Salmon is one of the quickest and easiest ways to dinner! Here are all the best easy salmon recipes, from baked to broiled to grilled.
Salmon is one of the easiest ways to get healthy dinner on the table. It’s so quick to cook, and there are endless ways to serve it! But it’s also easy to get stuck in a rut and just make baked salmon with salt and pepper every time you make it. Here’s where we come in: Alex and I have lots of tasty and inventive salmon recipes to liven up your weeknight repertoire.
Here are all our best salmon recipes! We’ve got baked salmon that’s smothered in a lemon dill sauce, or broiled salmon in a sweet bourbon glaze. There’s salmon in a poke bowl, and salmon grilled on a cedar plank. Let’s get to the recipes…and scroll down for a bit more about buying sustainable seafood.
And now…the best easy salmon recipes!
Here’s a method every cook should know: how to make basic seared salmon! This is one of the best ways to cook salmon in a flash because it’s fast, it’s easy, and it results in incredible flavor. Often we make baked salmon, but it's way faster pan seared: plus you get the perfect crispy crust on the salmon. For us, that’s a deal breaker! It also leaves the oven free for roasting up some veggies as a side.
One of our favorite easy salmon recipes of all time: this Pistachio Crusted Salmon! This method for cooking fish tastes like something you’d get at a restaurant, but it’s so simple to make. The aroma wafting from the oven will have you salivating before the food even reaches your plate! Each bite of tender fish and the crunchy, Parmesan pistachio topping makes you immediately want to take another.
This Blackened Salmon is so flavor filled, you’ll feel like you ordered it at a restaurant. Even better: it’s fast and easy. The cooking process takes just 5 to 8 minutes! The homemade blackened seasoning has a savory intrigue and makes a crispy black crust on the outside of the fish.
Also try: Cajun Salmon
So here’s a new favorite easy salmon dinner: these Salmon Tacos! These tacos are bursting with fresh, zingy flavor, pairing blackened salmon with pineapple pico and a creamy green avocado sauce. It’s an easy healthy dinner that tastes restaurant-style, but you can whip it up in about 30 minutes. Dinnertime win!
Want the perfect zingy sauce to add life to baked salmon? Try this pesto salmon! Bright green pesto goes hand in hand with tender baked fish to make a stunning dinner. Because really: what isn’t better with a little pesto on top? The savory, garlicky sauce makes the flaky fish pop: you’ll already be taking your second bite before finishing the first.
Need a healthy salmon recipe for weeknights? Try this Maple Glazed Salmon! The fish comes out perfectly tender and flaky, the best part? It’s liberally spread with a sweet and tangy maple balsamic glaze. This turned out so tasty, and it takes just a few minutes to cook in the broiler. It’s our favorite quick method for cooking salmon.
Here’s an impressive salmon recipe that’s calling your name: these irresistible Salmon Burgers! Each bite is hearty and juicy, topped with a creamy remoulade sauce and burger toppings that take it to rockstar status. This is a great way to feel like you’re eating red meat, without the meat! It’s every bit as satisfying, we think.
It’s simple, it’s elegant, but it tastes like something you’d order at a restaurant: Sheet Pan Salmon and Asparagus! Roasting it up on a sheet pan with lemon slices and fresh herbs adds effortless flavor that feels fresh yet refined. This sheet pan meal is solidly in our weeknight repertoire.
Here’s a new secret that’s revolutionized our dinners. One of the best ways to cook salmon is broiled! With broiled salmon, you don’t even need to preheat your oven! Just broil 7 to 10 minutes until cooked through. Easy as that! It comes out so flaky and moist, we couldn’t stop eating it. Here’s how to make the best broiled salmon around!
Looking for an easy yet flavor-popping salmon recipe? Try this Lemon Garlic Salmon! The tender, flaky fish is draped in a lemon butter sauce that tastes like pure gold. It’s rich and zingy, bringing a pop of flavor to each bite. Adding a sauce makes this salmon so much more flavorful than cooking it with lemon or even just spritzing it with juice. You can mix up the sauce in just 5 minutes!
Here’s an impressive dinner idea that’s packed with umami and fantastically irresistible: Miso Salmon! Miso makes magic in the kitchen: it adds incredible savory flavor to everything it touches. Here it features in a miso glaze that’s so full of flavor, you’ll want to brush a glossy swipe onto just about everything. One of the ultimate ways to use it? On a tender fillet of salmon. Brush it on before and after broiling, and it’s absolutely stunning.
This salmon with capers is easy to make and results in one perfectly moist piece of fish! It's baked with lemon and herbs until it’s perfectly tender. Then it’s topped with a silky butter sauce made with garlic and capers. Just a small drizzle packs a huge punch — and the modest quantity keeps it healthy. It all comes together in just 30 minutes!
Here’s a meal that consistently makes everyone who takes a bite say Wow. Try this Pecan Crusted Salmon! It has an air of restaurant-style fancy, but it’s quick and easy to whip up on a weeknight. It takes basic salmon to the next level, coating it in a crunchy topping of nuts, seasoned breadcrumbs, and Parmesan cheese. The flavors are elevated enough for dinner guests, but also tasty enough for kids to shovel in bites. Pull it out for dinner guests or an easy weeknight meal…you choose!
