Everything But the Bagel Salmon with Cucumber Yogurt Salad
Rich in omega-3s, this crispy salmon and fresh cucumber yogurt salad make a delicious, high protein, hormone-friendly meal in 25 minutes.
Get ready to fall in love with this recipe! It’s like a high-vibe version of bagel and lox paired with a souped-up deli salad. The salmon is coated in Everything Bagel seasoning (have you tried it yet?! if not, you’re missing out!)—we made sure to share links to some brands below. It’s a blend of sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dried garlic and onion, and sea salt flakes, giving the salmon a crunchy texture and can’t-stop-thinking-about-it flavor.
The cucumber and edamame salad adds a nutrient-packed, hunger-crushing combo that makes this meal both delicious and filling (and no, we didn’t use ChatGPT to write this haha). This is our honest description of the recipe! Yes, we actually said hunger-crushing combo, you’re welcome!
Salmon is a nutritional powerhouse, especially for women in their 40s and 50s. It’s packed with omega-3s and protein—key nutrients for midlife. Plus, salmon is a great source of B vitamins and especially B12. If you've been thinking, "I used to have so much more energy—what happened?", B12 is your friend. Also, as we age over 50, our bodies naturally absorb less B12 due to reduced stomach acid, but it’s crucial for energy.
For women navigating hormonal shifts (hello! have we met? 👋🏼), omega-3s, protein, and B vitamins are essential for boosting energy, curbing cravings, and supporting weight loss. So, if you’ve found yourself thinking, “My cravings are out of control!” or “How can I be hungry again so soon?” or “How do I get rid of this belly fat?!”, this recipe is exactly what you need—make it stat!
While salmon alone might not solve everything you're up against (that mountain of laundry, driving your kids to a million places, your partner's mood swings 😉), recipes like this will help you feel incredible. It's a no brainer for any health-conscious woman who wants to feel better in her body, even when life feels like a circus. This 25-minute recipe makes it easy—and it's one you'll definitely want on repeat. Because, let's face it, your to-do list isn’t getting any shorter, but at least you can feel great while you tackle it!
Here’s the recipe including the option to download a PDF copy you can easily print if you want:
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Everything But the Bagel Salmon with Cucumber Yogurt Salad
By Carly Knowles, MS, RDN, LD & Carmen Shah, INHC - Registered Dietitian & Nutritionist team
We hear it all the time from our patients and clients: "Just tell me what to eat to lose weight and get my energy back, so I can finally feel good in my body again!"Well, this recipe is it. You’ve heard it before—food is medicine—and this dish nails it. Omega-3-rich salmon, coated in a crunchy blend of nutrient-packed seeds, pairs perfectly with fresh cucumber and avocado, with high-protein and fiber-fueled edamame. It’s a simple, delicious meal with the right ingredients to support your hormones, energy, and overall wellness in midlife. Plus, it’s easy to make, satisfying, and one you’ll definitely come back to.
Serves: 4 | Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes
INGREDIENTS
Avocado oil spray
4 (1/4 lb) wild salmon filets, skin-on or off
3 tablespoons Everything Bagel seasoning
Kosher salt
2 English cucumbers, sliced thin
1 (10 oz) bag frozen shelled edamame, thawed
1/2 small red onion, sliced thin
1/4 cup 2% Greek yogurt, plain and unsweetened
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 avocados, halved and sliced
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a sheet pan with a few sprays of avocado oil and set aside. On a plate, add the Everything Bagel seasoning in a thin even layer. Pat each piece of salmon dry with a paper towel and press into the seasoning to form a crust (on all skinless sides). Place the seasoned salmon on the prepared pan skin side down if using skin-on salmon. *If your Everything Bagel seasoning is unsalted, season the salmon with kosher salt before adding the seasoning.
Bake for 10-12 minutes depending on the thickness of the filet or until the internal temperature reaches 125 degrees or your preferred doneness.
For the cucumber salad, combine the cucumber, edamame, onion, yogurt, lemon juice, dill, salt and pepper in a large bowl and toss gently. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.
Serve the salmon with the cucumber salad and 1/2 an avocado per serving, and enjoy!
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452 calories | 41 g protein | 9 g fiber | 18 g carbs | 24 g fat
Avocado oil: You could really use any cooking oil in this recipe. Extra virgin olive oil would be a sufficient swap.
Salmon: This recipe is flexible. Don’t have salmon? Don’t like salmon? Any firm white fish like halibut or cod would work. Just keep in mind that you’ll need to adjust the cooking time (likely down) especially if using a thinner fish or cut if swapping the salmon out. Also, fresh or frozen and thawed fish work well. Just make sure to pat your fish as dry as possible before coating it in the seasoning.
