Chipotle Maple Grilled Salmon

Chipotle Maple Grilled Salmon is a healthy and easy to make dinner that’s perfect for summer! Smoky, sweet and a little spicy. It goes great with cilantro lime rice and grilled zucchini!

Let’s get this week started with a simple, healthy dinner. Chipotle Maple Grilled Salmon is the perfect way to get back on track with healthy eating and cooking if you were like me and took a break from it over the weekend. 

I’m definitely an 80/20 girl when it comes to eating healthy. I try to keep myself in check during the week, but on the weekend I loosen the strings and enjoy a meal out, a couple cocktails and of course dessert. Life in terms of food, would be pretty boring if we didn’t allow ourselves to indulge occasionally. 

I’ve mentioned this before, but grilling salmon is my favorite way to prepare it. There’s something about that open flame and char that really brings out the flavor. When you’re grilling salmon I find it best to use skin-on fillets. This helps keep the it together so you don’t lose half of it in between the grill grates.

As much as I love chicken, I find that salmon leaves me more satisfied and full. The extra fat in salmon isn’t something you should be afraid of. It’s a healthy fat, unlike the fat you’ll find in pastries. Salmon actually has quite a few health benefits.

Health Benefits of Salmon

1. It’s a great source of protein and contains 22-25 grams in a 3.5 ounce serving. Protein is important for bone health, repairing the body after injury and maintaining muscle mass. 

2. High in B Vitamins. B vitamins are important for turning the food you eat into energy, reducing inflammation and keeping your brain and nervous system functioning at a high level. 

3. Rich in omega-3 fatty acids. This is something your body can’t create on it’s own and it has to come from a food source. Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to decrease blood pressure, decrease risk factors for certain diseases and reduce inflammation.

If all of that doesn’t make you want to go out and buy some salmon and make this chipotle maple grilled salmon, I don’t know what will. 

The salmon fillets are marinated in a mixture of chipotle chiles, adobo sauce, lime juice, maple syrup, cumin and garlic powder. It only needs about 30 minutes to marinade. Keep in mind salmon doesn’t take long to cook, these fillets only took about 6-8 minutes.

The USDA recommends cooking salmon to 145° F. Many people find that to be overdone, myself included. Cooking the salmon to 130° F. and letting it rest for 5 minutes should give you perfectly medium cooked salmon.

To serve alongside this smoky, sweet and spicy grilled salmon, I made cilantro lime brown rice and grilled zucchini planks. I’ve included the recipe for the rice below and for the zucchini all you need is olive oil, salt and pepper. The zucchini only takes a minute or two per side to grill. 

Sides to Serve with the Grilled Chipotle Maple Salmon

• Mexican Green Salad

• Mexican Black Beans

• Grilled Zucchini Corn Tomato Salad 

• Creamy Southwest Vegetarian Pasta Salad

More Grilled Salmon Recipes

Grilled Salmon Tacos with Strawberry Avocado Salsa

Grilled Salmon with Mango Cucumber Mint Salsa

Southwest Grilled Salmon with Blueberry Corn Salsa

Chipotle Maple Grilled Salmon

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Additional Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

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Ingredients

• CHIPOTLE MAPLE SALMON
• 1 chipotle chile, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons adobo sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 lime, zested and juiced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
• Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 4 (4 ounce) skin-on wild caught salmon fillets
• CILANTRO LIME BROWN RICE
• 1 cup uncooked brown rice
• 2 1/4 cups water
• 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1 lime, zested and juiced
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

CILANTRO LIME BROWN RICE

1. Add the rice, lime zest, garlic, salt and pepper to a medium saucepan. Add the water, stir, bring to a boil, cover, and turn the heat down to low. Simmer for approximately 40-45 minutes or until rice has absorbed all the liquid. Stir in lime juice and chopped cilantro, taste for seasoning, remove from the heat and keep covered until ready to serve.

CHIPOTLE MAPLE SALMON

1. While the rice cooks combine all of the ingredients for the salmon in a shallow dish. Whisk to combine. Reserve a small amount of the marinade to brush on during grilling, then place the salmon fillets flesh side down in the marinade. Let them marinate for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the grill to medium-high heat and oil the grill grates. Place the salmon flesh side down on the grill. Cook for 3-5 minutes depending on the thickness, then flip over and brush with any reserved marinade. Cook another 3-5 minutes. If using a meat thermometer, remove from the grill when the internal temperature reads 130° F. Let the salmon rest for 5 minutes before serving.
3. Serve with the cilantro lime rice, grilled zucchini or side dish of choice.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 468 Total Fat: 22g Saturated Fat: 4g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 16g Cholesterol: 107mg Sodium: 125mg Carbohydrates: 26g Fiber: 2g Sugar: 5g Protein: 40g