Tender flaky juicy baked salmon served on noodles with coleslaw in a garlicky gingery savory sauce that’s lightly sweet. This recipe uses a blender to mix one sauce that is used as the salmon marinade and in the noodle sauce, so it literally takes 10 minutes to get ready. It’s a perfect dish for your busy weekday dinners and meal-prep. {Gluten-Free Adaptable}
If you’re looking for a meal that’s both nutritious and bursting with flavor, a salmon noodle bowl is the perfect choice. Combining tender, flaky salmon with a bed of noodles and vibrant vegetables, this dish is satisfying, wholesome, and easy to prepare.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Healthy and Balanced – Salmon is packed with omega-3 fatty acids, while noodles and vegetables provide a great balance of carbs, fiber, and vitamins.
- Quick and Easy – This meal can be prepared in under 30 minutes, making it perfect for busy weeknights.
- Customizable – You can mix and match your favorite noodles and vegetables to suit your preferences.
Cooking notes
1. One sauce, three purposes, five minutes
Make the sauce in a blender and you’ll have a multi-function marinade, coleslaw dressing, and noodle sauce all in one.
Once you mix the sauce, use a third of it to marinate the fish in a ziplock bag. This is my favorite way to marinate salmon because it uses minimal sauce to impart maximum flavor to the whole fillet. You can leave the fish on your kitchen counter and marinate it for 15 minutes while you prepare the noodles and the coleslaw. Alternatively, you can prepare it ahead of time and leave it in the fridge for a few hours to let the salmon absorb more flavor.
For the coleslaw, simply grab a bag of coleslaw mix from the grocery store and mix it with the sauce.
I usually reserve the rest of the sauce in a small bowl, or in sauce containers if you’re doing meal-prep.
2. How to cook the salmon
The cooking time for salmon can vary a LOT. Sometimes you get very thin and wide fillets, such as the ones I used in this recipe. Sometimes you get super narrow cuts that can be as thick as 2” (5 cm). The oven (or grill) temperature can also vary a lot. For example, the electric oven in my apartment in Austin ran a bit cold. And my gas oven in New York runs super hot. It goes up to 500 F when I set it to 425 F.
Always take the cooking time in the recipe as a guide and check on your salmon as it cooks. You can simply use a fork to gently nudge the thickest part. The salmon is ready when it’s just cooked through, when the color turns pale pink, it flakes easily, and the meat is still very juicy and tender. If you like a sashimi texture, you can even pull the salmon out when the center of the fillet still has a bit of dark pink-red color.
3. Is it possible to adapt the recipe into a gluten-free dish?
It is possible to adapt the recipe into a gluten-free dish, but the flavor profile will change slightly. You should replace the soy sauce with tamari or coconut aminos. Use rice vinegar instead of Chinkiang vinegar. It will produce a lighter sauce that is slightly fruitier and less tangy. And of course, choose your favorite gluten-free noodles such as rice noodles or bean noodles (I love the edamame noodles from Explore Cuisine).
Eat more salmon!
Its long season, relative abundance, and lower calorie content make sockeye the perfect choice for everyone. Married with a gorgeously decadent, nutty Asian ginger sauce, I have to say, it’s love at first bite. The best part is that this gourmet dish can be whipped up in half an hour, and it’s an easy one-bowl recipe for busy weekdays. Wave goodbye to average after-work dinners — say hello to a sumptuous serving of salmon!
More delicious seafood recipes
- Steamed Fish with Black Bean Sauce (plus Baked Version)
- Honey Garlic Shrimp
- Macanese Broiled Fish with Potato and Peppers (One Pan Dinner)
- Salt and Pepper Squid
- Honey Soy Sauce Glazed Salmon
30-Minute Salmon Noodle Bowl with Coleslaw
Ingredients
- 4 salmon fillets
- 1 lb (450g) dried wheat noodles (or other types of noodles you prefer)
- 2 green onions , thinly sliced (Optional)
Coleslaw
- 4 cups coleslaw mix (or 4 cups thinly sliced purple cabbage)
- 1/3 cup toasted peanuts , coarsely chopped
- 2 tablespoons cilantro , chopped
Sauce
- 1/4 cup peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 1/2 cup Chinkiang vinegar
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 6 cloves garlic
- 3 slices ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Make the sauce
- Add the sauce ingredients into a blender. Mix until it forms a smooth sauce.
Marinate the fish
- Place the salmon fillets in a large ziploc bag. Pour a third of the sauce into the bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible and seal the bag. Let marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes, or in the fridge for up to 3 hours.
Make the coleslaw
- Mix the coleslaw ingredients in a large bowl. Pour half of the remaining sauce into the bowl. Mix well and set aside.
Option 1 – Cook the salmon in the oven
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the salmon fillets skin-side-down on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Discard the marinade. Bake for 8 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the salmon. Once done, the salmon should be just cooked through and flake easily. If you like the raw texture of the salmon, you can cook it for an even shorter time so the inside is still a bit pink.
Option 2 – Cook the salmon on the grill
- Preheat an outdoor grill or indoor grill pan over medium-high heat until hot. Brush the grill with oil. Add the salmon fillets and cook for 5 to 6 minutes on each side, or until the salmon is opaque throughout.
Boil the noodles
- While the salmon is cooking, boil the noodles according to the instructions on the package. Once done, drain the noodles and transfer them to a large colander. Rinse them thoroughly with tap water and gently toss them, to let them cool. Set aside.
Assemble
- Transfer the noodles into each of the serving bowls. Add the coleslaw. Top with salmon. Serve the extra sauce on the side for the noodles.
Meal-prep
- Place the assembled dish into each meal-prep container and divide the noodle sauce into sauce containers. Store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
I love Asian food
I’m soooooo into bowls right now and this one looks super easy to prepare, which is exactly what I’m in need of these days. I’ll have to try this one out.
This dish was even more delicious than I predicted. Thumbs up from young and old.
Thank you Maggie! I made this last night and it was delicious fast and easy. The marinade dressing will be a go to recipe for me.
Turned out great! Forgot the cilantro and over cooked the salmon a bit, but we all loved it. Quantities were perfect, super easy too. Thanks for posting!
Delicious! Sauce was excellent on everything. Will make again for sure!