You’re going to fall in love with this easy healthy weeknight dinner recipe of sesame salmon rice bowls. It’s made with simple ingredients that make for a filling and delicious salmon meal!
Have you every tried Katsudon? Do you even know what that is? Well, I didn’t either, but as I was making this sesame salmon rice bowls recipe, someone told me about Katsudon, which is a popular Japanese food. It is basically a bowl of rice, topped with pork, eggs and vegetables. They mentioned how this recipe smelled exactly like a salmon version of Katsudon!
I love making rice bowls and topping them with all sorts of things. It allows for a lot of flexibility in the dish, an they’re so easy to make. I usually top brown or white rice with some kind of protein (in this case, sesame salmon) and then add a sauce and some veggies!
These salmon bowls are reminiscent of these 5 ingredient vegetarian sushi bowls, but have a few different ingredients that really amp up the flavors (and include sesame salmon, that I could easily devour by itself – it’s such a good/easy way to prepare salmon.)
In case you’re wondering how much I love rice bowl recipes, here are some other favorites:
- 5 ingredient jerk chicken rice bowl
- Asian ground turkey rice bowl
- 5 ingredient Hawaiian chicken rice bowl
I love playing with different flavors on my salmon. A few years ago, I made a 5 ingredient ginger teriyaki salmon rice bowl that is super popular in our house, so I figured I would take some similar flavors and try an alternative recipe.
This “dressing” or sauce that goes along with this recipe is so simple and doesn’t even really need it. You can just top the bowl with a creamy avocado and mash that up as a dressing as well. But, if you have the ingredients on hand, simply mix together soy sauce, honey and ginger for extra tasty flavor.
As you know, I’m always trying to find ways to prep ahead of time to make weeknight dinners easier. For this sesame salmon rice bowl, I like to make the brown rice ahead of time, prep the salmon ahead of time and make the dressing in advance. Then, simply assemble the bowls on the day your’e ready to eat them (yay for make-ahead meals!)
To give the bowls an extra kick of freshness, top them with cilantro and add seaweed chips for even more fun! Or, if you’d rather eat this as a salad, skip the rice and enjoy on a bed of lettuce. So many possibilities with these sesame salmon rice bowls!

Sesame Salmon Rice Bowls
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 salmon filets 4 oz. each
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt divided among filets
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds divided amonst filets
- 1 cup dry brown rice
- Optional toppings - cilantro and seaweed chips
- 1 avocado sliced, divided among bowls
For the Dressing
- 4 Tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger I like to use the fresh ginger in the tube
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly coat with cooking spray and set aside.
- Cook the rice according to the package instructions.
- Sprinkle garlic salt and sesame seeds on salmon filets, divided evenly
- Cook salmon for 15 minutes at 350 degrees, or until cooked through to your doneness liking
- To make the dressing, combine soy sauce, honey and ginger
- To serve divide rice between 4 bowls, top with salmon filet, 1/4 avocado, a 1/4 of the sauce, and cilantro/seaweed chips if using
[…] love seeing people recreate seafood recipes – doesn’t this sesame salmon rice bowl look […]