Gochujang Baked Quinoa with Slow Roasted Salmon

I love a baked quinoa moment, and this gochujang baked quinoa proves it. This is a simplified version of one of my favorite older recipes – now it’s streamlined, still low-effort, and just as satisfying. It serves three comfortably, though you can absolutely stretch it to four if no one is that hungry. It’s the kind of meal that checks every box: healthy, filling, meal-prep friendly, and honestly, kind of hard to mess up.

Mostly, I love baked quinoa for how easy it is, but also for how versatile it can be. You can find a few other baked quinoa variations on the blog, but this one really takes the cake. It’s spicy, a little sweet, super cozy, and comes together in under an hour but even during that time, you’re not doing all that much.

Sometimes when I’m making an easy dinner, I’m in the mood to chop, sauté, and build layers of flavor. Other times, I just want to set something up and let it do its thing and this baked quinoa is perfect for that. It’s a lazy dinner, but still an exciting one, which is sometimes exactly what a weekday needs.

What is gochujang?

I LOVE gochujang and I hope you feel the same way about it that I do. Gochujang is a Korean red pepper paste that is fermented. The fermentation gives it a unique heat that is hard to fully mimic. It also contains sugar and starch, which makes it caramelize in pretty addicting way.

My favorite thing about gochujang is it’s simultaneously savory, sweet and spicy. The most common preparation involves gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes), glutinous rice, meju powder, yeotgireum and salt. The sweetness comes from the starch of rice, which is then cultured with saccharifying enzymes during the fermentation process.

Gochujang is one of my favorite ingredients to cook with, and its flavor profile changes as it caramelizes, which is why it is one of the best ingredients for a baked quinoa like this.

Ingredients for this baked gochujang quinoa

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small (3 oz) shallot, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons gochujang paste
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 cup quinoa, well rinsed
• 1 (13.5 oz) can coconut milk
• 1 cup water
• 1 pound fresh salmon
• 1/4 cup scallions, thinly sliced, optional for topping

Ingredient substitutions

• Extra-virgin olive oil: Swap for avocado oil, grapeseed oil, really any oil you like!
• Shallot: Can be swapped for red onion, white or yellow onion.
• Gochujang paste: The gochujang is what really makes this quinoa pop, but if you don’t have it on hand, you can opt for tomato paste and chili flakes, or even swap to harissa.
• Garlic cloves: Swap for 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, or you can omit.
• Coconut milk: You can use any kind of milk you prefer, just note that it may change the cooking time slightly.
• Salmon: Swap for steelhead trout, flounder, cod, or mahi mahi but you can really top this quinoa with whatever protein you prefer. Whichever you choose, just keep an eye on them in oven, as the roasting times may differ.

How to bring this gochujang baked quinoa recipe together

1. Stagger two racks in the oven, leaving enough room for a pot on the bottom rack. Preheat to 350°F convection, 375°F standard.
2. Place a 5-quart pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the olive oil, shallot and gochujang and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4-5 minutes, or until the onions are beginning to soften.
3. Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute before adding the rice vinegar, soy sauce, and quinoa.
4. Pour in the coconut milk and 1 cup of water. Give one stir to combine, then cover the Dutch oven and transfer it to the oven.
5. Cook this for 40-55 minutes, until most of the liquid is absorbed and the mixture is creamy, similar to a risotto. Begin checking for doneness at the 40 minute mark.
6. At the 40 minute mark, place 1 pound of salmon on a parchment lined baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 15-16 minutes on the top rack.
7. Remove both the quinoa and salmon from the oven. Let both cool for a few minutes before plating.
8. Serve with scallions on top and enjoy!

Storage tips and how to prep ahead of time

You can definitely prepare this recipe ahead of time! You have a couple options:

You can either bake the quinoa then store in airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week and then, about 20 minutes before you’d like to eat, roast the salmon. Or, you can make everything at the same time, pile it into an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 3-4 days!

