Eat with the colors of the season with this recipe for a fall salmon and squash bowl! It’s made with garlicky kale, roasted butternut squash and cauliflower, apples, quinoa, pomegranate seeds, pumpkin seeds, feta cheese, and pecans, plus honey mustard salmon on top. It’s everything you love about fall in one bowl!
One of my favorite ways to get inspired in the kitchen is to think about what fruits and vegetables are in season. If you follow me on Instagram, then you know fall is my favorite because of pumpkin everything and everything that is in season.
Pomegranate seeds, butternut squash, cauliflower, and pumpkin seeds decorate this autumn salmon & squash bowl with the colors of the season in a delicious and nutritious way! Not only are all of these fruits and veggies beautiful, but they pack vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants in every bite. A salmon harvest bowl at its finest!
I love the sweet, savory, crunchy, and creaminess of this salad and the honey mustard salmon complements it perfectly. It’s easy to make, and the marinade for the salmon doubles as the dressing for the salad. Win, win!
You could even skip the protein on top and make this fall squash salad a Thanksgiving side dish too! Let’s toss this fall bowl together, shall we?!
Autumn salmon & squash bowl ingredients
One of the best things about this salad recipe aside from it being delicious, is that all of the ingredients are really interchangeable. If you don’t have one of the things on this list or prefer a different type of cheese or nut, go for it!
- lacinato kale– I prefer lacinato kale to curly kale, however, if you only have curly kale available that would work too.
- butternut squash – Feel free to peel, cube, and roast a whole butternut squash or purchase cubed butternut squash to save a step. I do not recommend using frozen butternut squash for this recipe.
- cauliflower – Here too you can get a head of cauliflower and cut it into florets, you can purchase it cut. I do not recommend frozen for this recipe.
- apple – I used Honeycrisp apples for this salad, but feel free to use your favorite variety.
- quinoa – tricolor or white quinoa would work.
- pomegranate seeds – pomegranate seeds are actually called “arils” and are packed with disease-fighting antioxidants!
- pumpkin seeds
- feta cheese – Not a feta fan? No problem, this salad would also be delicious with goat cheese, or shaved parmesan cheese.
- pecans – If pecans aren’t your thing, walnuts or almonds would work well too.
- wild-caught sockeye salmon
- avocado oil
- garlic powder
- olive oil
- dijon mustard
- apple cider vinegar
- lemon
- maple syrup
Tips for making non-boring salads!
Whether you’re making this fall salad or an everyday salad for lunch, try these tips to for making it satisfying and delicious!
- Use two different types of lettuce to give the salad more “lift”. In the case of this salad, I kept it to just kale. However if you’re not a fan of kale, mixing it with more of another type of green might just get you to eat more of it!
- Add something crunchy. In order to make a really salad that actually keeps you full, you need to have different flavors and textures. So, enter something crunchy. In the case of this salad the pomegranate, pumpkin seeds and nuts give each bite a good crunch. Some of my other favorite crunchy salad toppers include baked parmesan cheese, almonds, pistachios, or
- Add a source of healthy fat. Healthy fat is the difference between a salad that keeps you full for a while and one that keeps you full for a few minutes. Plus, fat helps us better absorb fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E & K) from the veggies that are in the salad. In this case, the pecans and feta are the sources of fat on this salad.
- Switch up the protein source. In this autumn harvest salad, I opted for salmon. But you could also just keep it to quinoa or top it with chicken. Adding a source of protein, whether meat, fish or plan-based, gives the salad more staying power.
Autumn Salmon Squash Bowl
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 1 cup quinoa cooked
- 3 cups roughly 2 bunches lacinato kale, washed and de-stemmed
- 2 tsp. olive oil
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 1/2 cup roasted butternut squash
- 1 1/2 cup roasted cauliflower
- 2 tbsp. avocado oil
- salt and pepper
- 1 apple chopped
- 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1/3 pomegranate seeds
- 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup pecan pieces
- 2 salmon filets
For the dressing & marinade:
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- juice from 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp. honey syrup
- 4 tsp. Dijon mustard
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook quinoa according to package directions.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Toss cubed butternut squash and cauliflower florets with avocado oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast on a baking sheet for approximately 15 minutes until the squash is fork tender. Let cool.
- In a small bowl combine all of the ingredients for the dressing/marinade and whisk together. Use half as a marinade for the salmon (drizzle on each of the 2 filets) and the rest as salad dressing. Pour marinade on salmon. Bake at 400 degrees in the oven for about 10-12 minutes until opaque or grill on a grill pan on the stove for 3-4 minutes on each side.
- Next, massage the washed and dried kale with olive oil and garlic powder for a few seconds.
- Toss roasted veggies with the kale. Add chopped apple, pomegranate seeds, pumpkin seeds, feta and pecans.
- Drizzle with remaining dressing and enjoy!
more fall recipes you’re sure to love (with some fall salmon recipes)!
- garlic pesto pasta with salmon and butternut squash
- honey citrus glazed salmon
- pumpkin turkey chili {paleo friendly}
- creamy pumpkin soup {GF & V}
- pumpkin harvest pasta sauce {DF & GF}
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