Spicy Salmon Rice Bowl with Mango Jalapeno Sauce.

For this Spicy Salmon Rice Bowl with Mango Jalapeno Sauce; wild-caught salmon is cut into bite-size pieces and coated in a spicy honey chipotle marinade. I bake them in the oven, but you can also use your air fryer or grill!

The spicy salmon bites are paired with a sweet and spicy mango jalapeno sauce, as well as a quick avocado salsa that adds creaminess and a beautiful freshness. A sprinkling of cotija cheese over top for the perfect bite!

For the base, depending on how many carbs I not-so-regretfully consumed over the weekend, I’ll choose either cauliflower rice or wild rice. If you have jasmine, white, or brown rice in the pantry, that will work too!

Now, let’s make this Spicy Salmon Rice Bowl with Mango Jalapeno Sauce recipe. 🥑🥭

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How to Make Spicy Salmon Rice Bowl with Mango Jalapeno Sauce

SPICY SALMON BITES

Marinating and Cooking the Spicy Salmon Bites

Preparing the spicy salmon bites could not be any easier! First, cut your salmon into bite-size chunks.

Regarding the marinating process, the key step is blending the ingredients in a small food processor. This step binds the ingredients together, as lime juice and avocado oil naturally resist each other. Blending all the ingredients together creates a saucier texture that sticks to the salmon beautifully.

Combine two whole chipotle peppers in adobo sauce along with three tablespoons of adobo sauce, lime juice, avocado oil, honey, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, and salt and blend until combined. For a milder version: leave out the whole chipotle peppers and just add two to three tablespoons of the chipotle in adobo sauce.

I like to marinate my salmon bites overnight, but if you’re in a time crunch, one hour will do. The longer the salmon has to develop that delicious honey chipotle flavor, the better the Spicy Salmon Rice Bowl with Mango Jalapeno Sauce recipe will be!

Just before you’re ready to serve dinner (after preparing the rest of the ingredients below), preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit (232 degrees Celsius), then bake the salmon bites for about seven minutes. They’ll be juicy, tender, and filled with sweet and spicy honey chipotle flavor.

FARM-RAISED VS. WILD-CAUGHT SALMON

For the spicy salmon bites, I start with a pound or so of wild-caught sockeye salmon. I always go for the wild-caught fish versus farm-raised. Masterclass explains all about the difference in this helpful article: Farm-Raised vs. Wild-Caught Fish and Seafood!

SALMON SKIN

You can either take the skin off or leave it on. The skin won’t get crispy in the oven, so if you’re the type of person that hates fish skin unless it’s crispy, I would remove it (or ask the butcher to). Me personally, I’ll eat it either way. There are so many nutrients in salmon skin, so to me, it’s worth it. Whatever you do, don’t throw away the salmon skin! For a fantastic way to avoid food waste, you can try Kate’s recipe for Crispy Salmon Skin “Bacon”.

HOW TO REMOVE SALMON PIN BONES

You’ll also want to be sure that all the tiny pin bones are removed from the salmon. Sometimes they’ll come already removed, depending on where you shop for salmon. This video is helpful and informative and will teach you all about pulling pin bones from salmon. All you’ll need is a good set of fish bone tweezers (or you can try using your fingers).

The Rice

Recently I saw a video (not sure where or I would mention it) with a tip on cooking rice. Instead of measuring the correct water to rice ratio and hoping for the best, they boiled their rice just like pasta in a big pot of salted water! I had to try it, and I’m here to report that my wild rice turned out great!

It took about the same amount of time to cook as it mentions on the package, and since the rice is boiled with the lid off, you can continually check to see if it’s cooked. I strained it through a fine mesh strainer and voila! Fluffy, perfectly cooked rice. You can of course cook your rice the traditional way or in a rice cooker, too!

Check out this interesting article I found when researching more about boiling rice like you would pasta: How to Cook Rice to Reduce Arsenic.

I used wild rice this time, but I also use cauliflower rice as a low-carb alternative!

Whichever type of rice you choose, once it’s done cooking, toss it with a squeeze of lime juice and a pinch of salt and pepper so it’s not bland. I like to season every aspect of the dish!

The Mango Jalapeno Sauce Recipe

Another super simple step: the mango sauce. Simply combine the mangoes, jalapeno, cilantro, lime juice, water, avocado oil, salt, and pepper in a blender or small food processor until smooth and creamy.

If you’re wondering about the spice level of this mango sauce, I remove the jalapeno’s seeds and membranes, therefore you get the jalapeno flavor without it overpowering the sauce with spice. For a spicier sauce, add some seeds to the blender!

Not going to lie, I’ve lost count of how many times I squeezed the mango sauce straight into my mouth from my condiment squeeze bottles. It’s that good, everyone!

The Avocado Salsa Recipe

The avocado salsa recipe is simple and quick, and really packs a punch! First, juice the limes with your hands or a citrus hand squeezer/juicer. Dice the avocados and pour the lime juice over them to prevent the avocados from turning brown. Small dice the red onion and fresno chile pepper and chop the cilantro. Sprinkle in your spices and gently toss everything together.

Cover, and place in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve!

Assembling the Spicy Salmon Rice Bowl with Mango Jalapeno Sauce

To assemble the Salmon Rice Bowls with Avocado Salsa and Mango Sauce: divide the rice, avocado salsa, and salmon bites evenly between four bowls. Squeeze a generous serving of mango sauce over top each bowl and then sprinkle on some cotija cheese, and even some sliced scallions if you wish. Serve the extra mango sauce on the side because you can never have too much sauce!

You guys are going to love these rice bowls! Enjoy. 🥭

As always, I’d love to hear from you all! About your experience with this dish, any alterations you may have made and loved (or didn’t love), or just life and cooking in general. Please leave a review/comment/question below, reach out via email, and/or stay connected with me on social media, which I have linked below. Take care! – Jenna 🖤

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