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This easy salmon rice bowl recipe features flakey salmon coated in a honey garlic sauce nestled in coconut rice with Asian-inspired toppings. The spicy mayo and coconut rice are what make this salmon bowl stand out from the rest! Did I mention it cooks in 8 minutes? Ideal healthy recipe!
Looking for more salmon recipes? Try this salmon with mango salsa (baked or grilled!), air fryer salmon bites, or herb crusted salmon.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, eating healthy doesn’t have to be boring. This delicious salmon rice bowl is proof that you can pack in healthy fats, protein and veggies and still look forward to a great meal.
Love salmon? Try salmon pesto pasta, teriyaki glazed salmon, herb grilled salmon or blackened salmon next!
Loaded Salmon Rice Bowl
This salmon rice bowl features fluffy rice (my favorite coconut rice) with an assortment of veggies, toppings and of course, salmon. It’ one of my favorite easy meals on my website. And here’s why:
- Perfect balance of sweet and garlicy flavors
- Tons of textures
- 31g of protein per serving
- Salmon cooks in 8 minutes
- Easy to meal prep
- Great served cold for leftover lunches
One of the best parts? There are so many ways to customize a salmon rice bowl. Skip to my recipe variations for tips!
To pack in more greens, try this irresistible salmon arugula salad.
Ingredients, Brands I Love, and Salmon Buying Tips
Get the scoop on my favorite brands I keep stocked in our pantry and tips for purchasing salmon. Jump down to the recipe card for exact amounts and instructions.
- Rice: we used a long grain white rice and subbed some of the water for full fat canned coconut milk (my favorite is Thai Kitchen).
- Honey garlic sauce: soy sauce or coconut aminos, honey, sesame oil, ginger, sriracha, garlic.
- Sriracha: A little spice helps balance out the sweetness. You can use any hot sauce you have on hand.
- Garlic: don’t be intimated by the amount of garlic in this recipe. It is honey garlic salmon after all.
- Salmon fillets: choosing salmon at the grocery store can be overwhelming. I opt for coho salmon from a trusted grocer, like Whole Foods, or a local market, when possible. Seafood watch is an amazing resource for learning the best kinds of salmon to buy.
- Toppings: avocado, English cucumber (so you don’t have to peel it), red onion, lime, and cilantro.
How to Make Salmon Rice Bowls
Use this visual guide to see the recipe at each step. You can skip down to the recipe card for printable instructions or to watch a video guide for this recipe.
Make the Rice
Simmer the rice with coconut milk and salt for 15-20 minutes, until it’s light and fluffy.
Make the Cucumber Salad
Toss together all of the salad toppings quickly in a medium bowl and throw it in the fridge to marinate until you’re ready to serve.
Make the Sauce
Add the sauce ingredients to a small bowl and give it a good whisk.
Cook the Salmon
Cut the salmon into bite sized pieces. Cook the salmon until crisp on one side, 2-3 minutes. Pour the sauce over the salmon and cook for another 2 more minutes. Remove the salmon to bowl or plate simmer the sauce to reduce and thick. You can and a cornstrach slurry to thicken it more.
Remove salmon skin or leave it on? The skin protects salmon from overcooking, but it can be a pain to cut (kitchen shears help with this). You can remove salmon skin easily before you cut it into chunks. Kitchen
Assemble Bowls
Layer the rice, salmon, and toppings. Drizzle with sauce, spicy mayo, and finish with fresh herbs.
Recipe Variations
Here are recipe variations for each element of this salmon rice bowl. Get creative and make your own salmon bowl after you try this one!
- Rice: Try white rice, microwave rice to save time, brown rice, cauliflower rice (low carb option) or even quinoa.
- Salmon: tilapia would work here or even chicken if someone isn’t a seafood fan.
- Honey alternative: try maple syrup or brown sugar.
- Toppings: Try broccoli slaw, pre-mixed cabbage slaw, mango, shredded carrots, edamame, pineapple, brussels sprouts.
- Sriracha mayo: use greek yogurt instead of mayo. For less spice, try the sauce in my bang bang salmon.
Want to try another rice bowl? You’ll love this ground turkey teriyaki rice bowl or my Copycat CAVA Honey Harissa Chicken Bowls.
Can I Make the Salmon in the Air Fryer?
Mix the salmon chunks with half the sauce then add everything to the air fryer basket and air fryer at 390°F for 6 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 125-130°F. Simmer the remaining sauce on the stove to thicken it. You may need to add 2 teaspoons of cornstarch mixed with water to thicken the sauce before you drizzle it on top.
What about the oven? Follow the same instructions as above to toss the salmon in half the sauce and simmer the rest. Bake at 450°F for 6 minutes, or until the internal temp reaches 125-130°F.
How to Store Salmon Bowls
Store: place any leftover bowls in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days (the avocado may not last that long, so add fresh before seerving). I recommend storing the leftover rice and salad separately.
Meal prep: this recipe is a great meal prep option and can be made once to enjoy as quick lunches. The only ingredient that doesn’t prep well is the avocado so save that to add on top right before serving.
“I’ve never left a comment on a recipe before but this one was so good I just had to. Everything about this is perfect.”
Sydney
FAQs and Reader Comments
This section is dedicated to answering any and every question you may have (or other’s have already asked) about this recipe. Hope it helps!
Choosing salmon at the grocery store can be overwhelming. I opt for coho salmon from a trusted grocer, like Whole Foods, or a local market, when possible. Seafood watch is an amazing resource for learning the best kinds of salmon to buy.
Keeping the skin on the salmon is a personal preference. Cutting salmon into cubes with the skin on can be tricky, so try kitchen shears for best results. You can easily run a knife between the flesh and skin to remove it before slicing the salmon into chunks.
