This recipe for Salmon with Quinoa Salad and Arugula Chimichurri is adapted from the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival. It features grilled salmon, a colorful and crunchy quinoa salad, and a vibrant arugula chimichurri to round out the dish. Make this recipe the next time you want to level up your salmon game.

Roasted Verlasso Salmon with Quinoa Salad and Arugula Chimichurri has been a favorite at the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival over the years. The salmon is delicately seasoned and roasted in the original recipe, but I have adjusted the spices and grill it instead of roasting it, and also increased the amount of salmon to complement the yield of the quinoa salad and arugula chimichurri better.
The arugula chimichurri really makes this dish. It's herbaceous, citrusy and vibrant. Chimichurri is basically Argentinian pesto. Although this version is non-traditional, it's exquisite and easily takes the place of a squeeze of lemon or lime on the fish.
The quinoa salad is reminiscent of tabbouleh but without all the herbs. It's crunchy and bright, a nice bed for the salmon. Although this is a composed dish, each component can easily stand on its own.
Ingredient notes
- Salmon: You'll need skinless salmon fillets for this recipe. If you purchase a whole side of salmon, carefully remove the skin with a sharp knife before slicing it into portions (it's usually easier to do this than skinning each individual fillet). Each fillet should be about 5 to 6 ounces but it's ok if they are a bit larger. Use whichever variety of salmon you like, but note that a leaner variety can dry out more easily.
- Quinoa: I use organic tri-color quinoa, which adds even more color to the salad with its red, white, and black quinoa combination. You can, however, use any color of quinoa that you prefer for your salmon with quinoa salad.
- Arugula: Also called rocket, arugula are tender slightly peppery greens that are very popular in salads and for topping sandwiches in place of lettuce.
- Mint: If you have leftover fresh mint from making the arugula chimichurri, make some delicious Ooh La La cocktails (a Disney Cruise Line recipe) to serve with this salmon. It's a French-inspired upscale take on a classic mojito.
How to make it
Place the salmon fillets in a pan or baking dish and season with the salt, garlic powder, paprika, and black pepper. Drizzle the lemon juice and olive oil over the top. Turn the fillets to evenly coat, then cover and refrigerate.
Meanwhile, make the chimichurri. Place cilantro, arugula, mint, olive oil, lime juice, red pepper flakes, garlic, and red wine vinegar in a blender or food processor. Blend for about 10 seconds on medium speed or until ingredients are evenly blended. Season with salt and pepper. Store in a sealed container and refrigerate until ready to use.
For the quinoa salad, first make the dressing. Whisk together olive oil, lime juice, garlic, white wine vinegar, and ground cumin in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Next, mix cooked quinoa, diced red and green peppers, diced red onion, diced tomato, corn kernels, and chopped cilantro in large bowl and toss with the dressing.
Finally, cook the salmon. Heat your grill over medium-high heat. Spray a fish grilling basket with nonstick spray. Remove the salmon from the pan and allow any excess juices to drip off. Arrange the salmon fillets in the basket and close the lid.
Grill the salmon for about 4 to 5 minutes per side, or longer if you desire more a char on your salmon. Remove from the grill, very carefully open the lid of the grill basket, and use a spatula to remove the grilled salmon fillets to a serving dish.
To serve, equally divide the quinoa salad between serving plates, top with a salmon fillet and drizzle with chimichurri.
Please scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe (in a printable recipe card) including ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.
Expert tips
You can definitely grill your salmon directly on the grill grates instead of using a fish grilling basket, but the results are usually better in that case if you leave the skin on. Personally, I find fish grilling baskets to be so convenient, that I always use them for grilling fish, regardless of the variety. If you grill fish often, you may want to consider investing in one.
Any leftover arugula chimichurri would also be excellent served over grilled chicken or steak. It also freezes quite well, similar to pesto. Freeze it in ice cube trays and then transfer frozen chimichurri cubes to a freezer bag.
Other recipes you may like
- Grilled Fish Tacos (Disney Inspired)
- Salmon Rillettes
- Garlic Lemon Salmon Piccata
- Phyllo Wrapped Salmon with Lemon Horseradish Cream
- Pescado a la Veracruzana (Veracruz Style Fish)
Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also follow me on social media on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Grilled Salmon with Quinoa Salad and Arugula Chimichurri
Ingredients
Salmon:
- 8 (5- to 6-ounce) salmon fillets, skin removed (or about 2 ½ to 3 pounds of salmon cut into 8 equal-sized pieces)
- 2 ½ teaspoons kosher (coarse) salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
Chimichurri:
- ½ bunch fresh cilantro including stems, coarsely chopped (about 1 cup)
- 2 cups coarsely chopped fresh arugula
- ½ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup packed fresh mint leaves
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Quinoa Salad Dressing:
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup lime juice
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Quinoa Salad:
- ¾ cup uncooked quinoa, cooked per instructions (makes approximately 3 cups cooked), cooled
- ½ red pepper diced
- ½ green pepper diced
- ½ red onion diced
- 1 small tomato diced
- ¼ cup corn kernels (thawed from frozen or cut from a whole cob)
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Instructions
- For the Salmon: Place the salmon fillets in a pan or baking dish and season with the salt, garlic powder, paprika and black pepper on both sides (half on each side). Drizzle the lemon juice and olive oil over the top. Turn the fillets to evenly coat, then cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 3 hours. Remove salmon from refrigerator at least 10 minutes before cooking.
- For the Chimichurri: Place all ingredients in blender or food processor. Blend for about 10 seconds on medium speed or until ingredients are evenly blended. Season with salt and pepper. Store in a sealed container and refrigerate until ready to use.
- For the Quinoa Salad Dressing: Whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
- For the Quinoa Salad: Mix all the ingredients together in large bowl and toss with the dressing.
- To Cook the Salmon: Heat your grill over medium-high heat. Spray a fish grilling basket with nonstick spray. Remove the salmon from the pan and allow any excess juices to drip off. Arrange the salmon fillets in the basket and close the lid.
- Grill the salmon for about 4 to 5 minutes per side, or longer if you prefer more of a char on your salmon (up to 7 minutes per side). An instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part should read a minimum of 145°F. Remove from the grill, very carefully open the lid of the grill basket, and use a spatula to remove the grilled salmon fillets to a serving dish.
- To Serve: Equally divide salad between serving plates, top with a salmon fillet and drizzle with chimichurri.
Notes
- You can definitely grill your salmon directly on the grill grates instead of using a fish grilling basket, but the results are usually better in that case if you leave the skin on. Personally, I find fish grilling baskets to be so convenient, that I always use them for grilling fish, regardless of the variety. If you grill fish often, you may want to consider investing in one.
- Any leftover arugula chimichurri would also be excellent served over grilled chicken or steak. It also freezes quite well, similar to pesto. Freeze it in ice cube trays and then transfer frozen chimichurri cubes to a freezer bag.
- Adapted from The Best of Epcot Festivals Cookbook--originally served at Patagonia Marketplace at the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival
Nutrition
*All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.*
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