This recipe started as many things, and then it turned into my favorite thing – an easy curried salmon dinner. This salmon bowl is filled with bright herby rice, ingredients that easily repeat themselves, and just the right amount of heat to make this bowl interesting, but supremely satisfying.
It luckily happens all on one cutting board and in one pan, making this something that *looks* complex, but is surprisingly easy. And if you have a rice cooker, it’s even easier. Dinner can be on the table in 30 minutes, flat, just make sure to sharpen your knives!
Table of contents
Ingredients for the herby rice
- 1 cup uncooked brown rice
- 2 cups parsley, stems removed and finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 1/2 small red onion, diced
- 1/2 lemon, for juicing
- Olive oil and kosher salt, as needed
Ingredients you will need for the curried salmon
- 1 lb salmon, portioned into three pieces
- 2 tbsp neutral oil like sunflower oil, avocado oil or grapeseed
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 1/2 small red onion, sliced
- 2 small red thai chilies chopped, and seeds removed if you are sensitive to spice
- 1 & 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 2 & 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2/3 cup coconut milk, full fat or reduced fat, both work!
- 1/2 lemon for juicing
- Kosher salt and black pepper as needed
How to make this curried salmon recipe
This recipe is a simple process, you’ll just want to make sure you have all your ingredients in place! Here’s a step-by-step on how to make this easy weeknight salmon recipe:
- Begin by cooking your rice per package instructions. In a large bowl, add the finely chopped parsley, the grated garlic, the diced red onion, the lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil. Season with salt as needed and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Put the sauté pan on medium heat.
- Add the neutral oil, then the sliced red onion. Cook down for 2-3 minutes or until softened, then add the chopped up chilies and the garlic. Cook another 2-3 minutes before tossing in the cumin and chili powder. Stir to combine, cooking for about 1 minute or until the spices are fragrant. Season with salt as needed.
- Add in the tomato paste and stir to combine. Cook another 2 minutes and let the tomato paste cook down and darken in color.
- Pour in the coconut milk and whisk quickly to combine everything into a smooth sauce. Taste, season with salt and add a squeeze from your remaining lemon half if you think it needs it.
- Add in the salmon fillets. Spoon the curry sauce over them to evenly coat. It will be a thin sauce at first, but it will reduce in the oven.
- Put the pan in the oven at 375°F for 14-16 minutes, or until your salmon’s internal temperature is at least 135°F.
- The rice should be done, so toss it with the herby ingredients you made earlier.
- To plate, spoon the rice out evenly, add a piece of salmon and any extra curry sauce. It’s already pretty herb-filled, but garnish with mint, parsley or basil as you prefer!
Looking for other fish recipes and dinner ideas?
I have tons that I love on the blog! Here are a few reader favorites:
Gochjang Butter Salmon
This salmon recipe is sweet, slightly spicy, rich and tender, and done in no more than 30 minutes – and that's being generous. If you want a quick, delicious and impressive protein that's easy to make, this salmon recipe is it.
Check out this recipe
Scallops, Garlic Sweet Potatoes & Sun-dried Tomato Relish
As a pescatarian, scallops are always a go-to when I want a quick but classic dinner. These subtly sweet scallops perfectly compliment an earthy, spicy sun-dried tomato relish, and the sweet potato meshes with roasted garlic to make an easy and comforting base for this recipe to come together.
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Creamy Orzo, Butter Beans & Greens
This healthy, comforting orzo dish is filled with flavor but built on simple ingredients. It is naturally plant-based, but if you're looking so grate a little parmesan on top, I wouldn't argue! This recipe can be made with dried or canned beans, which are then simmered with aromatics and finished with a bit of lemon. Pair it with crispy kale and it comes out to be a wholesome and hearty full meal.
Check out this recipe
And that’s everything for this curried salmon dinner bowl!
If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.
And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3
Curried Salmon & Herby Rice
This creamy, easy curried salmon is one of my favorite ways to make a fast and healthy dinner. It's quick to make, incredibly filling and incredibly adaptable. Plus it only uses minimal ingredients to make a slightly spicy, creamy, and repeatable sauce. It's perfect as a healthy weeknight comfort food!