You can also buy boneless skinless salmon. Just ask the butcher to take the skin off for you!
The key to tender, flaky salmon is cooking it well. It’s easy to overcook salmon so use an Instant read thermometer to know when it’s done. Remove the salmon when it reaches 125-130°F to allow for carryover cooking.
The recipe calls for basmati or long grain white rice, but you could use basmati as well. I’ve made coconut rice with brown rice and it doesn’t work as well. No matter the rice, double check the package instructions for cook times.
You have to simmer the sauce at the end to reduce and thicken it. If you want a thicker sauce, mix together 2 teaspoons of cornstarch with a bit of water then simmer it in the sauce to thicken further.
More Easy Salmon Recipes
Honey Garlic Salmon Rice Bowls
Save this Recipe!
Ingredients
Coconut Rice
- 2 cups basmati or long grain white rice
- 1 can full fat coconut milk
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Honey Garlic Salmon
- 1/3 cup tamari or coconut aminos
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon sriracha
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 cloves minced garlic
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil or avocado oil
- 4 (4-6 ounce) skin on salmon filet cut into 1-inch cubes *see notes for skinless
- Toppings: green onion and sesame seeds and spicy mayo
Cucumber Avocado Salad
- 2 avocados diced
- 1 english cucumber sliced into half moons
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
- 2 tablespoons lime juice (about 1/2 a lime)
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Spicy Mayo (Optional)
- 1/2 cup mayo or japanese mayo
- 2 tablespoons sriracha
- 1 tablespoon honey
Instructions
Coconut Rice
- Add the rice to a bowl and fill with water then swish it around and drain it. Repeat this one more time to remove excess starches off the rice. This helps the coconut rice become light and fluffy rather than gummy and thick.
- Combine the water, salt and coconut milk in a pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Add the rice and stir once then reduce the heat too medium-low and cook, covered, for 20 minutes.
Cucumber Avocado Salad
- While the rice is cooking, toss together the avocado, cucumber, red onion, lime juice, green onion and cilantro. Set aside or store in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.
Honey Garlic Salmon
- While the rice is still cooking, pat the salmon fillets dry with a paper towel then cut the salmon into bite sized pieces, if you haven’t already. In a large bowl, whisk together the tamari, honey, sesame oil, ginger, sriracha and salt and set aside.
- Add the olive or avocado oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot and shimmering, add the cubed salmon, skin-side-down, and cook for 2-3 minutes, until it crisps. Use tongs to carefully flip the salmon over then add the minced garlic and gently stir to cook until fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Add the prepared sauce and continue cooking for 2 more minutes, or until the internal temperature of the salmon reaches 135 °F (this allows for 10° of carryover cooking).
- Remove the salmon to a clean cutting board, plate or bowl. Turn the heat down to medium- low and add 1-2 tablespoons of water to the sauce and whisk well to bring the sauce back together. Allow it to simmer for 3-4 more minutes to thicken. For an even thicker sauce, mix together 2 teaspoons of cornstarch with a bit of water then simmer it in the sauce to thicken further.
- The coconut rice should be done at this point so place your desired amount in the bottom of the bowl. Add the honey garlic salmon then spoon a few tablespoons of the thickened sauce on top.
- Add a generous amount of the cucumber avocado salad to the top and garnish with sesame seeds and green onion.
- Optional: Quickly stir together the mayo, sriracha and honey and serve with the bowls for additional spicy flavor.
Notes
Video
Equipment
- Non-stick Saute Pan
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hello! So excited to make this for dinner tomorrow night. Just a quick question on the rice. Your recipe calls for either Basmati or Long grain. I have a bunch of Jasmine rice in my pantry. Any thoughts on whether I would cook it the same way as you’ve recommended or do I need to adjust anything for Jasmine rice? Also, if I’m making this for 6 people, will it still come out well if I use your oven alternative? Or will the salmon not get that nice seared edge like it does in the skillet?
Thanks for your help!
Hey Gwen! You can use jasmine rice! I’ve done it that way without any issues. Follow the cook times on the rice package. It won’t get the crispy seared edges in the oven, but it will still be delicious! The most important thing when cooking salmon is getting the internal temp right. It should be 135, but pull it out of the oven around 130. Thanks!
I’ve never left a comment on a recipe before but this one was so good I just had to. Everything about this is perfect. The sauce is incredible and the coconut milk rice paired amazing with the veggies and salmon. I’m so serious when I say this is a recipe that’s gonna be passed down to my kids. So good and so healthy. First bite had me shed a tear
Sydney!! This is the best comment ever. I’m so happy you love it!
It is not often that I come across a random recipe and it is so good that it gets put into our dinner rotation but this one is definitely on the list! It’s amazing.
If you don’t feel like making coconut rice, it’s still great with plain rice.
This is the best, Jenny! Love it when I make it into the rotation:)
This is really tasty. A few notes I realized after I didn’t read the directions thoroughly. 1. The garlic does not go in the sauce. It cooks in the pan with the salmon before sauce is added. 2. There is a step to thicken the sauce. I just served it with “thinner” sauce. Not a huge deal. Also – I used sushi rice to lower the calorie count. This makes great leftovers! And I hate leftovers 🙂
Delicious! Not to mention easy to make. I did it with a wild rice blend(no coconut) and no mayo. It honestly didn’t need either! My boyfriend who isn’t a huge salmon fan also loved it. Will definitely make again!
Delicious! My husband who doesn’t like salmon enjoyed this recipe.
This has quickly become a favorite in our house! Great flavor and easy! Added some shredded carrots and edamame too.
Love that, Abby! Thank you for sharing!
Ah-mazing! The flavours are sooo fantastic and the salmon melted in my mouth. This absolutely is part of my weekly menu now….thank you so much for sharing!