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The Best, Easy Salmon Sushi Bake

Dec 11, 2022 | 8 comments

All the flavour of your favourite sushi roll, with none of the faff. This destined to become a family favourite salmon sushi bake is as easy as layering seasoned sushi rice, nori and spicy salmon, then letting the oven do the hard work. Not only is it fab for making ahead of time, but sliced into bite-sized pieces, it makes wonderful party food.

Close up of a piece of salmon sushi bake, with the rest of the bake in the background.

Is it sushi lasagne? Is it a sushi slice? Sushi casserole? Whatever this lovely layered salmon sushi bake is, it’s SERIOUSLY delicious, seriously easy, and very adaptable based on what you have 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 or salmon sushi cups) takes that all away. All you have to do is layer sushi rice, nori and salmon, then pile of lovely fresh crunchy toppings.

You can serve it warm right out of the oven, or serve it cold or at room temperature. It’s great either way. It also makes wonderful party food! Just slice and serve it in bite-sized pieces.

Why you’ll love this recipe

  • Super quick and easy – it only takes 40 minutes and most of that is hands-off time.
  • No need to pre-cook the salmon – just mix it with the ingredients, then layer it into the dish.
  • Easy to adapt – use shrimp, crabmeat (or imitation crab meat), leftover salmon or chicken, tinned salmon or tinned tuna. Or a mixture!
  • Perfect for meal prep – the sushi bake keeps well for 3 days and is great cold.

Ingredients

Ingredients for salmon sushi bake laid out on a grey marble background and labelled.
  • Salmon. I’m using fresh salmon fillets in the recipe, but you can use pre-cooked, hot smoked salmon or even tinned salmon instead. You can also use any leftover grilled salmon you might have, or switch it out for tuna (or tinned 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 with long-grain rice.
  • Nori sheets. Sheets of seaweed are a staple in sushi, and here it provides the same sushi flavour in a much easier-to-work-with way. If you can’t find it though, 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 creme fraiche instead.
  • Aioli. I love using my favourite homemade egg-free aioli here, but you could use regular mayo, spicy mayo or Kewpie mayo.
  • Gochujang paste. We’ll use this to mix a quick spicy aioli, 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 it

Get the rinsed rice, water and a little salt in a small pan. Heat it until you see foamy bubbles start to appear, then pop on a lid and turn the heat right down. Leave it for 12 minutes, then remove the pot from the keep and keep the lid on for another 10 minutes. After that, 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.

Chop your salmon into small pieces, then get into a large mixing bowl with the cream cheese, aioli, scallions, cilantro, soy sauce and fish sauce. Give everything a really good mix together, then set aside in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble.

When you’re ready to cook, line a small oven dish or cake tin (I’m using an 8″ x 8″ square dish here), then press the rice firmly down into the base, smoothing the top down with a spatula. Lay the nori sheets on top – try to cover the whole area with the sheets if you can.

Pile the salmon mixture on top of the nori sheets and smooth it out to cover the whole area. Try to make the mixture as level as you can on top of the sheets. Bake for 20 minutes at 360F/180C until the salmon is looking firm and pink.

Drizzle over the spicy gochujang aioli, quick-pickled cucumber, scallions, cilantro and sesame seeds when you’re ready to serve. You can serve the bake hot or cold – it’s lovely either way. Wait until you’re ready to serve it before topping it so the toppings stay nice and fresh.

Got a question?

What is sushi bake made of?

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 chilli. It’s essentially a sushi roll, deconstructed!

What temperature do you cook salmon in the oven?

I like to cook salmon at 350F/180C fan for about 15 minutes – then if you like, you can turn your grill to high and place the salmon under it to get some lovely charring on top for another couple of minutes.

Can I use something other than salmon?

Yes! You could use shrimp, crab meat or other oily fish like tuna or trout. You could also use tinned tuna.

I can’t find seaweed sheets, what else can I use?

You could just leave the sheets out – the bake will still be delicious.

What else can I top the bake with?

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!

How long will the bake keep?

It keeps really well. Store it in the fridge in an airtight container and it will be fine for 3 days.

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Salmon sushi bake on a baking paper lined tray.

