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It’s time to cook up some fresh fish this summer and make these Mahi-Mahi Bowls with Adobo Quinoa and Cucumber-Avocado Salad! The right amount of spice and met with a refreshing salad is hard to beat.
This fish taco-style bowl is perfect for a summer dinner al fresco. The fish is marinated in smokey-citrusy flavors that go so well with the sweet and mildly flavored flakey white fish. I served it over one of my favorite ways to make quinoa — simply seasoned with Adobo seasoning mixture. I always have the Frontier Co-Op brand of adobo in my pantry for a quick and easy way to flavor up any protein or side dish!
I also love this refreshing and crisp cucumber and avocado salad. It honestly pairs well with just about anything in the summertime or you can eat alone for a healthy afternoon snack. What a great way to use up those summer, home-grown cucumbers if you have any!
For these Mahi-Mahi Bowls with Adobo Quinoa and Cucumber-Avocado Salad and most of my fish dishes, I love using Fish Fixe when cooking at home to keep premium seafood in my freezer at all times! You can use my code DEFINEDDISH to receive $15 off your order. (affiliate link)

Mahi-Mahi Quinoa Bowls
Ingredients
For the Mahi-Mahi:
- 3 tbsp avocado oil
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 24 ounces mahi-mahi cut into 2-inch pieces (I use Fish Fixe)
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
For the Adobo Quinoa:
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
- ¼ cup finely diced yellow onion
- 1 cup white quinoa
- 1 ½ tbsp adobo seasoning I use Frontier Co-Op brand
- 1 ½ cups water
For the Cucumber-Avocado Salad:
- 2 medium cucumbers cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced into half-moons
- ½ cup thinly sliced scallions green part only
- ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro leaves
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- Kosher salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
- 1 avocado halved, pitted, skin removed and thinly sliced
Optional, For Serving:
- Quick Pickled Red Onions
- Thinly sliced jalapeno
Instructions
Marinate the Fish:
- In a large bowl or baking dish, whisk together the avocado oil, smoked paprika, cumin, oregano, turmeric, garlic, lime juice, and lemon juice until well combined. Add the cut fish and season with the salt and pepper. Set aside to allow to marinate while you prepare the quinoa and salad (or you can cover and refrigerate for up to 6 hours).
Make the Adobo Quinoa:
- Heat the avocado oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the quinoa and the adobo and stir to combine. Pour in the water, stir, and then bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook the water is absorbed and quinoa and tender, about 15 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes, then gently fluff with a fork.
Make the Cucumber-Avocado Salad:
- In a large bowl, combine the cucumbers, scallions, cilantro, olive oil, lime juice, lemon juice, and a big pinch of salt and pepper. Toss until very well combined. Add the avocado and gently toss once more until combined.
Cook the Fish:
- Heat a large, non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the marinated fish (and about 2 tbsp of the marinade) and cook until golden brown and cooked through, about 2-3 minutes per side
- Serve the fish alongside the adobo-quinoa and cucumber-avocado salad. Garnish, if desired, with pickled red onions + thinly sliced jalapenos, if desired. And/or just serve with you favorite hot sauce!
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
So flavorful, delicious and easy to make!!!! Wow! I was not expecting to love it this much! Thanks Alex!
Amazing! Had it last week for the first time and having it again tonight!
Amazing! So glad you enjoyed!
on the adobo seasoning in the quinoa, did you mean 1.5 TBSP? it was very salty.
Loved this! My husband is not usually excited about a dinner “bowl” but he really enjoyed this dish (and so did I). I used tilapia, as I could only find frozen mahi mahi at my local store, and it was still fantastic! The cucumber avocado salad was so refreshing and could go on the side of many dishes.
I made it today and it was delicious!! Thank you so much for the recipe!!!
I made this tonight for dinner and it was even better than I expected. I used cod instead of Mahi Mahi, but otherwise followed the recipe (including the pickled onions and jalapeno, which honestly are so necessary). This completely changed how I usually make quinoa, which is generally very plain–this was packed with flavor. The cucumber-avocado salad was super light and refreshing alongside the spicier fish and quinoa. The fish was OUTRAGEOUS. Seriously, so much flavor. I’ll be making this again and again.
Garlic isn’t in the directions but is in the ingredients for the fish, and lemon juice isn’t in the ingredients foe the salad but is mentioned in the directions. Easy to make and we really enjoyed it! Thanks !
thank you for catching this! just updated 🙂