Description
This healthy baked salmon recipe makes for a quick and easy weeknight dinner. Oven baked salmon is moist and flakey, served bowl-style with quinoa and a medley of Mediterranean roasted veggies including eggplant, zucchini, bell pepper, and tomatoes. Top it off with creamy homemade feta dill sauce! Ready to enjoy in 45 minutes.
Ingredients
Scale
Salmon Quinoa Bowls
- 1 small – medium sized eggplant, diced into 1 inch chunks
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped into large chunks
- 1 medium sized zucchini, diced into 1 inch chunks
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 3 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- Salt
- Pepper
- 1 1/2 – 2 pounds salmon, fresh
- Juice of half a lemon
- 1 lemon, thinly sliced
- 1 cup dried quinoa
- 2/3 cup plain Greek yogurt, preferably 2% or 4% milkfat
- 1/2 cup fresh dill
- heaping 1/2 cup block feta cheese, crumbled by hand
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- Juice of half a lemon
- 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1/2 tbsp honey
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/4 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup cold water
Instructions
- PREP: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line an aluminum baking sheet with parchment paper. Line a 9×13 glass casserole dish with parchment paper.
- Place the chopped eggplant, bell pepper zucchini, and cherry tomatoes on the parchment paper lined baking sheet. Season with 2 1/2 tbsp olive oil, dried oregano, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper.
- Use your hands to toss the vegetables in the oil and seasonings. Spread them out in a single layer.
- Roast the vegetables in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until they are fork tender. Zucchini, eggplant, and bell pepper will have lightly browned, and cherry tomatoes will be wrinkly and some will have burst.
- Put the salmon on a plate and season with lemon juice, the remaining 1/2 tbsp olive oil, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper.
- Transfer the salmon to the lined casserole dish, skin side down. Place lemon slices on top of the salmon.
- Bake salmon in the oven for 20-30 minutes. Cook time is determined by the thickness of the fish – thicker fish will take a bit longer to cook. Salmon is done cooking when it flakes easily and the flesh is opaque.
- While the salmon and vegetables are in the oven, prepare the quinoa on the stovetop according to package instructions.
- Make the feta dill sauce: add all of the ingredients, except the water, to a food processor fitted with an S-blade.
- Blend until everything is well mixed, with a few small chunks throughout.
- Add the water, 1/4 cup at a time, and blend it into the sauce to thin it out a bit. Use less water for a thicker sauce, and more for a thinner sauce similar to a salad dressing.
- Assemble the bowls: add quinoa to a bowl and top with a few scoops of roasted vegetables and a piece of salmon. Spoon a few dollops (or more!) of the sauce onto each bowl. Enjoy right away while warm.
Notes
Ingredient substitution suggestions
- You could use a different whole grain as a substitute for quinoa, such as farro or brown rice. You may need to alter the cooking time based on what grain you use.
- Don’t love one of the vegetables in this dish? Swap it out for another you enjoy! If you don’t like eggplant, for example, swap it out for an extra zucchini or summer squash.
- Try it with a different sauce. This recipe would taste great with my popular Greek yogurt salad dressing, lemon tahini sauce, chimichurri sauce, or tzatziki sauce.
Storage
Store each component in separate airtight containers in the fridge for up to 3 days.
When you’re ready to reheat, assemble the bowls without the sauce and microwave for 1-2 minutes until warmed through. Then add the sauce after it has been reheated.
Keywords: salmon quinoa bowls, salmon and quinoa bowls, mediterranean bowls, healthy baked salmon recipe, healthy dinner recipes