Easy Honey Garlic Salmon is a throw together recipe in one pan and a handful of ingredients!
A perfect sweet and savoury 5-ingredient garlicky sauce with a hint of lemon will become your family’s new salmon obsession. Honey Garlic Salmon = dinner ready in under 15 minutes, including prep time!
It’s no secret you all are loving this Browned Butter Honey Garlic Salmon two years after first posting it way back when Cafe Delites was still a baby. With the success of this video on Facebook, a few readers have been writing in asking if there is any possible way to avoid browning butter.
This Salmon Recipe is it.
Salmon
The browned butter mixed through that honey garlic sauce is what makes that salmon recipe stand out from the rest. However, there comes a time when people want to keep things simple, and there’s nothing wrong with simplifying a recipe! In fact, you guys are going to love this one if not more than the previous one.
Pan Seared Salmon
This salmon gets cooked right in the sauce. There’s no searing or frying first. Why? Because a lot of people get anxiety at the thought of frying then flipping salmon and having the fillets fall apart on them halfway through cooking. Q. But how do I get the same crispy edges from searing? A. Once the salmon is half way done, you’re going to broil your fillets for a couple more minutes (or grill them if you’re in Australia) for that extra golden, crispy and caramelised finish.
Sauce For Salmon
This recipe is perfect for when you have no idea what to cook. Grab some salmon fillets and rest assured you possibly have all of the sauce ingredients in the pantry or refrigerator already.
- Butter? ✔️
- Garlic? ✔️
- Honey? ✔️
- Soy Sauce? ✔️
- Lemons? ✔️
For a stronger lemon flavoured salmon, add the wedges into the pan when your sauce is bubbling (the peel provides all of the flavour this way). For a milder flavour, leave them out. Make this Easy Honey Garlic Salmon for your dinner table tonight!
Craving More Honey Garlic Recipes?
Easy Honey Garlic Chicken
Honey Garlic Butter Salmon In Foil
Honey Garlic Sriracha Chicken
Easy Honey Garlic Salmon
Ingredients
- 4 wild caught salmon fillets about 1/2 pound or 250 grams each, skin off or on
- Salt and pepper, to season
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika (mild, sweet or smokey)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or minced
- 4 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice, (plus extra to serve)
- Lemon wedges to serve
Instructions
- Arrange oven shelf to the middle of your oven. Preheat oven to broil/grill settings on medium heat.
- Season salmon with salt, pepper and paprika. Set aside.
- Heat the butter in a skillet or pan over medium-high heat until melted. Add the garlic and sauté for about a minute, until fragrant. Pour in the honey, water and soy sauce; allow the flavours to heat through and combine. Add in the lemon juice; stir well to combine all of the flavours together.
- Add the salmon steaks to the sauce in the pan; cook each fillet (skin-side down if there's any skin) for 3-4 minutes or until golden, while basting the tops with the pan juices. Season with salt and pepper, to taste (if desired).
- Optional -- Add the lemon wedges around the salmon (adds a stronger lemon taste). Baste salmon one more time then transfer the pan to your oven to broil / grill for a further 5-6 minutes, or until the tops of the salmon are nicely charred, and the salmon is cooked to your liking.
- To serve, drizzle with the sauce and a squeeze of lemon juice. Serve with steamed vegetables; over rice or with a salad.
Jesline says
I’m glad to have found this recipe. I made this for last night’s dinner and it was a winner with my family. I’m a person who is not very fond of salmon but I enjoyed it so much. This recipe is a keeper. I’m surely gonna try out more of your recipes. Thank you
Benaya says
That’s hands down the best salmon I have eaten in my life!
Thank you so much!
Tina L. Sealey says
Love this recipe! Made it 2 weeks in a row. Easy and healthy. We serve it with zucchini noodles.
Rebecca says
Best Salmon recipe ever. Have made it quite a few times now at the request of my family The ingredients are few but the result is a big wow.
Johanna says
From the pictures alone I knew this was going to be great, and it’s better! I LOVE this recipe. I usually use only 1 pound of salmon so I can have extra sauce. Absolutely delicious! Thank you!😊
Helena says
Awesome! My family loved it, even the pickiest ones ate it. Definitely a keeper!
