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Honey Garlic Salmon Recipe
I love salmon and one of the best salmon recipes is Honey Garlic Salmon.
The delicious honey and garlic sauce makes this salmon recipe extremely juicy, moist and packed full of flavors. Other than my baked cod, this salmon with honey garlic sauce is definitely one of the easiest salmon dishes to make at home.
This salmon dinner takes only 15 minutes from start to finish, perfect for those busy weeknights after a long day of work!
Salmon
United States is a salmon powerhouse because nearly one-third of the world’s wild salmon supply comes from here.
As a result, there are many types of salmon available in the market.
To get the freshest and best salmon, here are my buying tips:
- Wild caught salmon. If you find wild salmon in your market, buy it. Wild salmon comes from the pristine waters of Pacific Northwest and Alaska and packed full of omega 3 fatty acids.
- Farmed salmon. If you are buying farmed salmon, choose those imported from Norway. Avoid the ones from China. Chinese farms use potentially carcinogenic (cancer-causing) chemicals to raise the fish.
- For the freshest fish, shop on the day when your grocery stores restock their fish.
- Wild salmon looks orange in color whereas farmed salmon is pale orange in color.
- Avoid salmon color that is bright orange or red. It means food dye has been added to the fish.
You can learn more about the difference between wild caught vs farmed salmon on Bon Appetit.
How to Cook Salmon?
How to cook salmon on the stove?
To make this Honey Garlic Salmon recipe, you will need the following ingredients:
- Salmon fillet.
- Minced garlic.
- Honey.
- Apple cider vinegar or lemon juice.
- Salt and pepper.
First, season the salmon fillets with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper.
Next, make the honey garlic sauce by mixing the ingredients together.
The final step is heating up a skillet or pan and cook the salmon with garlic and the sauce.
You can add an extra step of broiling the salmon fillets in the oven.
Broiling on high heat chars the surface of the fish, making this recipe extremely delicious and restaurant worthy.
Salmon Nutrition
Wild caught salmon is packed of nutrition. Here are the nutrition facts of raw, wild Atlantic Salmon, provided by USDA.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cooking Methods for Salmon Recipes
There are many ways to make this easy salmon recipe:
- You can cook the salmon in a skillet on the stove top, as shown in the recipe card.
- You can bake it in the oven at 400°F for 8 minutes, uncovered.
- You can also wrap the salmon with a sheet of aluminum foil and bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
Can I Freeze Cooked Salmon?
I don’t recommend freezing cooked salmon because it will affect the texture of this salmon recipe. The flesh will become tough and rubbery after freezing.
You can certainly store cooked salmon in the refrigerator for a couple of days. Just wrap it tight with a sheet of plastic wrap.
To serve, just reheat the salmon in a microwave for 1 minute.
Do You Eat the Skin on Salmon?
When it comes to cooking salmon, one of the biggest questions is whether or not to cook with skin on or skin off.
Salmon skin is edible. Personally, I don’t eat salmon skin unless the salmon is deep-fried and the salmon skin becomes crispy.
For easy cooking, there is no need to remove the skin. Cook the salmon as is, with skin on, then discard the skin if you don’t want to eat it.
Just make sure that the skin is completely cleaned with no scales.
How Many Calories per Serving?
This salmon recipe is only 327 calories per serving.
What to Serve with This Salmon Recipe?
Salmon is best served with healthy side dishes. For a healthy meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
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Honey Garlic Salmon (The Best Recipe!)
Ingredients
- 12 oz. salmon (cut into 2-3 fillet strips)
- salt
- black pepper
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon warm water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1/2 lemon (sliced into wedges)
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Instructions
- Season the surface of the salmon with salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Set aside.
- Mix the honey, water, apple cider vinegar or lemon juice and a pinch of salt together. Stir to combine well.
- Heat up an oven-safe skillet (cast-iron skillet preferred) on high heat. Add the olive oil. Pan-fry the salmon, skin side down first, for about 1 minute. Turn the salmon over and cook for 1 minute. Turn it over again so the skin side is at the bottom.
- Add the garlic into the pan, saute until slightly browned. Add the honey mixture and lemon wedges into the skillet, reduce the sauce until it's sticky.
- Finish it off by broiling the salmon in the oven for 1 minute or until the surface becomes slightly charred (optional step).
- Top the salmon with parsley and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
I love Simon and have a lot of different recipes for tonight I was looking for something quick nothing that I had to marinate. And I came across your recipes I did change it a little bit because I added some ginger and soy sauce and rice wine vinegar so now it’s no longer just honey garlic LOL but it was watching the video and the technique that I was looking forward tonight And I want to thank you because now this is my go-to salmon recipe and I’m going to take it to my family salmon cook off I’ll let you know when I win! I talked to solve with my mango peach salsa and brown rice with green beans almondine Thank you, thank you, thank you!
This was so good and so easy to make! Husband asked me to add to my rotation and my 7-year old (who hates fish) loved it!
Hi Stacey, that’s awesome. Please try more recipes on my site, they are all yummy and easy! :)
Family demanded that it become what we call a “repeat”. Meaning that they love it, want it added to the family favorite category and want it more often. (Husband, 8 yo and 6 yo)
I have made this several times. I simply love it, as does my family. In fact, for my socially distanced, backyard birthday dinner with my in-laws this month, I cooked this, rather than have someone else cook, because this salmon is what I wanted. Every single plate was clean at the end of dinner.
Awesome Elizabeth. Thanks for trying my recipe. Please try more!
tried salmon several different ways, always just “ok”, tried this recipe, and Im blown away! Delish! My family wanted seconds!
That’s awesome please try more recipes on my site: https://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-index-gallery/
I’ve always hated salmon it when I saw this recipe I knew I had to try again. And you know what? I know love salmon using this recipe! Thank you!
Hi Jolene, awesome, please try more recipes on my site!!
I have not been crazy about salmon But this recipe changed my mind. It was delicious! I used halo tangerines slices instead of lemon. It was delicious and my husband said yummy and very gourmet better than any restaurant! Thanks for this recipe!
Hi Bonnie, thanks for trying my recipe. Please try more recipes on my site: https://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-index-gallery/
This was such an easy recipe to make. I did need to use medium heat using my new stove but other then that I followed the directions to a T and it turned out great!!
Awesome!
I tried the recipe but double it for my larger family. It was fabulous everyone loved it and we had no leftovers.
Delicious! We tried it for lunch today. Should the heat be turned off after pre-heating? The honey mixture cooked way too fast in a cast iron pan. Will make this again.
Turn to lower heat.
This is my family’s new favorite salmon recipe. So easy to make too.
Hi Elizabeth, awesome thanks so much for trying.
Hi Rasa, could I cook this in the oven instead? If so, please advise. Thanks!
Yes you can!