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You are here: Home / Recipes / Salmon Salad Pita Pockets

August 30, 2016

Salmon Salad Pita Pockets

These salmon salad pita pockets are packed with canned salmon, spices, mustard, and veggies for a perfect all-in-one lunch!

Foodblog (11 of 14)

My favorite lunch spot in Hillsborough, NC

Back in the day circa 1995, there was a fabulous sandwich shop in downtown Hillsborough (where I grew up) called Lu-E-G’s. They had amazing warm bagels with gooey cream cheese, the best lemon-tahini salad dressing, and great sandwiches. On Friday nights, we would listen to live music by candlelight and hang out in the back parking lot to discuss dELiA’s clothes and Green Day, hoping that one of the cool skateboarder boys would say hi to us.

James Pharmacy

(Photo from Open Orange)

They had the best tuna or salmon salad pita pockets!

On Sundays we would walk down from church and get bagels with cream cheese for lunch. Always pumpernickel for me! The bagels were perfectly toasted, and the cream cheese was melted just enough to be super creamy. I think the bagels with cream cheese were $1.50 each, so my parents loved the price of lunch.

During middle school my friend, Kirsten discovered the tuna salad pita pockets. She was always a more adventurous eater than me, and it took me a while to be brave enough to order one myself. The pita came warm, and the chilled tuna salad inside was the best ever.

My mom was not a fan of our new lunch pick because the “tuna pitas” as we called them were $3.50. I remember her urging us to get bagels instead, and I think after a while she would only agree to take us to Lu-E-G’s for lunch if we agreed to get bagels. Lu-E-G’s was sold while I was in college, and while the restaurants that replaced it are good, we Hillsborough natives will never forget all that was Lu-E-G’s (especially the smell!!)

Foodblog (12 of 14)

The secret recipe

A few years ago I made some pita pockets on KERF, and a reader named Kat commented that she had worked at Lu-E-G’s and knew the basic recipe! Here’s what she wrote:

Recent contacts from old friends led me on a trip down memory lane – which led me to your blog. I worked at Lu-E-G’s from the time I was 15 until 22. The best place there ever was in Hillsborough, NC. I only wish I had the means to recreate it here in Wilmington, NC. If you ever want the true recipe for that tasty Tuna salad….hit me up and I will gladly share it with you. A legacy that should never die, siiiiggggghhhhhhhhhh

OK, so…I eyeball everything now, since we made all of our salads by the truckload and the measurements are useless to me – just experiment a little to your liking I guess.
Here goes:
canned tuna in water (drained)
grated carrots
finely chopped celery
pimientos
lemon juice
dukes mayonnaise
guldens spicy brown mustard
spike (a mrs. dash-esque seasoning that I can only find locally at a few natural food markets, but sooo important)
dill weed
ground black pepper
serve in a steamed pita with lettuce, tomato & sprouts – or whatever else you like!
Enjoy!

How I make my salmon salad pita pockets

Here is my tribute to the tuna pitas we loved so much. (I swapped in canned salmon for tuna because it’s my favorite!) I didn’t have any spike seasoning, but the result I created tasted pretty darn close to my memory of the recipe.

Foodblog (2 of 14) Foodblog (3 of 14)

Pimentos are one of the secret ingredients I wouldn’t have guessed!

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Sprouts are one of the key flavors!!

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So is warming up the pita. To steam it I covered it with a wet paper towel and microwaved for 15 seconds.

Foodblog (8 of 14) Foodblog (9 of 14)

Mine was stuffed with sprouts and baby spinach. Add some heirloom tomato if you have!

