This easy sushi bake with salmon is kind of a deconstructed sushi roll turned casserole. It can be served warm or cold, is comforting, healthy, and truly easy to make! It is healthy as it hardly contains any mayo, it is cream cheese free, has very little added salt, has no oils added, and has no processed ingredients. Moreover, it is gluten-free and can be egg-free (just leave out the mayo).
There are many different ways you can make this superb sushi dish, but my version features baked salmon so it is a salmon sushi bake!
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❓What is sushi bake?
Sushi bake came around as an alternative to sushi rolls: all the flavors of versatile sushi rolls (baked or not baked) layered into a dish, made into a casserole, meant to be scooped out of a bowl or tucked into bite-size tiny sheets of roasted seaweed.
It’s so much easier than rolling lots of rolls so it is a lot more time effective and the scooping and sharing make it fun and more interactive. It’s infinitely customizable meaning there’s a sushi bake out there for everyone! Choose and pick your favorite ingredients. See my alternatives and serving suggestions below.
This tray sushi or pan sushi as it can easily be made in a pan or even skillet, was inspired by my Sushi Cake and Teriyaki Chicken Egg Fried Rice With Vegetables as well as these divine Teriyaki Chicken Skewers. All soo darn good!
🥘 Ingredients for salmon sushi bake
Here is what you need for this sushi bake with salmon.
- Salmon ( I used trimmings leftover from making Salmon Wellington).
- Avocado - make sure it is ripe to perfection to be able to cut as you wish.
- Sushi Nori - meaning dried edible seaweed, typically comes in thin, paper-like sheets. I scrunch these up and add them between the layers. Keep some to cut into little squares or rectangular to eat the sushi bake with.
- Sriracha - a nice addition for a nice kick.
- Mayonnaise - I usually use homemade mayo, only a tiny bit to mix with sriracha and add on top.
- Sushi rice - The best rice for sushi is short-grain Japanese rice — which can be found in any Japanese/Asian store or supermarket labeled as "sushi rice".
- Sesame seeds [ I use black (not to be confused with Nigella seeds) and white] - I normally use the Asian toasted version as they are nice and plump but any ones you have on hand would be great in this recipe. Black sesame seeds are known to have great health benefits too so don't omit those if you have any.
- pimiento peppers - these are a nice sweet and tasty addition to this sushi casserole or tray sushi as I call it sometimes.
- rice seasoning - or furikake - gives the dish a great flavor - it comes in a sachet and can be found in any Korean or Japanese store. It mainly consists of dried seaweed, sesame seeds, salt, and sugar.
- black pepper, salt, and five spice - to season the salmon
- Scallions/spring onion/green onion - chopped finely
Additional ingredients (not in the picture)
- Sushi seasoned vinegar to pour over the rice once this is ready.
- In addition to these ingredients listed above, you may also want to use wasabi sauce, pickled ginger, and soy sauce to serve the dish.
See the recipe card for the exact quantities.
🔪 How to make sushi bake
It will take some simultaneous cooking but it will all be ready in no time.
Cook the rice as per pack instructions or see below in FAQs how I cook the rice for my sushi every time.
Prepare the salmon by seasoning and arranging this in a tray. Bake for 10 min.
Flake the baked sushi and set aside in a ceramic bowl.
Season the rice with vinegar and the rice seasoning. Mix well to evenly incorporate
Add the next layer - the salmon in an even layer.
Chop all vegetables you will add and the avocado, all ready to be used a little later
Layer the seasoned rice in the prepared dish.
Add the vegetables and the avocado, another layer of rice to top that up
Hint: You will need to remember to press down the rice slightly so it will not remain fluffy and disintegrate when taken out as this recipe does not contain any binding ingredients such as egg or loads of mayo.
💞 Substitutions
Here are a few substitution ideas in case you do not like some of the ingredients and want to substitute those.
- Mayonnaise - you may replace this with some yogurt mixed with a little seasoned sushi vinegar and sriracha
- Rice seasoning - use a homemade one with the ingredients mentioned above as many brands do contain MSG. I normally check as I do avoid this ingredient.
- Siracha - if spicy isn't your thing then you may leave this out completely
- Vegetarian - the salmon can be replaced with an omelet to make this vegetarian
- Vegan - replace the fish with tofu or seasoned shiitake mushrooms to make this sushi bake dish a vegan one.
If you are looking to make this as a gluten-free option, this dish is gluten-free but mind due, not all soy sauce is gluten-free so check that out.
🥢 Variations
- Add cream cheese -This sushi bake is without cream cheese but you may add some along with mayonnaise and mix it with the fish.
- Extra Spicy - sriracha is spicy but add some red chili pepper flakes to the rice or the salmon to imbue more heat into the dish or simply add some sweet chili sauce.
- Cucumber - add thinly sliced/diced cucumbers for extra freshness.
- Lemon juice - I love adding lemon juice before eating or added to the salmon after baking it or a good old drizzle at the end just before
- Kid-friendly - don't go too wild with spices and heat so kids can enjoy this sushi bake with salmon
See this sushi bake with cream cheese version if that's a version you'd like to try.
📦 Storage
Store it in an airtight container in the fridge. Good for 2-3 days.
🍽 How to serve sushi casserole
My favorite way to eat sushi bake is to make bite-size hand rolls with it. Take roasted seaweed paper/sushi nori, place a bite-size sushi bake over it, and finish it off with some scallions, cucumber, or avocado. Then fold it (just like a taco) and enjoy!
