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maple dijon

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30 Minutes or Less

Brussels Sprout Salad

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overhead image of brussels sprout salad with walnuts and pomegranate seeds on the side.

Fresh and crunchy shaved Brussels sprout salad, finished off with an out-of-this-world maple dijon dressing! A quick and easy side dish, comes together in just 10 minutes. A gluten-free salad, with nut-free and vegan options!

brussels sprout salad in a a bowl with serving utensils.

What You’ll Need to Make Brussels Sprout Salad

Brussels Sprouts – You can either buy shaved Brussels sprouts, or shave them yourself with a mandoline or sharp knife. If using a mandoline, cut off the the stem end of each sprout, then run the sprout down the mandoline to thinly slice. Or, if using a knife, remove the stem end then place the sprout on its side on a cutting board, then make thin slices through the sprout. Once shaved, your sprouts are ready to add to this delicious salad!

Pomegranate Arils/Seeds – First thing I want to note is that pomegranate arils are the exact same thing as pomegranate seeds. When buying your pomegranate for this salad, you have two options, you can either purchase the seeds out of the pomegranate, or you can purchase a whole pomegranate and remove the seeds yourself. I always opt for the latter option because it’s so much cheaper, and super easy to do! For help on how to cut a pomegranate, check out my step-by-step tutorial HERE.

Walnuts – Chopped walnuts add the perfect crunch to this recipe! Walnuts are creamy and buttery, and simply so good in this salad. However, if you don’t have walnuts, feel free to use any nut you have on-hand! Others I recommend are pine nuts, chopped pecans, or even unsalted pumpkin seeds.

Soft Cheese – Any soft cheese will taste great in this Brussels sprout salad! I used a soft chèvre goat cheese, and it was perfectly tangy and delicious. Though crumbled feta, blue cheese, or even freshly grated parmesan cheese work perfectly too.

dressing being poured over brussels sprout salad.

Tips and Tricks

  • This is the perfect make-ahead side dish for holiday parties or potlucks! The flavors get better with time, so go ahead and dress the salad then let it sit in the fridge until ready to serve. I just wouldn’t recommend letting it sit for more than 4 hours before eating, at that point, it’ll begin to lose its crunch.
  • Have fun with this recipe! Don’t be shy, switch up ingredients based on your preferences. Sub pears for the apples, blueberries for the pomegranate, and use any kind of cheese you’d like!
close-up image of brussels sprout salad in a bowl.

Adjust This Recipe to Your Dietary Needs

Make it Vegan: For a vegan Brussels sprout salad, either replace the cheese with your favorite vegan soft “cheese,” or leave the cheese out altogether, it’ll still be delicious and full of flavor!

Make it Nut-Free: Simply leave out the walnuts, or replace them with unsalted pumpkin or sunflower seeds.

Add Protein: Take this from a side dish to the main course by adding some lightly seasoned chicken (grilled or oven-roasted is best), or bulk it up with a can of your favorite white beans!

Brussels Sprout Salad
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Brussels Sprout Salad

5 from 1 vote
Recipe by Samantha Course: SidesDifficulty: Easy
Servings

6

servings
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking time

0

minutes
Total time

10

minutes

Fresh and crunchy shaved Brussels sprout salad, finished off with an out-of-this-world maple dijon dressing! A quick and easy side dish, comes together in just 10 minutes. A gluten-free salad, with nut-free and vegan options!

Ingredients

  • For the salad:

  • 4 cups thinly sliced Brussels sprouts

  • 1 apple, thinly sliced

  • 1/2 cup pomegranate arils (seeds)

  • 1/3 cup walnuts, roughly chopped (pecans or pine nuts work too!)

  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries

  • 1/4 cup soft cheese, crumbled (goat cheese, feta, gorgonzola, etc)

  • For the dressing:

  • 1/3 cup olive oil

  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup

  • 1 garlic clove, minced

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

  • Add all salad ingredients to a large bowl and toss.
  • Add all dressing ingredients to a small bowl and whisk to combine.
  • Pour dressing over salad, then either let sit in fridge for up to 3 hours, or serve immediately.

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30 Minutes or Less

Harvest Bowl (easy to meal prep!)

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overhead image of a meal prep harvest bowl with sliced almonds on the side.

This fully loaded harvest bowl is packed with seasonal ingredients, fresh flavor, and finished off with a dreamy maple dijon vinaigrette! Perfect to meal prep ahead of a busy week, or quickly throw together as an easy meal in under 30 minutes.

maple dijon dressing being poured over a harvest bowl

What You’ll Need to Make a Harvest Bowl

Sweet Potato – Peel and cube two sweet potatoes before roasting. Or, if you’d like, replace the sweet potato with your favorite squash. Peeled and cubed butternut squash, sliced acorn squash, or even sliced delicata squash would all taste great in this harvest bowl!