Holly Connelly says
just tried this and it was a winner for the whole family! so tasty and EASY. saving this for my new go-to salmon recipe! thank you!!
Stacy Lincavage says
This is one of my favorite salmon recipes!! So yummy! My husband loved it!
MICHELLE says
I’VE MADE THIS TWICE AND MY FAMILY LOVES IT, SO MUCH FLAVOR AND EASY TO DO. GAVE IT TO MY BROTHER AND DAUGHTER TO TRY.
Emily says
I made this for my roommate and I tonight and it was such a hit!! So easy to make but still packs so much flavor, I was pleasantly surprised. This was only the second time she has ever had salmon and I think I won her over, will def be making again! Thanks!
Anne says
Just tried this tonight, and it was absolutely delicious!! Thank you for this recipe! 😊
Cyndi says
Thank you so much for posting this! This recipe was so easy to make and the results were fantastic! This will be a definitely go-to and save in my recipe box collection.
Lauren says
This salmon was legit cooked to perfection! Soo good. Thank you!
Pepamint says
I dont have an oven at home, is it possible to do everything stove top over fire in a pan?
Pepamint says
I don’t have an oven, can I do this all over fire in pan?
Jerry Falke says
Just did exactly that tonight and it was awesome. My filets were thick, so I turned them on their sides as well as skin side and flesh side, basting whenever turned. Might be difficult to keep the filets from falling apart if cooked without the skin. This is already my favorite. Oven was totally unnecessary, IMO.
Kelsey says
My go-to recipe for the sockeye salmon we get in our Moink box! It always turns out excellent. The only things I do differently are sautee the garlic for about 30 seconds instead of a minute, add an extra tablespoon of water where I don’t use lemon juice with mine, and sear the salmon in the pan skin-side up for half the time, skin down the other half because it gives a more consistent glaze for me without the white protein oozing out the top. The best part is that you can easily take this recipe and sprinkle in some crushed red pepper for an impromptu firecracker salmon copycat!
Jason says
This was out of the park delicious. I’ve been trying to find a good salmon recipe I can do in the oven, because I traditionally grill it on a cedar plank, but don’t always have a plank available. This was by far the best Salmon preparation I’ve had. Better than I’ve ever had in any restaurant! My whole family raved about it, and I have picky children who only eat about 4 different things, so that’s saying a lot. Thanks, this is a definite keeper!
Side note for those who said the sauce hardened or dried up: Odds are much of it evaporated while it was on the stove-top. When you add the garlic, you should saute for a max of 30 seconds before adding the other wet ingredients, and as soon as it’s all mixed together, add the salmon immediately. Even an additional 30 seconds in a hot cast iron will quickly reduce your sauce, so if you are left with just a thin layer when it hits the oven, then that’s why it’s drying out. The only other problem may be the size of your salmon pieces. If they’re not filling your pan pretty snugly, then you’re going to get a quicker evaporation, and end up with the same problem. I had 4 nice big fillets that left us with a wonderful sauce at the end which we were literally pouring over our rice and mopping up with each bite. It was incredible!
Hannah says
Hi there, I’m going to try this recipe but wondering if I can sub the honey for maple syrup?
Tony says
I know you can and it sounds delicious!
Caroline says
I think you’re spot on with by the sauce can dry out/ harden. I realised too late I’d used a pan that was too big, so lost all the sauce volume on the stove top then it caramelised too far under the grill. Next time I’ll try a smaller pan and maybe transfer the sauce to keep warm on the side before I put the salmon under the grill. I can’t wait to try again for the yummy sauce everyone describes!
Lynn says
Wow! I made this tonight and it was a huge hit! It looked just like your pictures. I followed it to the T. My favorite part was the crunchy parts of the sauce! The only restaurant that has this beat is Cheddars. Its the same but I think they added bourbon. I will definitely make this again and recommend it! THANK YOU!!!
Ron says
I made this recipe twice and I loved it. However, both times the honey garlic glaze would burn/solidify when I put it in the oven to broil. The salmon comes out perfect, but the glaze hardens up completely to the pan. You can adjust the broil setting on my oven, so the first time I did the automatic heat it’s set up at (500F) and the second time I lowered it to (450F) as I wasn’t sure what “medium broil” constituted in your recipe… but both times, same thing happened so I can’t baste it once it’s out of the oven. Any thoughts?