Here’s an easy baked salmon recipe that works every time! Salmon is deceptively hard to cook. With many different varieties and thicknesses of fish, it can be hard to get it right! This baked salmon in foil removes the guesswork so that the fish comes out tender and flaky. It’s the perfect healthy dinner recipe and takes just 30 minutes to make.
A great way to use any of these salmon recipes: the simple Salmon Bowl! Here tender, seasoned fish is offset with rice, crisp tender broccoli, and covered in an easy, creamy flavor popping sauce. Or, use canned or smoked salmon for super simple prep! Try the Tahini Dressing or Miso Dressing, and prepare to be amazed.
This easy salmon teriyaki will become one of your weeknight go-to salmon recipes! It’s got a quick homemade sauce, and best of all: no long marinading time needed! Do a quick sear on the stovetop, paint with teriyaki, then bake for a few minutes until cooked through. It’s quick and easy, and makes for the prettiest piece of salmon for dinner parties or quick weeknight dinners.
Looking for an easy weeknight meal? Enter: this lemon dill salmon recipe! It’s fast, it’s easy, and it’s even fancy enough for a dinner party. Baked salmon could not be simpler: throw it on a baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake for 10 minutes! It comes out perfectly savory, and doused in a zingy lemon dill sauce it’s pretty irresistible.
This bourbon glazed salmon is another showstopper in our salmon recipes! This one features a sweet and savory bourbon glaze that coats it in big flavor. The salmon is broiled, so it takes only a few minutes to cook! The bourbon glaze is what takes this salmon from ordinary to extraordinary. You’ll simmer bourbon with brown sugar and some other seasonings until it reduces down into a syrupy glaze. Make up the glaze ahead of time, and you've got a meal in minutes.
Salmon en papillote is a classic salmon recipe that all cooks should know! It's a French method that ends up with perfectly cooked salmon. Here, the salmon is cooked in parchment paper (“en papillote”), and it comes out flaky and tender. You'll add pile of colorful veggies that cook alongside the salmon as well, making for a beautiful garnish. It's an easy meal idea that looks impressive!
Here's a unique spin on a salmon recipe: a salmon poke bowl! Poke bowls are a traditionally Hawaiian dish filled with rice, marinated veggies and raw ahi tuna. But here's a spin that uses salmon instead! The salmon is seared for 1 minute, then popped in the bowl with the rice and colorful seasoned veggies. It's so full of flavor, you won't be able to put it down! And it's quick to whip up too.
The best way to cook salmon? Cedar plank salmon. Grilling fish on a plank of wood infuses a smoky flavor that is to die for. If you’re into grilling, cedar planks are where it’s at. The cedar plank method is easy and {almost} no fail. This recipe uses our favorite Seasoned Salt to bring a savory seasoning to the fish. Top with lemon and herbs, and you've got dinner.
How to buy a great piece of salmon
For the very best salmon recipe, you’ll also need a fantastic piece of fish. Lower quality salmon can taste very fishy and have a mushy texture. Here’s how to buy a great piece of salmon:
- Buy wild caught salmon. Fish that is wild caught in your country is usually a sustainable choice. (There are also quality options in well-regulated farms; see Seafood Watch Consumer Guide.) Buy it either fresh from the fish counter or frozen works too.
- Coho is a good choice. We tend to like Coho salmon for its mild flavor: it’s a good middle of the road option in terms of price. Of course, King salmon is incredible but it’s on the expensive end. Avoid Atlantic salmon as it is typically farmed salmon.
How to thaw frozen salmon
Cooking with frozen salmon? Here are a few methods for how to thaw it:
- Day before: If you think ahead, simply place the frozen salmon in the refrigerator overnight.
- Day of: If you’re using the salmon the day of, place the frozen salmon into a bowl with cold water. Let a small trickle of cold water run into the bowl to keep the water moving. The salmon should be defrosted in about 15 minutes.
Tip: If you don’t have time to thaw and need a quick meal, try this Instant Pot Salmon: it cooks right from frozen!
Print21 Easy Salmon Recipes: Baked Salmon & More!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
This easy baked salmon comes out perfectly tender and flaky! Cooking salmon in foil makes a moist piece of fish every time.
Ingredients
- 4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets, wild caught if possible
- Olive oil, for brushing
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for brining
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 small lemons
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Brine the salmon: While the oven preheats, in a shallow dish mix together 4 cups room temperature water and 3 tablespoons kosher salt. Place the salmon in the water and wait for 15 minutes (this should be about the time it takes to preheat).
- Place the salmon in foil: Place a large sheet of aluminum foil on a baking sheet and brush it with olive oil. Pat each piece of salmon dry and place it on the foil. Sprinkle the salmon with ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt for each fillet and fresh ground pepper. Place the lemon slices and fresh herbs around the salmon (not on top). Close and seal the foil around the salmon.
- Bake: Bake the salmon for 10 minutes in the foil. Then open the foil packet so steam can release and bake again for 3 to 6 minutes, depending on thickness, until just tender and pink at the center (the internal temperature should be between 125 to 130F in the center). A 1-inch thick fillet should cook in about 15 minutes total.
- Serve: When the salmon is done, squeeze with some lemon juice from lemon wedges, to taste (add a sprinkle of salt if necessary). Serve immediately. Leftovers can be stored refrigerated for 3 to 4 days.
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Salmon
Keywords: Salmon recipes, Easy Salmon Recipe, Baked Salmon