Salmon Sushi Cups
on Nov 14, 2022, Updated Jan 17, 2024
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Viral recipes come and go, but my salmon sushi cups will live on repeat in your kitchen. Sushi and salmon lovers rejoice: this recipe requires no sushi rolling nor raw fish but delivers all the incredible satisfaction of a baked salmon maki roll 🍣. These “cups”—shaped and cooked in muffin tins—are the perfect snack, appetizer, or party food. This recipe was inspired by my foodie friend Victoria Minell, who I first saw making sushi “muffins” go viral on TikTok.
Why You’ll Love These Salmon Sushi Cups
If you’re anything like me, you love sushi but don’t have the time or energy to make your own at home. Instead of takeout, enter the perfect solution: baked salmon 🐟 sushi cups. These are so easy to make and come together in under 30 minutes. Salty, savory, creamy, and a hint of spicy, these cups bring new meaning to “I bet you can’t eat just one.”
How to Prepare These Salmon Sushi Cups
♨️ Preheat the oven to 400F.
🍚 Rinse the rice and cook it according to the instructions on the package. (I like to use my rice cooker and add a pinch of salt.)
🐟 Pat the salmon dry with paper towels. Cut the salmon into small cubes and add to a bowl with the coconut aminos, salt, and spicy mayo. Stir to combine.
🔪 Cut 2 sheets of nori into 6 equal-sized squares. Add 1 tablespoon of the cooked rice onto each of the squares and press the rice into the nori.
🧁 Place each nori and rice square into a muffin tin insert, then add a tablespoon of the cubed, marinated salmon on top of each rice cup.
⏲️ Bake for about 15 minutes. Broil for the last 60 seconds to get the tops of the sushi cups crispy.
🍽️ Remove the muffin tin from the oven, let cool slightly, and then transfer the sushi cups to a plate. Lastly, garnish with spicy mayo and chives.
Nonna’s Tip 🍣
Ask your fishmonger to remove the skin and pin bones from the salmon to save you some time in the kitchen.
Variations and Substitutions for Salmon Sushi Cups
- Instead of cooked salmon, you can also make this recipe with raw, sushi-grade salmon or tuna from a trustworthy fishmonger or a specialty fish store. Cut the fish into small pieces, combine it with the marination ingredients, but skip the step of cooking the cups in the oven.
- Frozen salmon 🐟 should be fully defrosted and pat dry with paper towels before cubing.
- You can also use steamed or instant jasmine, sushi, or short-grain rice here. 🍚
- If you don’t like spicy food🌶, simply combine about 1 tablespoon of your favorite mayonnaise and omit the hot sauce.
- Customize the garnish with fresh herbs, such as finely chopped cilantro or scallions instead of the chives 🌱.
Similar Recipes
Best Served With
- These sushi cups taste incredible topped with a drizzle of Homemade Spicy Mayo.
- If you’re making these to share (they make an incredible party appetizer), you might also make some with shrimp, following my recipe for Shrimp Sushi Cups.
- My Asian Style Green Beans add a burst of color alongside, as well as a big serving of fiber.
- In addition to a drizzle of spicy mayo, I also like eating these with some soy sauce for dipping.
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Common Questions
Make sure you assemble the sushi cups while your rice is still warm. This way, it softens the nori, which prevents it from over-crisping in the oven.
Yes, you can use shrimp, chicken, crab, and more.
My personal favorite is jasmine rice, but sushi rice or any kind of short-grain rice will work here. In a pinch, you can use instant/microwave rice, too.
Yes, you can use regular mayo, such as Japanese ‘Kewpie’ mayo, instead.
You should use raw salmon. If it’s frozen, make sure it’s fully defrosted and pat it dry before cutting it into cubes and combining it with the coconut aminos mixture.
Coconut aminos is my favorite soy sauce alternative, which has less sodium and no soy.
Salmon Sushi Cups
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup rice, such as jasmine, sushi, or short grain rice
- salt
- 2 teaspoons seasoned rice vinegar, optional
- ½ pound salmon, skin and pin bones removed
- 1 tablespoon coconut aminos, or soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tablespoon spicy mayo, plus more for garnish
- 2 sheets of nori
- chopped fresh chives, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Rinse the rice and cook it according to the instructions on the package. I like to use my rice cooker and add a pinch of salt. Once the rice is cooked, you can add the rice vinegar, if using, and mix.
- While the rice cooks, pat the salmon dry with paper towels. Cut the salmon into small cubes, making sure the cubes are more or less equal in size. Add the cubed salmon to a bowl with the coconut aminos, a pinch of salt, and the spicy mayo and stir to combine.
- Cut 2 sheets of nori into 6 equal-sized squares (approximately 3.5-inch squares). The squares should fit into a standard muffin tin with overhang on the sides for easy removal.
- Add 1 tablespoon of the cooked rice onto each of the 6 nori squares and press the rice into the nori. This will help soften the nori and make it easy to place in the muffin tin. If the rice is too sticky, you can dip your fingers in some water. This will prevent the rice from sticking to your hands.
- Place each nori and rice square into a muffin tin insert. Add a tablespoon of the cubed, marinated salmon on top of each rice cup.
- Bake for about 15 minutes. I like to put the oven on broil for the last 60 seconds to get the tops of the sushi cups crispy.
- Remove the muffin tin from the oven, let cool slightly, and then transfer the sushi cups to a plate. Garnish with spicy mayo and chives.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made this 2 days in a row . Sooo good and easy to make 🫶
OMG this looks DELICIOUS Victoria! Just perfect! 😍👌👏💗
I don’t like mayo , may I know any other replacement?
Cream cheese is a good substitute.
A warm sushi, the taste was there, the flavor was there, added a little avocado, soy sauce on top, and it was delicious.
Sounds perfect, Vicky, thank you for sharing your take on this! Love it! 😊❤️