Foodblog (14 of 14)

Eating the warm “lid” first was always the best part : )

Foodblog (13 of 14)

Print Pin

Salmon Salad Pita Pockets

These salmon salad pita pockets are packed with spices, mustard, and veggies for a perfect all-in-one lunch!
Prep Time 10 minutes minutes
Total Time 10 minutes minutes
Servings 2 Pockets
Author Kath Younger

Ingredients

  • 1 can salmon
  • 5 baby carrots grated, about 1/3 cup
  • 1/3 cup chopped celery
  • 2 tbsp pimentos
  • 1.5 tbsp full fat mayonnaise
  • 1 heaping tsp spicy brown mustard
  • 1/2 tsp dried dill
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • Squeeze of lemon juice about 1/4 a whole lemon
  • Generous pinch each of salt and black pepper
  • 2 whole wheat pitas steamed
  • Lettuce spinach, pickle, tomato, sprouts for garnishing

Instructions

  • Mix salmon through salt and pepper in a bowl until well combined.
  • Heat pitas in the microwave under a wet paper towel for 15-20 seconds.
  • Fill pitas with salmon salad and add garnishes as desired.

More Fish Salad Ideas

  • Anne’s Healthy Tuna Salad Recipe with Avocado
  • The Very Best Sardine Salad
  • Curried Tuna Salad
  • Every Herb Salmon Salad

Filed Under: Recipes, Salad Recipes

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Comments

  1. Cyn says

    August 30, 2016 at 9:31 am

    Perfect for back to school lunches. First day of school tomorrow!
    Thanks, Kath

    Reply
  2. Jessica says

    August 30, 2016 at 10:01 am

    The Spike seasoning is my FAVORITE!! It is really good and if you get it in your area you should definitely add it to the recipe.

    Reply
  3. Blair says

    August 30, 2016 at 10:12 am

    This looks delish and my kids adore salmon. A lunch box staple for sure!

    Reply
  4. Kori says

    August 30, 2016 at 11:13 am

    I would need to purchase celery and pimientos, but then we’d have what we need to enjoy these! I already had canned salmon on our meal plan for the week, so your recipe couldn’t have come at a better time. 🙂 We have yet to find any GF pita bread, so I’ll have to make a substitution, unfortunately. But I’ll share our result once I make them!

    Reply
  5. Bruna says

    August 30, 2016 at 1:24 pm

    even though I’m a vegetarian I think I can use the inspiration! thanks 🙂

    Reply
  6. Mom says

    August 30, 2016 at 3:21 pm

    No, I still took you. I was just sad when you switched from bagels because they were $1.30! Miss that place.

    Reply
  7. Laurie says

    August 30, 2016 at 3:45 pm

    I will never understand why Bodo’s doesn’t toast their bagels. A warm bagel is good, but a toasted, warm bagel is spiritual.

    Reply
    • KathEats says

      August 30, 2016 at 5:42 pm

      Yes!

      Reply
  8. Susan says

    August 30, 2016 at 3:57 pm

    That salmon pita looks delicious! Oh, my! I miss Lu-E-G’s so much! It was fun and casual and not too expensive. You ordered at the counter and sat down and waited for your wonderful lunch to come to you. My favorite was the tuna melt. Spectacular!
    Thanks for the nostalgia trip!

    Reply
    • KathEats says

      August 30, 2016 at 5:42 pm

      I forgot about the tuna melt!!! That was so good too

      Reply
      • Mom says

        August 30, 2016 at 8:38 pm

        I had forgotten about the tuna melt too!

        Reply
  9. Colleen says

    August 31, 2016 at 12:25 pm

    I LOVE Spike. If you can’t find it, just throw in some nutritional yeast and onion powder. It has other ingredients, but I think the nooch is the secret.

    Reply
  10. Patty says

    August 31, 2016 at 9:30 pm

    I’m late to comment, but you can find Spike at Amazon. I really like it, too.

    Reply
  11. Anne @ fANNEtasticfood says

    September 1, 2016 at 3:29 pm

    I loved this post – so nostalgic! Those sandwiches sound amazing!

    Reply
  12. Nicole says

    September 2, 2016 at 12:45 am

    dELiAs!!! My friend and I were just talking about that a couple weeks ago and how obsessed I was with looking through those catalogs and circling every item I wanted! Good times, and great post!

    P.S. Spike is my fave! And can’t wait to try this!

    Reply
  13. Thomas Coleman says

    September 8, 2016 at 6:53 am

    This was a very good recipe, had it for lunch today. It was quite easy and quick to make. I think this would be a great lunch idea for hot summer days with a nice cold drink and some fresh fruit to boot. Good recipe! 🙂

    Reply

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