Whenever I’m craving sushi – these salmon rice bowls are what I make. And bonus – they take less than 30 minutes. Grilled salmon is piled onto rice, along with creamy aioli, quick pickled cucumber, sweet chilli sauce and zingy smashed avocado. They’re healthy, simple and perfect for busy weeknights.
I live for bowl food. What is it about piling lots of lovely things on top of each other in a bowl that just makes it taste so good?? This salmon rice bowl is a classic example of a go-to weeknight meal for me. Packed full of flavour and colourful ingredients, it’s a great way to get lots of veggies in and you can really make it your own.
The inspiration for this one is the famous viral TikTok salmon and rice bowl – in that version, rice, salmon, avocado, kimchi, mayo and sriracha are all mixed together and eaten with sheets of nori (seaweed). This is my twist on that!
It’s also a great one to play around with, based on what you have to hand. You could add edamame, shredded carrot, cabbage, bean sprouts, mango, chopped pineapple or switch out the salmon for grilled chicken, tofu or halloumi.
Ingredients
It might look like there are a few ingredients going on here – but everything should be easy to find, and you probably have a lot of it already in your cupboard.
- Rice. I’m using regular long-grain rice here for ease, but you can switch that out for proper sushi rice, quinoa, cous cous or just use lots of leafy greens to keep things low carb.
- Salmon. Go for good quality salmon fillets if you can – you could also use hot or cold smoked salmon to cut prep down further.
- Avocado. Make sure you’re going for a ripe, soft avocado if you can. If you can’t find one that’s ripe, I’d skip it and use more aioli, sweet chilli jam and cucumber – unripe, hard avocado is not a fun experience.
- Cucumber. Instead of kimchi, we’re making a quick pickled cucumber with rice vinegar and salt. This provides that acidic hit that cuts through the oiliness of the salmon and avocado.
- Sweet chilli jam. I’m using my sweet chilli jam recipe (I recommend giving it a go!) but you could use any other sweet chilli sauce, or sriracha instead. To make it even fresher and fruitier, I love adding some finely chopped pineapple and a little pineapple juice to the sauce, but that’s optional.
If you want the proper sushi bowl experience, I recommend hunting down some nori (seaweed) sheets to enjoy with the bowls. They bring another lovely seafoody, salty element to the bowls and make them lots of fun to eat! You can find them at larger supermarkets, or you can pick them up from Amazon.
How to make them
Mix the soy sauce, honey and lime juice, then pour it over the salmon fillets in an oven dish or lined oven tray. Turn the salmon to coat it well (you can leave it to marinate for 30 minutes in the fridge if you like – but don’t worry if you don’t have time). Pop the salmon in the oven for 8 minutes, then move it to the top of the oven and turn your grill (broiler) to its highest setting for another minute, just to get a little colour on top.
While the salmon is in the oven, get the rice on. Add the rice, a little salt and water to a small pot and set it over medium heat. Once the top of the water starts looking a little foamy, pop a lid on, turn the heat to low and leave it for 12 minutes. After 12 minutes, remove the pot from the heat and keep the lid on until you’re ready to serve.
Mix your diced cucumber with rice vinegar and salt, then mix the avocado with coriander (cilantro), lime juice and a little salt. I like to use a knife to kind of slice it up in the bowl until it starts to break down and become creamy.
When you’re ready, divide the rice between bowls, and top with the salmon, sweet chilli jam, pickled cucumber, smashed avocado and creamy aioli. Finish with a good scattering of chopped spring onions and serve with the nori sheets on the side.
Got a question?
Yes! That’ll make things even easier. You can also use hot smoked salmon or even cold smoked salmon.
You can really play around with whatever you have to hand – any crunchy veggies are lovely (think shredded cabbage, carrots and bean sprouts), or up the protein content with edamame beans. You could also switch the white rice for brown rice, quinoa, cous cous or leafy greens (or mix!) Sushi bowls are a great ‘clear out the fridge’ meal because you really can’t go too wrong. Juicy pieces of mango, pineapple or kiwifruit would also be delicious.
You sure can. That’s the great thing about this recipe – it can be made ahead of time, stored separately in airtight containers in the fridge and then just assembled and enjoyed when you’re ready. You can make the salmon, rice, avocado and cucumber up to 5 days in advance.
You can use lots of different things here! Stick with fish and use cod, halibut, hake, snapper or juicy prawns or go with chicken (this miso grilled chicken or sticky gochujang chicken are great options), or mix things up with pan-fried tofu or chunks of sweet chilli glazed halloumi.
