Last Updated on January 4, 2026
Summer is here and the sun is shining brightly. My favourite season with its fabulous fresh ingredients, balmy days of alfresco eating and the excuse to invent a whole raft of new salads. Today I’m enjoying a wonderfully healthy mackerel salad.
Mackerel is a tasty oily fish packed with all sorts of nutrients for better health. It’s full of omega-3 fatty acids and a wealth of essential vitamins and minerals including a significant serving of vitamin B12 essential for our immune and nervous systems. It’s an excellent source of selenium which also pays an important role in keeping our immune systems healthy and also an antioxidant.
And on top of that, it’s a rich source of magnesium, potassium and zinc which may help to improve heart health and improve vascular function. Studies have also shown it to improve mental performance. So there’s a lot of reasons to eat more mackerel – and of course, it tastes delicious and is really well priced, too.
This mackerel salad with horseradish dressing uses only four ingredients (lentils and peas are a match made in heaven) plus a creamy, spicy horseradish dressing which brings them all together perfectly. It’s such a great dressing that works with a wide range of vegetables and salad ingredients. Add some boiled new potatoes for a deliciously different potato salad or try including red or spring onions, cherry tomatoes, broccoli or radishes. Just use your imagination and combine all your favourite ingredients for a versatile bowl of salad literally packed with health.
Mix all the ingredients together carefully.
This salad also makes a fabulous canape packed into a dainty croustade.
Simply add a layer of the horseradish cream to the bottom of the croustade and fill with an equal mix of the mackerel, peas and lentils. Top with a sprig of parsley and another dot of horseradish cream. Serve with your favourite cocktail.
Looking for other summery fish recipes. Try this one for Spanish-style hake with paprika here.
Here’s a printable version of this tasty, healthy recipe.
Mackerel salad with peas and lentils
Ingredients
- 150 g mackerel smoked, skin removed, shredded into chunks
- 1 cup peas raw
- 1 cup puy lentils
- 1/2 cup parsley stalks removed
- 2 tbsps soured cream
- 2 tsps horseradish sauce
Instructions
- Take the skin off the mackerel and shred the fish into bite-sized pieces.
- Mix gently with the peas and lentils.
- Mix the soured cream and horseradish sauce together.
- Add dollops of the sauce to the salad and top with sprigs of parsley with main stalks removed.
- Serve with extra horseradish cream on the side.
Looks stunning and I bet it tasted delicious. I love that you can use it for canapes too – perfect with a G&T
mmm this looks delicious too!