First of all, you can’t go wrong with a blackened salmon sandwich. All of my kids are obsessed with this salmon. Like we rarely branch out or everyone’s mad. My seven year-old who wishes I’d let him live on buttered pasta and brownies chooses it for every home-cooked birthday dinner. His fave.
And of course we all know salmon is full of health benefits! So when I realized I’d stopped making it because I didn’t want to use up too much fat in my protein, I felt like super-mom. Obviously. Gave myself an intervention.
So this favorite version, our easy broiled, blackened salmon, is back in rotation! So good. And I just like to plan ahead and maybe add a little less fat to something else during the day. Because this is worth it.
For the Salmon
The sandwich is already a breeze. But the salmon itself is LITERALLY one of the easiest dinners I make. And yet you feel like you’re in a restaurant. I love how that works. But then of course when I’m like- “it’s easy dinner night! We’re doing grilled cheese!” I end up standing at the stove for an hour sweating over one sandwich at a time. I’m doing something wrong.
Anyway– for the salmon you just:
- Mix up your rub
- Pat it on the fillets
- Broil!
Doesn’t get easier than that. Throw it on some Trader Joe’s frozen brown rice with some steamed broccoli and you’re done, or throw it on a salad, in some fish tacos FOR SURE…. OR…. make this sandwich. Please make this sandwich. YUM.
For the Sandwich
Once the salmon is popped in the oven, you slice up a few veggies, and stir up your two minute lemon garlic spread. And I promise that’s as easy as it sounds! Light sour cream (or light mayo or greek yogurt), a couple of frozen cubes of garlic (or minced cloves- but ok then yours might take five minutes because you’re an overachiever so that’s on you) and a quick zest and squeeze of a lemon. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and BUILD!
But first– spray and pan-toast your bun because DUH. Toasted>non-toasted.
If you want to shave off some carbs, feel free to choose a different bun like a kaiser where you can better hollow out the top, like on these roasted tomato basil chicken sandwiches.
Let me warn you that if you want it to be extra pretty and crusty, you can also cook it in a pan over medium high heat. But I just love the simplicity and easy clean-up of a quick broil. And the fact that my house doesn’t smell like salmon for twenty four hours!
Anyway– winner.
Blackened Salmon Sandwich
Ingredients
For the Salmon
- 3 lb salmon*
- 1 tbs chili powder
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- *(I used frozen Costco fillets which are farm raised so feel free to find wild Salmon which is much lower in fat! I will in the future but I’ve gotta say, this stuff is foolproof. Ha. Fat will do that.
For the Sandwich:
- 1 brioche bun I get mine at Walmart, Sprouts, Ralphs, and Stater Brothers in the bakery section.
- 90 g blackened salmon
- 15 g avocado
- 40 g sliced tomato
- A leaf of butter lettuce
- 15 g red onion
- 15 g homemade light lemon garlic spread recipe below*
For the Lemon Garlic Spread- just mix together
- 1/4 cup light sour cream
- 2 cubes of frozen dorot garlic or two minced cloves of fresh
- zest and juice from half of a lemon
- pinch of salt and pepper
Instructions
For the Salmon
- Mix together everything for the rub (everything besides the salmon)
- Place salmon on a parchment lined baking sheet and pat dry with paper towels
- Mist with cooking spray and sprinkle rub liberally all over the tops, flip and repeat until all the rub is used up.
- Broil for 5-7 minutes or until preferred level of doneness. I like it much less done than Ross so I pull some out at 5 and leave a couple in for two more minutes.
- OR– if you prefer more color and char on the fish, sprinkle rub on both sides and sear in a sprayed pan over medium-high heat for about 3-4 minutes per side.
For the Sandwich
- Spray insides of bun and toast in a hot pan.
- Top bottom bun with lemon garlic spread, lettuce, salmon, tomatoes, avocado and onion.
- Top with other half of toasted bun and ENJOY!
Notes
Nutrition
Tried this recipe?
Tag @LillieEatsAndTells on Instagram with #LillieEatsandTells! We’d love to see your creations!
Yum! This blackened salmon is so good! I didn’t make the sandwich yet, but served the blackened salmon over rice with corn on the cob and fresh garden tomatoes. Drizzled the yummy cream sauce on top and it was so good! My husband, 12 year old, and 11 year old couldn’t stop commenting how good it was.
I can’t wait to make this again and try it as a sandwich or taco.
Thanks for sharing!!
I’m assuming you have to thaw the salmon filets first, right? You can’t do this from frozen? Going to try tonight and I’m so excited!
This recipe was amazing!
So glad you liked it!
If I were to make this for 1, how would you alter the rub? AND because I’m tracking macros, would you even track the rub? Maybe just the brown sugar?
I realize you probably don’t need this response now that I’m so late! But I would just sprinkle a little of each thing on there… OR, I’d make the whole batch and keep it in a container to have on hand for next time. And yeah I would just track a few grams of brown sugar! no biggie. so little