Every part of this recipe is delicious on its own. However, the combination of the sweet and spicy chipotle salmon to the fresh citrus avocado salsa, to the creamy cilantro yogurt sauce elevates this dish to absolute perfection! I was inspired to make this recipe after seeing Ambitious Kitchen’s Chipotle Lime Salmon Taco recipe, but decided to make my own twist that was less messy to eat (and good for meal prep), lower carb, less spicy (used less jalapeño in every part of the dish than recommended), and in season (it’s currently winter, so I used citrus instead)! Will definitely be making this dish again, it’s filling, flavorful, and a delight in every bite!

Chipotle Salmon with Citrus Avocado Salsa and Cilantro Yogurt Sauce (makes 4 servings)

Ingredients

For the salmon:

• 1 lb of salmon, cut into 4 servings
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp lime zest
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• 1.5 tbsp brown sugar (or coconut sugar)
• 1/2 tsp Trader Joe’s chipotle lime seasoning
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 3/4 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 garlic clove (minced)
• fresh ground black pepper

For the Cilantro Yogurt Sauce:

• 1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro (only the leaves)
• 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt (I like fage 2%)
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• 1 tsp coconut sugar (or sub sugar of your choice)
• 1/2 jalapeño (keep seeds if you want it spicy), reserve other half of jalapeño for the citrus avocado salsa and for topping
• 1/4 tsp salt
• freshly ground black pepper

For the Citrus Avocado Salsa:

• 1 ripe, but slightly firm large avocado, diced
• Citrus of choice (I used 2 seedless clementines chopped into bite sized pieces)
• 3/4 cup kernels of corn (I used frozen roasted corn from Trader Joe’s that I cooked on the stovetop)
• 2 tbsp finely diced red onion
• 1/4 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
• 1 tbsp finely diced cilantro
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 400F and line baking sheet in parchment paper. Start making the salmon marinade by whisking together salmon ingredients and then place salmon in the marinade. When oven reaches 400F, add the salmon to the baking sheet and cook in oven for 20 min.
2. While waiting for the salmon to cook, start making the cilantro yogurt sauce. Do so by combining all ingredients in a blender or food processor.
3. Make the citrus avocado salsa: place all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix to combine.
4. When the salmon is ready, top it with the citrus avocado salsa, a drizzle of the cilantro yogurt sauce, and some thinly sliced pieces of the left over 1/4 jalapeño. Enjoy!

If you’ve got leftover cilantro yogurt sauce, check out ideas you can use it for from the original recipe from Ambitious Kitchen! If you liked this recipe, please write a comment, and tag me in pics of your creations on insta @ahavabite