This harvest maple mustard salmon salad packs some serious satisfaction factor! Topped with slow cooked maple mustard glazed salmon, crispy bacon, crunchy fresh apple, creamy goat cheese, toasted walnuts and tangy marinated beets with an apple cider vinaigrette.

Today’s in salads that don’t suck is this recipe for harvest maple mustard salmon salad. Seriously, there are few meals more depressing than a sad, diety salad, and few things satisfying than a salad made by someone who isn’t afraid of toppings.

This harvest salmon salad is topped with moist (sorry), perfectly cooked salmon in a maple-mustard glaze, which is definitely the star of the recipe. In supporting roles are crispy bacon, tangy marinated beets, crunchy fresh apple, toasted walnuts, and creamy goat cheese, all tossed in an apple cider vinaigrette. It’s the perfect way to celebrate the season!

How to Cook Maple Mustard Salmon

The highlight of this recipe is the slow roasted maple mustard salmon, with it’s melt in your mouth texture (is that better than moist?) and sweet, tangy glaze. I learned this slow cooking technique from my friend Kara Lydon, and it’s become my go to way to cook salmon. As she explains, slow cooking salmon prevents the proteins from coiling up while cooking, which happens when salmon is cooked quickly at a high temperature. This causes it to excrete the salmon’s natural oils, making your salmon dry and chalky. Slow cooking allows the salmons to retain oils, giving it the most perfect texture and mouthfeel.

The other thing I love about this method is that it doesn’t stink up your kitchen! Considering I’ve never lived in a house with good ventilation in the kitchen, this one is a major plus. I absolutely love pan-seared salmon, but I don’t love smelling fish in my kitchen for the next three days. That’s one of those dishes I leave to the restaurants!

The maple mustard salmon glaze adds yummy fall flavor to this harvest salad. To make it, simply whisk together maple syrup, whole grain mustard, scallions, garlic, and lemon juice. It’s a simple glaze you could also turn into a salad dressing by whisking in some water and olive oil.

Toppings for This Maple Mustard Salmon Salad Recipe

Roasted kabocha squash - Kabocha squash is my favorite type of winter squash. It’s sweeter than other winter squashes, and has a creamy texture. Just toss cubed squash with olive oil, salt and black pepper and roast in a 400 degree F oven until caramelized. If you like, feel free to swap butternut, acorn or any other type of winter squash you like.
Bacon - For extra fall flavor, use applewood smoked bacon.
Apple - I like to use a Fuji or honeycrisp-type apple in this recipe. Just make sure it’s nice and crisp and not too tart. Toss it with a bit of lemon juice to prevent browning.
Roasted beets - Save time with store bought roasted beets. I used honey and ginger roasted beets from Love Beets.
Goat cheese - ‘nuff said.
Toasted walnuts - Toasting the walnuts brings out their flavor by warming up the oils. I accidentally left mine out when photographing this recipe (literally was sitting there on the stovetop), but they are a pretty essential addition! Toast them in a 350 degree oven or in a dry skillet on the stovetop.
Apple cider vinaigrette - This vinaigrette recipe is a pretty basic one I come to again and again! You can also make it with white wine vinegar or even balsamic.

If you enjoyed this maple mustard salmon salad, follow my salmon recipes pinterest board for more cooking inspiration.

Harvest Maple Mustard Salmon Salad Recipe

This maple mustard salmon salad recipe was originally posted Feb 2016. Recipe, images and text have been updated to give you the best possible content.

Slow Roasted Salmon Salad with Apples and Maple Mustard Dressing

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 medium kabocha or other winter squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1-lb piece of salmon
2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 scallions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 ounce bag mixed greens
1 endives, thinly sliced, core discarded
6 slices bacon, preferably applewood cured
1 apple, chopped or sliced into thin wedges, tossed in a little bit of lemon juice
1 cup diced roasted marinated beets
2-3 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
1/3 cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped

Apple Cider Vinaigrette:

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss kabocha squash with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Season with salt and black pepper. Spread evenly on a large baking sheet and roast until tender and caramelized, about 30 minutes total, tossing halfway.
After squash has cooked, set aside until ready to use, and reduce heat of the oven down to 250 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, whisk together mustard, maple syrup, lemon juice, scallions and garlic. Season with salt and black pepper.
Grease or spray a baking sheet or dish with olive oil. Place salmon filets in the baking dish and spoon the maple-mustard glaze evenly over the top. Place in the oven and bake about 20-30 minutes total (depending on size and thickness), until the salmon is slightly opaque and flakes with a fork.
While salmon is cooking, toss the greens and endive together in a large salad bowl. Cook the bacon until crispy, then crumble. Make the salad dressing by whisking together the vinaigrette ingredients and seasoning with salt and black pepper to taste.
Toss salad greens with the roasted squash, bacon, apple, beets, goat cheese and walnuts. Dress lightly with the apple cider vinaigrette. Serve topped with chunks of slow roasted salmon and with the remaining dressing on the side.