salmon bowls make for easy family dinners. If you have kids that want different sides with their protein, this is just the recipe for you. You can steam, bake, boil or roast sides and just add them alongside salmon to their taste. You can even use leftovers from the night before and they won’t even know it!

    I tend to let quinoa cook at the same time as the lima beans, while I’m frying the salmon in a skillet. Then you can re-arrange sides next to salmon and add fresh spinach or arugula alongside tomatoes or other fresh ingredients.

    Healthy Salmon, Red Quinoa Dinner plate filled with fresh spinach, grape tomatoes and lima beans.
    Healthy Salmon, Quinoa Dinner

    Seasoning Salmon

    There are so many ways to season salmon, I’m sure you all have your favorite methods. The most common ones are butter/dill, lemon, glazed, teriyaki etc. I love and have tried all of these and more. You can use any seasoning you like for this recipe, so no need to adhere to exact recipe from below recipe card.

    When I’m in a hurry I just use extra virgin olive oil and this white pepper/lemon seasoning. Nothing else! It just takes few minutes to cook on each side and salmon is ready.

    Ingredients, Substitutions and Recipe Tips

    • You can make this salmon bowl with chicken, just make sure to cook chicken thoroughly and add few extra minutes because skillet chicken might take longer to cook than salmon.
    • I used extra virgin olive oil to cook the salmon in a skillet, you can use butter as a substitute (but if you’re on Mediterranean Diet it’s better to stick to EVOO).
    • Instead of the spinach you can use arugula or other greens. I try to keep ¼ of the plate filled with raw vegetables, so you can pick and choose which ones you like.
    • I just used extra virgin olive oil and lemon as a dressing, keep it simple. However, feel free to use dressing of your choice.
    • One of the steps that I feel helps me make this dinner really fast is that I cook quinoa, lima beans and salmon simultaneously. Use 2 pots and 1 skillet.
    • Other healthy additions and substitutions can be lentils, black beans, asparagus, broccoli etc.

    If you use the right amount of water, quinoa doesn’t need draining after it’s cooked. It’s just like rice. See below the red quinoa after it had cooked.

    Cooked red quinoa
    Cooked Red Quinoa

    Then once lima beans cook, just drain them in a colander. Depending on type of lima beans you use, their cooking time might vary greatly. I used frozen green lima beans and they take only 20 minutes to cook but the dry ones will take a lot longer. Please plan accordingly for cooking times.

    Green lima beans, cooked and shown in a colander to drain.
    Green Lima Beans

    By overlapping cooking times between quinoa, beans and salmon you shorten overall dinner prep time. See below salmon fillets in olive oil, seasoned.

    Seasoned salmon fillets cooking in a skillet with extra virgin olive oil.
    Salmon Fillets Cooking in Extra Virgin Olive Oil
    Healthy Salmon Red Quinoa Dinner Bowl with green lima beans, spinach and grape tomatoes.

    Healthy Salmon Quinoa Bowl

    Sonila
    This is a very easy pan-fried salmon bowl recipe. You can add quinoa, lima beans, spinach and other vegetables to your taste. Recipe is very versatile and above all healthy, filling and perfectly balanced.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 5 mins
    Cook Time 25 mins
    Arranging dinner bowls 5 mins
    Total Time 35 mins
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine Mediterranean
    Servings 6 people
    Calories 540 kcal

    Equipment

    • Medium size pot
    • Skillet

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 cup quinoa
    • 14 ozs frozen lima beans (green variety)
    • 6 fillets salmon (about 5 ozs each fillet)
    • 9 tbsps extra virgin olive oil 3 tbsps to cook salmon and 1 tbsps for dressing per dinner bowl
    • 1 tsp pepper/lemon seasoning mix
    • 2 lemons (1 for dressing and one sliced to add to bowls)
    • 5 ozs fresh baby spinach
    • 10 ozs grape tomatoes, sliced in half

    Instructions
     

    • Get 2 medium size pots and a skillet.
    • Add 2 cups of water in pot 1 and a pinch of salt. Set to boil, once water is boiling add quinoa in. Lower heat to medium and let cook until you see no more water. Turn heat off. Set aside
    • Get second pot, add frozen lima beans, cover with water and set to boil. Cook for 20 minutes. Once beans are cooked, drain and set aside.
    • Add 3 tbsps of olive oil in a skillet. Set heat to medium. Once oil becomes shiny (don't let it burn), add salmon. Salmon needs to be room temperature. Raise heat a little bit. Sprinkle with lemon/pepper seasoning each fillet. Let cook for about 4 minutes then flip with a spatula and repeat. Season and let cook about 4 minutes.
    • Prepare the dinner bowls with spinach and grape tomatoes. Add salmon then surround with quiona, lima beans and lemon slices. I usually let each person at that point add olive oil, lemon juice and salt to each individual bowl to taste.

    Notes

    • My lemon/pepper seasoning does have salt already so I don’t add any salt to salmon when cooking. 

    Nutrition Label

    Nutrition Facts
    Healthy Salmon Quinoa Bowl
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 540
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 540kcal
    Keyword Red Quinoa Dinner, Salmon Bowl, Salmon Quinoa Bowl, Seafood quinoa dinner
    Tried this recipe?Mention @mediterranean_latin_love or tag #mediterraneanlatinloveaffair!

    If you would like to save this recipe for later, please pin the below image to Pinterest. Feel free to contact me with any questions or tag me in social media if you made the recipe:). I love seeing everyone’s versions that spring from my recipes. Thank you:)

    Instagram: mediterranean_latin_love or Twitter: MediterrLatin or Facebook: Mediterranean Latin Love Affair.

    This Mediterranean Salmon Quinoa bowl is a delicious and healthy family dinner. Bowl shows salmon, red quinoa, green lima beans, spinach, grape tomatoes and lemon slice.
    Healthy Mediterranean Salmon Quinoa Bowl

    Additional Seafood Recipes

    • Baked Branzino (Sea-Bass)
    • Shrimp Tomato Pasta Sauce

    If you like red quinoa, check out this Red Quinoa Salad and if you like more variations of lima beans, see this Lima Beans Salad recipe. Thank you:)

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    • 41

    Filed Under: Main Dishes, Mediterranean Food, Recipes Tagged With: Mediterranean Diet, quinoa, Seafood

    About Sonila

    Mom of 2, wife, engineer, food blogger & recipe creator! Sonila was born in Albania, her heritage inspires her Mediterranean recipes while that of her husband the Latin ones. Sonila has 2 degrees in Engineering from University of Miami.

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    Sonila Zarate
    Sonila Zarate

    Mom of 2, wife, engineer, food blogger & recipe creator! Sonila was born in Albania, her heritage inspires her Mediterranean recipes while that of her husband the Latin ones. Sonila has 2 degrees in Engineering from University of Miami.

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