Bang Bang Salmon! Creamy, sweet, savory, and punchy. Served with some steamy rice and an avocado cucumber salsa. Weeknight perfection!
Bang Bang Salmon with Avocado Cucumber Salsa
Watch How To Make This
This Bang Bang Sauce Lives Rent-Free In My Head.
It’s delicious and it’s a memorizer.
- Mayo
- Sweet chili sauce
- Garlic
- Soy sauce
That, right there, is Bang Bang Sauce. Popularized by none other than the Bonefish Grill. It’s creamy, sweet, savory and punchy from the garlic and soy sauce, and just leaves you wanting to smother everything in it.
I am mostly making this sauce with salmon right now, because I’m always looking for ways to love salmon. But bang bang sauce can shine anywhere: with chicken. shrimp. tofu. roasted potatoes. roasted mushrooms. roasted cauliflower.
I will tell you that in an extra-rushed SOS moment this week, I brushed the bang bang sauce on a frozen breaded chicken breast, after baking, and let it kinda melt in. Threw it on a salad. And it was incredibly short-cut-y and just so finger-licking good.
In terms of veggies in the bowl with this salmon, I typically go for one of the following:
- steamed broccoli
- a little avocado cucumber salsa, which is listed out in the notes!
The sauce is not spicy at all – just hold on the chili crisp for anyone who is sensitive. My 3 year old will eat the salmon (or not) depending on her mood, and the rest of us clean our plates every time!
It’s right up there with the other salmon greats in my life: air fryer salmon, and BBQ salmon with mango salsa!
Honestly, I should have had this recipe on POY years ago. It’s so easy and something I always look forward to eating.
How To Make This Recipe
1
Make the Bang Bang Sauce.
Mayo, sweet chili sauce, garlic, and soy sauce.
2
Sauce the Salmon.
Coat the salmon with spices; then cover with a spoonful of sauce.
3
Bake the Salmon.
400 degrees for 10 minutes, and I like to finish with a quick broil to get it nice and caramelizey.
4
Make a Little Avocado Salsa, If You Want.
And I do want.
5
Yum! You’re Done!
Add some sauce on top, some chili crisp for heat, and get into it.
Bang Bang Salmon with Avocado Cucumber Salsa
- Total Time: 22 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Bang Bang Salmon! Creamy, sweet, savory, and punchy. Served with some steamy rice and an avocado cucumber salsa. Weeknight perfection!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Bang Bang Salmon
- 1 1/2 pounds salmon filet
- 1–2 tablespoons all-purpose seasoning mix (this is the one I use – see notes for homemade)
- 1/4 cup mayo
- 2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- chili crisp for topping
For Serving:
- Cooked rice
- Some kind of vegetable – I like a little avocado cucumber salsa which you can find in the notes below!
Instructions
- Prep the Salmon: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the salmon into individual portions if you want. Pat the salmon dry. Coat the salmon with the spice mix. Place salmon on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Make the Bang Bang Sauce: Mix mayo, sweet chili sauce, garlic, and soy sauce in a small bowl. Set half of it aside for after baking.
- Bake the Salmon: Spread a small spoonful of sauce over the seasoned salmon pieces. Bake for 10 minutes towards the top of the oven. Then turn the broiler on for another 2-3 minutes, until your salmon looks golden brown and a bit caramelized on top.
- Serve: Serve the salmon over rice, with a vegetable of choice, and the reserved bang bang sauce + chili crisp drizzled over top! So easy and so good.
Notes
Seasoning Mix: If you don’t have a good seasoning mix, or if you’re not sure if the one you have will be good here, just sprinkle your salmon with about a teaspoon of coarse kosher salt, and then some onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika. Just get it nice and seasoned so it looks like it does in the video. This helps give flavor to the salmon and it also helps the sauce stick to the salmon.
Avocado Cucumber Salsa: I love this salmon with a little sweet and crunchy avocado salsa! Mix 1 avocado (diced), half of a cucumber (diced), a handful of chopped cilantro, a bit of lime juice, a pinch of salt, and a tablespoon of honey in a small bowl. Done! Perfect pretty little green veg for the bowl.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: bang bang, bang bang sauce, bang bang salmon, salmon recipe, salmon and rice, rice bowl
Three Top-Rated Salmon Recipes
Filed Under: All Recipes Avocado Dairy-Free Dinner Fish and Seafood Gluten-Free Main Dishes Quick and Easy Recipes Rice Salmon Sheet Pan SOS Series
October 29, 2024
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I’m Lindsay and I ♡ FOOD. I used to be a teacher, and now making food and writing about it online is my full-time job. I love talking with people about food, and I'm so glad you're here.
