All the flavor of your favorite salmon sushi roll – with none of the rolling. This easy salmon sushi bake layers seasoned sushi rice, nori, and flaky salmon in a baking dish and lets the oven do all the hard work. It’s finished with a drizzle of spicy gochujang aioli and fresh, crunchy toppings. Quick to make, perfect for prepping ahead, and as fab for weeknight dinners as it is for parties.
Is it sushi lasagna? A sushi slice? Sushi casserole? Whatever you want to call it, this layered salmon sushi bake is seriously delicious, super easy, and endlessly adaptable based on what you’ve got in your kitchen.
I LOVE sushi, but it’s not something I make often. It can be fiddly and time-consuming. But this salmon sushi bake (just like this salmon sushi bowl, mini baked salmon sushi cups or baked salmon poke bowls) takes all the hassle away. You simply layer seasoned sushi rice, nori, and salmon in a dish, bake until golden, then pile your lovely fresh, crunchy toppings.
Serve it warm right out of the oven, or enjoy it cold or at room temperature. It’s great either way. It also makes wonderful party food! Just slice into bite-sized pieces and let everyone dig in.
“Made this tonight and even my salmon dubious son loved it and asked for seconds! Brilliant recipe” – Charlotte ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Why You’ll Love this Salmon Sushi Bake
- Quick, easy, and hands-off. It’s ready in around 40 minutes, and most of that is oven time.
- Super adaptable. Use fresh salmon, canned salmon, cooked chicken, canned tuna, shrimp, crab, or imitation crab – or a mixture!
- Great for meal prep. It keeps well for up to three days in the fridge, and tastes amazing cold (straight from the container!)
- Perfect for parties. I love slicing the bake into bite-sized pieces and serving it up for a very fun, cheat’s sushi appetizer.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Salmon. I’m using fresh salmon fillets in the recipe, but you can use pre-cooked, hot-smoked salmon or even canned salmon instead. You can also use any leftover grilled salmon (like from this miso grilled salmon or maple glazed salmon), or switch it out for tuna (or canned tuna), shrimp, or crab meat (or a mix!)
- Short grain rice. Short-grain or sushi rice is important here. This is the kind of rice that is sticky, so it will stick together in the bake – it won’t work as well with long-grain rice.
- Nori sheets. Sheets of seaweed are a staple in sushi, and here they provide the same sushi flavor in a much easier-to-work-with way. If you can’t find it, you can leave it out.
- Cream cheese. This brings a lovely creaminess to the filling (and mimics a California roll), but you could use sour cream or crème fraiche instead.
- Aioli. I love using my favorite homemade egg-free garlic aioli, spicy gochujang aioli, or easy egg-free Kewpie mayo, but any store-bought one will work.
- Gochujang paste. We’ll use this to mix the quick spicy aioli for the topping, but you could use any other hot sauce (like sriracha) if you can’t find it. It will be in the Asian ingredients aisle of your supermarket or you can pick it up from Amazon.
I’m topping the bake with quick-pickled cucumber, lots of scallions, and cilantro, but you could play around with this. Adding slices of avocado is great, or skip the cucumber and swap cilantro for mint leaves.
How to Make the Salmon Sushi Bake
This is a step-by-step photo overview of how to make the sushi bake. I’ve popped the full ingredients list with quantities, and the full instructions in the recipe at the bottom of the page for you.
1. Cook your sushi rice, then mix through the rice vinegar and set aside.
PREP AHEAD: The rice can be made up to 3 days in advance, then just stored in the fridge in an airtight container until you’re ready.
2. Chop your salmon into bite-sized pieces, then mix with cream cheese, aioli, scallions, cilantro, sweet chili jam, and soy sauce.
3. Line a small oven dish or cake tin (I’m using a 9″ x 9″ square dish), then press the rice firmly down into the base, smoothing the top down with a spatula.
PRO TIP: You don’t have to line your dish – I just find it easier to slice and serve by lifting the whole thing out.
4. Lay the nori sheets on top of the rice – try to cover the whole area with the sheets if you can. You can overlap the sheets.
5. Pile the salmon mixture on top of the nori sheets.
6. Smooth it out to cover the whole area. Try to make the mixture as level as you can. Transfer the dish to the oven, and bake until the salmon looks firm.
7. Drizzle over the spicy gochujang aioli, quick-pickled cucumber, scallions, cilantro, and sesame seeds when you’re ready to serve.
PRO TIP: Wait until you’re ready to serve before topping the bake, so they stay nice and fresh.
8. Slice the sushi bake and divide between plates.
You can serve it hot or cold – it’s lovely either way.
Watch How to Make the Sushi Bake
Salmon Sushi Bake FAQs
Simply put, a sushi bake contains everything you’d get in a typical sushi roll – in this case, a salmon roll. That includes short-grain sushi rice, salmon, cucumber, aioli (or kewpie mayo), scallions, cilantro, soy sauce, cream cheese, and sweet chili. It’s essentially a sushi roll, deconstructed!
I like to cook salmon at 350°F (180°C) fan for about 15 minutes – then if you like, you can turn your broiler (grill) to high and place the salmon under it to get some lovely golden charring on top for another couple of minutes.
Yes! You could use shrimp, crab meat, or other oily fish like tuna or trout. You could also use canned tuna or salmon.
You could just leave the nori (seaweed) sheets out – the bake will still be delicious.
You could use sriracha, another hot sauce, teriyaki sauce, sliced avocado, or edamame beans. Think of what you’d get in your favourite sushi roll – chances are it will work here.
