Grilled Salmon with Lemon-Dijon Herb Sauce & Summer Sides!
Updated: Oct 12
Real food. Real cooking. Human tested. 🍋
When life gives you lemons, make something delicious!
Gluten-Free • High-Protein • Summer Dinner • Grilling • Seafood • Mediterranean-Inspired
Jump to:
Full Recipe • Fish • Herb Sauce • Salad • Corn & Green Beans
The Story Behind the Recipe
I love salmon. I’ve been cooking some variations of grilled salmon fillets for years. It’s easy, and when you have dinner guests, almost everyone likes it—unless they’re allergic to fish, lol!
My favorite is wild king salmon, but I almost never buy it anymore because lately I’ve seen it for nearly $35 per pound, and my budget just doesn’t allow for that. So, it’s Costco steelhead tonight! It’s rich, buttery, and delicious.
My husband and I will happily eat the leftover fillets for dinner or lunch the next day. My son, not so much. But he does love it for dinner.
When my son was really little, around four, I would serve him a salmon fillet skin-side down, and he would promptly flip it over and eat the skin first. My husband’s and my jaws would just drop. He has since grown out of this habit. I like to think his body knew there was some nutrient in there that he needed and he was rising to the occasion. 😂
Anyway, if you like crispy fish skin, this one is for you!
The inspiration for this meal came from a handful of leftover strawberries from the farmers market, a HUGE container of pre-washed baby spinach from Costco, and the idea of fresh corn on the cob.
So I used frozen corn that had been sitting in my freezer for FOREVER, and I was pleasantly surprised by how well it turned out.
This is what I ended up with: buttery grilled steelhead, a bright lemon-Dijon herb sauce, charred corn and garlicky green beans, plus a strawberry-spinach salad with chèvre.
Recipe & Menu
Lemon-Garlic Grilled Steelhead with Lemon-Dijon Herb Sauce
Charred Corn & Lemon-Garlic Green Beans
Strawberry-Spinach Salad with Chèvre and Balsamic-Dijon Vinaigrette
Strawberry-Spinach Salad with Chèvre
Ingredients
2 cups packed fresh spinach
4 medium strawberries, quartered
¼ cup Trader Joe’s chopped roasted salted pecans
3 tablespoons chèvre, crumbled
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar — I like Costco’s
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon honey or maple syrup, optional
Small pinch of salt
Black pepper, to taste
Directions
Add the spinach, strawberries, and chopped roasted pecans to a bowl.
Make the vinaigrette: Whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon, salt, and black pepper. If the strawberries are tart or your balsamic is particularly sharp, add ½ teaspoon honey or maple syrup.
Toss the salad gently with just enough vinaigrette to lightly coat the spinach.
Crumble the chèvre over the top after tossing. Adding it last keeps it creamy and distinct instead of disappearing into the dressing.
Serve immediately.
My tip: I made double the vinaigrette so I would have some left for lunch the next day.
Lemon-Garlic Grilled Steelhead
This makes about 5 fillets—or more if you prefer smaller portions.
Ingredients
1½ lb steelhead fillet, skin on, cut into equal-size portions
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon olive oil
Directions
Season: Mix together the garlic powder, salt, black pepper, smoked paprika, and brown sugar. Lightly coat the fish with olive oil, then season the flesh side thoroughly.
Grill: Preheat the grill to medium-high and oil the grates. Place the steelhead skin-side down and grill with the lid closed until nearly cooked through. Flip briefly to finish.
Remove when cooked to your preferred doneness.
I personally like steelhead around 125–130°F because it stays very moist. For food-safety guidance, the USDA recommends cooking fin fish to an internal temperature of 145°F.
Another clue that the fish is getting close: you may start to see a little white liquid coming out of the sides. That’s albumin—a protein that gets pushed out as the fish cooks. Sounds a little yucky, but it’s true!
A Note About the Fish
I wouldn’t use sockeye for this particular recipe if you’re looking for that rich, buttery texture. Sockeye is much leaner than steelhead and can dry out more easily on the grill.
Salmon absolutely works here, though. A fattier salmon such as king or Atlantic-style farmed salmon will be closest in texture to steelhead.
Lemon-Dijon Herb Sauce
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 small garlic clove, finely grated
Salt and black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil, parsley, or dill
Directions
Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon, grated garlic, salt, and black pepper. Stir in the fresh herbs.
I used 1 tablespoon of fresh basil from my garden.
Spoon the sauce over the grilled steelhead just before serving.
Optional: Add a little lemon zest for extra brightness and serve with a lemon wedge.
I like keeping this sauce savory rather than sweet because it balances the sweetness of the strawberry salad.
Charred Corn & Lemon-Garlic Green Beans
Ingredients
1 heaping cup frozen corn
½ lb fresh green beans, trimmed
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1–2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon Aleppo pepper, optional
Directions
Green beans: Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the green beans and sauté until crisp-tender and lightly blistered, about 6–9 minutes. Add the garlic during the last minute so it doesn’t burn.
Corn: In a separate hot skillet, melt the butter and add the corn straight from frozen. Let it sit undisturbed for a couple of minutes at a time so it develops browned, charred spots.
Finish: Toss the corn and green beans together. I added about ½ teaspoon Aleppo pepper for a little kick.
Easy Cooking Order
Prep the salad ingredients, vinaigrette, and lemon-Dijon sauce.
Trim the green beans and season the steelhead.
Start the green beans and corn. Keep them warm over low heat when finished.
Grill the steelhead.
Toss the salad right before serving and spoon the sauce over the fish at the table.
Leftovers
This made enough for three of us for dinner, with two fillets left for lunch the next day.
It was not enough salad to have leftovers. If you want salad for lunch the following day, I would double the salad recipe but only dress half of it.
Store the extra spinach and strawberries separately from the dressing, nuts, and chèvre. Toss everything together right before eating so the salad stays fresh.
What I Thought
The flavors blended really nicely. The steelhead was moist and buttery—just make sure you don’t overcook it!
The strawberry salad gave the meal some sweetness and acidity, while the lemon-Dijon sauce tied everything together.
The frozen corn was probably my biggest surprise. It had been sitting in my freezer forever, but getting some char on it made it taste so much better than I expected.
And as a bonus, this is a relatively lower-carb dinner without feeling like you’re eating “low-carb food.”
Pantry Swaps & Substitutions
Steelhead: Salmon works beautifully here. King salmon would be especially rich and buttery. If you use a leaner fish such as sockeye, watch it closely so it doesn’t dry out.
Corn: Fresh corn cut from the cob would work perfectly. Honestly, though, if you have really amazing corn on the cob, I might just serve it on the cob and save the frozen corn for this!
Green beans: Broccolini, asparagus, or zucchini would all work well. You can also leave out either the corn or green beans and simply make a larger portion of the other.
Spinach: Baby lettuce, arugula, or a spring mix would all be easy swaps. Arugula would add a little more peppery bite.
Strawberries: Fresh peaches or nectarines would be a great substitute when they’re in season. They’d still give you that sweet, juicy contrast with the chèvre and balsamic, and they pair really well with grilled steelhead.
Chèvre: Feta would work if that’s what you have. It will be saltier and less creamy, so taste the dressing before adding much additional salt.
Pecans: Walnuts, almonds, pistachios, or pine nuts would all work. If you use unsalted nuts, you may want an extra pinch of salt in the salad.
Fresh herbs: Basil, parsley, and dill all work with the lemon-Dijon sauce. Dill will give it the most classic seafood flavor, while basil makes it feel a little more summery.
