Warm Rice Salad With Salmon and Arugula

By Ashley Lonsdale

Updated December 22, 2025

Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Spencer Richards.
Ready In
30 min
Rating
5(1,180)
Comments
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Each new day presents a new opportunity to eat rice — and this recipe makes a case for rice salad. Tender jasmine rice steams with Dijon mustard-streaked salmon to create a strong foundation. Once cooked, the warm salmon and rice meet the arugula leaves, which bow to the heat and soften slightly. The dressing leans French, with its combination of lemon, shallot and dill, punctuated by briny capers. Serve this salmon and rice salad warm, at room temperature or even chilled; there's no wrong answer.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • 1 ½ cups white jasmine rice 

  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided

  • Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) and freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 (¾-pound) salmon fillet, skin removed

  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, divided

  • ¼ cup chopped dill

  • 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

  • 2 tablespoons capers, chopped

  • 1 small shallot, minced

  • 5 ounces baby arugula

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

60 grams carbs; 47 milligrams cholesterol; 576 calories; 13 grams monosaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 26 grams fat; 2 grams fiber; 554 milligrams sodium; 24 grams protein; 2 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Rinse the rice until the water runs clear. In a wide, lidded pot or Dutch oven, bring the rice, 2 ¼ cups of water and 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a boil. Season with 1 teaspoon of salt, cover and simmer for 5 minutes over medium-low. 

  2. Step 2

    Brush salmon with 1 tablespoon of mustard and season with salt and pepper on all sides. 

  3. Step 3

    Gently lay the salmon on top of the rice. Cover and simmer on low heat for an additional 10 minutes, until all liquid is absorbed and the salmon is just cooked through. Remove from heat and allow to steam for an additional 5 minutes without lifting the cover.

  4. Step 4

    While the salmon and rice cook, make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 tablespoon mustard with the dill, lemon juice, capers and shallot. Stream in the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil while continuously whisking. Taste and adjust seasoning with any of the dressing elements if needed. 

  5. Step 5

    Fluff the rice with a fork, break up the salmon into bite-size pieces, and drizzle in the dressing and gently fold in the arugula, which will wilt slightly from the heat. A final taste and seasoning adjustment, if needed, completes the meal. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
1,180 user ratings
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Comments

Tree Lover

Saw this today and broke my NYTS “rule” which is that I only make recipes that have 5 stars. I’m so, so glad I did. It was such a treat and a new way, to me anyway, for cooking salmon. I followed the recipe except I used Basmati instead of Jasmine rice and 1 TBS of finely minced Vidalia onion instead of a shallot. The dressing is fabulous and I’m sure it will be good on other fish as well as just as a dressing on a salad. The directions for cooking the rice on the stove top, often tricky, were spot on. We devoured it and I can’t wait to serve it to friends. My only, very tiny quibble is that the last step needs a bit of fine tuning. You have to remove the salmon to fluff the rice so then do you toss the arugula with the dressing and add the rice on top or should you mix the rice and arugula together, add the dressing and then the salmon, etc.? I winged it by putting the arugula, the rice, and the salmon on a platter, drizzling the dressing all around and gently mixing so that the fish, rice and greens all had some of the flavor. There probably isn’t a wrong way since the combination is so delicious. Thank you Ashley Lonsdale!

MK Owens

So I made this in the rice cooker; when the zohrushi was done, I put the mustarded seasoned salmon on top for 8 mins on extended warm - perfect. However, I think there is too much rice; not enough dressing. Not as flavorful as I would have liked. Next time, I'll make 1/2 as much rice and keep the dressing and salmon the same. Good flavors but the balance I think could be better.

Sarah in Atlanta

This was easy and delicious! One note: Our salmon cuts were on the thick side, and were still pretty raw at the end of the cooking time. We removed them from the pot and roasted them at 400 for 4 minutes, and they were perfect.

Kendall

This is an immediate new favorite. I'm a slow cook and this ACTUALLY took 30 minutes, unlike all other recipes that say so. It's so flavorful, you'll wish you had more leftovers, which are also great cold. I'd suggest making even more of the sauce and keeping it aside for later.

Leainaubreytx

Excellent! Everyone in our family loved this from our 9-year-old granddaughter to my 75-year-old husband and myself. We served it warm for our weekly family dinner, then ate it right out of the fridge for dinner the next day, so it's perfect regardless of the time of year. Will definitely be going in our 'heart healthy' rotation!

sma

I love this but would like to try with brown rice. Any suggestions?

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