Honey Garlic Salmon

Quick and easy honey garlic salmon baked and ready in under 30 minutes. With a sweet and savory marinade and sauce of garlic, ginger, honey and soy sauce.

With the recent popularity of crispy honey garlic chicken and me being totally knocked off-guard by the deceptively humble sauce that just rocks that recipe, I’ve decided to make a baked salmon version. It’s simple, it has FIVE ingredients and it’s tasty. Also, it’s super addictive. I liked it so much, I made an air fryer version too. So if you own an air fryer, head on over and grab the 8-minute air fryer honey garlic salmon.

And if you’re a die-hard fan of the sauce and just can’t get enough, try out honey garlic chicken skillet, slow cooker honey garlic chicken, and the insanely popular honey garlic shrimp with over 2 million pins.

HONEY GARLIC SALMON TIPS AND TRICKS

Salmon: You can tell the salmon is done cooking when it is no longer translucent (red or raw) but opaque (pink). If the salmon flakes easily when pressed down gently with your finger or a fork (aka it separates easily along the white lines that run across the fillet), it is cooked! An easier way is to use a meat thermometer.  I have several of these at home and they get used very often for chicken breasts and steaks as well so it’s a worthwhile investment. Back to salmon, the FDA recommends cooking fish to an internal temperature of 145° F.

Searing: I seared the top of the salmon in a skillet over medium high heat for 1-2 minutes to brown it a little before baking. You can do the same thing by broiling the salmon for 1-2 minutes in the oven once it’s done cooking. This step is optional though, depending on how you like your salmon and how much work you want to do. I like crispy tops so it was worth the extra step for me.

Sauce: I cooked down the leftover marinade to drizzle over the salmon but some might not be comfortable with that. So you can divide the sauce into two and use one part for the marinating and basting just before cooking and the other for drizzling over the salmon once it’s cooked. To quickly thicken the sauce over the stovetop, add 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon cold water. Add it in once the sauce has come to a boil and keep stirring it until the whiteness of the cornstarch slurry disappears into the sauce. This is when you know the cornstarch has worked and the sauce is as thick as it can get.

Honey: If you don’t have regular honey sitting in your pantry, you can substitute it with maple syrup.

Soy sauce: Regular or low sodium soy sauce both work. You can also substitute it with tamari or coconut aminos.

Garlic: You can use either fresh garlic or garlic powder. If you’re using fresh garlic, a little mini grater will come in handy so you don’t have to break out the cutting board and a knife.

Ginger: The ginger part here is optional but it does add a lot of flavor. If you’re not a fan, you can skip this and it will not break the recipe. Otherwise, use fresh minced ginger or a few dashes of powdered ginger.

Add more flavor: Add more flavor with red pepper flakes, smoked paprika, fresh lime or lemon juice. Also try toppings like black sesame seeds or freshly sliced green onions for texture and crunch.

And that’s it. I wasn’t kidding when I said it was super easy. Not too shabby for a dinner that’s also pretty healthy. Enjoy!

 

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