Cajun Baked Salmon Bites – RecipeTin Eats

November 7, 2025

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Cajun Baked Salmon Bites is only a actually tasty, no-fuss strategy to cook dinner salmon, quick (12 minutes!). Lower into cubes so the Cajun flavour hits each chew, then bake in a scorching oven so it browns with out overcooking the within. No range splatter, yay!

“What’s so good about this salmon?”

I simply completed “promoting” this to my brother (sure, the one which famously as soon as informed me “there’s nothing about this recipe I like” 😆) when he got here in simply as I used to be taking pictures the photographs. He requested (bluntly) – “What’s so good about this salmon?”. Right here’s what I informed him!

Reducing salmon into cubes means a better ratio of tasty seasoned floor space to flesh. You received’t even want a sauce to get pleasure from these bites!
It’s baked not pan fried. Who desires to show a gazillion cubes of salmon 6 instances??
It takes 12 minutes to bake. It will get color on it due to a scorching oven and a smidge of sugar within the seasoning, however the inside doesn’t get overcooked. No person desires dry overcooked salmon round right here!
I’m utilizing mum’s notorious crumpled foil fish baking approach. So as a substitute of utilizing a rack (such a ache to scrub), you simply line a tray with crinkled foil and it acts like a gazillion teeny tiny prongs that hold the salmon from sitting flat on the tray. This manner, the underside even will get a little bit of color on it fairly than getting all sweaty and moist, so there’s no want to show the salmon.
Additionally, the crumpled foil stops the fish from sticking!
It’s Cajun, dude. Something you Cajun is tasty. You already know it’s true. 😂

That’s a fairly correct illustration of how our dialog went down. I satisfied him. Have I satisfied you?? 😀

Elements in Cajun Baked Salmon Bites

Right here’s what that you must make this – salmon fillets and a handful of pantry spices!

Salmon – Skinless fillets is finest right here. Pores and skin on will work too however then that you must fiddle with every bit to rearrange them skin-side down.
Spices – Simply common pantry spices!
– garlic and onion powder: substitute with extra of both. Don’t substitute the garlic powder with recent garlic, it’s going to burn!
– paprika: common/candy – although smoked is nice too
– dried thyme: substitute with oregano or parsley
– cayenne pepper: elective, for a additional hit of heat warmth, in the event you like!
Brown sugar – Just a bit bit not solely provides important flavour (it truly is so good with the cajun spice combine!), it additionally helps the salmon bites get a little bit of caramelisation on the floor even with a really brief bake time so the within doesn’t overcook. Should you substitute with honey or maple syrup, it doesn’t color as properly (I attempted).
Salt and pepper – I take advantage of cooking salt / kosher salt. Should you solely have desk salt (very superb), then scale back the quantity by 50%, and if in case you have salt flakes, enhance by 50%.
Olive oil – Or any impartial flavoured oil appropriate for cooking.

Tips on how to make Cajun Baked Salmon Bites

Right here’s the right way to make them. Preheat your oven properly – we want a scorching oven to get color on the salmon in 12 minutes flat!

Lower the salmon into chew dimension items – 2.5cm / 1″ is an efficient dimension that can cook dinner by means of simply completely inside by the point it’s been within the oven lengthy sufficient to caramelise the floor barely.
Combine the Cajun Marinade elements in a bowl then add the salmon and toss to coat. There must be simply sufficient to coat every bit properly with out extra pooling within the backside of the bowl.

Wrinkle foil up by calmly scrunching it together with your fingers then unfold it with out flattening the wrinkles and canopy the tray. We would like a lot of little crinkly wrinkly little ridges, bumps and lumps everywhere in the foil that can act as microscopic little “prongs” that hold the salmon elevated off the tray – that is what stops the underside from getting soggy which makes the Cajun spice sweat off. It additionally prevents the salmon from sticking to the tray. Nifty little Japanese fish cooking approach I picked up from my mom!

Fold the foil over the sting of the tray to carry it in place and repeat with one other sheet of foil (if wanted) to cowl the entire tray with the wrinkly crinkly foil.
Unfold the salmon throughout the tray. The extra space between every bit, the higher they are going to color!

Bake for 12 minutes in a scorching preheated oven – 240°C/460°F (220°C fan-forced). Onerous and quick, to get color on the salmon with out overcooking the within!
Prepared to eat! Have a look at the beautiful caramelisation on the floor – due to the smidge of brown sugar and the recent oven!

Sauce and serving choices

I take advantage of sufficient seasoning for these salmon bites with the intention to serve them and not using a sauce, plus keep in mind we’re maintaining them good and succulent inside – no dry overcooked salmon for dinner tonight!!!

Nevertheless, sauce is all the time inspired and it so occurred that I had a few leftovers in my fridge from latest recipes – the Gyros Sauce from final weeks’ Kalimera Hen Gyros, and the pantry-spices model of Peri-naise from the latest (very talked-about!) One Pot Nando’s Hen and Rice. Each are pink and each tasted fabulous with the Cajun flavours on this salmon, although for a extremely fast choice you possibly can simply combine mayonnaise with sriracha and/or ketchup (intention for a pink color).

As for the right way to serve them – make rice bowls, like pictured on this put up and within the video, or stuff into tortillas to make salmon tacos (YES!). Add to salads to make them meal-worthy, make dinner plates with a Backyard Salad and Lemon Potato Salad on the facet, or eat them straight off the tray. Nevertheless you serve these, you may’t go incorrect! – Nagi x

Watch the right way to make it

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