Meal prepping is one of the quickest and easiest ways to eat healthy meals during a week. You could find yourself asking a few questions about what food you can prep, though. One of the more notable of these is, can you meal prep salmon?
You’ll already know salmon is a healthy addition to any meal, but can you actually prep it the way you do other foods? To put it bluntly, you can in certain circumstances.
Since there’s more to it than that, it’s worth digging a little deeper into the what’s and why’s. You’ll get started on your meal prep with salmon before you know it. Let’s dive into everything you need to know, and even dig through a few ideas for salmon meal preps.
The Benefits of Including Salmon in Meal Prep
Salmon is one of the more versatile meats you can cook with, and you can put it into almost any dish. There’s still that question lingering, though. Can you meal prep salmon? Yes, you can, and it shouldn’t even be too difficult to do.
Instead, it’s relatively simple, and you might want to take a similar approach to the one you would with other meats and ingredients. It’s worth considering why you should start to meal prep with salmon.
There are more than a few reasons for this, like the meat’s versatility and taste. As it turns out, there are multiple benefits you could see by using salmon meal preps. It has a large impact on your health.
Some of the more notable health benefits it offers include:
- Promoting Heart Health – Salmon is packed full of omega-3 fatty acids and potassium, both of which are great for your heart health. This is seen in several ways, including lower cholesterol levels and reducing the chances of heart attacks and strokes. It’s worth working into your diet purely because of that.
- Supporting Bone Health – Your bones need various nutrients to stay healthy, with calcium and vitamin D being the most notable of these. Salmon is an excellent source of both of these, so meals that include salmon support your bone health. You’ll be less likely to have brittle bones and similar issues by getting at least two portions of salmon a week.
- Misc. Health Benefits – Salmon helps with more than a few other health issues, thanks to its abundance of omega-3 fatty acids. You’ll have a lower risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, your cells will function better, your joints will work better, and you’ll be in a better mood. These can all be great reasons to meal prep with salmon.
So, can you meal prep with salmon? Yes, and there are quite a few reasons why it’s worth considering. You can fit it into any diet, and you’ll see quite a few benefits because of it.
Then there’s the fact it can be worked into almost any type of diet. From keto to the Mediterranean diet, you shouldn’t have a problem working it into your meals. With the right salmon prep meals, it’ll end up being a lot tastier than you’d think.
That doesn’t mean it’s always a matter of prepping it the same way you do other foods. Instead, it could need its own approach, especially if you don’t want it to spoil. It’s worth diving into a few best practices to help you with it.
Thankfully, they’re relatively simple and there shouldn’t be any problems getting through them.
Best Practices for Meal Prepping with Salmon
Like many other meats, you’ll need to treat salmon with care. That’s the case no matter whether you’re meal prepping with salmon or not. You’ll have to make sure it’s prepared and cooked properly.
Thankfully, this shouldn’t involve much extra effort. Instead, it’s a matter of following a few best practices, and you shouldn’t have anything to worry about. You could’ve thought of several of these already anyway, but it’s easy to overlook a few of them.
Some of the more notable best practices for when you meal prep with salmon include:
- Try Flash-Freezing – You’ll naturally need to store your salmon for a little while when you’re meal prepping. The fridge is often the best place for this, but that doesn’t mean you should shy away from flash-freezing. It’ll make sure your salmon lasts longer, and it should retain most of the taste. You shouldn’t have to compromise on quality with them.
- Thaw Responsibly – If you’ll be freezing your salmon off as part of your meal prepping, make sure you thaw it out properly later on. The best way of doing this is to leave it in your fridge overnight. By the time you need it the following day, it should be ready to go. Don’t leave it out at room temperature, as this could lead to bacteria growing.
- Use Some Heat – When you’re cooking your salmon, do it at as high of a heat as possible. While this means cooking it faster, it’ll also mean the salmon retains most of its moisture. Since it could dry out slightly when you’re storing it, it’s worth saving as much of this moisture as possible. You’ll have a tastier dish because of it.
- Spend Time On Seasonings – You can season your salmon quite a few ways, and it’s worth spending a little bit of time figuring it out. Since this drastically affects how the salmon tastes, it’s worth making sure you season it in a way you’ll love. Feel free to experiment with this, but start off with a low amount of seasoning before adding more.
With those in mind, you shouldn’t have anything to worry about when you meal prep with salmon. One of the more overlooked of these is to have an idea of what meal you want to make before you start prepping.
Some ideas for salmon meal preps wouldn’t go amiss, so it’s worth diving into a few of these.
Salmon Meal Prep Recipes
There are quite a few salmon meal prep recipes you can try, most of which can be easy to make. It’s worth diving into five of these, as they’ll be quick and easy to prep, while also being tasty once you eventually have them.
1. Salmon Cobb Salad
Taking only a few minutes to make, you’ll just need your avocado, corn, olive oil, and a few other ingredients. Grill your salmon before adding it to the salad, and you’re done.
2. Salmon Taco Bowl
Bake your salmon with a mix of paprika, garlic powder, cumin, cayenne, chili powder, and coconut sugar. Add some Spanish rice and other taco favorites, and you have a great dish.
3. Salmon Avocado Bowl
Alongside the salmon, this bowl only needs garlic powder, soy sauce, ginger powder, honey, chili garlic paste, and white pepper. Marinate your salmon in these before topping with avocado and cucumber.
4. Sheet Pan Teriyaki Salmon
Carrots, green beans, green onions, carrots, and brussel sprouts are all that’s needed for this salmon meal prep. Quick and easy to make, you’ll just have to cook this on a sheet. It needs almost no effort.
5. Hoisin Glazed Salmon
All you’ll need for this recipe is some lime, honey, soy sauce, ginger, and hoisin sauce. Simply glaze your salmon in these, and you’ll be good to go. You can cook this almost any way you want.
You can find quite a few other ideas for salmon meal preps online and in various other places. It’s worth spending some time trying them.
Making Your Salmon Meal Prep Last
You’ll need to store your salmon for a while between when you prep it and when you actually eat it. As mentioned above, the fridge can be the best place for this, but you can also use the freezer. That doesn’t mean just tossing the salmon in and leaving it at that.
If you want to keep the salmon moist and tasty, you’ll need to go about it a certain way.
When putting it in the fridge, either put it in an airtight glass container or wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or butcher paper. You should only leave it this way for a day or two before it goes off.
If you want your salmon meal prep to last in the freezer, then you should wrap it as tightly as possible in a plastic wrap before putting it in a resealable freezer bag. Get as much air as possible out of this bag to prevent freezer burn.
Stored this way, the salmon could last up to three months, but it mightn’t taste as fresh if you leave it that long. It’s best to put the date on the bags if you plan on storing it in a freezer for a while.
Final Thoughts
So, can you meal prep salmon? Yes, but you’ll need to be aware of a few things. It’ll only last a certain amount of time before spoiling, for example. You mightn’t want to leave it too long, or you’ll have wasted your time with it.
With the benefits it offers, there’s no reason not to meal prep with salmon. It’s not only a great part of a delicious meal, but it has a positive impact on your health.
Then there’s the fact that a few ideas for salmon meal preps are quick and easy to make. Despite that, they’ll be incredibly tasty. You’ll have a few mouth-watering recipes on-hand, no matter what your preferences are.