About Canned Salmon…
The 14oz. can of salmon I bought was $3.99 and when you consider the fact that wild caught fresh salmon will probably be at least double that per pound, I think it’s a pretty great deal! It wasn’t too pretty when I first opened the can and it wasn’t exactly pink, but once I broke it up into pieces and removed the skin, it was visually on par with canned tuna. Nothing to look at, but still quite delicious. My particular salmon came “with skin and bones”, so I just scraped off the skin (but you can eat it if you want) and removed any large bones. Most of the bones were hair thin and quite soft (probably gelatinized by the canning process) and were therefor quite edible. Full of dietary calcium, even!Can I Substitute the Kale?
Yes, you can make this salad with Romaine or even spinach, if you’d like, just keep in mind that neither will hold up to refrigeration as well as the kale.What Kind of Dressing Should I Use?
I used a creamy Caesar dressing for this salad (Girard’s to be exact). You can use a non-creamy caesar dressing, if you prefer, but I find that a creamy version pairs better with this salad.Can I Use a Different Pasta Shape?
Yes, you can use any small or short-shaped pasta, like orzo, penne, or orecchiette. Or, you can skip the pasta and add homemade croutons in its place.
Kale & Salmon Caesar Salad
Kale & Salmon Caesar Salad is a fast, filling, and delicious way to use budget friendly canned salmon.
Servings 4Ingredients
- 8 oz bowtie pasta ($0.75)
- 6 oz chopped kale* ($1.50)
- 14 oz can wild caught salmon ($3.99)
- 2 large hard boiled eggs (optional) ($0.54)
- 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan ($0.96)
- 1/2 cup (or to taste) creamy Caesar dressing ($1.16)
Instructions
- Cook the bowtie pasta according to the package directions, then drain in a colander.
- Meanwhile, roughly chop the kale into small pieces, removing any large pieces of stem. Place the chopped kale in a bowl. Once the pasta is drained, add it to the kale and stir to let the residual heat slightly wilt the kale.
- Drain the canned salmon and remove the skin and bones (if included), breaking the meat into bite-sized chunks as you go. Peel and dice the hard boiled eggs.
- Add the salmon chunks, diced hard boiled eggs, and shredded Parmesan to the kale and pasta. Drizzle with Caesar dressing, then toss to coat everything in the dressing. Divide into four portions for meal-sized salads, or six smaller side-salad servings.
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Notes
*I used pre-washed and chopped kale that came in a bag, then chopped it further into smaller pieces.
Nutrition
Serving: 1ServingCalories: 609.08kcalCarbohydrates: 49.3gProtein: 36.23gFat: 28.88gSodium: 1034.83mgFiber: 3.5g
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How to Make Kale and Salmon Caesar Salad – Step by Step Photos
Start by cooking 8oz. bowtie pasta according to the package directions. While the pasta is cooking, prepare the kale. I bought a 12oz. bag of kale today because the whole bunches were a little on the expensive side and this one bag for $2.99 is roughly the same as one and half bunches, plus it’s already chopped and stems removed! :D I used half of this bag, or about 6 ounces.
Because I was leaving my kale raw, I wanted even smaller pieces to make it easy to chew and digest. So, I chopped it up a bit more and pulled out any random pieces of stems that got left behind.
Once the pasta is drained, add it to a large bowl with the chopped kale. Stir it up and allow the residual heat from the pasta to soften the kale just a touch.
Peel and dice two hard boiled eggs.
This is the canned salmon that I used. I was happy to be able to find wild caught canned salmon. Honestly, it wasn’t pretty when I opened the can and you should be thankful I didn’t take a photo of that part…
But once I scraped off the dark skin, removed any large bones, and broke it into chunks, it pretty much just looked like tuna. Not very pink, but it still tasted great! This 14oz. can of salmon actually yielded quite a bit of meat, so next time I might go for the smaller can and use one more egg to make the salad even less expensive. Gotta tweak those ratios sometimes.
I really wanted shredded Parmesan for this salad instead of grated, although grated will work if that’s what you have. I find the shredded to be a bit more potent in flavor and it makes a striking visual presence on the salad. Finding shredded Parm with the bagged cheese was a great because it was about half the price of the shredded Parmesan at the cheese counter. So, be sure to check both places.
Now it’s time to build the salad. If you’re doing it all in one large bowl, just add the diced eggs, salmon pieces, and 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan to the pasta and kale.
Finally, add some creamy Caesar dressing (I used about 1/2 cup for the entire salad) and stir to coat in the dressing.
Now EAT! And be happy.
Kale & Salmon Caesar Salad – FANCY!
I made this as a cold dish last night using cavatappi pasta (a curly penne) and romaine lettuce, and it was sooooo good! I think this will become a regular summer meal for us. I didn’t put in boiled eggs, not a favorite in my family, and I did add in capers.
A friend of mine who makes pasta salad always stirs a little pickle juice into her cooked pasta while it’s draining and still warm, so I tried that using caper brine and it boosted the pasta’s flavor nicely for this salad. I chilled the pasta before adding it to the romaine
I made the Caesar salad dressing using a mayonnaise base and anchovy paste and diluted my EV olive oil, which has a strong flavor, by cutting it with peanut oil. It worked out nicely.
This made four generous portions. Easy prep, great nutrition, the price is right, and the family’s fed. Thanks for an excellent recipe!
Delicious! Simple, wallet-friendly weeknight meal!
Is there any chance anyone knows how to improve the taste of canned fish in general? I’ve tried different kinds and they all have that universal ‘canned’ taste that’s off-putting. I’m trying to cook fish more but canned is what’s mostly available for me atm and I can’t get over the flavor as of rn.
I cannot rate this recipe, as I didn’t make it. I intended to make it but my greens were so tough that I couldn’t imagine we could eat them raw. I threw them in with the pasta for the last three minutes, and then drained the whole mess in a colander. I mixed it with the canned salmon, dressed it with the creamy Caesar dressing and asked my husband to grate cheese over it. It was good! In fact, I wish I hadn’t told my husband about the change of plans, as I am not sure he would have guessed anything went awry. I will make it as a salad in the future, though, as I now have a whole bunch of creamy Caesar dressing.
I finally made this recipe as written, and it was delicious! I dressed the chopped kale with half of the Caesar dressing, then mixed the pasta and salmon with the other half. I added a tablespoon of capers, too. A great weekday lunch.
Substituted fresh spinach instead of kale – yummy!
I made this recipe for dinner and everyone loved it! I did have a few changes that were made. I used fresh salmon because that’s what I had rather than canned salmon (although I do love canned salmon as well) I used my scale to weigh it to the amount listed in the recipe, baked in the oven with lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper as the seasonings. When it was done cooking I just followed the instructions as described to mix the canned salmon.
Another alteration I made was adding canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans) – which I drained and added at the end. I also added a few chopped black olives, drained from the can.
This was delicious. My husband enjoyed it very much, I sent some to my mother-in-law and she also said it was a hit.
Thanks for this recipe! It will be added to our rotation!
Canned salmon is a staple in my kitchen. I use it for croquets, pasta dishes and will substitute it in my salmon chowder when i cant get wild caught fresh. This recipe is a keeper. It kept well overnight which means its also a great option when I need to bring a dish. The only thing I did different was sprinkle a few capers on top before serving. The pop of flavor from the capers really pulled everything together. Tonight I’m making the sesame glazed salmon and green beans. I cant wait to try it!