Another fun way to eat it is to use cucumber slices like a chip and scoop sushi bake on it. If you like it saucy, drizzle some sauce like spicy mayo, and sriracha on top. I also love having it in halved mini-peppers.
You can also take a piece of roasted seaweed, place it on top of the sushi bake and scoop up a chunk with your chopsticks.
Delicious no matter how you decide to eat it!
💭 FAQs
Whatever you like fancy or have! I typically use fresh or canned salmon, imitation crab, shrimp, scallops, or canned tuna. See Homemade Sushi Cake for a nice recipe idea for canned tuna specially prepared for sushi.
You can enjoy it with raw fish as well, but please be sure to use sushi-grade fish. Sometimes I use raw salmon that I marinate in fresh ginger, soy sauce, and fresh lemon juice, a salmon carpaccio.
I do not recommend freezing this and like any sushi meal, it just wouldn't be quite the same taste or texture after freezing. The rice will go hard and not so pleasant.
Yes, absolutely! Use any dish that you may think it is a portion size and dish this exactly the same into those. Garnish as desired or as required. Some people may not like some of the ingredients so splitting it into individual portions will make it even more customizable.
Yes, absolutely! Both will work really well in this recipe.
🦐 Other seafood dishes you may like
🍚 You might also like these rice dishes
- Easy Instant Pot Coconut Rice
- Teriyaki Chicken Egg Fried Rice With Vegetables
- One Pan Curried Wild Rice, Red Quinoa With Sausage And Cavolo Nero
- Cabbage Rolls ‘Sarmale’ Stuffed With Ground Beef, Veggies And Rice
- Duck Thai Curry With Fresh Coconut And Lemongrass Infused Rice
- Truffle, Mushroom, Rice And Mountain Lentil Pilaf
or these dishes that contain rice....
Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below and a review in the comment section further down the page if you have made this recipe and liked it. Thanks for stopping by!
🍣 Sushi Bake (Ready in 25 min)
Equipment
- oven dish spring form will work well too
- knife
- chopping board
- spoon
Ingredients
For the Salmon
- 600 g salmon (21 oz) fillet or trimmings (weight before cooking)
- 1 teaspoon five spice powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
For the rest of the Sushi Bake
- 500 g sushi rice (17.6 oz) rinsed well
- 2 large avocado
- 8 medium scallions spring onion/green onion
- 2-3 tablespoons rice seasoning
- 3 sheets sushi nori
- 3-4 large pimiento mini peppers any red pepper will work
- 3 tablespoons sesame seeds I used black and white
- 1 tablespoon sriracha sauce
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise optional
Additional/optional Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon low salt soy sauce organic
- ½ cup pickled ginger I used homemade
- ½ teaspoon wasabi paste
Instructions
For the salmon
- Preheat the oven to 200℃ or 400℉.
- Place the salmon into a tray, season it with salt, pepper, and five-spice powder. Rub the seasoning to uniformly spread it.
- Place in the preheated oven and bake at 200℃ or 400℃ for 10-15 min on the upper tray. When it is nice and slightly brown on the outside, take it out of the oven and set it aside.
- With a fork, shred or flake the salmon and place it into a separate bowl/plate or keep it in the same tray and just remove the skin.
Cooking the sushi rice
- Rinse the rice thoroughly and allow it to rest in a thieve for 15-20 min.
- Add the rice to a pan (big enough to allow the rice to boil)* and add 550 ml water. Place on medium fire.
- Cover the pan with a lid (ideally a transparent lid) and when the rice reaches boiling point turn the heat right down. Allow it to cook for 9 minutes from the boiling point.
- Turn the heat off, and add the seasoned vinegar (try adding it evenly so all rice gets a splash of vinegar). Allow it to rest for 1 min.
- With the help of a fork scrape the rice out in a wider pot or plate. Add the rice seasoning and mix until the seasoning gets well and homogenously mixed into the rice.
Make the sushi bake
- Start layering the rice in the designated dish. Add one layer of rice topped with salmon, a good sprinkle of sushi nori made into small bits, and a generous one of scallions, peppers, sesame seeds, and avocado.
- Add another layer of rice and top with more sesame seeds, scallions, and sliced avocado. Get creative with the toppings.
- You may place it back in the oven for 5 minutes or not at all. I normally do not place it back in the oven as I do not see the point. Everything is perfectly good, and ready to be served.
Notes
- Cooking the Sushi Rice
- Make sure your pan is big enough to allow the rice to cook and expand so it should be big enough - double the size of the uncooked rice.
- The water amount is paramountly important so that the rice comes out nice and fluffy rather than sticky and stodgy. I learned this at a sushi-making class a few years ago and the teacher was a UK well-known chef Akemi Yokoyama.
- More tips
- You may grease the oven dish with some sesame, coconut, or olive oil if you wish. This is totally optional. I only occasionally do this. I did not do this this time.
- I do not always place the dish back in the oven as I do not feel this is necessary.
- Salmon - if you use ready cooked you will need about 400- 500g (14-17 oz)
Sangeetha S says
Oh my goodness, I can't express how much I loved this! The salmon was perfectly cooked and added a delightful richness to the dish. I tried serving it both warm and cold, and both ways were equally satisfying. The flavors really melded together, creating a comforting and irresistible dish. It's definitely going to be a go-to recipe for me when I want to enjoy sushi flavors without the hassle of traditional sushi rolling.
Ramona says
thank you so much dear Sangeetha!