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Southwestern Maple Glazed Salmon with Pineapple Salsa

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By Jenn Segal
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The spices on this easy salmon dish create a delicious crust and add a hint of heat to balance out the sweetness of the syrup.

southwestern salmon pineapple salsa

This maple glazed salmon was featured on the cover of Cooking Light. It caught my eye as I was about to get in line at the grocery store and looked so good, I turned around and made a beeline to the fish counter instead.

You basically make a homemade chili powder, dust it generously onto the fish, then broil and glaze with maple syrup. The spices create a delicious top crust and add a hint of heat and bitterness to balance out the sweetness of the syrup and richness of the salmon.

The pineapple salsa is my addition. If you don’t want to bother, the fish is delicious on its own but the fresh fruit really adds another dimension and completes the dish.

What you’ll need to make the dish

Spoon in a bowl of pineapple salsa.

How to make it

Begin by making the pineapple salsa. It’s simply a mix of chopped fresh pineapple, cilantro, fresh lime juice, and maple syrup. Set it aside to let the flavors marry while you prepare the salmon.

Salmon ingredients including kosher salt, ancho chile powder, and paprika.

For the salmon, begin with the spice rub. You’ll need ancho chili powder, cumin, paprika, kosher salt, and sugar. Note that ancho chili pepper powder is not the same as regular chili powder. Chili powder is a blend of spices that season chili and similar dishes, while ancho chili powder is a pure chili powder made from ground ancho peppers with deep rich flavor and mild to medium heat. Many large grocery stores carry it, and you can always find it at Whole Foods.

Unmixed spices in a bowl.

Arrange the salmon fillets on a foil-lined baking sheet for easy cleanup, then sprinkle the spice rub over top.

Salmon filets topped with spices.

Set your oven rack about 6 inches from the broiler, and then broil the salmon for about five minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and brush the salmon fillets with maple syrup, and then broil for one minute more.

Brush adding maple syrup to salmon filets.

As you can see, the top crust will look very dark and almost burnt but don’t worry, it’s not — the spices simply turn dark when moistened. To serve, transfer the salmon fillets to plates and top with the pineapple salsa.

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Southwestern Maple Glazed Salmon with Pineapple Salsa

By Jenn Segal, inspired by Cooking Light

The spices on this easy salmon dish create a delicious crust and add a hint of heat to balance out the sweetness of the syrup.

Servings: 4
Total Time: 30 Minutes

Ingredients

For the Salmon

  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon ancho chile powder
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ¼ teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 4 (6 ounce) salmon fillets
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup

For the Pineapple Salsa

  • 2 cups diced fresh pineapple
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, from one lime
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup

Instructions

  1. Set an oven rack about 6 inches from the top of the oven and preheat the broiler. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
  2. Make the pineapple salsa by combining all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.
  3. Mix the paprika, ancho chili powder, cumin, sugar and kosher salt together in a small bowl.
  4. Place the fillets on the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle evenly with the spice mixture. Broil for 5-6 minutes, or until almost done. Remove the pan from the oven and brush the fillets evenly with the maple syrup. Broil for one minute more. Transfer the fish to plates and top with pineapple salsa.

Pair with

Nutrition Information

Powered by Edamam

  • Calories: 441
  • Fat: 23 g
  • Saturated fat: 5 g
  • Carbohydrates: 23 g
  • Sugar: 18 g
  • Fiber: 2 g
  • Protein: 35 g
  • Sodium: 601 mg
  • Cholesterol: 94 mg
Nutritional Data Disclaimer

This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.

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Comments

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  • Hi Jenn,
    our grocery store only carry the chipotle chili not the ancho chili powder. Can I sub the ancho with the chipotle?
    Thanks

    • Sure, Lyne – you might just use a little less as chipotle chili powder tends to be spicy.

  • Fantastic recipe. I’ve made it several times, always a big hit. Question, recipe calls for Paprika. Should I use Hungarian Sweet or Smoked Spanish? I have both. Recipes rarely indicate which so I’m not sure which to use when. Thanks a lot for great recipes.
    Carol

    • Hi Carol, If it doesn’t say, you should use sweet. Recipes will specify if it should be smoked. Hope that helps! 🙂

  • HELP!!!! We LOVE LOVE LOVE this recipe, and I was planning on making it (again) tonight for guests. My husband just mentioned he for got to tell me that the one is allergic to fish. Since I already purchased the ingredients, do you think it would work on chicken?

  • Jenn, my dinner guest just left and I had to immediately tell you how fabulous this was. Served it with oven roasted asparagus and did strawberries with balsamic vinegar and black pepper, and your wonderful banana chocolate marble bread, for desert. The salmon was a restaurant quality dish. We LOVED it!! You are unbelievable.

  • Tip: add the pineapple salsa after the maple brush. Broiling the pineapples brought out lovely flavor that was able to better “stand up” to the strong spices.

    Didn’t have a lime but fresh squeezed grapefruit juice worked great.

  • This is fast, easy and great! The pineapple salsa makes it – I forgot it when we started eating and I think we were all wondering, but add the salsa and the flavors meld beautifully! Only change was a little bit of jalapeno in the salsa!

  • Hi Jenn, my husband is not a fan of pineapples. Do you think the recipe will taste good if I substitute mango for the pineapple? BTW, I can’t wait for you book. Already ordered 2. 🙂

    • Hi Nitza, I think mango would also work beautifully here. Hope you enjoy and thanks for your support of the cookbook! ❤️

    • Made this tonight and my husband and I agreed it’s the best dinner I’ve made in the decade we’ve been married. It’s not spicy at all, so even my kids enjoyed it. We served it with the black bean salad with corn and avocado which is also an amazing dish. This is definitely restaurant quality and so fast and easy if you use pre-cut pineapple spears!

  • Was another wonderful recipe! SO easy!
    Also, have made the Beef stew with Carrots and Potatoes twice. Also, EXCELLENT! Thank you so much!

  • great!

  • I made this last night. Oh my goodness, this was wonderful. Flavorful, moist, and delicious. Had this for dinner with a lovely salad and a glass of wine. Great, quick dinner.

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