Spicy Salmon Bowl
This spicy salmon bowl is so delicious and simple to make. It’s my take on the viral salmon rice bowl that you probably have seen all over social media over the past few months. The salmon is lightly blackened and has a nice kick of heat. The other components of the bowl add freshness and heartiness to make it a complete meal.
This is such a satisfactory hearty, nutritious meal that comes together in a short period of time. The salmon is really the star of the meal. The avocado adds creaminess to the dish, the pickled red onions add acidity, the cucumbers bring freshness, and the rice and edamame make it more filling. They all work together cohesively to make a memorable meal! My husband always requests this dish weekly!
How to prepare the Salmon:
- Take the skin off the salmon fillet if it is still intact. Purchase the center cut of the salmon if possible; I recommend it for this dish since it is the thickest part and will yield nice chunks. If not, just cut your salmon into 1-inch cubes.
- Stir together the seasoning blend and season the salmon cubes right before cooking. You do not want to season your salmon for more than 30 minutes. The salt will start to cook the salmon.
- Sear the salmon in a nonstick skillet with avocado or any neutral oil on medium-high heat for a few minutes on each side until cooked through and lightly browned.
- Finish it off with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. It is now ready to be plated with the rest of the components!
Components of my Spicy Salmon Bowl:
- Of course, you need salmon prepared, as mentioned above. Even though this is a salmon bowl, it would be delicious with shrimp if you prefer that.
- I make the rice first to save time, and typically I go for brown rice.I soak it and rinse it so it cooks faster. By the time the rice is cooked, the salmon will be too!
- Meanwhile, prepare the veggies for the bowl. This requires little effort, like slicing a ripe avocado, slicing red onions, warming up shelled edamame, and cutting cucumbers.
- To make pickled red onion, slice it thinly and add it to a jar. The pickling liquid will be equal parts white vinegar and water so 1 cup of each and one spoon of salt. Cover the onions in this liquid and it will pickle within 2 hours.
- Lastly, top with chopped cilantro, sesame or everything but a bagel seasoning, and chipotle aioli. You can purchase the aioli or make your own sauce like mixing sriracha and mayo with a bit of lime juice.
If you enjoy salmon, try my salmon kebabs or sweet and tangy salmon! I would love to hear what you think of this spicy salmon rice bowl recipe once you give it a try! Please leave a review & rating below. You can also share your remakes with me on my Instagram page!
Be sure to check out my Spicy Salmon Bowl video below! For the best viewing experience, watch the video in full-screen mode!
Spicy Salmon Bowl
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Salmon, cut into 1 inch cubes I use the center cut or the thicker parts of the salmon for this recipe
- 2 tbsp Avocado Oil
- 2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 2 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
- 1 tsp Dried Italian Seasoning or oregano
- 1 tsp Salt may need more salt
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
Components of the Bowl
- 2 Avocados, cut into slices *half an avocado per bowl
- 1/2 Red onion, thinly sliced, pickled or raw *see blogpost on how to pickle
- 1 cup Shelled Edamame
- 2 Persian cucumbers, sliced
- Cooked Brown rice or rice of choice
- Fresh Lemon's juice
Toppings for the bowl
- Everything but a bagel seasoning or sesame seeds
- Cilantro, chopped
- Chipotle Aioli *you can buy your own or make something similar-see blogpost above
Instructions
- Stir together all the spices. Season the salmon generously and evenly with this seasoning blend.
- Heat up a nonstick skillet and add the avocado oil to the pan. Once the pan is hot, add the salmon pieces to the pan making sure not to overcrowd the pan.
- Cook for about 4-5 minutes each side to achieve a nice sear but making sure the salmon is also cooked through. You can cover the pan after flipping the salmon if you would like to ensure doneness.
- Once salmon is cooked, squeeze with fresh lemon juice and set to the side.
- To assemble your bowl. start with a serving of rice then top with the salmon. In addition, add the edamame, cucumber, red onions, and avocado to the bowl. Drizzle with chipotle aoili, fresh lemon juice, cilantro. and the sesame seasoning.
- Enjoy!
As a beginner cook, I really appreciate how quick and easy this recipe is. After making it for my fam for the first time, they’ve asked for it repeatedly! This recipe has been added to my growing rotation of meals I can make for them. Thank you Heifa! 🙂
I made this for iftar and it was perfect! I was able to have everything prepped ahead of time and just had to cook the salmon. This is a great recipe, the combination of spices made the salmon so tasty!
When I saw this post, I could not wait to try it! I can say hands down this was the most delicious salmon recipe I’ve ever tried. It was so easy to follow and everyone enjoyed it. Can nor wait to make it again soon!
Delicious one bowl meal! Perfectly spicy, and the combination of ingredients are so good!!
These are perfect and so easy especially after eating and cooking in ramadan!
My husband and I really liked this recipe! It was so good and so quick to make!! We will for sure be adding this to the rotation!
My husband and I really liked this recipe! It was so fast to make and really tasty! Definitely going to add it to the rotation!
I actually made this for iftar near the end of Ramadan when we were getting sick of the regular meals we were having/heavy arabic food. This was SO good. Thank you!
By far the best salmon bowl recipe! My kids enjoyed this very much! And it’s a keeper! Ma’sha’Allah you’re amazing!
Best spicy salmon bowl ever!! It taste as good as it looks and so easy to make. Full of flavors and spices that is just so good. So lucky that I found this health, easy and delicious recipe.
Very simple recipe and easy to follow. It comes together very nicely. For the chipotle aoili, I just mixed some mayo with chipotle adobo and lime.
Absolutely delicious, the spice rub of the salmon is just the right amount of spicy. I took Haifa’s suggestions and pickled my own red onions a day in advance and I also made my own chipotle aioli. Definitely worth the extra time! Can’t wait to make these again!
Fantastic recipe! I love bowls but sometimes I find them too complicated if I didn’t meal prep, but this recipe is very easy and delicious.
This is hands down my favourite way to serve salmon now! I love the simplicity but also the variety it offers! I like to make a mango and avo salsa to accompany it.