This Chili Lime Salmon is full of flavor and so easy to make. All it takes is a few spices, some lime, a little oil, and you’ve got yourself a delicious salmon to eat in any way your heart desires! You can use this Chili Lime Salmon for salads, tacos, serve with rice and veggies, the possibilities are seriously endless. The best part is that it makes great leftovers to switch it up the next day.
I love making Chili Lime Salmon for meal prep. It is quick to make and the leftovers reheat well. Sometimes I will take it to work to have with a salad or as a taco bowl. My favorite bowl consists of greens, bell peppers, red onions, black beans, brown rice, and salmon. Top with a squeeze of lime and a little salsa and it’s the most flavorful and satisfying meal! Another wonderful thing about this recipe is the fact that you can use the same ingredients for chicken instead of salmon. My husband is a little crazy, (love ya!), and he doesn’t like seafood so anytime I make this for dinner I just use a chicken breast for him and he loves it. I am not kidding when I tell you it is so full of flavor and so versatile.
Ingredients for Chili Lime Salmon 
Seasoned salmon ready to cook
Lets talk about what you need. This delicious Chili Lime Salmon only requires a few spices, most of which you probably always have on hand:
Chili Powder
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Paprika
Cayenne (optional)
Lime juice and zest
This all makes for the most perfect blend of flavors, a hint of spice, a little tartness and acidity from lime.
Next time you don’t know what you want to make for dinner or you want something easy to meal prep for the week, give this a try. Working full time I have to make sure I have lunches ready for the week and this is definitely one of my go-to for meal prepping or even batch cooking. If you’re not familiar with batch cooking it is just that, cooking things in batches to have ready for the week. For this particular recipe I batch cook the salmon and have it ready to add to my salads or bowls for work but also have it ready to make tacos or serve with rice for dinner. As I mentioned before, it reheats well and is absolutely delicious cold. Don’t forget that extra squeeze of lime juice, it definitely kicks it up a notch! It’s so easy to make and will soon be your go-to during the work week or make an appearance in your weekly rotation!
Chili Lime Salmon
Ingredients
- 2 lb salmon
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tbsp garlic powder
- ½ tbsp onion powder
- ½ tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- ¼-½ tsp cayenne pepper optional for extra spice
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 large lime
Instructions
- Place large pan over medium heat and add oil.
- Mix all spices including salt and zest of lime. Cut lime in half and squeeze one half of lime juice over salmon. Season salmon, both sides, with spice and lime zest mixture and press onto salmon to get a good layer on.
- Place seasoned salmon skin side down in pan and cook for 3 minutes, longer time if salmon is thick. Flip and cook for another 3-4 minutes until preferred doneness. Squeeze the rest of the lime juice onto salmon before serving.
- Serve with desired sides such as rice and veggies.
Hi! I’ve had many of recipes and love them! I know this one won’t disappoint!
What are your thoughts about putting this on the grill? If you think it’s doable, would you still grill both sides or would a cedar plank be better to use?
Hi Heide,
Thank you so much! I would recommend making sure the salmon has plenty of oil. There is oil in the marinade/seasoning but drizzle a little more on top. I have not tried grilling it but I would probably just grill it skin side down and close the grill to cook it through. Other option I would try is a grill basket if you have one or just grilling it on a piece of foil if you want to grill both sides. Cedar plank is also a good option. Let me know if you try it out! -Jessica
Joshua says
Thank you for this amazing recipe. I cubed the salmon, mixed it with avocado oil and the lime juice then mixed in the seasoning. Air fried it at 400 for 8 minutes and used it for tacos with a slaw. This is going in the rotation.
Thanks for giving this a try! I am so glad you enjoyed it, and I love this air fryer version for some tacos. Sounds delish!