These salmon rice balls are a great way to serve salmon filets in a different way! Everything comes together in one bowl and is formed into easy-to-hold balls for little ones!

Salmon rice balls served with avocado and carrots.

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Rice can sometimes be tricky and messy for babies and toddlers to eat and you’re likely to find little grains everywhere when serving it to your little ones. Rice balls are a less messy way of serving rice since they hold their shape well and are easy to pick up. Salmon is rich in fatty acids and omega-3, making it a great source of protein to add to rice for a delicious, well-balanced meal!

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1 WHAT YOU’LL NEED

2 PROCESS

3 STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS

4 SUBSTITUTIONS

5 RECIPE NOTES

6 Salmon Rice Balls

6.1 Ingredients US CustomaryMetric

6.2 Instructions

6.3 Notes

6.4 Nutrition

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

Here is what you’ll need to make these salmon rice balls:

Salmon Filet: I used a pre-cooked salmon filet in this recipe. I always air fry salmon filets for the perfect moist texture!
White Rice: If you are using a rice baller to form your rice balls, you must use a sticky type of rice that is freshly made. I like to use jasmine rice when making these balls.
Onions/Peppers: For added flavor and texture. Make sure to finely chop the onions and peppers so that they don’t cause the rice balls to fall apart.
Butter: For pan-frying.

PROCESS

Finely chop the onions and peppers. Make sure to chop them up very small so that they don’t cause the rice balls to fall apart.
Melt the butter in a pan on medium heat and add in the chopped onions and peppers. You can add in a sprinkle of a few seasonings if you’d like to flavor the veggies (ex: paprika, garlic powder, black pepper). I love adding in a season of Tony’s all-in-one seasoning! Saute the onions and peppers until soft and translucent and set aside to cool. Make sure to keep all of the juices from the sauteed veggies to add to the rice.
Shred the cooked salmon filet with a fork.
Add the cooked rice, shredded salmon, and sauteed onions and peppers to a bowl and mix until it is well combined.
Scoop out tablespoon-sized portions of the rice mixture and press it together with your hands. Roll each portion into a ball shape, pressing as you roll (it helps if your hands are wet while doing so). I love using this rice baller to make this a little easier: I simply add some rice to the rice baller and shake it up to make perfect little-sized balls!

STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS

Once cooled, the salmon rice balls can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. I recommend forming them into balls and then storing them in the fridge because it is more difficult to form rice balls when the rice is cold.

SUBSTITUTIONS

Salmon: You can swap out the salmon for a different type of protein! Just make sure to finely shred it so that it is easy to form into balls.
Onions/Peppers: The onions and peppers add flavor to the rice, but you can incorporate other veggies into the rice as well! Just make sure to saute the veggies in butter beforehand.

RECIPE NOTES

Finely chop the onions and peppers are small as you can so that there aren’t too many large chunks in the mixture.
Make sure that your salmon filet is seasoned (this is what adds the main flavor to the rice. I love using tony’s all-in-one seasoning to season salmon. My favorite way to quickly cook salmon is to air fry it! Check out this post on air-fryer salmon!
I love using this rice baller to make perfect little-sized rice balls. Be mindful that if you are using a rice baller, you must use a sticky type of rice that is freshly made. I love using jasmine rice.
This rice is great served in a bowl on its own! Add some toppings like avocado/seaweed for an easy rice bowl!