Name: Baked Honey Garlic Salmon Bites
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Ingredients: ¾ lb salmon; 1 tbsp sesame oil; 1 tbsp honey; 1 tsp chili garlic sauce; 3 tbsp coconut aminos; 1 tsp squeeze ginger; 3 cloves garlic, minced; sesame seeds

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These Baked Honey Garlic Salmon Bites are easy and delicious. Salmon is marinated in a flavorful combination of sesame oil, honey, chili garlic sauce, coconut aminos, ginger and garlic and baked to sticky perfection then topped with sesame seeds. Serve them in a bowl with rice, cucumber, avocado and spicy mayo and it will remind you of a poke bowl.

Benefits of eating salmon

When I was doing research on salmon before creating this recipe, I was shocked to see the macros, as compared to other fish. The nutrition for salmon is totally different than other fish. When you think of fish, you think “lean protein,” “low fat.” But in reality, salmon is quite the opposite! The macros are almost close to those of a lean beef or steak.

Just to compare, 3 oz of salmon has 177 calories and 17% fat, whereas 3 oz of cod has 70 calories and less than 1% fat. They are two totally different fish. These figures are using basic data from a nutritional database. Of course, stats can vary based on the type of salmon (i.e. wild caught vs farm raised). When you are figuring out the stats for this recipe, make sure you are using the correct kind of salmon in your calculation.

But this isn’t to make you fearful of eating salmon, this is actually to encourage it. You see, salmon has the good fat we are always talking about which are omega-3 fatty acids. This type of fat keeps you fuller longer. So, salmon has the best of both words: it’s got great health benefits, and it keeps you full.

What you’ll need to make these Baked Honey Garlic Salmon Bites

sesame oil
honey
chili garlic sauce
coconut aminos
ginger
- I like to use this squeezable ginger.
garlic
salmon
sesame seeds

How to make the marinade

Start by chopping the salmon into bite sized pieces. Next, add the sesame oil, honey, chili garlic sauce, coconut aminos, ginger and minced garlic to a small bowl. Mix sauce ingredients thoroughly and then add the chopped salmon to the mixing bowl. Toss the pieces of chopped salmon in the sauce and make sure each piece is evenly coated. Once the salmon is coated in the sauce, cover bowl with plastic wrap and let marinate. You will want to marinate the salmon a minimum of 30 minutes or up to several hours. The longer it sits in the marinade, the more flavor the salmon will have.

Cooking the salmon

When you are ready to cook the salmon, preheat the oven to 400F. While the oven is preheating, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the marinated salmon pieces on the sheet pan. Once the oven is preheated, bake for 15 minutes, flipping halfway through. This will ensure even cooking to each piece. After the salmon is done, remove the sheet pan from the oven and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

This recipe can be adapted to cooking in the air fryer. If using an air fryer, you will want to reduce the cooking temperature and time. Set the air fryer to 350F and cook for 10 minutes. Make sure to shake the basket after 5 minutes.

How do I serve baked salmon bites?

I like to serve these salmon bites bowl style with your favorite rice, veggies of your choice (I like to use sliced cucumber), and sliced avocado. When you combine all of these flavor profiles along with the salmon and spicy mayo, it is reminiscent of a poke bowl. So many wonderful flavors and textures happening!

For the rice

I like using frozen, pre-cooked white or brown rice. It makes the assembly for this bowl so quick and easy. Just microwave it and portion it out, no mess and no fuss!

To assemble the cucumbers

For the cucumber salad, I slice mini Persian cucumbers (leaving the skin on), and then toss them with about a teaspoon of sesame oil, and a splash of rice wine vinegar and a splash of coconut aminos (this can all be done to your taste preference). Finish the cucumbers off with a sprinkle of sesame seeds.