This Bacon-Wrapped Salmon recipe is Whole30 compliant and served with cauliflower rice and an avocado dressing for a complete meal! The salmon is seared to perfection then baked in the oven, creating a crispy yet flaky salmon.
Who doesn’t love bacon-wrapped salmon? Certainly, you don’t have to be doing Whole30 to love it—it’s simply a tasty meal that combines two of the best foods!
I’ve come to enjoy salmon more than ever these days; Miguel and I try to eat it about once a week. I like to buy wild-caught packaged salmon because it tends to be more affordable than the salmon behind the counter.
Since we’re constantly eat it, I've been trying to come up with new ways to prepare it. Two of my favorite ways are baked, like in this garlic salmon and pan-fried, like in this quinoa-crusted salmon.
This bacon-wrapped salmon recipe combines both of those methods to create a salmon fillet that's crispy on the outside and flaky on the inside (plus, the bacon only adds to the amazing texture!).
Ingredients
- Bacon: if you're doing Whole30, make sure you find compliant bacon. This means bacon with ZERO sugar!
- Salmon: preferably wild-caught
- Cauliflower rice: You can make your own cauliflower rice, or you can buy pre-made cauliflower rice (my preferred method). You can usually find cauliflower rice in the refrigerated section with the rest of the produce, or in the frozen vegetable aisle
Method
First: Wrap each piece of salmon with 1 slice of bacon.
Second: Place salmon directly into your oven-safe skillet (I used my cast iron), then sear the salmon for 2 minutes per side. You don't want the cook the salmon all the way through; you just want it to be crispy on the outside.
Third: Place the whole skillet in the oven and bake the salmon for 10-15 minutes. The cook time varies depending on the thickness of your salmon.
Last: Make the avocado dressing by placing all of the ingredients into a blender or food processor and blending until smooth (I used my NutriBullet).
Tips
- After wrapping the salmon with bacon, be sure to place the side with the ends of the bacon down in the skillet first. That way, the bacon will stick to the salmon and not fall apart.
- You'll know the salmon is done when it's easy to flake with a fork.
What should I serve this with?
The easiest thing is cauliflower rice; if you're not doing Whole30, regular white or brown rice would be delicious.
Alternatively, you could make the salmon without the dressing and instead serve it with air fryer carrots, skillet roasted potatoes or with a side of almond pesto.
More Whole30 dinner recipes
If you made this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!
Bacon-Wrapped Salmon with Avocado Dressing
Ingredients
for the meal:
- 2 salmon fillets
- 2 slices bacon
- 1 1/2 cups cauliflower rice or more
- Spoonful of avocado dressing see below
- 1 avocado sliced for serving, optional
for the dressing:
- 1 avocado
- 1/4 cup cilantro
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- Pinch of salt
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°.
- Drizzle a little oil into an oven-proof skillet (I used my cast iron). Wrap each salmon fillet with a slice of bacon, then place the salmon into your skillet.
- Sear the salmon for 2 minutes on each side, then place the entire skillet into the oven and cook salmon for 10-15 minutes.
- While salmon is cooking, prepare the cauliflower rice according to the package instructions.
- Last, make the dressing by combining the ingredients in your food processor or blender and pulsing until smooth.
- Serve salmon over cauliflower, then drizzle it with the avocado dressing.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
UPDATE NOTE: This post was originally published in January 2019. It was updated with new text and photos in November 2020.
MaryBeth says
I really want to try this recipe but I do not like cilantro at all.....any suggestions for I could use to replace it in the dressing?
Erin says
You could replace it with either fresh parsley or basil! I'd try that, and then add more lime juice as needed.
Kelly Williams says
OMG! We made this and the whole family inhaled it. My husband and son (who have no intention of doing low carb) all loved it. The sauce is absolutely amazing!!! I will be making this again many times. Thank you!
Erin says
That's great! I always love when the whole family ends up liking a recipe 🙂 thanks for the comment!
Rachel says
I wanted to like this, but found it boring. My family asked why I didn’t season the salmon.
Erin says
Sorry to hear that -- you could definitely season the salmon with salt and pepper before adding the bacon. And I recommend making the sauce to go with it, which adds a ton of flavor.
Kyra Rodriguez says
Wow, I this recipe looks so yummmmmy! I love everything with salmon. Thanks for sharing!!!
Alicia @Bridges Through Life says
I'm not much of a fish person but I was intrigued by this recipe so I sent it to my fiancé and he got the ingredients and cooked it up. I have to say the sauce was am amazing addition. I don't think I could eat salmon by itself, but with that avocado sauce, it was so good.
Erin says
Yesssss!! The avocado sauce is key. Thanks for the comment Alicia 🙂