The Best, Easy Salmon Sushi Bake


Description

All the flavour of your favourite sushi roll, with none of the faff. This destined to become a family favourite salmon sushi bake is as easy as layering seasoned sushi rice, nori and spicy salmon, then letting the oven do the hard work. Not only is it fab for making ahead of time, but sliced into bite-sized pieces, it makes wonderful party food.


Ingredients

Units Scale

For the sushi bake –

  • 14oz/400g salmon fillets
  • 1/4 cup aioli (try my easy egg-free aioli)
  • 1/4 cup cream cheese
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sweet chilli jam (or use sweet chilli sauce)
  • 2 scallions (spring onions), finely sliced
  • 1/2 cup cilantro (coriander) leaves, roughly torn
  • 2 nori (seaweed) sheets

For the sushi rice – 

  • 1 1/2 cups short-grain (sushi) rice, rinsed
  • 1 2/3 cups water
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar

For the toppings –

  • 1/2 cucumber
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup cilantro (coriander) leaves
  • 2 scallions (spring onions)
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
  • 3 tablespoons aioli
  • 1/2 tablespoon gochujang paste
  • 2 tablespoons chilli jam (or use sweet chilli sauce)

Instructions

  1. Make the rice. Heat your oven to 360F/180C fan. Add 1 1/2 cups rinsed short-grain rice, 1 2/3 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of salt into a small pot and set over medium heat. When you see foamy bubbles on top, pop the lid on (or use a plate or a wooden board), turn the heat right down to low and leave the pot undisturbed for 12 minutes. After 12 minutes, remove the pot from the heat and keep the lid on for another 10 minutes. Fluff up the grains with a fork, then mix through the rice vinegar.
  2. Make the salmon mix. Remove the skin from the salmon fillets, then chop them up into little bite-sized pieces. Pop them into a large mixing bowl with 1/4 cup cream cheese, 1/4 cup aioli, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sweet chilli jam, 2 chopped scallions and 1/2 cup of cilantro leaves. Mix well to combine then set aside. 
  3. Prepare your baking dish. Line a small square or rectangular baking dish (I’m using a 9×9″ square cake tin) with baking paper. You don’t have to line it – it just makes getting it out a lot easier because you can literally lift it up and out with the baking paper.
  4. Arrange the sushi bake. Transfer the rice to the base of the dish and press it firmly into the tin, making sure it gets into all four corners. Smooth the top of the rice with the back of your spoon to create an even, flat top. Place the nori seaweed sheets on top of the rice layer, so they cover it completely. 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.
  5. Prepare the toppings. Slice the cucumber in half lengthways, then scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon and discard them. Get them into a small bowl with 1/2 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 lengthways and place the long, thin slices in a glass of cold water (they’ll curl up this way).
  6. Garnish and serve. Remove the bake from the oven – the salmon will look paler in colour and should feel firmer to the touch. Let it sit for a couple of minutes before topping. Drizzle over the gochujang aioli, then scatter over the chopped cucumber and finely sliced scallions. Finish with dollops of chilli jam, cilantro leaves, curly scallions and sesame seeds.

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 tinned tuna. 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 or creme fraiche 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: 1 slice

Keywords: salmon sushi, sushi bake, sushi lasagne, sushi slice

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I’m Kate, the creator behind Dished. I love creating flavour packed, simple (ish) recipes for you, designed for every day and special occasions.

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8 Comments

  1. Rebeca

    This is my new favourite easy dinner! Can’t believe how much it really does taste like sushi, and so so easy to make

    Reply
    • Kate Alexandra

      Woohooooo! I’m so pleased you enjoyed – it’s just the best right??!

      Reply
  2. Charlotte

    Made this tonight and even my salmon dubious son loved it and asked for seconds! Brilliant recipe

    Reply
    • Kate Alexandra

      I’m so happy to hear that!! It’s so great isn’t it 🙂

      Reply
    • Margaret

      Do you still need to cook the dish in the oven with hot smoked salmon or canned salmon

      Reply
      • Kate Alexandra

        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 🙂

        Reply
  3. Al

    Amazing recipe. Really tasty. highly recommend.

    Reply

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