Unfortunately, I do not recommend freezing this recipe and recommend eating it as close to its preparation date as possible.

Watch the recipe here

Looking for similar recipes?

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Check out this recipe

Caramelized Gochujang Tomato Soup

This Caramelized Gochujang Tomato Soup is unlike any you've had before – it's slightly spicy from a hit of carmelized gochujang paste and is deeply rich from slowly simmered tomatoes and just a touch of coconut milk. It's fully plant-based, easy to make and ready in minutes, making it one of the best tomato soups out there.

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And that’s it for this Gochujang Baked Quinoa!

If you make them, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.

You can also shop this video if you’re looking for the exact pieces I use – I’ve linked everything on my ShopMy! *some links may contain affiliate commissions

And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3

Gochujang Baked Quinoa with Slow Roasted Salmon

5 | 4 reviews

A do-nothing dinner that tastes like you did a whole lot of something. This dish is layered with flavor, slightly creamy, and insanely healthy. It's always in my weeknight rotation.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Servings: 4 servings

Cook mode:Prevent your screen from going dark

Equipment

• ▢
  1 5-quart pot or Dutch oven
• ▢
  1 quarter sheet pan
• ▢
  1 parchment paper

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• ▢ 1 small (3 oz) shallot, thinly sliced
• ▢ 3 tablespoons gochujang paste
• ▢ 3 garlic cloves, minced
• ▢ 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• ▢ 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• ▢ 1 cup quinoa, well rinsed
• ▢ 1 (13.5oz) can coconut milk
• ▢ 1 cup water
• ▢ 1 pound fresh salmon

Optional toppings

• ▢ 1/4 cup scallions, thinly sliced

Instructions 

1. Stagger two racks in the oven, leaving enough room for a pot on the bottom rack. Preheat to 350°F convection, 375°F standard.
2. Place a 5-quart pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 sliced shallot and 3 tablespoons of gochujang paste and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4-5 minutes until the onions are beginning to soften.
3. Add 3 minced garlic cloves and cook for an additional minute before adding 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, and 1 cup of quinoa.
4. Pour in 1 can of coconut milk and 1 cup of water. Give one stir to combine, then cover the pot and transfer it to the oven.
5. Cook for 40-55 minutes, until most of the liquid is absorbed and the mixture is creamy, similar to a risotto. Begin checking it for doneness at the 40 minute mark.
6. At the 40 minute mark, place 1 pound of salmon on a parchment lined baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 15-16 minutes on the top rack.
7. Remove both the quinoa and salmon from the oven. Let both cool for a few minutes before plating.
8. Serve with scallions on top and enjoy!

Serving: 7.5 ouncesCalories: 461kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 29gFat: 31g

Old Version

Below is the original recipe that was first developed in 2022. For the updated recipe, please see the above.

Serves 4

Total cook time: 1 hour

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa, well rinsed
• 1 small shallot, thinly sliced
• 3/4 cup plant-based milk of choice
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 1 cup water
• 3 tablespoons gochujang paste
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 & 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon honey
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound fresh salmon
• 1/4 cup scallions, thinly sliced, for topping
• 2 tablespoon kecap manis, sweet soy sauce, for topping

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. Add 1 cup of quinoa and the shallot to an oven-safe deep baking dish or dutch oven.
3. In a bowl, whisk together the 3/4 cup plant-based milk, 1/4 cup coconut milk, 1 cup water, 3 tablespoons gochujang, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, 1 & 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1/2 tablespoon honey and 2 garlic cloves. Pour this over the quinoa and stir to combine.
4. Cover the baking dish with foil or a lid and bake for 40-55 minutes. Check periodically after 40 minutes to see if the liquid has been absorbed and that the quinoa is cooked.
5. At the 40 minute mark, place 1 pound of salmon on a parchment lined baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 15-16 minutes.
6. Remove both the quinoa and salmon from the oven. Let both cool for a few minutes before plating.
7. Serve with scallions and chili oil on top and enjoy!