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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.
Excellent flavor! I forgot to sauté the garlic, and mixed it raw into the honey sauce, but it cooked with the sauce. I used AC vinegar; all other ingredients were per recipe except I doubled the sauce. I did change the cooking time. The USDA recommends cooking salmon to 145°F. If removed from heat around 120° to 125°F, it should rise to 145°F before it reaches the plate. However, I did not use a thermometer tonight. My rule is to bake salmon @375°F for 20 minutes per inch thickness, or @450°F for 4-6 minutes per each 0.5 inch of thickness. (8-12 min per inch). Since my salmon was about 1.25 inches thick, I was afraid it would not be cooked thoroughly per recipe instructions. Instead, I pan-fried it for 2 minutes, flipped and repeated, flipped again and repeated for a total of 6 min. I turned the burner down low for the last minute so the pan wouldn’t wouldn’t burn the sauce when added. I then added the sauce, and cooked on simmer for for another 6 minutes. I then put it about 6-8″ below my broiler, which had been preheated on a “Low” setting, and cooked it about 1 1/2 to 2 more minutes, watching the garlic and sauce carefully. It appeared to be thoroughly done, but not overcooked. Nothing was burned. The sauce was wonderful, and so was the salmon. It was tender, moist, and flavorful. The amount of sauce was just right, but there was not any extra for rice or veggies. I strongly suggest increasing cooking times, adjust for thickness of salmon, and check those temperatures! Otherwise, great recipe. Thanks!
Thanks for your trying.
What to do with the leftovers?
Keep in the fridge.
Made this for the first time for a Christmas dinner and it was gobbled up. Even got a like from my mother who normal does not like salmon. Been making it ever since for a holiday dinner hit. Thanks!
Thanks.
The Australian salmon aquaculture farming is based on the Norwegian model and apparently the products are not considered good according to a tv series What’s the Catch.
Amazing! Tried this recipe last night, the apple cider vinegar had me worried for a bit lol but it turned out so good!! 10/10 would recommend! The only change I made was adding garlic powder! Thank you for the awesome recipe!!!
Yay!!
Oh my goodness! Best recipe for salmon ever! Thank you so much for sharing it!
Awesome!
Turns out amazing everytime.
This was AMAZING.
Awesome!
I’m always worried with making a recipe with honey because my husband doesn’t like sweet taste in his food (except desserts of course) but he really liked this recipe a lot! I told him it was the blend of spicy and sweet that meet in the middle. He loved it! Thanks!
Awesome!
This was a huge success at dinner! Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks!