Crispy Salmon with Mango Salsa

This pan fried slightly blackened Salmon with Mango Salsa is the perfect blend of delicious savoury fish with a punchy sweet chilli, soy and lemon glaze along side juicy sweet mango avocado salsa on a bed of rice.  On the table in under 20 minutes this is sure to become a weeknight favourite you'll come back to even in winter.

Recipe Highlights

• Its light, fresh and zesty and can be made low carb (suggestions below)
• On the table in under 20 minutes and under 500 calories
• Sweet, fruity and a little spicy the avocado mango salsa goes with everything
• A super simple sweet and spicy 3 ingredient glaze that will get your tastebuds dancing
• Use fresh or frozen salmon and cook it either on the stove, grill or air fryer
• Lots of variations on how to add different flavours to the salmon
• This is perfect to use as a taco filling or basis as a taco bowl for a healthy weeknight dinner

For a slightly different twist, check out my Asian Glazed Salmon with Pineapple Salsa. or this Thai Sweet Chili Salmon. Both have the same fresh zesty summer vibes and are full of flavour.

Ingredients

Whilst I pan seared this salmon in a skillet on the stove, you could also cook it on the grill, or in the air fryer, then add it to a pan on the stove to glaze it.  Or alternatively brush the glaze over it whilst you're cooking the salmon on the grill or in the air fryer to get a nice crust and the oh so delicious blackened crust on the outside.

Cooking salmon is super quick and some of my faves are Salmon Noodles, Salmon Burrito Bowls, and nothing beats a vege packed Salmon Stirfry.

Ingredient Notes

• Salmon:  fresh or frozen, skin on or skin off, its really a matter of preference.  The key is to make sure to pat dry the moisture from the salmon to achieve a crispy, slightly crusty coating on the outside.
• Mango:  you'll need 1 whole mango for this recipe.  If you want it more "Mango-ey", buy a large mango, or two small/medium ones.
• Avocado:  I usually use 1 medium avocado chopped into cubes and I like to use the smooth skinned ones that have a slightly more nutty flavour as they don't drown.  The rough skinned avocadoes tend to have a creamier flesh but can be prone to getting brown spots if left out in the open for to long.
• Dill:  Dill provides a nice earthiness to the salsa and you can use as much or as little as you like.  Alternatively you could substitute with mint or coriander/cilantro, or use a combination of both
• Light Sweet Chilli Sauce:  I buy the light version from Coles in Australia and it has a fraction of the sugar compared to regular sweet chilli sauce.  Sometimes I also make my own homemade version of sugar free sweet chilli sauce.  Either way, it forms the basis of my 3 ingredient marinade/glaze/sauce.

How To Make

1. Make Salsa: Add all the salsa ingredients into a large bowl, stir with a spoon, cover and set aside.

2. Prepare Dressing: Add dressing ingredients into a bowl and whisk together. Set Aside.
3. Cook Salmon: heat a heavy based non stick pan on high heat. Season salmon with salt and pepper on one side. Add salmon flat side down and cook for 2 - 3 minutes on one side until golden and crispy. Turn onto other side and cook for a couple of minutes until golden. If salmon is cooked to your liking at this point, remove from heat. If you want golden and crispy on all four sides, turn salmon onto its side and cook for a minute each side. Remove and set aside.

4. Heat the sauce: Once salmon is removed from pan, add sauce ingredients on high heat stirring continuously with a spatula, moving around the pan. As you do this, it will begin to thicken slightly. Once the desired consistency has been reached, remove from heat. Add salmon back into the pan (off the heat) and coat with sauce.

5. Divide and Serve: brown rice evenly between two wide and round bowls. Place a serve of salmon onto each bowl over the rice. Drizzle any remaining sauce over salmon. Add salsa on top of salmon or to the side.

Variations

• Tacos:  Using mini tortillas light heated in a skillet on the stove or in the microwave, then add pieces of salmon, salsa on top and a drizzle of leftover glaze or a squeeze of lime
• Salmon Bowls:  Add your base (white rice, brown rice, noodles, lettuce, black beans, lentils, sweet potato)  pop the salmon on top, and spoon over the salsa letting it cascade down the sides.  Finally adding a drizzle of sweet chilli and lime
• Teriyaki:  Instead of the 3 ingredient glaze, quickly whip up a healthy teriyaki marinade for your salmon.  The saltiness really works with the sweet mango. Check out my Healthy Teriyaki Salmon Bowl Recipe for more inspiration.
• Smoky BBQ Glaze: smokey, savoury, crispy, crunchy and a little bit salty and sweet, this my Smokey BBQ sauce is perfect for brushing on before and during cooking and even heated and drizzled on to serve.
• BBQ/Cajun Rub:  an alternative to glazes is to use a rub over the salmon.  You may need to use a tiny bit of oil to prevent sticking is using a rub.  A rub also creates a nice crusty outside whilst keeping the inside perfectly tender.  Another winner that pairs well with a zesty mango salsa.

