Simple Baked Salmon Rice Bowl

Hello and Welcome! This is not your average rice bowl. Dressed with a creamy, lemon and dill crème fraîche, this Simple Baked Salmon Rice Bowl is light and refreshing, perfect for lunch or dinner – it’s good hot or cold, too. A fresh salad of greens and red onions, with rice and caperberries is topped with a perfectly baked Wild Alaskan Salmon fillet. After Monday’s super rich Chicken and Broccoli Casserole, this feels just right. So, let’s get to it!

Start with the rice. The rice will take longer than everything else, so get that going. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees for the salmon.

Crème Fraîche Dressing

Next we will make the crème fraîche dressing. I have 6 ounces of store bought crème fraîche. Pour that in a bowl, then add the zest of one lemon, the juice of half that lemon and a tablespoon of fresh chopped dill. Stir to combine. The dressing should be loose; we want it creamy, but not as thick as say, Ranch dressing.

Wild Alaskan Salmon Fillets

I have two Wild Alaskan Salmon fillets that are vastly different in size. But that’s OK. We are oven baking these salmon fillets at a high heat, and they will cook for 4-6 minutes per 1/2-inch of thickness. Four minutes for medium rare, 6 minutes for medium to well done. The larger fillet is about 1-inch thick in its middle section. The smaller one is about 1/2-inch thick in its middle section.

Prep the salmon by patting it dry and drizzle a generous amount of olive oil over the fillets. Brush the olive oil over the entire fillet (meat side and skin side) and place on a parchment-lined sheet tray. Then sprinkle the meat sides with about 1/8-1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt and a few cranks of fresh black pepper.

Place the sheet tray with the fillets on the center rack in the preheated oven and set the timer for 4 minutes. Pictured below are both the fillets at the four minute mark. The little one is just about there. I am going to let it go another 90 seconds, because I like my salmon to be medium-cooked. The larger one will go another 2-3 minutes.

I pulled the smaller fillet out after another 90 seconds.

You can see the smaller fillet is a little more opaque after the additional 90 seconds. It is moist, yet flaky, retaining its gorgeous pink color. I am not a fan of fish skin. So I let the little fillet cool for about a minute. Then, very carefully flip the fillet over, and the skin (once cooked) should peel off very easily. Use the tip of a sharp knife to gently lift a corner of the skin from the meat and then it should peel off easily in one or two pieces, just using your fingers.

Simple Baked Salmon Rice Bowl Assembly

I have my little fillet ready to plate, so I set that aside while I assemble the rice bowl. Place one or two handfuls of salad greens and more chopped fresh dill in a shallow bowl. Top with slices of red onion. Drizzle on some of the crème fraîche dressing. Then drizzle olive oil over the dressed salad and give it all a good squeeze of lemon juice.

Then, sprinkle flaky finishing salt and black pepper on the dressed salad. Add the rice, use as much as you like. Top the rice with another drizzle of olive oil and squeeze of lemon juice.

Now for the salmon. Lay the salmon fillet over the rice.

Simple Baked Salmon Rice Bowl

Top the salmon with more crème fraîche dressing and sprinkle on more fresh dill. Add capers, or caperberries, if you like.

Simple Baked Salmon Rice Bowl is quick and easy to make, and so delicious I could eat it every single day. It’s light and refreshing – a flavorful savory meal you can feel really good about eating. Take it one further and go with brown rice, if you like. If you stick to the rule of baking salmon for 4-6 minutes (in a 425 degree oven) per 1/2-inch of thickness, you’ll get perfect salmon every time. Don’t be afraid to pull out a ruler to measure the thickness of your fillets! That does it for today, take care and be well everyone! xo Kelly

Kitchen Tools and Equipment Used in this Recipe

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Simple Baked Salmon Rice Bowl

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Dinner, Main Course, Lunch – American

By Kelly Djalali – Serves: 2

Prep Time: 10 Minutes – Cooking Time: 6-8 Minutes (plus 20 minutes for rice) – Total Time: ~40 Minutes

A Simple Baked Salmon Rice Bowl with greens, red onions and rice, topped with a baked Wild Alaskan Salmon fillet, dressed with lemon dill crème fraîche.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Uncooked Rice, cooked to package directions
• 4-6 oz. Crème Fraîche
• 1/2-1 bunch Fresh Dill, chopped
• Zest of 1 Lemon
• Juice of Half Lemon, plus more foe squeezing over the salad
• Kosher Salt and Black Pepper
• 2 Wild Alaskan Salmon Fillets, 1/2-1.5-inch thick in the center
• Olive Oil
• 3-5 oz. Salad Greens (like Organic Girl Super Greens)
• 1/4-1/2 Red Onion, thinly sliced into rounds
• Flaky Finishing Sea Salt
• Capers or Caperberries, for garnish

Instructions

1

Start with cooking the rice. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees for the salmon.

2

Pour the crème fraîche in a small bowl, then add the zest of one lemon, the juice of half that lemon, a tablespoon of fresh chopped dill and a pinch of Kosher salt. Stir to combine and set the dressing aside.

3

Prep the salmon by patting it dry and drizzle a generous amount of olive oil over the fillets. Brush the olive oil over the entire fillet (meat side and skin side) and place on a parchment-lined sheet tray. Then sprinkle the meat sides with about 1/8-1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt and a few cranks of fresh black pepper.

4

Bake the salmon for 4-6 minutes per 1/2-inch of thickness. Four minutes for medium rare, 6 minutes for medium to well done.

5

Place one or two handfuls of salad greens and more chopped fresh dill in a shallow bowl.

6

Top with slices of red onion.

7

Drizzle on some of the crème fraîche dressing.

8

Then drizzle olive oil over the dressed salad and give it all a good squeeze of lemon juice.

9

Sprinkle flaky finishing salt and black pepper on the dressed salad.

10

Top the salad with rice.

11

Top the rice with another drizzle of olive oil and squeeze of lemon juice.

12

Lay the salmon fillet over the rice.

13

Top the salmon with more crème fraîche dressing and sprinkle on more fresh dill. Add capers, or caper berries, if you like.