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These wholesome Teriyaki Salmon Bowls are an easy weeknight dinner recipe and also great for meal prepping. Rice bowls are topped with tender, flaky baked salmon, pineapple, avocado, edamame, and carrot ribbons. Drizzle them with an easy homemade teriyaki sauce and enjoy this healthy, balanced dinner!
Why you’ll love them
Homemade teriyaki sauce – Making your own teriyaki sauce is so easy and only takes about 10 minutes. It’s also a great way to control the ingredients and how much sugar is in the sauce.
Balanced meal – As with all of my bowl recipes, these are what I consider a balanced meal. There’s protein, carbs, and vegetables and they leave you feeling full and satisfied.
Customizable – You can easily customize the topping of these salmon bowl based on what you like or what you have on hand.
Ingredients you’ll need
- Maple syrup – honey can be used as an alternative.
- Sriracha – I like a little spicy heat in my teriyaki sauce, but you can omit it if that’s not for you.
- Rice vinegar
- Soy sauce – I always recommend low sodium so you can control how salty the dish your making is. For gluten-free use tamari.
- Ground ginger, garlic powder
- Cornstarch – Used to thicken the sauce. Arrowroot powder works as well.
- Salmon – Any variety of salmon will work for these. I do recommend getting fillets that are fairly uniform in thickness if possible so they cook evenly.
- Edamame – Edamame is immature soybeans and a good source of plant protein.
- Pineapple – Use fresh if you can find it, but canned works too.
- Carrots – To make carrot ribbons like I did, simply use a vegetable peeler to peel off strips of the carrot.
- Rice
- Avocado – a good source of healthy fat and fiber.
- Green onion
- Sesame seeds
How to bake salmon
There are a couple things to keep in mind when baking salmon. First, try to use a fillet that has an even thickness. This will help to ensure that one part of the salmon isn’t over or under cooked.
Pat the salmon dry before seasoning it or in this case, brushing it with some of the teriyaki sauce. Preheat your oven to 375° F. and line a baking sheet with either parchment paper or foil.
The amount of time it takes to bake salmon will vary based on how thick it is. The easiest way to tell if salmon is cooked through is to use a meat thermometer. Salmon, similar to steak can be cooked medium-rare to well done.
For medium-rare stick to temperatures between 115°-125° F. For a more medium-well cooked salmon cook to 130°-140° F. 140° F. should be the absolute highest temperature you cook it to. And remember, it will continue to cook even after you’ve removed it from the oven.
How to make teriyaki salmon bowls
Preheat your oven to 375° F. and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Pat the salmon fillet dry with paper towels and place it on the baking sheet while you make the teriyaki sauce.
Combine all of the ingredients for the teriyaki sauce except the cornstarch in a small saucepan. Bring it to a boil. Make a slurry with the cornstarch and an equal amount of cold water and then pour it into the sauce.
Lower the heat and whisk until the sauce thickens. This should only take a couple minutes. Take a couple tablespoons of the sauce and brush it on top of the salmon fillet and then place it in the oven to bake.
While the salmon bakes prep all of the toppings. If you don’t have any pre-cooked rice, cook the rice while the salmon bakes as well.
Bake the salmon until it’s tender and flakes apart easily in the middle. Remove it from the oven and assemble the bowls with some of the flaked apart salmon, prepared toppings, teriyaki sauce, and sesame seeds and scallions for garnish.
Variations and Substitutions
- While I really think making the homemade teriyaki sauce is important to this recipe, if you’re short on time you can always use store bought.
- Rice can be replaced with quinoa, rice noodles, or cauliflower rice for a lower carb option.
- Alternative toppings could include cucumbers, zucchini, bell peppers, broccoli, or red cabbage.
- Use and equal amount of honey as an alternative to maple syrup to sweeten the teriyaki sauce.
More teriyaki recipes
Teriyaki Salmon Bowls
Ingredients
Teriyaki Sauce
- 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce or tamari gluten-free
- 3 tablespoons water
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 – 2 teaspoons sriracha
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Rice Bowls
- 1 pound salmon fillet
- 2 cups cooked rice
- 1 cup diced pineapple
- 1 cup edamame
- 2 carrots peeled into ribbons
- 1 avocado peeled and thinly sliced
- Scallions and sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
- Teriyaki Sauce
- In a small saucepan, combine all of the ingredients for the teriyaki sauce, except the cornstarch. Whisk them together and bring the mixture to a boil. Combine the cornstarch with an equal amount of cold water and stir together until the cornstarch dissolves. Pour the mixture in with the sauce and whisk together. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 3-5 minutes. Remove the sauce from the stove and store in a jar or airtight container until ready to use.
- Baked Salmon
- Preheat oven to 375° F. and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Place the salmon fillet onto the baking sheet and brush it with 1-2 tablespoons of the teriyaki sauce. Bake for 12-20 minutes depending on the thickness of the salmon fillet. Use a meat thermometer to test if it's done. The thickest part of the salmon should be between 115°-140° F. depending on how rare or well done you want it cooked.
- Assembling the Bowls
- Scoop a 1/2 cup of the rice into each bowl. Flake the salmon apart and divide it equally into each bowl. Top each bowl with some of the edamame, pineapple, carrot ribbons, and avocado. Drizzle on some of the teriyaki sauce and garnish with scallions and sesame seeds.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Do you know if you can make a larger batch of the teriyaki sauce and save it in the fridge? My family enjoyed it so much they asked it keep it on hand! Thanks!
The teriyaki sauce will keep for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
Thank you for another fantastic recipe! We loved the teriyaki sauce and it only take a couple minutes to make! WAAAY better than store bought! I used mango instead of pineapple but otherwise followed your recipe. Added bonus ~ the leftovers were amazing the next day for lunch COLD!