Food Ingredients Seafood 16 Bright, Simple Salads with Seafood By Food & Wine Editors Food & Wine Editors This is collaborative content from Food & Wine's team of experts, including staff, recipe developers, chefs, and contributors. Many of our galleries curate recipes or guides from a variety of sources which we credit throughout the content and at each link. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on August 25, 2022 Trending Videos Close this video player Photo: Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Missie Crawford Our favorite seafood salads run the gamut of flavors. Whether you're craving something earthy like squid and black-eyed pea salad, hearty like warm shrimp tossed with kamut and tarragon, or refreshing like spinach and smoked salmon dressed with lemon and dill, these easy seafood salad recipes make lovely, simple meals. Choose your favorite based on your mood and the season. 01 of 16 "Caesared" Salmon Salad Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell In this creative salad, Caesar dressing gets spread on the salmon before grilling, creating a rich crust that keeps the fish succulent while picking up delicious smoky flavor from the grill. For a perfect wine pairing, Master Sommelier Andy Myers says to reach for a bottle of Roero. Get the Recipe 02 of 16 Smoked Mackerel Salad with Crunchy Vegetables © Tina Rupp This sweet-salty salad from Danish chef and food writer Trina Hahnemann gets its crunch from tart green apple, radishes, and cucumber. She calls for mackerel in this recipe, but feel free to swap it out for any smoked fish, such as herring or salmon. Get the Recipe 03 of 16 Insalata di Pesce Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Master Sommelier Pavle Milic gave us the inspiration for this seafood salad, which pairs beautifully with white wines. Quickly poaching the mixed seafood gently cooks each piece to perfect doneness for tender, flaky bites. Choose a favorite olive oil here; its flavor permeates the whole dish and adds a savory vegetal flavor. Get the Recipe 04 of 16 Spinach and Smoked Salmon Salad with Lemon-Dill Dressing CHRISTINA HOLMES This salad is refreshingly crunchy, thanks to English cucumbers and radishes. It makes for an excellent spring lunch or a super quick dinner. Get the Recipe 05 of 16 Sorghum and Albacore Tuna Salad with Preserved Lemon Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell Sorghum adds a pleasantly chewy bite to this simple salad from Roxana Jullapat, co-owner and baker of Los Angeles restaurant Friends & Family. Preserved lemon is a popular North African condiment made by pickling the fruit in salt and its own juice. The bracing lemony flavor provides a salty kick to this olive-, onion-, and fresh herb–laden tuna salad. Get the Recipe 06 of 16 Shrimp Salad with Green Curry Dressing © CON POULOS Green curry paste is the secret ingredient in this bright and simple shrimp salad recipe from F&W Culinary Director at Large Justin Chapple. A sprinkle of roasted peanuts on top provides added crunch. Get the Recipe 07 of 16 Crab Louie © Petrina Tinslay "Crab Louie is not a salad course," says Lingua Franca Wines founder Larry Stone. "It's an entire meal." This recipe features a satiating mix of crab, egg, asparagus, and romaine, which all get tied together with a dressing that's reminiscent of an amplified tartar sauce. Get the Recipe 08 of 16 Warm Shrimp Salad with Kamut, Red Chile, and Tarragon © Johnny Valiant Kamut is an heirloom variety of wheat with a sweet, almost buttery flavor. In this recipe, it's the perfect foundation for lightly spiced shrimp, haricots verts, and sautéed shallot. Get the Recipe 09 of 16 Squid and Black-Eyed Pea Salad © DAVID TSAY "Whenever you go to Spain, you always have beans," says chef Gerald Hirigoyen. "And squid is everywhere in Basque country, where I grew up, and in California, too." Hirigoyen combines earthy black-eyed peas (which are a kind of bean) and quickly boiled squid with red wine vinegar and fresh herbs to create a bright-flavored, satisfying first-course salad. Get the Recipe 10 of 16 White Anchovy and Crisp Pita Bread Salad © QUENTIN BACON Large pieces of toasted pita stay delightfully crunchy in this bread salad laced with white anchovies and topped with a garlicky sour cream dressing. Effervescent Cava pairs wonderfully here. Get the Recipe 11 of 16 Warm Cod Salad with Tarragon Sauce and Boiled Eggs Photograph by William Hereford / Prop styling by Olga Grigorenko Eggs and cod are a time-honored marriage of textures and tastes. The starting point for this dish was the grand aioli of Provence, which features a robust aioli with crudités and cod. When you serve this, be sure to flake the cod a little so the sauce can flavor as much of the fish as possible. Get the Recipe 12 of 16 Spinach and Shrimp Salad with Chile Dressing This dish's warm chile dressing is made from sautéed onion, fresh chile and ginger, cumin seeds, turmeric, and lemon juice. Its unique flavor is a beautiful complement to the spinach and shrimp. Get the Recipe 13 of 16 Salmon Niçoise Salad Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Missie Crawford Tender salmon, briny olives, crisp-tender green beans, and satisfying potatoes all soak up the zippy, perfectly balanced dressing in this variation on a classic tuna Niçoise. Don't skip the anchovy garnish — it provides pops of umami saltiness that take this salad over the top. Get the Recipe 14 of 16 King Crab Salad with Grapefruit and Avocado © Fredrika Stjärne This lovely seafood salad was an improvisation. "I made it with what I had in the house," Italian winemaker Piero Incisa della Rocchetta recalls. "Scarcity breeds creativity." He uses grapefruit juice both to glaze the crab and to make the sweet-tangy salad dressing. Get the Recipe 15 of 16 Lemony Shrimp Salad © Tina Rupp Chef Richard Reddington tosses butter lettuce and shrimp in a lemony vinaigrette, then tops it with a second salad of romaine, tomato, avocado, and bacon in a Caesar dressing. This hybrid recipe combines the best elements of both salads to create one amazing dish. Get the Recipe 16 of 16 Octopus Salad Chris Middleton and Ino Kuvačić This is one of the most popular dishes served in restaurants and konobe (traditional Croatian eateries) along the Adriatic coast. It's the perfect light and fresh start to a meal, especially on a warm summer day. There are hundreds of variations and every family treasures their own special recipe. It's fairly easy to prepare and, when you become confident in making it, you can add your own personal touch — adding some capers, salad leaves, or even olives. Get the Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit