My Husband Claims This Is The Best Salmon He’s Ever Had.
As soon as I slathered that chipotle brown sugar rub on the salmon, I knew that we were going to love it.
As if that buttery, flaky, smoky-sweet salmon wasn’t enough – add a little juicy, colorful salady salsa on top, and a garlicky aji verde on the bottom of the bowl for the green sauce lover in the family (ME), and we had a total showstopper meal that immediately earned a place in the “best salmon recipes” category for our family.
One of my daughters liked the salmon and green sauce (a win!), one of my daughters went back for seconds on the complete bowl, and both Bjork and I commented throughout the whole meal about how much we loved the flavors and textures.
(I realize this picture doesn’t look like much but I was just standing there eating that juicy orange salsa out of the bowl while waiting for the salmon to bake. For this batch, I had run the cabbage through the food processor. It’s SO yummy.)
The ingredient list looks a little long, but there’s a lot of overlapping ingredients. And it’s very straightforward:
- Bake the salmon.
- Blend the sauce.
- Toss the salsa (or salad? it’s kind of both).
Pile it all into the bowl, and feel like you’re in a restaurant. Hope you guys love this one. It’s just a vibrant bowl of freshness that I’ve been needing lately.
Here’s What The Ingredients Look Like:
You cannot miss with these flavors.
In a nutshell: salmon, spices, and cilantro, lime, garlic, jalapeno, oranges.
Happy colors, happy flavors.
Let’s Make This:
1
Make Your Salsa.
It’s shown here with oranges in the bowl – but wait to add those until just before serving so they don’t turn pink. 🙂
2
Blend Your Aji Verde.
I just adore this sauce so much.
3
Bake Your Salmon.
Spice rub + oil, then bake for 10 minutes.
4
Plate It Up Kinda Fancy.
Rice and sauce on the bottom of the dish, then chunks of salmon + the salsa on top.
If You Love This, You’ll Love These
We do have a bit of a “type” in our family when it comes to favorite recipes – the spicy sweet combo just seems like what we are loving these days. Others we love right now:
- the sweet potatoes with the chipotle sauce (our hyper-fixation over the last few months)
- the bbq salmon with mango salsa
- the air fryer salmon or air fryer chicken
- the gochujang noodles
- the bang bang salmon
Chipotle Salmon with Orange Salsa and Aji Verde
Total Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Description
Sweet-and-smoky chipotle salmon topped with fresh orange salsa and creamy aji verde! An easy, delicious, restaurant-level salmon dinner.
Ingredients
Units
Chipotle Salmon
- 1 1/2 pounds salmon filet (I have used both skinless and skin-on; either works)
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning (I use Siete)
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder, depending on spice preference
- spritz of avocado oil
Orange Salsa
- 3 large navel oranges, cut into chunks (peeled with a knife, pith removed)
- a small wedge of purple cabbage, finely shredded or pulsed in a food processor (about 2 cups)
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro (ribs and seeds removed)
- a small wedge of red onion, minced (about 1/4 cup)
- 1–2 tablespoons olive oil or avocado oil
- juice of 2 limes (2–3 tablespoons)
- half of a jalapeño, minced
- 1 tablespoon sugar + 1/2 teaspoon salt (more to taste)
Aji Verde
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 1 cup cilantro leaves and stems
- half of a jalapeño pepper (ribs and seeds removed)
- 1 clove garlic
- juice of 1 lime
- a pinch of salt, to taste
Other
- Rice for serving
Instructions
- Make Orange Salsa: Toss all ingredients together except oranges; massage with your hands to soften the cabbage a bit. (You’ll add the oranges until right before serving, so they don’t turn pink.)
- Make Aji Verde: Blend the aji verde sauce until smooth.
- Prep Salmon: Preheat oven to 450 degrees; place a rack near the top. Pat salmon dry with paper towels. Place on a sheet pan lined with parchment (I just leave the filets in one whole piece). Mix seasoning for salmon; coat salmon filets with seasoning. Spritz with a light coating avocado oil.
- Bake Salmon: Bake for 5 minutes near the top of the oven. Then broil another 4-6 minutes until cooked to your liking (I like it to be medium, about 135 degrees).
- Serve: Add oranges to the slaw mixture. Put rice and aji verde side by side on the bottom of a plate or shallow bowl. Then flake a few chunks of salmon on top, and finish with a scoop of the salsa. Chef’s kiss!
Notes
If your salmon has skin, place it skin side down on the baking sheet.
In the ingredient photo above, you’ll see cotija cheese which I do often add to my aji verde – however, for the final version, I felt like the sauce was more harmonious for this dish without the cotija, which is why it’s not in the final written ingredient list.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: salmon recipe, sheet pan salmon, orange salsa, aji verde
