Cedar Plank Salmon with Mango Salsa
On February 11, 2021 (Updated April 04, 2025)
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Cedar Plank Salmon with Mango Salsa is a simple salmon dish elevated by a sweet and spicy rub and the subtle smoky flavor from a cedar plank. Topped with a fresh and bright mango salsa, this salmon is perfect for a warm summer night.
Cedar Plank Salmon
Cooking salmon on a cedar plank is a great way to get a subtle cedar smoked flavor into your fish without overpowering it with smoke. By planking your fish, it also helps it cook evenly on the grill, which can result in a more tender and moist finished result. It is one of my favorite salmon grilling methods by far.
This recipe is pretty simple, it just calls for a little thinking ahead. If you can do the prep in the morning by rubbing the salmon and soaking your cedar planks, by the time you get home in the evening you’re set for a super quick and easy weeknight dinner. You can grab cedar planks at most grocery stores or online HERE.
Cedar Planked Salmon on the Grill
The cedar plank, salsa, and rub in this salmon bring tons of flavor, and it’s all rounded out with the extra goodness from cooking this on a pellet grill. When grilling on a pellet grill at higher temps like in this recipe, you’re not going to get that pronounced smoky flavor, you’re just going to get this amazing subtle hint of wood smoke that is accented by the cedar planks.
If you don’t have a pellet grill, this recipe can be cooked on a gas grill as well. Scroll below to the recipe card for the video on making this tasty recipe on your gas grill!
To verify my claims of the amazing flavors in this cedar plant salmon, my 8-year-old daughter told me that this salmon is her favorite food out of anything I’ve ever made and she would pick this as her birthday meal. I would have probably picked cheese pizza as an 8-year-old, so I’m feeling pretty good about myself as a mother right now.
Cedar Plank Salmon Seasoning
The salmon rub is maybe (bold statement here) one of the best recipes that has ever come out of my brain. It’s this amazing blend of sweet and spicy with a smoky kick from the paprika, earthy notes from the basil, and a kiss of brightness from the lime zest. Basically, it is rub magic that is unbelievable on salmon. Topped with the ripe mangoes, roasted red peppers, and cilantro, you’re in for food nirvana.
You can access the full recipe post for this Sweet & Smoky Salmon Seasoning HERE. Here’s what you’ll need to make this seasoning:
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 1 teaspoon coarse ground sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- zest of 1 lime
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl, and use a fork to mix well and break up any clumps. Lightly press the seasoning on all sides of the salmon, then wrap your salmon tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 8-24 hours.
Popular Grilled Salmon Recipes
Looking for more tasty salmon recipes to cool on the grill? These are just a few popular recipes from the site:
- Lemon Parmesan Crusted Grilled Salmon
- Cedar Plank Grilled Salmon with Lemon Chive Butter
- Grilled Salmon with Lemon Dill Seasoning
Cedar Plank Salmon Recipe
Cedar Plank Salmon with Mango Salsa
Video
Ingredients
- 1 14-16 ounce salmon fillet skin on
- lime wedges for garnish
Salmon Seasoning
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 lime zest
Mango Salsa
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 teaspoon canola oil
- 1 large ripe mango skinned, pitted, and diced
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves roughly chopped
- 1 lime juice
Instructions
- Season the salmon. Place the salmon skin side down on a large piece of plastic wrap. Combine all of the ingredients for the rub in a small bowl and press onto the top of the salmon. Wrap tightly with the plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, or overnight.
- Soak the cedar plank. Two hours before grilling, place your cedar plank in a sink full of warm water. This will assist in adding flavor from the plank to the salmon without the wood burning on your grill.
- Preheat the grill. When ready to cook, start your grill and preheat to medium high (about 375 degrees F). While your grill preheats, prepare your salmon.
- Grill the salmon. Remove the saran wrap and discard, place the salmon skin side down on the cedar plank. Drizzle the bell pepper with olive oil. Place the cedar plank with the salmon on the grill grate and cook for 20-25 minutes.
- Grill the bell pepper. Place the bell pepper directly on the grate closest to your flame. Grill the bell pepper for 5-6 minutes, turning it every 2 minutes, until the exterior skin is blistered. Remove the bell pepper from the grill and put it in a zip-top plastic bag. Seal most of the top of the bag and let the pepper steam in the bag for 2-3 minutes. Remove the pepper from the bag and peel off the skin, take out the core, seeds, and stem, and dice the roasted bell pepper.
- Make the mango salsa. In a small bowl combine the mango, bell pepper, cilantro, and lime juice. Set aside until the salmon is finished cooking.
- Top the cedar plank salsa with mango salsa and serve. The salmon is done on the grill when it reaches 145 degrees F. The salmon is done when it flakes easily with a fork and appears opaque throughout. Transfer the cedar planked salmon to a large serving dish and spoon the mango salsa directly on top. Serve with additional limes as garnish.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
**This post was originally published in April 2017. We recently updated it with more information and helpful tips. The recipe remains the same.
Just cooked this last night. Next time I’ll use a little bit less salt in the rub, but my wife and my kids loved it, especially the mango/bellpepper/cilantro salsa. I grilled the bellpepper just after pre-heating the gas grill, before the salmon, as it has to cook really hot to blister – worked like a charm. As my wife said: this is a keeper for the summer evenings!
It won’t overpower if I cook this on a plank and in a Traeger? What flavor of pellets do you recommend? Thank you.
That will work fine! I like to stick to mild woods for fish like fruit woods, almond, alder etc.
Do you have the nutritional information for this recipe?
When using a cedar plank on a gas grill would you put the planks directly above the flames or put them on the indirect Zone/area? Thank you.
They should be soaked in water before cooking with them and then you are good to cook directly.
Thank you! 🙂 will be trying this out tonight.
You’re welcome! I hope you like it as much as we do.
Hi there! Can I do cook this in the oven instead?
You can bake the salmon in the oven, but skip the cedar planks. Just bake st 350 degrees F in an oven safe pan until the salmon flakes easily with a fork.