Everything Bagel seasoning: We used the Trader Joe’s brand, but we’ve also used Costco’s version as well as Mountain Rose Herbs’ version (a super duper high-vibe option!). The most important thing to note about this seasoning, regardless of the brand, is to pay attention to whether or not it contains salt. If your version does not, then you need to salt your salmon, ideally before adding the Everything Bagel seasoning. If yours does contain salt, then give the seasoning a quick taste beforehand to see if it’s really salty or just kind of salty, and consider seasoning your salmon with additional salt if needed.
Frozen shelled edamame: You can use frozen or fresh edamame in this recipe. We use frozen shelled edamame to save time and avoid the extra work of shelling the edamame ourselves. A quick thaw in the microwave or under hot water does the trick. Trader Joe’s sells ready-to-eat edamame (not frozen) that you can use for an even quicker option, but it comes salted. In general, make note of whether or not your frozen or fresh options are salted or not, and ideally, you get unsalted, plain, shelled edamame so you have more control of the seasoning.
Slicing your cucumbers and onion: We use a mandoline for slicing both the cucumbers and onion in this recipe, and highly recommend you do the same to save yourself time. Also, whenever using raw onion in a recipe (any recipe, not just this one), we recommend going as thin as possible to minimize that sometimes over-powering, strong flavor.
I don’t like eating raw onions! Fair. That punchy, spicy raw onion flavor is not for everyone. You have options. You can thinly slice your red onion and then soak the slices in cold water for 10 ish minutes while you prepare the rest of the recipe, and then drain them and add them to the salad at the end for a milder onion flavor. Or, you can omit them entirely. Chopped green onions would work well as a substitute with a more mild flavor and so do fresh chives.
Greek yogurt: You can easily swap out the yogurt for a plain dairy-free, plant-based version. Also, you could omit it entirely and add another quality fat source like a glug of EVOO. Your nutrition numbers will change if you try either of these swaps, mostly the fat and carbs, and thus the calorie content, so if knowing that info matters to you, then run your numbers through a nutrition tracking app like Cronometer.
Avocado: We like serving the avocado slices on the side so you get a piece with every bite of salmon—yum, health fats! But you could also chop up the avocado and add it to the cucumber salad before serving—that would taste great too!
Batch cook the salmon! This is a PERFECT recipe for batching! Batch prepping or batch cooking whenever possible, especially your protein source, is a key to working smarter, not harder in the kitchen. The Everything Bagel seasoned salmon in this recipe is the perfect protein to do that with. Whenever we make this recipe, we prepare double the salmon (2 lbs instead of 1 lb), season it and bake it, per the recipe instructions, and then use half for that meal (1 lb) and refrigerate the other half (1 lb), already cooked, for later. The crunchy seeded Everything Bagel seasoning keeps the salmon flavorful (and not too fishy) as a leftover, and it works really well for the second meal, chunked up as a simple salmon salad.
Need a quick ‘n easy lunch plan? Make a salmon salad using the leftover, batched salmon: In a mixing bowl, add the salmon and a spoonful or two of mayo or plain Greek yogurt, and literally that could be it. Of course, you could add more veggies (like chopped celery, onion, and/or bell peppers) to the salmon salad if you want! Either way, you’ll have salmon salad ready-to-go, on hand to serve on a bed of leafy greens or in a whole wheat wrap, or to scoop up with cucumber slices or bell pepper boats, seeded crackers, or small pieces of roasted seaweed for a quick and easy lunch. You could even turn the salmon salad surplus into another substantial dinner bowl served with steamed rice, a fresh salad with a bottled miso dressing, and roasted seaweed. Or you could make a riff on Nori hand rolls by layering salmon salad, julienned carrots and cucumbers, and avocado slices all together, rolled up in roasted nori seaweed. Yes please! Can you tell we’re inspired?!
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Did you catch last week’s recipe for Gochujang Pork & Kimchi Bowls? If not, you’ll want to check it out. It’s a recipe for Korean-inspired bowls layered with spicy-sweet gochujang ground pork over white rice with tangy kimchi slaw. It's a quick, high-protein meal that's perfect for nourishing weeknight dinners.
This recipe is AMAZING! Made it last night and pulled off fancy chef status in under 30 minutes. Everything but the bagel seasoning on salmon... genius . Definitely adding this one to the regular rotation for busy evenings. You weren’t kidding about the “hunger-crushing combo.” 👏👏 Keep the magic coming Carly and Carmen!