Jhp says
So easy and delicious
Tegan Bryan says
Oh. My. Goodness. This recipe is AMAZING!! So so yummy and so easy to make! Thank you!!
Asad Rahman says
Excellent.
Didn’t use lemon, because I was too tired / lazy to get some.
Had brussel sprouts with olive oil, and some of the extra garlic bits.
Mustafa Naji says
I loved this recipe. It was so good. Can I try it with different type of fish? Like Halibut for example.
Mariah says
Awesome recipe. Loved it
Tammy says
Just made this honey garlic salmon recipe coupled with your recipe for Greek salad sauce. What a hit!! My family was literally licking the dishes! Lol! My husband said, “Oh Tammy, you need to start cooking again!” I haven’t cooked really good food for years because I was trying to be “healthy”! I’m grateful to find your site where I don’t have to trade health for taste! Thanks so much for your incredible work! It shows that you’ve invested deeply. Love it.
Theresa Capri says
This was so easy and delicious. The only thing I did different besides omit the water was the method. In my small kitchen, all my stovetop burners were in use. I put the butter in a cast iron pan in a 425 degree oven to melt with the garlic, then took it out and added the rest of the ingredients. Now, having a burner available, I put it on the stovetop on med hi briefly until it bubbled, then put the salmon in the pan, skin side up and put it in the oven for about 4 min. Took it out of the oven and the skin peeled off nicely, then flipped it over, put it in the oven to cook for an additional 3ish minutes. Perfect. No basting required. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Lucy Mares says
Came across this recipe while looking for a different way to prepare salmon. It was truly as good as everyone says. It will now be my go-to salmon recipe.
Olena says
Delicious! Loved every bite!
As a busy mom of 14 month old I always look for recipes that are easy to make but would be elegant enough for family dinner. Well, this one is definitely on point!
Ashley says
My family loved this recipe! Easy and delish, will definitely make this again.
Neva says
My 14 year old daughter gives this recipe 5.5 stars, and asked for seconds! It’s super easy and flavorful! I made it with smoked paprika and the rest of the ingredients as directed. It fineness out perfect! Broiling it to get the tops a little crunchy made all the difference.
Madison says
Totally awesome!! Some of the best and easiest salmon I’ve ever had! I recommend adding some green onions for garnish + a little burst of extra flavor.
Rhea says
Hi Karina! This is a keeper. Made this for dinner tonight and my daughter said Mom you just made a five star restaurant food! It’s not everyday that we get to have salmon here in the Philippines and I’m just so happy I made it tonight and made ever body’s tummy happy! Thank you for sharing ?
Frank says
Very easy and good! Thank you Karina!!!!
Nicole thompson says
Girrrllll…this is the best salmon recipe ever! I saw the 5 stars and knew I needed to try it. So yum! It is my favorite salmon recipe. Followed to a T and it was perfect! Cooked mashed cauliflower and green beans. It is a healthy keto and filling recipe. Thx for sharing.
Amber says
Don’t often leave comments but really, this is so delicious. I’ve made it like, 4 times already and its amazing. You taught me to baste, that never occurred to me!!
Ash says
Kids love love love this!! So simple and quick! Made it for 10- but it was very easy to fix the recipe for that thanks to your details!
Ladyjeh says
Delicious easy and simple. The best so far to me in cooking salmon.
April Arellano says
This is so delicious! I’ve been taking it for lunch daily!!
Jhordan says
Hi Karina,
This recipe is outstanding- cooked this salmon twice now!
Thank you x
Karina says
Yay Jhordan!
Otto Bello says
Easy to prepare, rich taste, I’ll do it again
Thank you!!!!
Mounia Barakat says
made it once and loved loved it and came back searching for the recipe. Going to save it this time.
Bessie says
I usually buy my salmon from Costco and it’s the long one. How much of the ingredients Is required for this size of salmon ?
Karina says
I am not sure the size of the salmon but if you need to double to sauce for the salmon that is better than having it be dry when cooking. Enjoy your salmon! XO
Cyma says
Thank you for this great recipe! I’ve made it a couple times and it’s delicious. I’m wondering though if you have any tips on baking it instead of pan frying?
