30 minutes

Spicy Salmon Sushi Bake

Want homemade sushi without all the work? This simple spicy salmon sushi bake is for you! Essentially a deconstructed sushi roll, this delicious dish is a great way to enjoy sushi at home without the time commitment.

Apparently sushi bake is a thing. I can see why. This delicious meal is a deconstructed version of sushi in casserole form. It’s a crowd-pleasing dish that is super simple to make and full of big flavor. If you have always wanted to try to make homemade sushi, but are intimidated by the process, try this easy sushi bake recipe. It’s so yummy, you may never feel the need to graduate to traditional sushi rolls.

Sushi bake is a popular dish that started on social media (which explains why I am about two years late in discovering it). I stumbled across this deconstructed california roll version on I am a food blog, and knew I had to try it. My husband and I love sushi, and prior to kids, I used to make sushi rolls several times a month. But these days, I just don’t have time. This kid-friendly sushi casserole is the solution! Warm, creamy and spicy, this easy meal only takes about 40 minutes. It does have some specialty ingredients, but once you have those stocked in your pantry, you can get your sushi fix any night of the week!

You Will Love This

  • This is a great recipe for make-at-home sushi without the extra cost and time of going out.
  • This is a versatile dish that can be made in a variety of different flavors. Try it with imitation crab meat (or real crab meat!) for a California roll, or substitute canned tuna in this recipe for a spicy tuna bake.
  • Serve this with salty seaweed snack sheets and let your kids roll up the sushi bake like a little taco for a fun meal that is OK to eat with your fingers! 🙂

Ingredients

Ingredients for sushi bake, including rice, furikake, nori, sriracha, rice vinegar, mayo, canned salmon, cucumber, avocado and salt and sugar.

Gather up your ingredients. For this spicy salmon sushi bake recipe you will need:

  • Cooked rice: I like to use precooked rice in this casserole to speed up the cooking time. My grocery store sells pre-cooked “sticky rice” which is perfect for this recipe. Alternatively, you can cook sushi rice or short-grain white rice yourself if you have a little extra time. Sushi rice is a specialty short-grain rice. Sushi rice has a distinct texture from other rice varieties – it’s creamy and sticky, but still firm. I have been able to find sushi rice in the Asian foods section of all my regular grocery stores.
  • Rice vinegar: For seasoning the rice. If you don’t have rice vinegar, you could use white wine vinegar.
  • Kosher salt
  • Sugar
  • Canned salmon: I used canned salmon for this recipe, and it was great. I usually am not the biggest fan of canned fish, and prefer fresh. But, this casserole is spicy and creamy and full of strong flavors, which I think makes it a great use for canned salmon. PSA: Make SURE you buy boneless, skinless canned salmon. I accidentally bought canned salmon with the skin on once and it was somewhat traumatizing.
  • Mayonnaise: Most recipes for sushi bake call for kewpie mayonnaise which is a Japanese mayo. I could not find this at any of my local stores, so I decided to try it with regular mayo. It was great! If you have Kewpie mayonnaise, feel free to use that. You could also substitute half of the mayo for cream cheese.
  • Sriracha hot sauce: Add this to taste. About 3 tablespoons is perfect for my husband and I, but 1-2 tablespoons is better for my kids.
  • Furikake seasoning: Furikaka is a shakeable rice seasoning. I found several varieties of it in my local grocery store. If you can’t find it, you could substitute sesame seeds, salt and cut up nori.
  • Seedless cucumber, avocado slices and green onions: Or any of your other favorite toppings for sushi!
  • Sheets of nori (optional): You can make your sushi bake into a finger food by serving it on top of a nori sheet or seaweed snacks sheet. Or you can just eat it with a fork!

Instructions

Step One: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Step Two: Warm the rice vinegar in a small bowl in the microwave for about a minute. Add the sugar and salt, and stir to dissolve. Add the seasoned rice vinegar mixture to the cooked rice, and mix gently to combine.

Step Three: Make the spicy salmon mixture. Drain the canned salmon. Add the salmon, mayo and hot sauce to a large bowl. Stir with a fork until the salmon is broken into small pieces and well incorporated with the spicy mayo.

