Salmon Sushi Bake (Creamy, Spicy, No Rolling Required)

This salmon sushi bake is what I make when everyone wants sushi and nobody wants to pay for it: a layer of seasoned sushi rice goes into a baking dish, flaked baked salmon gets folded with cream cheese, Kewpie mayo and sriracha and spread on top, and the whole thing bakes for 15 minutes until the edges turn golden and bubbly. You scoop it onto little seaweed snack sheets with cucumber and avocado and eat it like a hand roll. It takes 40 minutes start to finish, there is zero rolling, and at 29g of protein a serving it has quietly become a bigger weeknight hit at my house than the salmon rice bowl and bang bang salmon bites that got my kids eating salmon in the first place.

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Why this salmon sushi bake recipe is the one worth making.

• The rice is properly seasoned, not just cooked. Most sushi bake recipes skip the vinegar step and end up tasting like a salmon casserole. Tossing hot rice with rice vinegar, sugar and salt is what makes a sushi bake taste like actual sushi — tangy, a little sweet, and sturdy enough to hold its shape on a seaweed sheet.
• Cream cheese plus Kewpie mayo is the creamy layer that holds. Mayo alone goes greasy in the oven. Softening cream cheese into the Kewpie and sriracha gives the salmon sushi bake topping a rich, scoopable texture that browns on top and stays creamy underneath, the same way the sauce holds together in my creamy Tuscan salmon.
• It uses baked salmon, so you control the fish. Fresh salmon baked for 12 minutes and flaked gives big, tender pieces instead of the mushy texture you get with canned. If you already make air fryer salmon, cook an extra fillet or two one night and this dinner is half done.

Here's what you'll need.

Twelve ingredients, most from the Asian aisle of a regular grocery store: sushi rice, rice vinegar, a salmon fillet, cream cheese, Kewpie mayo, sriracha, soy sauce, furikake, scallions, cucumber, avocado and a pack of roasted seaweed snack sheets.

Here's how it all comes together.

STEP 1 — Season the sushi rice.

Cook the sushi rice according to the package (I rinse it until the water runs mostly clear first). While it is still hot, drizzle over the rice vinegar, sugar and salt mixture and fold it in with a rice paddle using a slicing motion, not a stirring one, so the grains stay whole. Let it cool for 5 minutes.

STEP 2 — Bake and flake the salmon.

While the rice cooks, season the salmon with salt and a splash of soy sauce and bake at 400°F for 12 to 14 minutes, until it flakes easily. Let it rest a few minutes, discard the skin and flake it into a bowl with a fork, keeping the pieces chunky.

STEP 3 — Mix the creamy salmon topping.

Add the softened cream cheese, Kewpie mayo, sriracha, soy sauce and half the scallions to the flaked salmon and fold until everything is coated and pale pink. Taste — this is the moment to add more sriracha if you want real heat.

STEP 4 — Press the rice into the dish.

Lightly oil a 9x13 baking dish (or an 8x8 for a thicker bake). Press the seasoned rice into an even layer with damp hands or the back of the paddle so it compacts slightly, then sprinkle generously with furikake.

STEP 5 — Spread the salmon layer and drizzle.

Spoon the salmon mixture over the rice and spread it to the edges. Whisk a little extra Kewpie with sriracha, snip a corner off a sandwich bag and zigzag it across the top. More furikake goes on now too.

STEP 6 — Bake, then scoop onto seaweed.

Bake at 400°F for 12 to 15 minutes, until the top is lightly golden at the edges and bubbling. Finish under the broiler for 1 to 2 minutes if you want more color. Scatter the remaining scallions, then scoop warm sushi bake onto seaweed sheets with cucumber and avocado.

If this is the kind of fish-forward, big-flavor dinner you want more of, the whole way of eating behind it is laid out in the Ultimate Slow Cooker Mediterranean Diet Cookbook.

Things I learned while testing this recipe.

• Rinse the rice and season it hot. Rinsing removes surface starch so the rice is fluffy instead of gluey, and vinegar only absorbs properly into hot rice. Cold rice just sits in it.
• Kewpie is worth seeking out. Japanese mayo is made with egg yolks and rice vinegar, so it is richer and tangier than American mayo. If you only have regular mayo, add 1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar and a pinch of sugar.
• Soften the cream cheese first. Cold cream cheese leaves white lumps through the salmon. Fifteen seconds in the microwave or 20 minutes on the counter solves it.
• Do not overbake. Everything is already cooked — you are just heating it through and browning the top. Past 15 minutes the rice starts to dry out and the mayo goes oily. Golden edges and bubbling is done.

Why this is my go-to easy salmon dinner.

• 29g of protein a serving from real salmon. A pound and a half of salmon plus the cream cheese layer gets you to 29g protein a serving, which puts a casual, scoopable dinner solidly into protein-goal territory. Serve it with extra cucumber and avocado and it is a complete meal.
• It feeds a crowd for the price of two sushi rolls. A 9x13 pan feeds six and costs less than takeout for two. It is my go-to for game nights and for the weeks when my teenagers bring friends home without warning.
• Kids actually eat it. The build-your-own seaweed scoop is the whole trick. Mine will not touch a sushi roll but will clear a plate of this, the same way they do with teriyaki chicken bowls.

Here's what I'd serve with this.

• Smashed cucumber salad — cold, crunchy and sesame-dressed — the ideal side for a warm sushi bake
• Air fryer honey garlic shrimp — a 10-minute second protein for a bigger spread
• Air fryer brussels sprouts — toss them with a little soy and sriracha to match
• Salmon rice bowl — the bowl version if you want the same flavors on a single plate
• Green spaghetti — also new today — a creamy roasted poblano pasta for the next night

Just in case you have leftovers.

Storing: Cool completely, cover the dish tightly or portion into airtight containers and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Keep the seaweed sheets, cucumber and avocado separate; the seaweed goes soft the moment it touches the rice. I do not recommend freezing it — the mayo-based topping separates once thawed.

Reheating: Cover with foil and warm in a 350°F oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or microwave individual portions at 70% power in 60-second bursts with a damp paper towel over the top so the rice does not dry out. Finish under the broiler for a minute if you want the top crisp again.

More easy dinner recipes...

Bang bang salmon bites Hot honey salmon Air fryer salmon Creamy Tuscan salmon

Also new today: penne alla vodka — the glossy blush-pink pasta that takes 30 minutes and tastes like a restaurant made it, and apple cider chicken for when fall dinner needs to feel like fall.

More fish dinners that do not feel like a chore

If a salmon dinner like this one is the kind you will actually make on a Tuesday, the Ultimate Slow Cooker Mediterranean Diet Cookbook is full of simple, fish-and-vegetable-forward meals that mostly cook themselves.

Get the cookbook on Amazon

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