How to Make Salmon Sushi Bake
Let’s make a Salmon Sushi Bake!
How to make salmon sushi bake! Sushi bake is like a deconstructed sushi roll turned casserole. It’s warm, gooey, comforting, and super easy to make! There are many different ways you can make it, this version features baked salmon!
What is Sushi Bake?
Sushi bake is a fusion dish that takes inspiration from Japanese and Western cultures. It is like deconstructed sushi meets a warm and gooey midwestern casserole. This salmon version is similar to the viral TikTok salmon rice bowl by Emily Mariko and is definitely a crowd pleaser!
Bring this to your next potluck or switch it up for family dinners and everyone will love you! Scroll to the bottom for a printable and pinnable recipe card on how to make salmon sushi bake.
RELATED: Easy Recipe for Eel Sauce
Where is Sushi Bake From?
The origin of sushi bake is somewhat of a mystery. Some credit Mimi Qiu Reyes, the founder of The Original Baked California Roll in the Philippines in 2015. While others say the idea of baking sushi in a casserole dish was popularized at Hawaiian potlucks years before.
Regardless, I think it is pretty cool that recipes can travel and evolve, and people from around the world can connect through it.
RELATED: Spicy Crab Sushi Bake: An Easy and Crowd-pleasing Recipe
Sushi Bake Ingredients
There are many different versions of sushi bake and different people make it different ways. There are no rules, so just include whatever you like. However, I would say the staple ingredients are seafood, rice, Japanese (Kewpie) mayo, and cream cheese. The recipe that I am sharing here is starring salmon as the main seafood. I also love to add a drizzle of eel sauce for the sweet, savory, and umami kick. On the side, I serve it with roasted seaweed, spicy mayo, eel sauce, avocado, and cucumbers.
Frequently Asked Questions
What seafood can I use? Honestly whatever you like! I suggest salmon, imitation crab, shrimp, scallops, and canned tuna (Korean over American brand). You can enjoy it raw as well, just be sure to use sushi grade fish.
Could this be eaten cold? I prefer it warm because the mayo and cream cheese melds together and is just comforting and gooey. However, it is fine to eat cold as well. I would just make sure the rice is fresh and not cold and hard from the fridge. I think a cold version would work best with imitation crab or raw fish.
Can you make it without mayo/cream cheese? You can leave out mayo and add in extra cream cheese or vice versa to keep all the creaminess in. I wouldn’t leave out both because I think the creaminess is what makes a sushi bake a sushi bake.
What can I substitute for sriracha? If you don’t like it spicy, you can leave it out completely. Alternatively, you can switch it out for your favorite chili sauce/paste. I suggest gochujang if you want a Korean flare, sambal which is an Indonesian chili sauce, and chili garlic sauce.
How to reheat? If I have any leftovers, I usually store it in the fridge, and just heat up in the microwave. It usually is good as leftovers for a few days.
How to Eat a Sushi Bake
My favorite way to eat sushi bake is to make little hand rolls with it. Take roasted seaweed paper, place the sushi bake on top, and finish it off with cucumber and avocado. Then I fold it 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 extra eel sauce, spicy mayo, and sriracha on top. 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 eat it!
Did you make this recipe? I would love to see! Tag me on IG @feedmi_ or TikTok @feedmi
Spicy Salmon Sushi Bake
Ingredients
- 4 cups cooked white rice
- 1 lb salmon
- ½ cup Japanese mayo
- ½ cup cream cheese
- 2 tbs sriracha
- ½ cup eel sauce
- ¼ cup furikake
- 2 green onions, sliced
SERVE WITH:
- roasted seaweed
- cucumbers, sliced
- avocado, sliced
- spicy mayo
- eel sauce
Instructions
BAKED SALMON
- Pre-heat oven to 425°F.
- Season salmon lightly with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
- Bake salmon for 20 mins.
SUSHI BAKE
- Pre-heat oven to 450°F.
- In a bowl, mix together salmon, mayo, cream cheese, and sriracha.
- In a 9×13 casserole dish, layer rice, furikake, and the salmon mixture. Then drizzle on sriracha, mayo, and eel sauce. Top with more furikake.
- Bake for 10 minutes then broil for 3 mintues until top is toasty.
- Sprinkle green onions and serve with roasted seaweed, cucumbers, avocado, spicy mayo, and remaining eel sauce.
I am making this tonight for dinner and I have a question for the eel sauce. It calls for a half cup and I’m noticing in the directions it says drizzle eel sauce over the top. Are you drizzling the entire half cup?
Hi Meghan! No I do not drizzle the entire half cup. I just do a quick drizzle and then serve the remaining sauce on the side. I hope you enjoy!
Sorry just want to clarify 🙂 so the 1/2 cup it calls for in the ingredients is just for on the side I don’t mix it in anywhere? Thanks
No worries! Correct, you don’t mix it anywhere. A portion will go on top as the drizzle and the rest is for serving on the side.
Perfect thank you so much! I’m excited to try it. We absolutely love sushi, my husband and I, but I don’t have the courage to make it at home. This is my first attempt at something sushi-esk. 😁
I tried this recipe, and it was really good, but I have questions I want to ask; how can I reach you?
I am so glad you liked it! Feel free to ask your question here, send me a message on Instagram (@feedmi_), or email me at willyoufeedmi@gmail.com!
I have done this recipe for my family (6) and they liked it but now they want me to make it for a family gathering (25) and honestly I have no idea how to change the recipe for everyone to get a chance of trying it, could help me ?
I would maybe 4x or 5x the measurements and use a few bigger casserole trays like those big aluminum party trays. You don’t want the rice layers to be too thick so you may need multiple trays and cook in multiple batches if your oven isn’t big enough. Hope that helps!
I haven’t tried this yet but just purchased most ingredients. Question: does it have to be sushi grade salmon if it’s being baked? Or is any salmon going to be fine?
It doesn’t need to be sushi grade salmon since it’s being baked so any salmon you like should be fine! Hope you enjoy!
Has anyone tried it with canned salmon? I’m super lazy 😬
I have done it with canned tuna and it is yummy! If you do tuna, I recommend the Korean brand. I’ve had some people comment that they’ve done it with canned salmon and it turned out good too. I have not personally tried canned salmon though.
I have tried it with canned salmon and it’s good but be careful what salmon you buy. The one I bought the first time was full of bones. The only one that seems good is the Bumble Bee Brand (Skinless, boneless Pink Salmon).
I prefer fresh salmon but the canned one definitely does well in a pinch
I’ve made this recipe several times now and my husband loves it! (So much that he volunteered to get groceries for this recipe tonight – that’s a first!!). I haven’t used eel sauce or sriracha and we still love this recipe. Thank you so much for sharing!!
This makes me so happy to hear! My husband hates going grocery shopping too so I get how huge of a compliment that is! Thanks for giving this recipe a try!
What kind of salmon is best to use? I have sockeye salmon in my freezer but wondering if a different kind would be better?
I typically use Atlantic salmon but honestly you could use whatever kind of salmon you like and it will turn out great!