Karina says
Yes, you can bake it in the oven on a sheet pan. The flavor may not be as intense and the salmon may not be as tender since it needs the juices to keep it from drying out. Let me know if you try it! I would love to hear how it turns out! XO
Leigh says
Threw this together tonight. Awesomely easy, tasted fantastic.
Karina says
That is great to hear! Thank you so much for following along with me and sharing! XO
Sue says
Made this tonight. Absolutely delicious and super easy!
Pat Gietzen says
Made this and it was delicious. My only problem was the sauce dried out and there was none to baste the finished salmon. I used a cast iron skillet and the lowest level to broil.
Emily says
Made it, loved it used the leftovers on top of cauliflower rice with carrots and snow peas. Created more of the sauce to drizzle over since the original batch ended up burning a bit. Keeping this recipe for sure! Thanks
Trish Carr says
Hi Karina…I am not a seafood lover. My poor husband usually gets his fish when we go out. However, I thought I would treat him to Salmon and made this recipe. My husband said, “keep this recipe, it’s the best I’ve ever had!” Thanks again Karina! I want to try your other recipes now! Trish
Karina says
Thank you for sharing! That is great to hear! I am so happy you made it! Thanks so much for following along with me!
Heather Cadogan says
Is there a way to use this recipe with frozen salmon? New to cooking with salmon, I have some frozen fillets and would love to try your recipe!
Karina says
Yes, that sounds great! You can always thaw the salmon too before cooking it. Enjoy!
Cheryl says
My husband asked for fish for dinner tonight and I stumbled across this recipe. Will be trying it this evening. Sounds delicious and so easy. Thanks for sharing.
Karina says
Thanks for sharing! I hope you enjoy!
Yumi says
Me and my husband always just pan fry the salmon and have it as a “Japanese” meal with white rice, the tamago, and the miso soup but after a while the flavor of the salmon became boring. This recipe was a very welcome change. As a side I did some mashed potatoes which were amazing with the leftover sauce. Thank you for sharing this recipe with us!!
Karina says
MMM! That sounds delicious! Thank you so much for sharing!
Franceska says
Best salmon I have ever had in my life and I am Mediterranean. Thank you so much for this incredible recipe. My husband keeps talking about how delicious this dish is.
Sue says
Omg! It was to die for. So simple and exquisite.
Karina says
AW!! Thank you so much for following along with me and sharing! XO
Anna says
Absolutely delish!!! Happy guests all round.
Lia says
Tried it out… and my family loved it, first try… Will do this again.
Thanks Karina
Ana Nevarez says
This is indeed an easy yet delicious salmon entree recipe! My family (husband and three young adults) loves it! I cooked
it on the stove (vs. oven) and just needed to watch the liquid to make sure the sauce didn’t dry up. I ended up needing to
add a couple tablespoons more water towards the end to finish cooking the salmon. This is my go-to salmon recipe!
Hazel says
I cook salmon honey garlic with lemon, my fiancee he really like the taste and so delicious, but I marinate the salmon one day
Tim says
Wow. Neve cared much for salmon but my brother loves it so I decided to try to make some. This is one of the best things I have ever made and I cook a lot! Can’t wait to try again
Karina says
That is great to hear! I am so glad that you tried it and you liked it! Thanks for sharing!
Crystal says
Oh.Em.Gee! Did this tonight and it is THE BEST salmon recipe EVERRRRRR. Kids and hubs both loved it. This is our new go-to recipe. Thank you!
Rachel says
My kids are not very fond of salmon, but they liked this one. Thanks!
I didn’t have any lemon at home, so i used mulberry vinegar instead. I will try later with a lemon when I have it.
Ratna Clifford says
I just made one for our Easter’s dinner. Hubby and kids demolished them. It’s so delish!!
Steph says
What kind of pan do you cook this in?
Karina says
I like to use a STAUB pan for my skillet cooking on the stove top then I can transfer it to the oven if needed! Hope that helps! Thanks so much for following along with me!
suja md says
The Salmon looks absolutely tempting with all the glaze of the honey. Nowadays we are planning to cut our meat intake by substituting with seafood. And this one perfectly suits us and cant wait to try.
Arvin says
OMG! I just cooked it and my girlfriend and I love it.
jamarcus says
i am going to try out this recespie in my cooking exam
madeleine says
this recipe sounds like fun, I’m hoping to give it a try! If I don’t have garlic cloves at home, would garlic powder be an acceptable substitute? How much would you recommend using? thanks!