Recipe tips

• Ripe Mangos:  You'll need ripe mangoes for the salsa.  Green or hard mangoes won't really work as they will lack the sweetness that is needed to complement the other flavours.  If you can't find ripe mango, swap it out for tinned mango, but do make sure to drain and pat dry the juices before chopping it up.  Refrigerating it before chopping might also help.
• Avocadoes:  Sweet creamy avocados add such a textural element to the salsa, and using avocado that is hard or has a lot of brown bits isn't ideal.  It's a good ideal to buy the smooth skinned avocados if you can as they tend to be more reliable in terms of ripeness and they don't go brown when you cut them like the rough skinned ones.
• Frozen Salmon:  If using frozen salmon, make sure to defrost first before cooking.  The easiest way is to put it into the fridge and let it defrost overnight.  Pat dry any moisture with paper towel/kitchen towel before cooking as this will ensure it crisps up on the outside.
• Salmon with skin on:  If using skin on salmon, cook skin side down first and make sure the salmon is as dry as possible to begin with and you've patted dry all moisture so they skin can become crispy.
• Chilli: I love the hit of chilli in the mango avocado salsa and it works so well with the juicy mango and silkiness of the avocado.  Whilst fresh chilli is great, using red chilli flakes would also have a similar effect.

How To Make It Low Carb

• Swap regular rice for cauliflower rice
• Instead of rice use zucchini noodles lightly blanched
• Serve on a bed of butterbeans or lentils
• Loose the rice and bulk up the salsa with blackbeans and corn

Creating  crispy flavour packed blackened salmon with a zesty mango avocado salsa is not just for summer.  It's a dish I love to eat year round because its easy to make low carb, takes under 20 minutes to make and goes pretty well with a little mango chutney on the side too!

Love Salmon? Check out my Lemon Garlic Salmon and Potato Bake for something different!

Healthy Crispy Salmon with Mango Salsa

Kim MorrisKim

This pan fried slightly blackened Salmon with Mango Salsa is the perfect blend of delicious savoury fish with a punchy sweet chilli, soy and lemon glaze along side juicy sweet mango avocado salsa on a bed of rice. 

5 from 1 vote

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Course Dinner

Servings 2 people

Calories 464 kcal

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Ingredients

 

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Salmon

• ▢ 2 pieces Skinless Salmon portions
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Sea Salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Ground black pepper

Salsa

• ▢ 1 large Fresh Mango - (chopped into cubes)
• ▢ 1 large Fresh and Ripe Avocado - (chopped into cubes)
• ▢ 1 medium Red Onion - (finely diced)
• ▢ 1 medium Lebanese Cucumber - diced
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Dill - finely chopped
• ▢ 1 medium Long red chilli - seeds removed and finely diced (optional)

Sauce

• ▢ ¼ cup Light/Reduced Sugar Sweet Chilli Sauce
• ▢ ¼ cup Soy Sauce
• ▢ ¼ cup Lime juice

Other

• ▢ 2 cups Cooked Brown Rice

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Instructions

 

• Make Salsa: Add all the salsa ingredients into a large bowl, stir with a spoon, cover and set aside.
• Prepare Dressing: Add dressing ingredients into a bowl and whisk together. Set Aside.
• Cook Salmon: heat a heavy based non stick pan on high heat. Season salmon with salt and pepper on one side. Add salmon flat side down and cook for 2 - 3 minutes on one side until golden and crispy. Turn onto other side and cook for a couple of minutes until golden. If salmon is cooked to your liking at this point, remove from heat. If you want golden and crispy on all four sides, turn salmon onto its side and cook for a minute each side. Remove and set aside.
• Heat the sauce: Once salmon is removed from pan, add sauce ingredients on high heat stirring continuously with a spatula, moving around the pan. As you do this, it will begin to thicken slightly. Once the desired consistency has been reached, remove from heat. Add salmon back into the pan (off the heat) and coat with sauce.
• Serve: Divide brown rice evenly between two wide and round bowls. Place a serve of salmon onto each bowl over the rice. Drizzle any remaining sauce over salmon. Add salsa on top of salmon or to the side.

Notes

• Salmon: fresh or frozen, skin on or skin off, its really a matter of preference.  The key is to make sure to pat dry the moisture from the salmon to achieve a crispy, slightly crusty coating on the outside.
• Mango: you'll need 1 whole mango for this recipe.  If you want it more "Mango-ey", buy a large mango, or two small/medium ones.
• Avocado: I usually use 1 medium avocado chopped into cubes and I like to use the smooth skinned ones that have a slightly more nutty flavour as they don't drown.  The rough skinned avocadoes tend to have a creamier flesh but can be prone to getting brown spots if left out in the open for to long.
• Dill: Dill provides a nice earthiness to the salsa and you can use as much or as little as you like.  Alternatively you could substitute with mint or coriander/cilantro, or use a combination of both
• Light Sweet Chilli Sauce: I buy the light version from Coles in Australia and it has a fraction of the sugar compared to regular sweet chilli sauce.  Sometimes I also make my own homemade version of sugar free sweet chilli sauce.  Either way, it forms the basis of my 3 ingredient marinade/glaze/sauce.

Nutrition

Calories: 464kcalCarbohydrates: 67gProtein: 40gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 3gFiber: 10gSugar: 3g

Note: Sugars contained in this recipe are from naturally occurring sugars in fruits, vegetables or other natural sweeteners. Calories have been calculated for your convenience using My Fitness Pal and are based on the ingredients listed in the recipe card.

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