Equipment
- 1 chef's knife
- 1 high sided sauté pan
Ingredients
For the herby rice
- 1 cup uncooked brown rice
- 2 cups parsley stems removed and finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic grated
- 1/2 small red onion diced
- 1/2 lemon for juicing
- Olive oil and kosher salt as needed
For the curried salmon
- 1 lb salmon portioned into three pieces
- 2 tbsp neutral oil like sunflower oil, avocado oil or grapeseed
- 2 cloves garlic grated
- 1/2 small red onion sliced
- 2 small red thai chilies chopped, and seeds removed if you are sensitive to spice
- 1 & 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 2 & 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2/3 cup coconut milk full fat or reduced fat both work
- 1/2 lemon for juicing
- Kosher salt and black pepper as needed
Instructions
- Begin by cooking your rice per package instructions. In a large bowl, add the finely chopped parsley, the grated garlic, the diced red onion, the lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil. Season with salt as needed and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Put the sauté pan on medium heat.
- Add the neutral oil, then the sliced red onion. Cook down for 2-3 minutes or until softened, then add the chopped up chilies and the garlic. Cook another 2-3 minutes before tossing in the cumin and chili powder. Stir to combine, cooking for about 1 minute or until the spices are fragrant. Season with salt as needed.
- Add in the tomato paste and stir to combine. Cook another 2 minutes and let the tomato paste cook down and darken in color.
- Pour in the coconut milk and whisk quickly to combine everything into a smooth sauce. Taste, season with salt and add a squeeze from your remaining lemon half if you think it needs it.
- Add in the salmon fillets. Spoon the curry sauce over them to evenly coat. It will be a thin sauce at first, but it will reduce in the oven.
- Put the pan in the oven at 375°F for 14-16 minutes, or until your salmon's internal temperature is at least 135°F.
- The rice should be done, so toss it with the herby ingredients you made earlier.
- To plate, spoon the rice out evenly, add a fillet of salmon and any extra curry sauce. It's already pretty herb-filled, but garnish with mint, parsley or basil as you prefer!
I’m excited to make this! Where the ingredients repeat across parts of the dish it would also be helpful to have a combined ingredient list somewhere to make shopping easier. 🥺
Follow up comment- I made this tonight and it was so good and such a hit! Left some but not all of the chili seeds and it was nicely spicy. I’m not as fast of a cook so it did take me an hour to make.
This was delicious! The sauce was very lovely. My 15 year old went back to dollop more on her plate. I might play around with serving it with chicken, a white fish or paneer since my family aren’t the biggest salmon eaters. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
I’m so glad you liked it! I hope you enjoy the variations as well 🙂
It was easy, healthy, perfect. A big hit!
So thrilled you liked it! Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment on here <3
So good! I made this last night and everyone loved it, even my 1.5yo! My husband isn’t the biggest fan of salmon but I thought the sauce would help disguise any fishy-ness. It was so simple and flavorful, will definitely be making this again.
I loved this with salmon! What tweaks would you suggest for tofu?
I suggest pan frying it first for 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown! Then proceed with the recipe as written 🙂
Made the herby rice and it was delicious! I sauteed the onions and it was very fragrant.
This recipe looks absolutely delicious! I have a few questions – what would you suggest to do if I don’t have a pan suitable for the oven? should I transfer the salmon and sauce to a baking dish? and, do you have any suggestions on how to know that the salmon is ready (beside checking the temperature..)?
Thank you!!
Hello! The sauce is such an important component of this dish that I would recommend transferring the salmon, sauce and all, to a baking dish to finish the recipe. As for how to know it is ready without a thermometer, I can’t give you any recommendations that are fully up to food safety standards without temperature, but a great visual cue is if there are small dots of white across the top of the fillets. This means that they are a bit overdone, but it’s better safe than sorry. I hope that is helpful, and I wish I could provide more info, but I’m erring on the side of caution!