Citrus Salad with Maple Cayenne Candied Walnuts

Citrus Salad with Maple Cayenne Candied Walnuts is a healthy, yummy meal! Mesclun greens piled high with cheese, nuts, + fruit – easy to make and delicious! This post is sponsored by Diamond Nuts.

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Are you in the mood for the most epic salad? Cause I’m bringing it to ya!

I’m all for team #NoBoringSalad around here… I don’t know about you. There is nothing worse than a big bowl of blah iceberg lettuce with some lame tomatoes + cucumbers on it.

Booooring, no thanks. If I’m eating a bowl of vegetables it has to taste delicious, and over the years I’ve come up with what I believe to be the perfect science to a salad.

Here’s my formula: favorite greens + seasonal fruit + little bit of good quality cheese + nuts for crunch = perfection.

Dressing (like my Healthy Lemon Basil Vinaigrette) can amplify the flavor, but sometimes you don’t even need them when you’ve got ingredients that are full of flavor!

The greens, fruit + cheese combo in this salad is delicious – but the star of the show is without a doubt these Maple Cayenne Candied Walnuts.

I mean.. can we just admire them for a sec? Hangin’ out on this cookie sheet in a pool of maple-y, spicy goodness, just waiting to get nice and crispy coated in the oven. YUM.

I love candied walnuts, and think they’re the best addition to pretty much any salad.  They add crunch, some sweetness, healthy fats… so much goodness!

I didn’t realize you could make your own until Tyler tried it once when we were in college.. they were SO much better than the ones you get pre-made in the store, and so easy to do!

How to make Maple Candied Walnuts:

I used my favorite Diamond Shelled Walnuts in this to make a batch of my candied walnuts, but decided regular maple was kinda boring.. why not add a kick to it?

I rarely cook with cayenne because it’s so strong, but since the maple was so sweet – I knew it would be a perfect combo.

Simply whisk together, coat the walnuts, and bake – 15 minutes in the oven was all I needed for the perfect salad topping!

In addition to being so incredibly delicious, Diamond’s Shelled Walnuts are packed with protein, healthy fats, and are a great source of copper + manganese.

They also have  2.5g of Omega-3s per serving. As someone who definitely doesn’t get enough Omega-3s in their diet, I love that I can throw a handful of these on my salad and get my daily dose in.

I know that you’re going to love the flavor these candied walnuts bring to the salad along their other companions: fresh orange, goat cheese, pine nuts + hemp hearts.

Things you need to make this Citrus Salad:

To make this recipe you’ll need Diamond Shelled Walnuts, maple syrup, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, parchment paper, baking sheet, Diamond Pine Nuts and hemp hearts

The maple cayenne candied walnuts go well on pretty much any salad, but they’re also great on a cheese board or even as a little snack! No matter how you use them – I know you’ll love them!

Substitutions for this citrus salad recipe:

Nuts – You can sub pecans for walnuts. You can omit pine nuts if you prefer

Greens – This salad works great with spinach or arugula

Citrus – I haven’t tried this with grapefruit, but I bet it would be delicious

Cheese – I love goat cheese but you can sub in blue cheese, feta, or any other cheese you love!

I want to know – what do you usually put on your salads to make them less boring?! I’m always looking for new things to try!

Other Healthy Salads/Dressings

• Strawberry Avocado Goat Cheese Salad
• Healthy Summer Peach Arugula Salad
• Apple Walnut Salad
• Healthy Lemon Basil Vinaigrette
• 10 Whole30 Dressings You Have to Try