This has become a favorite meal at our house! Crispy air fryer salmon bites marinated in a flavorful sauce, crisp cucumber, creamy avocado, crunchy cabbage, hearty edamame and spicy sriracha mayo. The combo is perfection and will become a staple weeknight dinner! This asian salmon salad, that we call salmon salad bowls is bound to be your new favorite!

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Why You'll Love This Recipe
You're going to love this easy salad salmon recipe just as much as we do. I love a salmon salad, I am no stranger to a greek salmon salad, a citrus salmon salad, or a Caribbean salmon salad. Salmon salad fast, fresh, and so good you won't even believe it. Serve it as is, or add a side of quinoa, brown rice or white rice. It also goes great with Brazilian limeade.
This recipe is the best because:
- It is fast! I love a good weeknight meal, and this is it! From start to finish you will be done cooking this meal in under 30 minutes. So easy!
- The flavors are fresh! The combination of flavors and textures combined with the fresh cabbage, avocado, and cucumber make for a really delicious and healthy dinner.
- Everyone loves it! This meal is asked for all the time at our house. My kids love and so do adults. This recipe is perfect for your meal plan.
- It is served in personal bowls rather than a salad bowl. I love that it makes it a little more personal and fun.
About The Ingredients
Everything you need for this salmon salad bowl can be purchased at your local grocery store. Here are a few items to note:

- Salmon Filets - I prefer to buy the frozen salmon fillets. I feel like they are more fresh than the fresh salmon. When selecting salmon, fresh farmed salmon should have a link pink color to it, while wild-caught salmon should be dark pink. If the fish has any gray blemishes or brown areas, then it's not that fresh. If you opt for frozen, thaw in the fridge overnight.
- Cabbage Mix - I buy the pre shredded cabbage mix that is sometimes called coleslaw mix. If can be located in the product aisle at the grocery store.
- Shelled Edamame - I buy this in the frozen section. To thaw, simply set on the counter for a few hours. Just make sure you buy the shelled version.
- Cucumber - for this recipe I really prefer the mini cucumbers. I think their size is nice for the salad and I like the flavor. Regular cucumbers work great too. Choose whatever you prefer.
- Avocado - you want to choose, large, ripe avocados. Look for avocados that have a rich dark green/black. Hass Avocados that are a lighter shade of green are likely not ripe. Hass Avocados are the most readily available because they ship well due to their thick skins.
- Garlic and Ginger - we are using both of these in the marinade and dressing. They give lots of flavor. One thing I've started doing is buying it frozen. It is so convenient and it doesn't go bad in the fridge.
- Condiments - for the marinade and dressing you'll need several condiments like soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, olive oil, honey, sriracha, and sriracha mayo. You'll also need sesame seeds for garnish.
For a complete list of ingredients and amounts, see recipe card below.
How To Make It
This avocado salmon meal comes together fast. Let me show you just how to do it!

- Prepare the marinade for the salmon by combining ¼ cup soy sauce, ¼ cup rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons sesame oil, 1 teaspoon sriracha, 2 tablespoons honey, 3 cloves minced garlic, and 2 teaspoons grated ginger. Whisk until smooth.
- Cut your salmon into 1 inch cubes and toss with marinade. Set aside while you prepare the salad (slaw).
- In a large bowl prepare the ginger sesame salad dressing by combining ¼ cup olive oil, ¼ cup rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons honey, 2 tablespoons sesame oil, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, and 1 clove of minced garlic. Whisk until smooth.
- Add cabbage mix to the bowl and toss to coat with sesame dressing. Set aside while salmon cooks.

- Prep cucumbers by slicing thin. Transfer them to a small bowl and add a little rice vinegar to them. This gives them a nice flavor for the salad.
Pro Tip: Use a mandolin to slice cucumber thin. This makes the task super fast and makes all of the slices uniform.
- Cook salmon bites in the air fryer. Remove from ginger soy marinade and add to air fryer basket. Cook at 400 degrees for 8 minutes.
- Once salmon is cooked, assemble your salads. Layer the cabbage mix, place salmon bites on top, sliced cucumbers, thawed edamame, and sliced avocado.
- Finish salmon salad recipe with a drizzle of sriracha mayo and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

Expert Tips
Choosing Salmon: Opt for frozen salmon when possible. It is frozen right after it is caught and often times more fresh than filets at the butcher counter
Cutting your cucumber: Use a mandolin to slice cucumber thin. This makes the task super fast and makes all of the slices uniform.
Serve in a shallow bowl: Use wide, shallow bowls for serving. They not only look cute, but also make it easier to mix and eat the salad. These are often called pasta bowls.

FAQs
Before you go trashing that salmon, read this. That white slimy stuff is called albumin, and it’s protein that solidifies as salmon cooks. It is completely safe to eat that albumin. Albumin tastes completely fine, it’s good for you, it’s just another protein that comes from the salmon.
Fish does not have a very long shelf life - so eat this within 2-3 days of making it. Store in the fridge in an airtight container.
You can do baked salmon just as easy! Line a baking sheet with parchment, remove your salmon from the marinade and spread evenly over the pan. Bake at 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Salmon Salad Bowls
Equipment
- air fryer
Ingredients
Salad
- 8 oz salmon filets about 2 filets
- 1 avocado sliced
- 3 mini cucumbers sliced thin
- 1 cup shelled edamame thawed from frozen
- 16 oz shredded cabbage sometimes called coleslaw mix
- 4 teaspoon sriracha mayo Buy in the asian food section
- 2 teaspoon sesame seeds
- Dressing Recipe Below
Salmon marinade
- ¼ cup Soy sauce
- 3 tablespoon Rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 teaspoons sriracha
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 3 cloves Garlic minced
- 2 teaspoon Ginger grated
Dressing
- ¼ cup Olive oil
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 clove garlic
Instructions
- Prepare the marinade for the salmon by combining ¼ cup soy sauce, ¼ cup rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons sesame oil, 1 teaspoon sriracha, 2 tablespoons honey, 3 cloves minced garlic, and 2 teaspoons grated ginger. Whisk until smooth.
- Using a sharp chef's knife, cut your salmon into 1 inch cubes and toss with marinade. Set aside while you prepare the salad (slaw).
- In a large bowl prepare the salad dressing by combining ¼ cup olive oil, ¼ cup rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons honey, 2 tablespoons sesame oil, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, and 1 clove of minced garlic. Whisk until smooth.
- Add cabbage mix to the bowl and toss to coat. Set aside while salmon cooks.
- Prep cucumbers by slicing thin. Transfer them to a small bowl and add a little rice vinegar to them. This gives them a nice flavor for the salad.
- Cook salmon bites in the air fryer. Remove from marinade and add to air fryer basket. Cook at 400 degrees for 8 minutes.
- Once salmon is cooked, assemble your salads. Divide ingredients evenly between 4 bowls. Layer the cabbage mix, salmon bites, sliced cucumbers, thawed edamame, and sliced avocado.
- Finish salads with a drizzle of sriracha mayo and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.
Leah says
Looks delicious!! I added this to our menu this week! Can't wait to try it!