Blackened Salmon Bowl With Jalapeño Yogurt Sauce

What is Tex-Mex Cuisine?

Tex-Mex food is a combination of American and Texan cuisine. It originates from the culinary creations of the Tejano people of Texas. The food is known for a combination of Mexican, Spanish, and Southwestern flavors. Some ingredients commonly used in Tex-Mex cuisine are yellow cheese, flour tortillas, black beans, and cumin.

You will find lots of fibrous black beans in this meal. Although cumin is not typically used in blackening seasoning, I add it to my seasoning mix to give this dish a little more Tex-Mex flare.

What Does it Mean to Blacken Food?

Blackening is a cooking technique used in the preparation of meat. It is often associated with Cajun cuisine. Typically, you will find fish and poultry blackened. Food is blackened when it’s dipped in melted butter, then coated with a combination of herbs and spices, and cooked in a hot pan.

You can buy premade blackened seasoning at the grocery store or you can make your own from the spices you have at home. The most common seasonings used to blacken food are: smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, oregano, thyme, salt, and black pepper. To make this Blackened Salmon Bowl with Jalapeño Yogurt Sauce recipe more of a Tex-Mex style meal, I added cumin to my blackened seasoning mix.

What You Will Need:

• Salmon – I cooked the salmon in an air-fryer, but you can cook it on the stove or in the oven.
• Spanish Rice – To get this meal on the table quickly, I use Uncle Ben’s microwavable Spanish Rice.
• Black Beans
• Pico De Gallo – a combination of chopped tomato, onion, and serrano peppers, with salt, lime juice, and cilantro
• Spices – smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, thyme, cumin, oregano
• Jalapeño Yogurt Sauce – a mixture of plain yogurt, olive oil, lime juice, jalapeno, garlic, and cilantro.

Three Ways to Cook Blackened Salmon

First, you want to decide how you are going to cook the salmon. When I blacken salmon, I prefer to to cook it in an air-fryer or cast iron skillet on the stove. For this recipe, I cooked the blackened salmon in the air-fryer.

After patting the salmon dry, brush it with butter and coat it with the blackening seasoning. Then choose which way you would like to cook it. The internal temperature of salmon should be 120 ºF for medium rare or 125-130 ºF for medium.

• Cook Salmon in the Air-Fryer: First, preheat the air-fryer. Once the air-fryer is preheated, press the “fish” setting button. The display should say it will cook at 350ºF for 8 minutes. Spray the air-fryer tray with nonstick cooking spray and place the salmon fillets skin side down in the tray to cook.
• Cook Salmon on the Stove: Preheat a cast iron skillet to medium-high heat. Add the salmon fillets to the skillet skin side up and cook for 2-3 minutes to blacken the seasonings. Flip the salmon over and cook skin side down for about 5 minutes until cooked through.
• Cook Salmon in the Oven: Preheat oven to 425ºF. Place salmon fillets on a baking sheet skin side down (I usually cover my baking sheet with foil to reduce clean-up). Cook for 12 minutes until cooked through.

Let’s Make Blackened Salmon Bowl with Jalapeño Yogurt Sauce!

While the salmon is cooking, you can prepare the other ingredients for this bowl. I start by preparing the yogurt sauce so the flavors have time to meld together. You can also make the sauce ahead of time and chill in the refrigerator until ready to eat. In a small food processor add yogurt, cilantro, jalapeno, olive oil, lime juice, garlic, and a pinch of salt to taste. Pulse until mixed well. Set aside.

Next, heat up the rice and beans in the microwave. I use Uncle Ben’s quick cook Spanish rice and canned black beans. I buy premade pico de gallo on those nights I want to save time in the kitchen. But you can make fresh pico de gallo by chopping tomato, onion, jalapeño, cilantro and mixing those with lime juice and salt. I also chop cherry tomatoes, avocado, and a lime wedge to add to the completed bowl.

Once the salmon has finished cooking, it is time to assemble the Blackened Salmon Bowl with Jalapeño Yogurt Sauce! I start by putting rice and beans at the bottom of a bowl. Top the rice and beans with salmon, pico de gallo, avocado, and a lime wedge. You can sprinkle the jalapeño yogurt sauce on top or use it as a dip. Enjoy!

More Recipes to Try:

• Spicy Vegan Taco Bowl
• Buffalo Chicken Bowl
• Three Bean and Beer Chili
• Easy 3 Ingredient Frozen Margarita

Blackened Salmon Bowl with Jalapeño Yogurt Sauce

Course: Main, SeafoodCuisine: Tex-MexDifficulty: EasyServings

2

servingsPrep time

15

minutesCooking time

10

minutesTotal time

25

minutes

This healthy Tex-Mex style Blackened Salmon Bowl with Jalapeño Yogurt Sauce is the perfect amount of flavor, spice, and nutrition.

Ingredients for Salmon Bowl

• 2 Blackened Salmon fillets, cooked (seasoning ingredients below)
• Jalapeño Yogurt Sauce (ingredients below)
• 1 bag of Quick Cook Spanish Rice
• 1 can of Black Beans
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 1 lime, sliced
• Pico de Gallo
• Ingredients for Blackened Salmon Seasoning
• 2 Tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• Ingredients for Jalapeño Yogurt Sauce
• 1/2 cup Plain Yogurt
• 1/2 cup cilantro
• 1 jalapeño (remove seeds for less spice)
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 lime, juice
• 1 clove garlic
• salt to taste

Directions

• Make Jalapeño Yogurt Sauce by mixing all ingredients in a small food processor. Set aside.
• Mix all blackening seasoning ingredients in a shallow bowl. Melt butter in another small bowl. First, pat dry the salmon. Then brush the melted butter over salmon fillets and place them in the shallow bowl of seasonings to coat thoroughly.
• Choose how you want to cook your salmon. Three options are listed above in this blog post.
• For this recipe, I cook the salmon in an air-fryer. First, preheat the air-fryer. Once the air-fryer is preheated, press the “fish” setting button. The display should say it will cook at 350ºF for 8 minutes, if not, change it to those settings. Spray the air-fryer tray with nonstick cooking spray and place the salmon fillets skin side down in the tray to cook.
• While salmon is cooking, prepare the other bowl ingredients. Heat rice and beans in the microwave. Slice avocado and lime. If you are using fresh pico de gallo (ingredients listed above in this blog post) make it now too. Or you can use premade pico de gallo to save time.
• When the salmon has finished cooking, assemble the dish. Start by putting rice and beans at the bottom of a bowl. Top the rice and beans with the salmon, pico de gallo, avocado, and lime wedge. You can sprinkle the jalapeño yogurt sauce on top or use it as a dip. Enjoy!

Notes

• You can add guacamole to this bowl instead of sliced avocados.