Honey Garlic Salmon

This honey garlic salmon recipe is an easy dinner that pleases everyone! Tender fish bursts with sweet and savory flavor from a sticky glaze.

Looking for easy salmon recipes? When it comes to flavor and simplicity, there’s nothing like this Honey Garlic Salmon recipe! The fish is pan seared for a brown, crispy exterior, then baked in the oven until it’s perfectly tender. Drench it all in a sticky honey garlic sauce, a sweet and savory glaze that adds layers of complexity. It’s one of our top salmon recipes to make at home, and a big winner with both kids and adults! (At least, in our family.)

Ingredients for honey garlic salmon

This honey garlic salmon recipe is easy and fuss-free, starring a homemade sauce and just a few minutes on the stove and in the oven. Many of the sauce ingredients you’ll already have on hand in your pantry, aside from the fresh ginger root which is key to the bold flavor. As with any salmon recipe, the quality of the fish is key. Here are the ingredients you’ll need:

• Salmon fillets, skin on
• Neutral oil, for frying
• Soy sauce
• Honey
• Rice vinegar
• Olive oil
• Garlic powder
• Fresh garlic
• Fresh ginger root
• Cornstarch

Keep in mind, you’ll want neutral oil for frying because it can withstand higher temperatures than olive oil. If you prefer, you can use neutral oil in the sauce if you’d like to avoid using two types of oil.

Tips for buying good salmon

Our top recommendation for this recipe? Buy good salmon. Lower quality salmon can taste very fishy and have a mushy texture, or ooze a lot of the “white stuff” (called albumin) when it’s cooked. Here are some things to think about when buying fillets for this honey garlic salmon recipe:

• Tend toward fresh salmon. Buying salmon fresh from the fish counter usually has the best flavor. However, frozen can work too: try to find higher-quality frozen salmon and avoid the big economy-sized bags.
• Look for 1 to 1 1/2-inch thick fillets for this recipe, which might be labeled “center cut” at the store. They have the best presentation and flavor.
• Look for 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.)
• Know your types of salmon. Coho salmon has a nice mild flavor and is a good mid-priced option. King salmon is incredible, but it’s on the expensive end. Atlantic salmon is often farmed and is sometimes lower in quality, but we’ve found great Atlantic salmon fillets at different fish counters. Ask about the fish and its source at the fish counter.

Notes on honey garlic sauce

This honey garlic sauce is so quick and simple to make! It’s incredibly versatile and after trying it on this salmon, you’ll want to try it in other recipes. Here are a few notes for the sauce:

• Fresh ginger is not required, but it adds depth in flavor. Ginger root packs in a lot of spicy, zingy flavor to this sauce. You can leave it out since it might not be a refrigerator staple for you, but it adds a depth that is absolutely worth the purchase.
• Use a Microplane for easy grating. You can use it for both the garlic and ginger: you don’t even need to peel the ginger!
• Re-purpose it in many other recipes! Bookmark this recipe and use it for chicken (like grilled chicken or chicken thighs), tofu (like baked tofu or crispy tofu), stir fries (like shrimp stir fry), or veggies (like fried broccoli or sauteed carrots).

Tips for making honey garlic salmon

The most important tool for cooking salmon is a food thermometer. This handy gadget will help you cook the salmon to the perfect doneness, so it’s moist and tender instead of dry and overcooked. Here are a few particulars on how to cook salmon:

• Allow the salmon to come to room temperature before cooking. If the fish is too cold when you start, it can end up cooked on the outside but raw on the inside. It usually takes about 15 to 20 minutes sitting on the counter to come to room temperature. Incidentally, this is about the time it takes to preheat the oven, so you’re not losing any time with this step.
• Give the fillets a quick sear on high heat on the stovetop. This ensures a nice browned exterior.
• A fish spatula is helpful for flipping! It’s a great investment and can be used for preparing and serving lots of other foods (it’s one of our top handy kitchen tools!).
• Bake until the salmon is 125 to 130°F at the thickest point, about 5 minutes. Measuring with a food thermometer is the best way to assess doneness of a piece of salmon.

Ways to serve it

This honey garlic salmon works with loads of different side dishes. To make it a quick and simple meal, we like to pair it with a pasta or grain and a sauteed veggie or salad. Here are a few options:

• Orzo or couscous like Easy Lemon Orzo or Easy Couscous
• Rice (here’s How to Cook Rice)
• Sauteed veggies like Sauteed Broccolini, Simple Sauteed Broccoli, Sauteed Green Beans, or Green Bean Almondine
• Quick salads like Easy Arugula Salad, Watercress Salad or Crisp Apple Salad

More salmon recipes

Love meals with this tasty fish? Here are some more great salmon recipes:

• Go for Baked Salmon Pasta
• Try Salmon Sandwich, Smoked Salmon Sandwich, or Salmon Caesar Salad
• Learn How to Cook Salmon, all the different ways!
• Make Salmon Tacos with Avocado Sauce or Classic Salmon Burgers
• Go for Sockeye Salmon, Brown Sugar Salmon, Salmon Steak, Marinated Salmon, or Stuffed Salmon

01

Salmon Sandwich with Dill Sauce

02

Salmon Tacos with Avocado Sauce

03

Salmon Burgers

04

Stuffed Salmon

This honey garlic salmon recipe is…

Gluten-free, dairy-free and pescatarian.

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