Miso Butter Salmon Bowl

Name: Miso Butter Salmon Bowls
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 cup basmati rice; 2 tablespoons miso; 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened; 1 tablespoon hot honey (or plain honey); 1 pound center-cut salmon, cut into 1″ chunks; 1/4 cup mayonnaise; 2 tablespoons chile sauce (like sriracha); 1/2 lime, juiced; 1 cup snow peas, sliced on a bias; 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced; 1 large carrot, peeled into “ribbons”; 1 avocado, sliced; optional garnishes: sesame seeds, cilantro

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Miso butter salmon cooks ultra fast when cut bite-sized and seared in a skillet. Hot honey adds just the right amount of sweetness, which also helps you achieve that beautiful caramelization on the edges.

miso butter salmon bowl with rice and vegetables

I’m back with another bowl recipe and holy moly it’s a winner! Fluffy basmati rice, crispy and buttery salmon bites, fresh vegetables and a creamy spiced sauce. This is an approachable way to add a serving of seafood to your week and it’s even more delicious than it is simple. Here’s how you make it.

Miso Butter Salmon Ingredients

For the salmon, you’ll only need three simple ingredients to make the marinade:

miso paste
unsalted butter
hot honey (can also sub regular honey if you can’t find this or want to cut back on heat)

ingredients for miso butter salmon on a sheet pan

After mixing those ingredients together in a bowl, you’ll then cut the salmon into bite-sized chunks (about 1″), remove the skin (this is important!), then toss it all together and let it stand while you prep the rest of the ingredients.

The miso/butter/honey mixture is really the perfect mash-up of flavors. I also love how well it coats the salmon, and when you cook it up it gets that nice crispy exterior but stays super tender on the inside. Perfection.

Cooking the Salmon

You can certainly cook the fish in the oven, but I prefer using a skillet to make this meal in just 20 minutes (it could take almost that long just to preheat the oven). Use a nonstick skillet unless you feel very confident in your fish cooking abilities using something else (like stainless steel). This requires some skill, and I would hate for you to end up with a sticky mess.

Vegetable Tips

For the vegetables, I prefer to serve these bowls with raw snap peas, carrots and bell peppers. This adds such a wonderful crunch to the meal and also cuts down on cook time. Cutting them in smaller pieces is hugely important to the composed meal. Here’s what I recommend:

Chop snap peas on a bias, about 1/2″ (trim any tough ends)
Use a peeler for long wide ribbons of carrot
Thinly slice the red bell pepper

fresh snap peas, carrots and red bell pepper strips

The beauty of a meal like this: you can prep all of the components and do most of the cleaning while the rice and salmon cook. Hello, weeknight staple!

Recipe Substitutions & FAQs

Can I cook the salmon in the oven or air fryer?

Yes and Yes. For air fryer, cook at 350° F and check for doneness around the 8 minute mark. For oven, I would cook the salmon in a baking dish (or lined sheet pan) at 400° F for 10-12 minutes.

What is miso? Where do you find it?

Miso is fermented soybean paste, a staple in Japanese cooking. It has a very concentrated salty and umami flavor, so even a little bit stretches far in a dish. It’s available in most grocery stores now as well as Amazon or Target (may vary by location). You may have had it in soup and/or ramen but it’s found in everything from dressings to baked goods these days.

I’m not feeling the raw veggies. What’s a good sub?

Absolutely. I think steamed broccoli would be an excellent choice here. To make it even faster, sub a simple spinach sauté or bagged salad kit.

Can I use something besides basmati rice?

You can certainly use whatever rice you have on hand. Basmati is a fragrant long-grain rice. A close substitute would be jasmine rice.

miso butter salmon bites on a bowl of rice and veggies

Enjoy these miso butter salmon bowls! The combination of flavors, textures and colors will definitely make this one a crowd-pleaser for the whole family.