Salmon with Pineapple Bacon Salsa

Pineapple. Bacon. Salsa. Not sure what could be better. Oh, I know! Let’s put it on a lovely broiled Salmon! OMG Good!

Growing up in a big family in the Midwest, to us, salmon came in a can. We thought of it as much like tuna (also only in a can), but pink. Our Mom never cooked it. Not once. On top of that sad state of affairs, the word from Mom was that Dad did not like fish. To be fair, he grew up in Kansas, so fresh fish was usually not on the menu.

So, on that rare occasion we could eat fish sticks or our beloved canned tuna, we rejoiced! We were completely and blissfully ignorant that real (fresh) salmon was truly one of the most beautiful, tasty (and healthy!) foods on earth. And, for proof that even Dad had, by that time, overcome his anti-fish sentiments, see this recipe he requested for a special birthday.

Now that I live in the Pacific Northwest, I love to try new ways to cook salmon. When it is in season, it’s nothing short of spectacular! We cannot get enough! We like to grill it or roast in the oven, but, most recently I’ve been broiling on the low-broil setting in my oven and it has been awesome, as it gets a bit crispy on top while maintaining its juicy tenderness! This method has been perfect for cooking it Medium to Medium-Rare, the sweet spot for this lovely fish.

This Salmon with Pineapple Bacon Salsa recipe was inspired by a meal I had at a fantastic restaurant in town called Salare. One of the things we ordered was an appetizer of fried okra which was accompanied by a relish of tangy-sweet, juicy pineapple and salty, smoky bacon. What a total flavor BOMB that was! It inspired me to prepare this salsa with fresh pineapple and bacon. Placed atop salmon (or anything else for that matter), it is divine! It even rated a “This is good!” from the family. I don’t know about you, but my table, that’s high praise, for sure.

This dish is super-easy to prepare, too! The salsa is just chopped pineapple, bacon, sweet and spicy peppers, onion and parsley. Squeeze a little lime juice and refrigerate to let the flavors improve as time goes by. For the salmon, just 5 minutes in the broiler (or maybe 7 to bake), then top with the salsa and broil a minute or 2 more and dinner is served!  Enjoy!

If you’re looking for other seafood recipes, don’t miss these favorites:

Quick Swordfish with Oregano Caper Sauce 

Grilled Vegetable Nicoise with Salmon

Shrimp Burgers

North Carolina Fish Stew

Za’atar Orange Salmon

Salmon with Pineapple Bacon Salsa Recipe Details ->

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Affiliate, I may earn a small commission, at no cost to you, for purchases you may make of items linked from this site.

This is a recipe I’ve been making for years. I had posted it a few years ago, when my blog was just a baby, but it didn’t get a lot of views. It’s so delicious, I decided I’d post it again. I changed the recipe only slightly, and took new pics. Here is my favorite of the old pics – what do you think?

This recipe is super-easy. The most important thing is you have a nice chef’s knife, because there’s a lot of chopping necessary. I know, it’s an investment, but for me, I’d rather not have to replace it anytime soon, so I’d spring for the good one. 

Anyway, first you’ll want to cook your bacon. I like this recipe with thick-cut bacon, just for all that smoky flavor. I like to cook it in the oven because it always ends up (relatively) flat, perfectly crispy, and really low mess. I just line it up atop a baking/cooling rack, which I’ve set into a foil-lined sheet pan. (This one is my favorite!) When cooked at 400F, thick-cut bacon cooks to crispy in about 15 minutes and thin cut in about 12-13 minutes.

While it cooks, chop up the pineapple, peppers and onions, all into small pieces. You want each to be of uniform size, and the smaller, the better. I cut mine aiming for about 1/4″ cubes, with the bacon in tiny strips, about 1/4″ wide.

When you’re choosing a green pepper, if you want to add a lot of spice, you’ll likely want a Serrano or jalapeno. And, you may want to limit what you add to 1 Tbsp. However, if you don’t want so much spice, choose a larger pepper like Anaheim or Poblano. I used Poblano, and added about 4 Tbsp, or 1/4 cup.

For the herb addition, if you don’t like, or don’t have parsley, feel free to use Cilantro. 

And, for the acidic note, I used lime juice, which I really like with the pineapple and the bacon. But you could use a vinegar. I’ve used Apple Cider Vinegar, but rice vinegar or white balsamic would be good as well.

And, if you can, make the salsa early in the day. The flavor that develops as it all melds together is awesome! 

• 

• 

• 

• 

PIN Pineapple-Bacon Relish Recipe for later ->

• 

• 

• 

Print