Weekday dinners are chaos in my house. It’s always an adventure to see exactly how many times I can get up during the meal to get just one more thing for my kids – milk, bread, ranch, ketchup, a completely different meal …
I don’t have a lot of time to cook after work, and a lot of my work night meals are prepped on the weekend and reheated before eating. It’s not ideal but you gotta do what you gotta do. On Prime Day last year, I took the plunge on the allegedly magical Instant Pot to see if it could truly revolutionize dinnertime. I was looking for ways to eliminate convenient but unhealthy processed foods and eat more whole foods without extensive prep or cooking.
The Instant Pot makes eating healthier exponentially easier because it cuts down on cooking time. But I wasn’t truly sold until I realized it could cook meat and fish from frozen. I’m not always the best planner, and there have been many times that I actually have time to cook dinner – but my protein is still frozen. The Instant Pot takes care of that problem, and you can have fully-cooked-from-frozen salmon on your table in under a half hour.
I also use my Instant Pot every single week for making the best hard-boiled eggs – the only way I can easily peel them – and shredded chicken breast for lunch salads. Because you can also saute and slow-cook in addition to pressure cook, I’ve reduced my household appliances by saying goodbye to my crockpot. (I have never been a big fan of mushy crockpot meals anyway.)
If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can still make this delicious Taco Tuesday recipe by broiling, baking, or grilling your salmon. Any method works. Trader Joe’s chili-lime season is the center of this recipe. This seasoning blend is a little bit spicy, a little bit tangy, and a little bit salty – the perfect complement for salmon. The creamy yogurt-based crema brings the whole recipe together – like a lighter, Mexican-inspired tarter sauce.
This taco bowl recipe is clean, healthy, packed with veggies, and low in carbs. If you are dairy-free, sub almond yogurt for Greek yogurt and you have a Paleo, Whole 30 compliant dinner ready in 20 minutes.
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Chili-Lime Salmon Taco Bowl
Low-Carb | Clean Eating | Dairy-Free Option | Veggie Packed
Ingredients
Chili-Lime Salmon Taco Bowl
- 1 cup riced cauliflower (rice your own in the food processor or buy already riced fresh or frozen)
- 1/2 tsp Trader Joe's Chili-Lime Seasoning Blend (divided)
- 3 mini bell peppers, julienned (any color)
- 10 grape tomatoes, quartered
- 2 Tbsp red onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup Bush's Black Beans Seasoned Recipe (if using Seasoned Recipe, do not rinse or drain; if using plain black beans, rinse and drain before using)
- 4 oz salmon filet (frozen or defrosted)
- 1/2 avocado, diced
- Squeeze of lime juice
Cilantro-Lime Crema
- 1 Tbsp nonfat Greek yogurt (sub almond yogurt for dairy-free option)
- 1/2 tsp lime juice
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp cilantro paste (or 1/2 tsp finely chopped fresh cilantro)
- 1/4 tsp fine Himalayan sea salt (to taste)
Instructions
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Sprinkle salmon filet with ¼ tsp Trader Joe’s chili-lime season and a squeeze of lime juice.
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Fill Instant Pot with 1 cup of water and arrange metal trivet at bottom. Place the seasoned salmon filet onto the trivet.
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Close Instant Pot and change the valve to Sealing.
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Hit the Manual button to cook on High Pressure for 4 minutes for frozen filet. (If salmon is thawed, reduce time to 3 minutes.)
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When pressure cooking is complete, immediately turn off Instant Pot and Quick Release the pressure.
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While salmon is cooking in Instant Pot, cook 1 cup of cauliflower rice on stovetop (spray pan lightly with olive oil spray), or microwaved until hot and softened.
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Sprinkle ¼ tsp Trader Joe’s chili-lime seasoning over riced cauliflower and stir to combine.
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Thinly slice mini bell papers and chop tomatoes and onion. Sprinkle atop rice, reserving a few pieces of each to top bowl.
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Heat black beans on the stovetop until hot.
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Top bowl with ½ cup black beans.
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Place cooked salmon filet on top.
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Garnish with remaining peppers, tomato, and diced avocado.
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In small bowl, mix together yogurt, lime juice, cumin, cilantro, and salt to taste.
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Top salmon taco bowl with dollops of cilantro-lime crema (recipe below) and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- This recipe makes a single serving because no one else in my family (#DoneWithFun Daddy included) will touch cauliflower rice with a 10-foot pole. If you’re making it for your whole family, (1) lucky you to have such good eaters!, and (2) just double, triple or quadruple the ingredients as appropriate.
- Instant Pot offers a bunch of options now with a variety of bells and whistles. I own the basic 8-quart DUO80 model because it was the cheapest on Prime Day. The 6-quart DUO60 model would also work just as well for families and takes up a little less cabinet or counter space.
- I opted not to include cheese because I felt like the recipe had enough healthy fats and flavor from the avocado and crema. Feel free to garnish with 1 Tbsp of shredded Cheddar if tacos aren't complete for you without cheese.
NeverDoneWithFun.com
Give this healthy, veggie-packed, low-carb twist on Taco Tuesday a try for an easy weeknight meal and let me know what you think with #NeverDoneWithFun!