Chicken – Two boneless and skinless chicken breasts are lightly seasoned, then roasted to perfection! For a vegan option, see the “make it vegan” section below.

Quinoa – Any variety of quinoa is jam-packed with health benefits! It’s full of nutrients, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory compounds, fiber, and is a complete protein. Talk about a superfood, eh? Feel free to use whatever kind of quinoa you have handy – white, red, black, or rainbow – they all taste great. Or, if you don’t have quinoa, you can replace it with cooked brown rice, wild rice, buckwheat, farro, or barley.

Kale – Similar to the quinoa, any variety of kale will taste delicious in your harvest bowl. So, use whatever you can get your hands on – curly kale, dino (lacinato) kale, red kale, or even baby kale. Though if using baby kale, no need to massage it, just add straight to your bowl, then toss in dressing.

close-up image of sliced chicken over a meal prep harvest bowl.

Tips and Tricks

  • Don’t skip massaging the kale! This step is super important to achieve nice, and tender kale. Skipping this step will result in tough, and hard-to-chew kale, just all around unappetizing!
  • I highly, HIGHLY, recommend doubling up on the maple dijon salad dressing. It’s seriously the star of this harvest bowl, and you’ll regret not making more. Also, leftovers stay fresh in a sealed container in the fridge for up to three weeks!

Adjust This Recipe to Your Dietary Needs

Make it Vegan: For a healthy, high protein vegan meal, leave out the chicken. Then, either double up on the sweet potatoes, or replace the chicken with a can of drained then rinsed chickpeas!

Make it Paleo/Grain-Free: Simply leave off the quinoa and you’ve got yourself a totally paleo and grain-free harvest bowl.

two meal prep containers showcasing this harvest bowl recipe.

How to Meal Prep This Harvest Bowl

  1. Roast the sweet potatoes and chicken.
  2. Cook the quinoa.
  3. Make the maple dijon dressing.
  4. Massage the kale.
  5. Divide the massaged kale, cooked quinoa, roasted sweet potatoes and chicken, sliced apples, fried cranberries, and sliced almonds between four meal prep containers.
  6. Store remaining dressing separately.
  7. When ready to eat, remove one of your meal prep containers from the fridge and drizzle with some extra maple dijon dressing – enjoy!
Harvest Bowl (easy to meal prep!)
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Harvest Bowl (easy to meal prep!)

5 from 2 votes
Recipe by Samantha Course: Main, Lunch, DinnerDifficulty: Easy
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking time

20

minutes
Total time

30

minutes

These fully loaded harvest bowls are packed with seasonal ingredients, fresh flavor, and finished off with a dreamy maple dijon vinaigrette! Perfect to meal prep ahead of a busy week, or quickly throw together as an easy meal in under 30 minutes.

Ingredients

  • 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

  • 1-2 pounds boneless and skinless chicken breast

  • 1 tablespoon avocado oil

  • salt and black pepper, to taste

  • 2 cups kale, finely chopped

  • 1 cup cooked quinoa

  • 1 apple, sliced

  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries

  • 1/4 cup sliced almonds or pumpkin seeds

  • For the maple dijon dressing:

  • 1/2 cup olive oil

  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup

  • 1 garlic clove, minced

  • 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 425° Fahrenheit. Place sweet potatoes and chicken breast on a baking sheet, then drizzle with avocado oil, and sprinkle with salt and black pepper. Toss potatoes to coat, then roast for 20 minutes, tossing potatoes halfway through.
  • While chicken and potatoes roast, make the dressing by adding all dressing ingredients to a bowl and whisking to combine.
  • Place kale in a bowl with half of the dressing, then toss and massage dressing into the kale with your hands.
  • Once potatoes are tender, remove from the oven and assemble bowls with all ingredients – roasted sweet potatoes, massaged kale, chicken, quinoa, apples, dried cranberries, and sliced almonds. Store with remaining dressing on the side, then top with dressing right before eating.

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30 Minutes or Less

Maple Dijon Salmon Salad

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overhead image of maple dijon salmon salad in a bowl.

