Salmon Quinoa Bowl With Maple Cider Vinaigrette

This salmon quinoa bowl features seasonal ingredients, fresh produce, fluffy quinoa, and the best salmon that is pan-seared to perfection.

Why You’ll Love This Quinoa Salmon Bowl

• This quinoa bowl recipe is a complete meal that is flavorful, fresh, and colorful. 
• The crisp, golden brown, pan-seared salmon is the perfect addition to this grain bowl.
• We provide a quick, easy recipe for our very own maple cider vinaigrette.
• It is a great recipe to make for a weeknight dinner and can also be used for meal prep as well.

Ingredient Notes

For the salmon:

• Salmon - you can use fresh salmon or frozen salmon for this recipe. Both options have a rich flavor thanks to the heart healthy fatty acids and have great health benefits. You can also use both Atlantic salmon and sockeye salmon. Atlantic salmon is often a little easier to find than sockeye salmon. That being said, wild-caught sockeye salmon is much easier to find than wild-caught Atlantic salmon if wild salmon is important to you. What is most important when it comes to good quality salmon is how fresh it is.
• Olive oil or avocado oil
• Salt and pepper

For the dressing:

• Olive oil
• Apple cider vinegar
• Pure maple syrup
• Dijon mustard
• Kosher salt and black pepper

For the sweet potatoes:

• Sweet potatoes - you can choose to peel the potatoes or leave the skin on.
• Olive or avocado oil
• Salt & pepper to taste

For the quinoa:

• Uncooked quinoa - you will need one cup of quinoa. There are different types of quinoa—white quinoa, red quinoa, black quinoa, and even tricolor quinoa—any of these options will work. Quinoa is our favorite grain for this recipe, but you could swap it with other whole grains such as brown rice or wild rice.
• 1 ¾ cup water or chicken broth
• Salt to taste

For the salad:

• Brussels sprouts - you will need fresh Brussels sprouts for this recipe.
• Fresh pomegranate arils - you can remove them on your own or buy prepared pomegranate arils.

See the recipe card below for a complete list of ingredients and measurements.

Equipment You’ll Need for This Salmon Quinoa Salad

• Large baking sheet lined with parchment paper
• Cutting board and knives
• Small saucepan
• Large nonstick skillet
• Meat thermometer* (optional)
• Spatula
• Dressing container, jar, or small bowl

Step by Step Directions

For the full recipe instructions, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of the page.

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the sweet potatoes into cubes that are about ½". Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper and place into the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until a fork easily pierces the potatoes.

Step 2: While the potatoes are cooking, add the quinoa, water or chicken broth, and salt to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce the heat to low. Let the quinoa simmer for 12-15 minutes, or until the quinoa has absorbed all of the water and is translucent. Remove from the heat and fluff the quinoa with a fork. Set the quinoa aside to cool.

Step 3: While the quinoa cooks, prepare the salmon. Pat the salmon dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium to medium-high heat until it is shimmering. Place the salmon into the pan skin side down and do not move it again for about 4-5 minutes, until it is golden brown and crispy. Flip the salmon to the other side and cook for another 4-5 minutes, until golden brown and crispy (and at an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit). Remove the salmon from the pan and set aside on a plate. Remove the skin from the salmon if needed. 

Step 4: Cut the Brussels sprouts into fine shreds (remove the stem pieces). Prepare the pomegranate.

Tips & Variations

• Feel free to swap out the toppings for other options such as butternut or delicata squash in place of the sweet potatoes, brown or wild rice in place of the quinoa, kale or spinach instead of Brussels sprouts, etc. 
• You can also easily cook quinoa in a rice cooker.

FAQ 

If you like this recipe, check out some of our other salmon recipes:

• Pesto crusted salmon
• Miso butter salmon
• Oven baked honey mustard salmon

If you make this salmon quinoa bowl recipe, please let us know how it turns out in the comments below and/or rate the recipe! Don’t forget to tag us on Instagram to show us your finished product—it makes our day every time we see you trying the recipes we love!

The recipe can be found on My Fitness Pal by searching "BWB Salmon Quinoa Bowl." The nutrition includes 1 bowl with about a tablespoon of dressing.

The nutrition content provided for each recipe is an estimate created through the My Fitness Pal database. Please be aware that the nutritional content of each recipe may vary based on the products you use, the precision of your measurements, and the source you use to obtain nutrition data. While we try to provide accurate information, we give no guarantee regarding the accuracy of the nutritional information provided. 

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