A large glass bowl with spicy mayo and salmon being mixed with a spoon.

Step Four: Layer the casserole. In a baking dish, add the seasoned rice and spread it out to make an even first layer. On top of the rice, sprinkle two tablespoons of furikake seasoning. Then, layer in the creamy salmon mixture. On top of the salmon, sprinkle the remaining furikake. Put the casserole into the preheated oven and bake for about 15 minutes, until the edges are nice and golden.

A white casserole dish with a layer of white sushi rice.
A white casserole dish with a layer of white sushi rice covered in furikake.
A white casserole dish with a layer of spicy salmon mixture.
A white casserole dish with a layer of spicy salmon mixture covered in furikake.

Step Five: Remove the casserole dish from the oven, and top with your favorite sushi toppings. I used diced avocado, diced seedless cucumber, green onion and an extra drizzle of sriracha sauce. Serve with a side of nori sheets for rolling and soy sauce for dipping.

A white casserole dish with baked spicy salmon sushi topped with avocado, cucumber and a sriracha drizzle.

Storage

The casserole part of the sushi bake stores well. You can leave the covered casserole dish in the refrigerator for 2-3 days, and reheat portions as needed. The toppings don’t store as well. The cucumber and avocado will brown and will lose their texture when reheated. If you want to be able to store leftover portions of your sushi bake, I recommend leaving the toppings off and adding them to individual portions as you serve them.

A white casserole dish with sushi bake drizzled with sriracha and topped with avocado and cucumber. A dish of cucumbers and two plates of sushi bake are to the side.

Spicy Salmon Sushi Bake

Want homemade sushi without all the work? This simple spicy salmon sushi bake is for you! Essentially a deconstructed sushi roll, this delicious dish is a great way to enjoy sushi at home without the time commitment.
Adapted from I am a food blog
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American, Japanese
Servings 6
Calories 362 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 3 cups cooked rice
  • 1/4 cup rice vinegar
  • 1/2 tablespoon white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 12 ounces canned salmon boneless and skinless
  • 3/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 3 tablespoons sriracha to taste
  • 1/4 cup furikake seasoning
  • 1/2 seedless cucumber diced
  • 1 avocado diced
  • 1 small bunch green onions
  • 1 package nori sheets (optional)

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
  • Warm the rice vinegar in a small bowl in the microwave for about a minute. Add the sugar and salt, and stir to dissolve. Add the seasoned rice vinegar mixture to the cooked rice, and mix gently to combine.
  • Make the spicy salmon mixture. Drain the canned salmon. Add the salmon, mayo and hot sauce to a large bowl. Stir with a fork until the salmon is broken into small pieces and well incorporated with the spicy mayo.
  • Layer the casserole. In a baking dish, add the seasoned rice and spread it out to make an even first layer. On top of the rice, sprinkle two tablespoons of furikake seasoning. Then, layer in the creamy salmon mixture. On top of the salmon, sprinkle the remaining furikake. Put the casserole into the preheated oven and bake for about 15 minutes, until the edges are nice and golden.
  • Remove the casserole dish from the oven, and top with your favorite sushi toppings. I used diced avocado, diced seedless cucumber, green onion and an extra drizzle of sriracha sauce. Serve with a side of nori sheets for rolling and soy sauce for dipping.

Notes

The casserole part of the sushi bake stores well. You can leave the covered casserole dish in the refrigerator for 2-3 days, and reheat portions as needed. The toppings don’t store as well. The cucumber and avocado will brown and will lose their texture when reheated. If you want to be able to store leftover portions of sushi bake, I recommend leaving the toppings off and adding them to individual portions as you serve them.

Nutrition

Calories: 362kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 15gFat: 29gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 14gMonounsaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 59mgSodium: 958mgPotassium: 417mgFiber: 3gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 181IUVitamin C: 10mgCalcium: 176mgIron: 1mg
Keyword spicy salmon sushi bake, sushi bake
Loved this recipe?Leave a rating below!

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating