Sticky Salmon Couscous Bowls.
We love these easy salmon couscous bowls for weeknight dinners. The salmon is seared until golden and cooked in a saucy, sticky honey garlic mixture that is divine. Serve over couscous with veggies and extra sauce. LOVE it.
How amazing does this dinner look?!
Oh this salmon is dreamy. It’s so tender and flakey. Buttery! Golden and crisp and served in a sticky, saucy honey garlic mixture that takes everything over the top. And everyone ADORES it.
Seriously. This will be your new go-to salmon recipe.
This salmon is SO delicious. We have been having this salmon for dinner once a week – it is so incredibly versatile. I love to serve it in some kind of bowl, like I show here with the couscous. You can obviously swap that out for rice or quinoa, whatever you are feeling that day. But we also love it on salad.
The kids love it too – it’s so crisp on the outside, satisfying and flavorful.
I use the same method here that I do for my sticky pomegranate salmon and garlic butter salmon. I like to chop the salmon into cubes because it makes it easier to portion into bowls – and honestly my kids like to eat it better this way! It’s a nice little switch up from eating the whole salmon filet.
The key is a cast iron skillet. Or a ceramic skillet – one that you can get really hot. I always use butter because it provides a golden, crisp crust on the side. Butter allows the salmon to get super brown and flavorful with ease. It’s practically foolproof.
I use high heat because I want that golden sear on the salmon quickly and I don’t want to overcook it. I pour a mixture of honey, garlic and water into the skillet and let it bubble all around the salmon, getting sticky and saucy, which helps cook the inside and keep it tender. The sauce is a hit in our house and I find that we are all scraping the remnants out of the bottom of the pan. We basically fight over the last of the sauce, it is that good!
In the recipe below, I mentioned that you may want to double sauce. It’s always a good option.
When it comes to add-ins for your bowl, obviously use what you love! Everyone (except me, haha) loves carrots in our house, so I shave them with the vegetable peeler to get the curly thin ribbons. Avocado is a hit too, though Eddie skips that. The combination of the warm, sticky salmon with the creamy avocado is divine. I could probably eat a plate of that alone.
Pickled onions are a must. I always have them in the fridge! Cilantro too.
I don’t serve this with a dressing because the salmon has enough residual sauce that it all mixtures together and gets super flavorful. But you can always add in a vinaigrette that you’d love – I am very partial to lemon or citrus vinaigrettes with seafood.
I am all about easy weeknight bowl meals that help dinner come together quickly, even during the busiest of day. This is one of those! And it’s super versatile – you can add in anything you like, used leftover already cooked grains or quinoa, even chopped up leftover salmon if you have made my garlic butter salmon. I use my “grain bowl formula” often (you can find it in my book Everyday Dinners) and it’s always a winner. Not an exact recipe, but a method that makes your life easier.
The stickiest, butteriest, flakiest salmon is a huge win all around.
Sticky Honey Garlic Salmon Couscous Bowls
Honey Garlic Salmon Couscous Bowls
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked couscous
- 2 carrots, peeled and shaved into ribbons
- ⅓ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 to 4 salmon filets, cut into cubes (about 1 to 2 inch cubes)
- kosher salt and pepper
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 avocado, thinly sliced
- fresh cilantro, for serving
- pickled onions, for serving
Instructions
- Cook the couscous according to the instructions. This will take roughly 12 to 15 minutes. I use chicken stock or water. You want the couscous finished by the time the salmon is done. Peel and shave the carrots now too.
- Stir together the honey, water and garlic. Set it aside. We really love this sticky sauce and sometimes I double it. If you want extra sauce, I suggest doubling it too! ⅔ cup honey + ¼ cup water + 3 or 4 garlic cloves.
- Pat the salmon completely dry with paper towels. Cut the salmon into cubes, making sure the pieces are uniform in size. It doesn’t matter if they are big or small - but make sure they are all roughly the same size so they cook in the same amount of time.
- Season the salmon all over with salt and pepper.
- Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Let it heat for a good 5 to 6 minutes so it’s hot. Add the butter and let it melt and sizzle - it will almost instantly brown. This is good!
- Add the salmon in a single layer. Cook on one side until very deep golden brown and seared. Flip each salmon piece. Cook for 1 minute so the salmon gets brown on the other side.
- Pour the honey mixture into the skillet. It should bubble and sizzle all around the salmon. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, letting it bubble and thicken and get sticky.
- Build your bowls! I add couscous on the bottom, top it with the shaved carrots and sliced avocado, then add the salmon. Top with cilantro and pickled onions, then serve.
- This salmon is also incredible served with rice alone. It’s delish!
Did you make this recipe?
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Look at that crisp!
12 Comments on “Sticky Salmon Couscous Bowls.”
Nutrition?
What kind of salmon do you use or is pictured here?
Made this tonight for dinner but subbed chickpeas for my vegetarian daughter and I. It was delicious!
Thank you for the recipe. We do not eat fish so I used extra firm tofu and doubled the sauce recipe as suggested. Excellent weeknight dinner – your sauce, pan seared tofu, broccoli, couscous & golden potatoes.
The bowl components were fantastic but the salmon sauce was kind of overpoweringly sweet for my family. If I make it again I’ll probably add some lemon or red pepper flakes to offset the strong honey flavor.
This is so so delicous!! A flavorful dish that is easy to make- even my 2.5 year old enjoyed it and my husband wants to add it to our recipe rotation;
I did this with hot honey for some spice (or because I ran out of regular honey and didn’t want to go to the store, you pick), and it’s ridiculously easy and insanely delicious. Highly recommend.
Do you cook the salmon with the skin on?
Do you ever use frozen salmon? The fresh is just so much more expensive.
yes i use frozen all the time! by fresh, i just meant to thaw it if frozen.
I was not expecting to like this as much as I did. It was delicious!!!!! The mixture of temperature and texture was amazing. Cool creamy avocado mixed with crunch grains (I used leftover mix of couscous and quinoa) along with the thin strips of carrot and cucumber. Amazing!
This was quite tasty. Even my husband who rarely ever brags on my cooking said he really like the flavor of the salmon. I will definitely make this again.