In the UK? Shop this recipe on the Cherrypick app
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If you like this recipe, here are some other quick ideas you might enjoy
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Quick Salmon Sushi Rice Bowls
- Total Time: 27 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Diet: Low Calorie
Description
Whenever I’m craving sushi – these salmon rice bowls are what I make. And bonus – they take less than 30 minutes. Grilled salmon is piled onto rice, along with creamy aioli, quick pickled cucumber, sweet chilli sauce and zingy smashed avocado. They’re healthy, simple and perfect for busy weeknights.
Ingredients
For the salmon –
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons lime juice (or use lemon)
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 4 salmon fillets
For the bowls –
- 1 cup long-grain white rice
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 cucumber
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 avocado
- 1 tablespoon lime juice (or use lemon)
- Handful fresh coriander leaves, roughly torn
- 2 spring onions, finely sliced
- 3 tablespoons aioli
- 3 tablespoons sweet chilli jam or sweet chilli sauce
- 4 nori (seaweed) sheets (optional)
Instructions
- Heat your oven to 200C/390F fan. Mix the 4 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons lime juice and 1 tablespoon of honey in a small bowl. Arrange the salmon fillets on a small lined oven tray or baking dish. Spoon the marinade all over the salmon pieces, then turn to coat them evenly. Bake for 8 minutes. I like to pop them under the grill (broiler) at the highest setting for the last minute just to get a lovely bit of charred crust on there. PRO TIP: If you have time, you can let the salmon sit in the marinade for up to 30 minutes to maximise the flavour.
- Make the rice. Get your 1 cup of rice into a small pot along with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 ½ cups of water. Set the pot over a medium heat. Once the top of the water starts to foam a little, pop a lid on (or use a plate or wooden board) and turn the heat right down. Leave the pot undisturbed for 12 minutes. At this point the water should be all absorbed. Remove the pot from the heat and let it sit for another 10 minutes. This can all be happening while the salmon is cooking and you’re prepping the rest of the bowl ingredients.
- Prepare the smashed avocado. Slice the avocado in half and remove the stone. I like to make criss cross slices with a knife down the avocado flesh, then scoop the flesh out with a spoon into a bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of lime juice, ½ teaspoon of salt and about 1 tablespoon of torn coriander leaves to the bowl with the avocado. Use a knife to slice through the avocado flesh in the bowl, cutting it up into small pieces as you go. Taste, then season with a little more salt if it needs it.
- Make the quick pickled cucumber. Slice the cucumber lengthways, then scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon and discard them. Cut the cucumber into small diced pieces, then pop into a bowl. Add the 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar and ½ teaspoon of salt. Mix to combine, then set aside.
- Assemble the bowls. Divide the rice between bowls, then top with the salmon, drizzling over any remaining marinade from your oven dish. Add a dollop of the smashed avocado, spoon over the pickled cucumber, then top with creamy aioli and zingy sweet chilli jam. Finish with a scattering of spring onion and serve with the nori sheets on the side.
Notes
STORAGE SUGGESTIONS: These bowls are great for meal prep. I like to prepare the individual elements in advance and store them separately in airtight containers in the fridge until I’m ready to serve. The salmon, rice, pickled cucumber and smashed avocado can all be made 5 days in advance.
INGREDIENT NOTES: The nori sheets are optional here I urge you to try and find them for a proper sushi bowl experience – it’s super fun to scoop up the bowl using little pieces of the nori to make your own salmon bite. I love using my sweet chilli jam and easy egg-free aioli here – but you can use regular sweet chilli sauce or aioli of your choice. I also LOVE to add some chopped pineapple and a little pineapple juice to the sweet chilli jam here, it’s delicious and freshens it up.
SUBSTITUTIONS: Experiment – you could add lots of different things to bulk the bowls out even more. Edamame beans, sliced carrot, shredded cabbage, chunks of mango, pineapple, bean sprouts or leafy greens would be great here. Switch out the rice for a big handful of spinach if you’re wanting to go low-carb or keto.
SHOP THIS RECIPE ON THE CHERRYPICK APP: If you’re in the UK, you can use the all-in-one meal planning app, Cherrypick, to shop all the ingredients you need for this recipe, in one click. Then, Sainsbury’s will deliver them straight to your door.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 12
- Category: easy
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: asian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl
- Calories: 566
- Sugar: 10.7g
- Sodium: 1983.7mg
- Fat: 28.8g
- Saturated Fat: 4.7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 17.6g
- Carbohydrates: 52.6g
- Fiber: 3.8g
- Protein: 59.7g
- Cholesterol: 126.1mg
Keywords: salmon rice bowl, salmon bowl, emily mariko salmon bowl
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