Easy Mackerel Salad Recipe from Spain

The best part about Spanish mackerel recipes is that you can enjoy them all year round, and if they come with a great amount of fresh vegetables, you have yourself the best recipe for warm days.

The mackerel salad recipe is one of the most beloved Spanish recipes, and we know that once you try it, it will become your new favorite one too.

Keep scrolling down this article to learn how to prepare mackerel salad, with some must-read tips on how to store and serve this dish.

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Pssst…!!?? You can’t get enough of Spanish fish recipes? Have a look at my other posts: 

• Grilled mackerel recipe

• Spanish baked mackerel recipe

• Salted mackerel recipe

Background of the Dish

There isn’t an exact date for the creation of this amazing mackerel salad recipe, but it’s been centuries since people in Southern Spain started mixing fresh vegetables with all sorts of seafood ingredients.

How to make mackerel for this salad recipe is super simple too, as you can bake the fish, grill it, or cook it on the stove; the most important thing about this dish is the vegetable mix and dressing.

For this mackerel salad recipe, you use the classic Spanish dressing to add a nice kick of olive oil, and fresh vegetables like lettuce, arugula, and cherry tomatoes.

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Things You’ll Need for Mackerel Salad Recipe

To make this mackerel salad recipe, you need mixed greens, olive oil, lemon juice, potatoes, eggs, and cooked mackerel.

The best way to cook Spanish mackerel is baked, grilled, or pan-fried, but you can even use canned mackerel for this recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 mackerel filets (smoked or grilled), skin removed and flaked
• 4 cups (150gr-200gr) mixed greens (e.g., baby spinach, arugula, and lettuce)
• 1/2 red onion
• 1 red bell pepper
• 5 potatoes
• 1/4 cup (40gr) cherry tomatoes
• 1/4 cup (30gr) green olives (pitted)
• 2 eggs
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice (or vinegar)
• Salt and pepper (to taste)
• Fresh chopped dill or parsley (optional, for garnish)

How to Make Mackerel Salad Recipe – Step by Step Guide

1. The first step in this mackerel salad recipe is to wash, peel, and cut the potatoes into bite-sized squares. Boil them until tender (for about 25 minutes). Also, boil the eggs for 12 minutes. Set them aside to cool.

2. Now, peel and chop the onion into julienne style. Cut the bell pepper in the same way and discard the seeds. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half.

3. After that, rinse the green mix under cold water, and then dry it. Chop the cold eggs into quarters.

4. Then using a large salad bowl, combine the mixed greens, red onion, red bell pepper, potatoes, cherry tomatoes, olives, and boiled eggs. Gently fold the flaked Spanish mackerel fillet into the salad.

5. To prepare the mackerel salad dressing, grab a separate small bowl and whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper until well combined.

6. For the next step in this mackerel salad recipe, drizzle the dressing over the salad ingredients. Gently toss the salad to evenly coat it with the dressing.

7. The Spanish mackerel filet recipe is now ready to be served. You can top the mackerel salad with extra hard-boiled egg pieces, or fresh chopped herbs such as dill and parsley.

Substitution of Ingredients

One of the reasons why we love mackerel salad recipes so much is that you can customize the vegetables to your personal preference.

For example, you can prepare this smoked mackerel recipe with any mixed greens of your choice, or just stick to the classic iceberg or romaine lettuce.

The potatoes and hard-boiled eggs make this mackerel salad recipe more filling, but you could remove them from the recipe.

When it comes to the Spanish mackerel fish you can use grilled, baked, or canned fish filets for this recipe.

You could also prepare a pan-fried mackerel recipe, flake it, and use it on this recipe for a smoked mackerel salad recipe.

To stay on the healthy mackerel recipes side, we recommend sticking to the dressing as described here, but you could add more ingredients such as a few tablespoons of mayonnaise, garlic, a teaspoon of Dijon mustard, etc.

Tips on Serving Mackerel Salad Recipe

There’s no denying that mackerel salad is a delicious and healthy meal option. However, to ensure that you serve the best mackerel salad recipe, there are a few tips you should keep in mind.

We truly believe that this is the best mackerel recipe because you can serve it as a main dish, as an appetizer, as a side, or even as tapas, it is completely up to you.

If you want to use this smoked mackerel salad recipe as the main dish we recommend adding some bread croutons or having some toasted bread to go with your salad.

To use it as an appetizer just serve smaller salad dishes with mackerel on the top.

For more Andalusian appetizers feel free to check other warm or cold smoked mackerel recipes such as the Spanish mackerel sushi, the mackerel patty recipe, and the mackerel pate recipe.

How to Store Mackerel Salad Recipe

Once you add the dressing to this mackerel salad recipe, you can only store the salad for up to 12 hours.

If you want to store this fresh Spanish mackerel salad for longer, the only thing you can do is prepare the cooked ingredients ahead (eggs, potatoes, and mackerel) and store those for up to 2 days in the fridge.

As well as most of the smoked mackerel salad recipes, we strongly encourage you to eat it as fresh as you can, as that is the way to enjoy this Spanish style mackerel salad better.

If you are looking for a dish that you can freeze, then you should check out other easy mackerel recipes, such as the Spanish fried fish and the mackerel pasta recipe.

Recipe Card: Mackerel Salad Recipe

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