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Baked Honey Salmon & Asparagus Bowls are a delicious, high-protein meal that is perfect for meal prep. Filets of salmon are seasoned with honey, garlic powder, salt, and cayenne pepper. The perfect balance of spicy and sweet! They are oven-baked with asparagus and served with quinoa for a complete meal that’s simple to prepare, yet impressive enough to serve guests.
Salmon lovers, rejoice! These Baked Honey Salmon and Asparagus Meal Prep Bowls are going to be your new favorite way to meal prep dinner (or lunch). Having a complete meal ready to serve is so convenient for busy weeks or nights when the kids have a ton of activities. It’s also a great way to avoid take-out and enjoy more nutritious, budget-friendly meals at home.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Quick and simple: This honey salmon dish is a quick, simple, and easy recipe to put together. This whole meal is ready to go in just about 30 minutes and it’s seriously one of the most flavorful seafood recipes. As an added plus, everything cooks in one pan for fast cleanup.
- Healthy: Salmon is full of omega 3’s, high in protein, and packed with vitamins. And the asparagus and quinoa add even more nutrition to these bowls. All of the ingredients are nutrient-rich and satisfying.
- So delicious: All of the components for these bowls come together for major flavor! If you happen to be intimidated by cooking salmon, begin with this simple recipe. You’ll find that cooking seafood is really quite easy and can be so tasty!
- Make ahead: These salmon bowls are super easy to prepare for meal prep and will cover your lunch and dinner needs for a few days.
Ingredients needed
These easy & delicious salmon bowls are filled with plenty of veggie goodness, quinoa, and salmon for tons of different flavors and textures. To make them you’ll need:
- For the rub: We’re coating the salmon in an easy mix of olive oil, honey, garlic powder, salt, and cayenne pepper. It’s the perfect sweet and savory combination.
- Salmon: To make 4 bowls, you’ll need 4 (5 to 6-ounce) salmon fillets.
- Asparagus: The vegetable in this bowl is asparagus seasoned with minced garlic, olive oil, and salt & pepper.
- Quinoa: Add cooked quinoa to the bowls for a boost of protein and fiber. You can also use regular, brown, or cauliflower rice if you’d like.
- Lemon & sesame seeds: To finish the bowls, we like to add lemon wedges and a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds.
How to make this recipe
- Season & bake the salmon. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. In a small bowl, combine 1 tablespoon of the oil, honey, garlic powder, salt, and cayenne pepper. Rub the salmon filets with this mixture and place them on the prepared sheet pan. Bake for 10 minutes.
- Season & bake the asparagus. Meanwhile, toss the asparagus with the remaining tablespoon of oil, minced garlic, salt, and pepper to your taste. Place the asparagus next to the salmon in the pan and bake for 5-7 minutes more, until the salmon is flaky and the asparagus is just tender.
- Make the bowls. Assemble the meal prep bowls by dividing the cooked quinoa into 4 glass containers. Once the salmon and asparagus are done baking, allow them to cool, then add to the meal prep containers together with the lemon wedges. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and refrigerate for no more than 3 days.
Expert Tips
- For the most health benefits and the tastiest meal, we recommend using high-quality wild-caught salmon.
- To purchase high-quality salmon, check the seafood counter of your grocery store. This is a great option because you know it’s fresh and you’ll be able to select filets of similar size.
- If you don’t have a thermometer to check for doneness, simply insert a knife or fork into the thickest part. The salmon will flake a bit and will still look a little translucent in the center, but it should not look red or raw.
Frequently asked questions
If you happen to only have frozen salmon available – that works! Just make sure to thaw it before adding the rub and cooking.
This honey salmon requires about 15 minutes in the oven. The cooking time will depend on how thick your salmon is and how well done you like your salmon. You can accurately check the temperature of your salmon with an instant-read thermometer. Insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the salmon. The FDA advises salmon should be cooked to an internal temperature of 145ºF., However, if you cook your salmon to this temperature it will be overdone because the temperature will continue to rise even after the salmon is removed from the heat. Instead, America’s Test Kitchen suggests cooking farm-raised salmon to about 125ºF and wild-caught to 120ºF to avoid dry, overcooked salmon.
Some people like to leave the skin on salmon and others like to remove it before eating. It can easily be removed using a fork, once the salmon is cooked. Do not try to remove it before baking the salmon, as it is much easier after cooking.
Customize this recipe
Here’s what we can recommend for ingredient swaps in these honey salmon bowls:
- Protein: Change things up and make these bowls with a different type of fish or even chicken. Or make it vegetarian and use tofu. The same rub can be used with any type of protein.
- Vegetables: Any favorite veggies would work, such as green beans, zucchini, broccoli, or cauliflower. However, keep in mind that cook time may vary, depending on what vegetable you choose.
- Grains: Any type of cooked grains will work. Try brown rice, white rice, couscous, or orzo. To keep these bowls grain-free, you could even use cauliflower rice.
Storage recommendations
Store leftovers in airtight containers. The salmon, veggies, and quinoa will keep fresh, in the fridge, for up to about 3 days.
More delicious salmon recipes
- Blackened Salmon
- Crispy, Pan-Seared Spicy Salmon
- Miso Glazed Salmon
- Baked Salmon and Veggies
- Mediterranean Baked Salmon
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Baked Honey Salmon and Asparagus Meal Prep Bowls
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F for and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. In a small bowl, combine 1 tablespoon of the oil, honey, garlic powder, salt, and cayenne pepper.
- Rub the salmon filets with this mixture and place them on the prepared sheet pan. Bake for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, toss the asparagus with the remaining tablespoon of oil, minced garlic, salt, and pepper to your taste.
- Place the asparagus next to the salmon in the pan and bake for 5-7 minutes more, until the salmon is flaky and the asparagus is just tender.
- Assemble the meal prep bowls by dividing the cooked quinoa into 4 glass containers. Once the salmon and asparagus are done baking, allow them to cool, then add to the meal prep containers together with the lemon wedges.
- Sprinkle with sesame seeds and refrigerate for no more than 3 days.
Notes
- Store leftovers in airtight containers.
- The salmon, veggies, and quinoa will keep fresh, in the fridge, for up to about 3 days.
- If you prefer to use another protein you can. swap the salmon with any other fish or chicken breast
- Instead of honey, you may use maple syrup
- Swap quinoa with White rice, brown rice, or cauliflower rice.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Only 9 grams of protein??
What is recommended reheat method, temp and time?
Did you scroll all the way down to the recipe card? It has full details of how to make it
I’m currently learning to cook and I love your recipes, which taught me how to make this delicious baked honey salmon and asparagus meal prep bowls