Healthy Barbecue Salmon Caesar Salad (Dairy Free)
This meal size salad features healthy homemade versions of not one, but two, of your favorite summertime sauces! Homemade barbecue sauce with clean ingredients and sweetened with manuka honey, plus a dairy free homemade Caesar dressing. Don’t be intimidated, this recipe is actually super easy to make. Perfect for the rising temps!
Did you guys know May is National Barbecue Month? I’m celebrating with this easy, healthy and delicious barbecue salmon. With the slowly rising temperatures in Boston, I can’t wait to spend time outdoors with friends and grill up all my favorite seasonal foods. My favorite simple summertime meal is grilled salmon with a yummy sauce, grilled vegetables and a side salad. Caesar salad just screams summer to me, so this was the perfect pairing for barbecue salmon.
Most store-bought barbecue sauces contain preservatives, food additives and excess added sugar. One of the leading brands has high fructose corn syrup listed as the first ingredient, followed by four other types of sugar in the ingredient list, totaling 16 g of sugar in a 2 tbsp serving. This barbecue sauce recipe contains less sugar and real, whole food ingredients that taste good and will make you feel good.
Manuka Honey Benefits
Pacific Resources International (PRI) makes an amazing manuka honey that I used in this barbecue sauce recipe. Manuka honey differs from regular honey because it contains methylglyoxal, giving it much higher and more effective antibacterial properties. The FDA has even approved many manuka honey containing products as effective for wound healing. When taken orally, manuka honey’s antibacterial properties may promote good oral health and help soothe a sore throat. The methylglyoxal also withstands higher temperatures, up to 150 degrees F, than regular honey, so the antibacterial properties are not destroyed at lower temperatures like regular honey. Pacific Resources International sources high quality manuka honey from New Zealand and Australia. They work directly with the beekeepers and cool process their products to retain all the natural properties of the raw honey.
New Zealand Sea Salt
I also used PRI Fine Sea Salt from New Zealand in this recipe. Recent research has revealed that sea salt from our oceans is contaminated with microplastics. Horrifying, I know! Sea Salt from New Zealand has largely been protected from this contamination as it is sourced from very clean waters. Some of PRI’s sea salts are BioGro certified in New Zealand, which means the salt is rigorously tested for pollutants and contaminants before hitting the shelves.
The manuka honey is stirred into this barbecue sauce once it has cooled to preserve its antibacterial properties. This sauce is so easy to make – just combine everything in a saucepan and stir! The dairy free Caesar salad dressing is just as easy. Combine a few simple ingredients in a blender, and you are rewarded with a super creamy, tangy and authentic Caesar dressing. Topped with barbecue salmon and crunchy croutons, this balanced meal is packed with satisfying summer flavor.
Healthy Barbecue Salmon Caesar Salad (Dairy Free)
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Main Dishes
Description
Two homemade sauces are super simple to whip up – healthy BBQ sauce and dairy free Caesar dressing! Served with seared salmon, this meal sized salad is perfect for summertime.
Ingredients
- 4 salmon filets
- Salt
- Pepper
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 heads romaine lettuce, chopped
- 2 cups croutons
Homemade Barbecue Sauce
- ½ cup tomato paste
- 1/3 cup apple sauce
- ½ cup water
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce or tamari
- 1 tbsp honey mustard
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp cumin
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tbsp molasses
- 2 tbsp Pacific Resources International manuka honey
Dairy Free Homemade Caesar Dressing
- ¾ cup cashews, soaked in hot water for 10 minutes up to overnight
- ½ cup water
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce or tamari
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Season salmon with lemon juice, salt and pepper.
- Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet on medium heat. Add salmon filets, skin side up, to the skillet. Cook for 3-5 minutes until salmon starts to brown, then move into the oven to finish cooking for 6-10 minutes.
- While salmon is in the oven, prepare barbecue sauce. Combine all ingredients except manuka honey in a medium saucepan on medium heat, stirring until everything is combined. Remove from heat, then stir in manuka honey.
- To prepare the dressing, add all ingredients to a high powered blender or food processor and blend on high until creamy.
- Remove salmon from oven and flip to skin side down. Brush a generous serving of barbecue sauce over each filet.
- Toss chopped romaine with Caesar dressing and distribute evenly into 4 large salad bowls. Top each bowl with croutons and a salmon filet.
Keywords: homemade barbecue sauce, healthy barbecue sauce, salmon, homemade caesar dressing, dairy free caesar dressing
If you love this recipe, you may also like
- Buffalo Cauliflower Lettuce Wraps
- Shrimp Tacos with Spicy No-Mayo Slaw and Guacamole
- Sweet and Spicy Cauliflower
Thank you Pacific Resources International for sponsoring this blog post! I’m grateful to partner with brands I love to cook with, and all opinions are my own.
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