Buttery, flaky salmon atop a simply dressed maple dijon salad! This quick and easy recipe yields perfectly seasoned, and cooked salmon every time. A complete meal, loaded with fresh veggies, then finished off with a tangy maple dijon dressing, ready in under 20 minutes!

close-up overhead image of maple dijon salmon salad on a plate with a fork

What You’ll Need To Make This Maple Dijon Salmon Salad

Dijon Mustard – We do NOT use this ingredient sparingly in our maple dijon dressing! An entire 1/4 cup gives this entire meal tons of tangy, delicious flavor. In case you’re not familiar with this French ingredient, dijon mustard is creamier, spicier, and has less vinegar than yellow mustard. It’s a favorite in my home, for everything from sandwiches to salad dressings. It’s among one of the healthiest condiments you can use, with no added-sugar or preservatives!

Maple Syrup – A touch of maple syrup is necessary to balance out the intensely savory flavors in this salmon salad recipe. And if you don’t have any maple syrup on-hand, you can use an equal amount of honey instead.

Salmon Fillets – Feel free to use any variety of salmon fillets you’d like! Sockeye salmon and atlantic salmon are the two most common types, and are only slightly different from each other. Sockeye salmon is a bit more lean, and has a stronger fish flavor, while atlantic salmon is fattier, with a more mild flavor. I personally love atlantic salmon for it’s ultra-soft, buttery, and flaky qualities. Though again, you can use any type of salmon fillets you’d like for this lunch or dinner recipe!

Green Apple – I know, not all of us are fans of fruit in our salads. However, green apple is much more tart than sweet in this salmon salad. Also, remember we have a bit of sweetness in our dressing – so the little bit of natural sweetness from a thinly sliced green apple works to compliment that. If you don’t have any green apples, you can easily leave them out or use a red apple in its place.

Pecans or Walnuts – I have just one rule when it comes to salads, they all must include a crunchy component. A little bit of crunch goes a long way in rounding out the textures in this dish. Roughly chopped pecans and/or walnuts are a healthy alternative to standard croutons. Loaded with vitamins, minerals, and plenty of healthy fats!

maple dijon dressing being poured over salmon salad.

Tips and Tricks

  • Feel free to add or remove any salad ingredients you’d like! Not a fan of nuts? Simple leave them out. Prefer a certain type of lettuce? Then definitely use it! This super simple salad recipe is incredibly easy to customize.
  • For anyone who cooks meat or fish regularly, I highly recommend investing in a kitchen thermometer. This is the thermometer I use on pretty much a daily basis. It’s the easiest way to ensure perfectly cooked salmon every time!
  • This salmon salad can be enjoyed hot or cold! Salmon’s one of those things that tastes delicious at just about any temperature. I often double this recipe for easy grab-and-go lunches all week long – no need to reheat!
Maple dijon salmon salad on a serving platter.

Adjust This Recipe To Your Dietary Needs

Make it Sugar-Free: For an entirely sugar-free recipe, use Lankanto Maple Flavored Syrup in place of the maple syrup.

Make it Nut-Free: Simply replace the nuts with sunflower seeds to make this a nut-free lunch or dinner recipe.

Maple Dijon Salmon Salad

5 from 1 vote
Recipe by Samantha Course: MainDifficulty: Easy
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

5

minutes
Cooking time

12

minutes
Total time

17

minutes

Buttery, flaky salmon atop a simply dressed maple dijon salad! This quick and easy recipe yields perfectly seasoned, and cooked salmon every time. A complete meal, loaded with fresh veggies, then finished off with a tangy maple dijon dressing, ready in under 20 minutes!

Ingredients

  • For the dressing:

  • 1/4 cup olive oil

  • 1/4 cup Dijon mustard

  • 3 tablespoons maple syrup

  • juice from 1 lemon, see Notes

  • 3 garlic cloves, minced

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • For the salmon:

  • 4 salmon fillets, boneless

  • salt and black pepper, to taste

  • For the salad:

  • 4 cups lettuce, see Notes

  • 1 cucumber, sliced

  • 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

  • 1 green apple, thinly sliced

  • 1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, roughly chopped

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 400° Fahrenheit.
  • Whisk together all dressing ingredients in a small bowl.
  • Place salmon fillets on a baking sheet and pat dry with a paper towel. Season filets with salt and black pepper, then drizzle half the maple Dijon dressing evenly over top of the salmon.
  • Bake salmon for 10-12 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted into thickest end of the salmon read 125° Fahrenheit.
  • While salmon cooks, place all salad ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine. Once salmon is done, divide salad between four plates, top each plate with a salmon filet and serve with remaining dressing.

Notes

  • Lemon Juice: If you don’t have any fresh lemons, you can use 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar in place of the lemon juice in this recipe.
  • Lettuce: Use any type of lettuce you like, I used mesclun!

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