Karina says
I would probably leave out the garlic then. Sometimes the garlic powder can be grainy and change the texture of the salmon. You are welcome to try it but it is not necessary. Hope that helps and you enjoy this salmon!
Mel says
Simple, easy and super delicious!!!
sue barnes says
tried this tonight it was lush. do you think it would taste ok cold? there was none left for me to save and try it cold
Karina says
HMMM! That sounds good! I think it would be okay cold. That is a great thing that there was none left though;)!! I am glad that you enjoyed it!
Hector Aponte says
Great recipe, just added some shrereded ginger and side it with quinoa and pineapple,,,,, Hector Aponte, from Puerto Rico, thank you.?
Karina says
MMM!! That sounds great! Thanks so much for following along with me!
Jeannine Williams says
Fantastic as always.. Hubby and I truly enjoy so many of your dishes.. Thank you so much for sharing them with everyone.. Anyone that is looking for something new.. try one of Karina’s meals.. You will not be sorry..
Karina says
AWE! You are so sweet! Thank you so much! I really appreciate that! I am so glad that you and your husband enjoyed the salmon. Thank you for sharing and following along with me!
ALICE says
Just ate all of it. Nothing left. Thank you so much for this. It tasted like HEAVEN.
Sandi says
I made this salmon for dinner tonight. It was so yummy. I mixed the sauce & marinated the salmon it it then put in broiler. Best salmon dish I’ve made in a long time. I also put it on top of couscous. Would DEF make again.
Karina says
That sounds delish! Thanks for sharing!
Tom Cozzens says
Just cooked this. Whole family very much enjoyed it.
Added a bit more soy sauce and lemon juice to the mixture to cut down a bit if the sweetness.
Also, baked not broiled (broil is broken) and it came out great.
Will cook again!
Karina says
That sounds that a great meal! Thanks so much for sharing with me!!
Rob says
What temp did you bake and how long?
Nick says
What temperature is “medium” broil?
Karina says
I can control my broil temperature on my stove. Some stoves cannot. I would set it on broil and then move the rack to the middle to broil the salmon.
Julie says
My daughter made this last night. Best meal that I’ve had in ages!
Karina says
YAY! That is awesome! I am so glad that your daughter made it for you and you loved it! Thanks so much for sharing!
Nadine says
Made the honey garlic 5 ingredient salmon tonight. It was delicious! Only question is where does the paprika come in?
Karina says
That is great to hear! The Paprika is when you season the salmon with salt, pepper, and paprika. Hope that helps answer your questions. Enjoy your delicious salmon!
Barb Steele says
I made this last night, it was so easy and delicious! Thank you, I’ll put this in my regular rotation!
Karina says
That is great to hear! Thanks so much for following along with me and adding this to your rotation! I feel honored! Thanks for sharing!
Jasmine says
So I’m hoping my family will like it. I’ve never cooked salmon before, ha. I chose this recipe because I thought it’d be easy enough and it was. I think I may have had my heat up to high because the sauce ended up burning a little bit.
Desiree says
This was soo good! And extremely simple to execute 🙂
Nicolás Roa says
A very good recipe, times and quantities perfect fits!
Jenelle says
This was delicious, I never knew how good salmon could be until I came to this site! My super picky boyfriend loved it too!
Ingrid Broomfield says
Good morning
I have already tried Lemon Garlic Butter Shrimp and creamy lemon parmesan chicken. Both dishes were thoroughly enjoyed by myself and my husband. I have now set up the weeks menu. These meals are so tasty and convenient and I will most certainly be cooking these meals for any future dinner parties that I hold. The fact that we know the nutrition table to each menu helps. I look forward to many more recipes.
Karina says
I’m so happy to hear that Ingrid!
Charlene Briggs says
This is a wonderful new recipe as I have to cook for a pre dialysis husband & I. Nedd new,ideas for his particular issues. THANK YOU
Karina says
You’re welcome Charlene!
Andreya says
Hy Karina, so so so soooooo delicious. It’s really one more blasting recipe. I like all your recipes dear. Thay are so delicious and yummy. Thanks for sharing the recipe 🙂