It keeps really well. Store it in the fridge in an airtight container, and it will be fine for up to 3 days. Enjoy it cold, at room temperature, or heat it in the microwave.
Like this Sushi Bake? Try these Easy Better-than-Takeout Ideas Next
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! You can leave a recipe rating and a comment below. And remember to tag @DishedByKate on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok if you’ve made one of my recipes. Seeing your recreations really makes my day 😊.
Easy Salmon Sushi Bake (No Rolling Required)
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
All the flavor of your favorite salmon sushi roll – with none of the rolling. This easy salmon sushi bake layers seasoned sushi rice, nori, and flaky salmon in a baking dish and lets the oven do all the hard work. It’s finished with a drizzle of spicy gochujang aioli and fresh, crunchy toppings. Quick to make, perfect for prepping ahead, and as fab for weeknight dinners as it is for parties.
Ingredients
For the sushi rice –
- 1 1/2 cups short-grain (sushi) rice, rinsed well
- 1 2/3 cups water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
For the sushi bake –
- 14oz (400g) salmon fillets
- 1/4 cup aioli (or mayo, or try my easy egg-free aioli)
- 1/4 cup cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sweet chili jam (or use sweet chilli sauce)
- 2 scallions (spring onions), finely sliced
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro (coriander) leaves, roughly torn
- 2 nori (seaweed) sheets
For the toppings –
- 1/2 cucumber
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro (coriander) leaves
- 2 scallions (spring onions)
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 3 tablespoons aioli (or mayo)
- 1/2 tablespoon gochujang paste
- 2 tablespoons sweet chili jam (or sweet chilli sauce)
Instructions
- Cook the rice. Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C fan). Add 1 ½ cups rinsed short-grain rice, 1 ⅔ cups of water, and 1 teaspoon of salt to a small saucepan. Set over medium heat. When you see foamy bubbles on top, pop the lid on (or use a plate or a wooden board), reduce the heat to low, and cook undisturbed for 12 minutes. After 12 minutes, remove the pot from the heat and keep the lid on. Let the rice steam for another 10 minutes, then fluff up the grains with a fork, and stir in 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar.
- Make the salmon mix. Remove the skin from the salmon fillets, then chop them up into bite-sized pieces. Pop them into a large mixing bowl with ¼ cup aioli, ¼ cup cream cheese, 2 tablespoons light soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sweet chili jam, 2 chopped scallions, and ½ cup of cilantro leaves. Mix well to combine, then set aside.
- Prepare your baking dish. Line a small square or rectangular baking dish (I’m using a 9″x9″ square dish) with parchment paper. You don’t have to line it – I just find it makes it easier to get the bake out because you can literally lift it up and out with the baking paper.
- Assemble the sushi bake. Spread the cooked sushi rice into the base of the dish and press down firmly, making sure it gets into all four corners. Smooth the top of the rice with the back of your spoon. Place the nori seaweed sheets on top of the rice layer to cover it. Finish by spooning over the salmon mixture, smoothing it into an even, flat layer with the back of your spoon or a spatula. Pop into the oven and bake for 20 minutes until the salmon is pale pink and firm to the touch.
- Prepare the toppings. While the bake is in the oven, slice the cucumber in half lengthways, then scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon and discard them. Add them to a small bowl with ½ teaspoon of salt and give them a good mix. Mix the gochujang paste with the aioli. Finely slice 1 scallion, then slice the other one finely lengthwise and place the long, thin slices in a glass of cold water (they’ll curl up this way).
- Garnish and serve. Let the bake cool for a couple of minutes after baking. Drizzle with the gochujang aioli, then scatter over the chopped cucumber and finely sliced scallions. Finish with dollops of sweet chili jam, cilantro leaves, curly scallions, and sesame seeds. Slice into squares and serve warm, at room temperature, or cold.
Notes
PREP AHEAD: You can make the sushi rice up to 3 days in advance, then just mix the salmon and assemble the bake in minutes.
STORAGE: The salmon bake will keep really well for 3 days once cooked in the fridge – and it’s great eaten cold.
SUBSTITUTIONS: You could switch the salmon for pre-cooked salmon, hot-smoked salmon, tuna, crabmeat, shrimp or canned tuna or salmon. Play with your toppings – sliced avocado would be great here, and you could swap cilantro for flat-leaf parsley and mint if you’re not a fan. Think about what comes in your favourite sushi roll for inspiration! Use sour cream, cottage cheese, or crème fraîche in place of cream cheese in the salmon mix if you like.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 30
- Category: fakeaways
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: japanese
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 350g
- Calories: 662
- Sugar: 2g
- Sodium: 1014mg
- Fat: 32.1g
- Saturated Fat: 7.1g
- Unsaturated Fat: 22.2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 63.7g
- Fiber: 0.7g
- Protein: 29.6g
- Cholesterol: 71.4mg
This is my new favourite easy dinner! Can’t believe how much it really does taste like sushi, and so so easy to make
Woohooooo! I’m so pleased you enjoyed – it’s just the best right??!
Made this tonight and even my salmon dubious son loved it and asked for seconds! Brilliant recipe
I’m so happy to hear that!! It’s so great isn’t it 🙂
Do you still need to cook the dish in the oven with hot smoked salmon or canned salmon
Hi Margaret, very good question! You don’t need to bake the dish if you’re using cooked salmon and happy to enjoy it cold 🙂
Amazing recipe. Really tasty. highly recommend.
So pleased you enjoyed it!!