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Hello, thinking about making this bang-bang salmon. Can you tell me please what is chili crisp? TY
Hi Rae! Chili crisp is an oil speckled with dried chilis, onion, garlic, and other spices. We find ours in the Asian section of the grocery store. Here’s a link to the chili crisp we like!
I want to try this but I don’t eat mayo. Any good substitute? Would yogurt be too tangy?
Sour cream would probably be the best substitute! Full fat greek yogurt would be good too!
Looks great! Do you have a favorite sweet chili sauce? Thanks!
We typically use the Thai Kitchen or Mae Ploy brands!
This looks amazing and I can’t wait to make it. What
Oven temperature do you use? I don’t see it on the recipe card.
400 degrees. We hope you love it, Terry!
This sounds delicious, can’t wait to try! Is there a good substitute for the sweet chili sauce?
Sriracha combined with honey would probably be your best bet. I’d use 1 tablespoon of each! Let us know if you give it a try!
FANTASTIC. So easy, so fast, so delicious. Everyone ate it! No easy feat with 3 kids. It will be on regular rotation in our house. Can’t wait to make it again!
We love hearing this, Purnima! Thanks so much for the comment!
Looks delicious, planning to make it this week! What is chili crisp and where do you find it?
Chili crisp is an oil speckled with dried chilis, onion, garlic, and other spices. We find ours in the Asian section of the grocery store. Here’s a link to the chili crisp we like!
Back to say I just made this and the high temp of 400 set the parchment paper on fire in the oven, so I’d recommend removing that instruction! I’m sure a greased baking sheet would work fine.
Thanks for the feedback!
Good base recipe idea – I found the sauce to be too sweet though. Also, the oven temp isn’t listed.
Thanks for the comment and feedback, Rebecca! The oven temp should be stated in Step 1.
What a fabulous idea! Thanks!
You bet! Let us know if you give the recipe a try!
i think your salmon avocado cucamber salsa receipe is very nice and healthy.afterthat salmon receipe organic and healthy.this receipe acceptable all age like children,young.and adult person.averall thank you so much for your salmon avocado cucamber receipe.
Hi! We just made this just tonight for dinner and it was soooooo delicious! My husband even stood up after his first couple of bite to give me a standing ovation 😂.
My 18 months old devoured every last bit of salsa salmon sauce and rice! THANK YOU THANK YOU for delivering such a lovely recipe!!
Wow, we made this for dinner last night and it was outstanding! We will not only enjoy this often, but we will serve it to guests. Thanks so much for all the great recipes.
Absolutely delicious!
Excuse the pun but this is a total banger. A+, absolutely going in the rotation!
Love it, Michelle! So glad you enjoyed it!
Made this for date night yesterday, it was so delicious!
This was “we could eat this every day” amazing. Also very low effort for high flavor payoff.
This was such a hit with my family!! My almost-four-year-old helped make it, which was so fun. He wouldn’t stop saying “bang bang” all dinner as he declared it “best salmon ever!!” I served it with roasted broccoli and millet (which was a sponge for all that yummy sauce). 10/10 delicious and so doable after a LONG weekend of solo parenting. THANK YOU!!
Thanks for this recipe! Thinking of making this in the air fryer just to avoid waiting to heat the oven, any tips?
Hi Emilie! We haven’t test this salmon in the air fryer yet, but I’d try 8-10 minutes in the air fryer at 400 degrees!
So good! Made it tonight and the fam was very pleased. Used Salmon Magic for our general purpose seasoning. Bang Bang sauce and chili crisps took it to the next level! I did add a touch of a seasoned soy sauce/gyoza dipping sauce that I had on hand for a little extra. Yuuuuuummmmmm!
Voted “best salmon he’s ever tasted” by our 9yo. Our 7yo and 5yo also devoured seconds. It was *so* fast and simple to make, and it took next to no time to cook and prep. Perfect with brown rice and the avocado cucumber salad.
This Bang Bang Salmon looks absolutely delicious! The creamy sauce and fresh avocado cucumber salsa make it the perfect weeknight meal.
WOW! It’s been a minute since I’ve been to Bonefish but I REMEMBER how amazing that appetizer was and this was even better! Absolutely fabulous and terrific leftover as well. Stunning.
This is a fantastic post! I really appreciate the in-depth analysis about this topic. Your insights have given me a new perspective. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge.
I tried this today – omg, so good! And actually I’ve tried many of your recipes and they’re always amazing! Thank you so much x