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Honey Lime Salmon is ready in under 30 minutes! With its caramelized edges, buttery garlic glaze, and juicy, flake-apart texture, this recipe is about to become your new favorite way to cook salmon.
If you already love my Honey Garlic Butter Salmon, just wait until you try this version. A splash of fresh lime juice adds a bright, zesty twist that takes this honey lime salmon recipe to another level. Sweet, tangy, garlicky perfection, all in one pan.
What Makes This Recipe So Good
There’s something irresistible about the combination of honey, garlic, and lime that gives this Honey Lime Salmon its magic. The glaze caramelizes beautifully as it cooks, coating each fillet in a glossy, golden layer that’s equal parts sweet, tangy, and savory.
Unlike most salmon recipes, this one brings a tropical brightness that makes it feel fresh and vibrant. This salmon with lime is the kind of dish that turns an easy weeknight meal into something that feels restaurant-worthy—without the fuss.
What Goes Into Honey Lime Salmon
You don’t need much to make this Honey Lime Salmon—just a handful of simple ingredients that come together into one irresistible, garlicky, buttery glaze.
- Salmon Fillet: Use a whole side of salmon (about 2 ½ pounds) for an impressive centerpiece, or cut it into portions for easy serving. Fresh or thawed fillets work best.
- Honey: Adds natural sweetness and helps the surface caramelize beautifully as it bakes or sears.
- Lime Juice: Freshly squeezed lime juice brings brightness and balance, cutting through the richness of the butter and salmon.
- Garlic: Crushed cloves infuse the sauce with bold, savory depth that ties everything together.
Note: Please see recipe card at the bottom for a full list of ingredients with measurements.
How To Make Honey Lime Salmon
- Preheat the Oven: Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375°F (190°C). Line a baking sheet with foil to make cleanup easy.
- Melt the Butter: In a small saucepan over low-medium heat, melt the butter until smooth and fragrant. This forms the rich base for your honey-lime glaze.
- Whisk the Sauce: Add the honey, crushed garlic, and lime juice to the melted butter, whisking until the honey dissolves completely and the mixture becomes glossy and well combined.
- Prepare Salmon: Place salmon on the baking sheet, then pour the honey-lime mixture on top. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and half the chopped parsley, folding the foil up to hold in the sauce.
- Bake the Salmon: Bake for 15–18 minutes, depending on thickness, until the salmon is just cooked through and flakes easily with a fork while staying juicy inside.
- Broil and Serve: Switch the oven to broil (or grill) for 2–3 minutes to caramelize the top. Garnish with the remaining parsley and lime slices, then serve warm and buttery.
For something unexpected, try pairing this Honey Lime Salmon with Zucchini Carbonara—the creamy, smoky sauce contrasts the sweet, citrusy glaze in the best way. Or serve it with Warm Chicken and Pumpkin Lentil Stew for a cozy, nourishing meal that feels both comforting and fresh.
If you want a little indulgence, French Dip Sandwich makes a bold and savory companion. For a fun, fresh twist, add Caprese Crostini with Grilled Avocado on the side—it’s a little fancy, totally delicious, and full of flavor that plays perfectly with lime and honey.
Tips For Making Honey Lime Salmon
- Always use fresh lime juice. Trust me, the bottled stuff can’t compete with that vibrant, tangy flavor.
- Keep an eye on your salmon near the end of baking time. Once it flakes easily with a fork, it’s perfect—any longer and you’ll lose that buttery tenderness.
- Foil is your best friend here. It saves you from scrubbing pans and keeps all that gorgeous honey-lime sauce right under the salmon where it belongs.
- Midway through baking, spoon some of that glaze over the top. It deepens the caramelized edges and makes the salmon extra glossy.
- If you’re into a little spice, sprinkle on some chili flakes. The gentle heat with the sweet honey and zesty lime? Absolute magic.
Recipe FAQ’s
Yes! You can pan-sear it over medium heat for 4–5 minutes per side. Spoon the sauce over the salmon as it cooks so the glaze thickens and clings beautifully.
You can, but lime really makes this recipe shine. Lemon gives a softer, more classic flavor, while lime adds a vibrant, tropical twist that defines this honey lime salmon recipe.
Reheat gently in the oven at 300°F (150°C) for about 10 minutes, or just until warm. You can also enjoy it cold over salad—it’s just as flavorful.
WATCH US MAKE Honey Lime Garlic Butter Salmon RIGHT HERE!
Honey Lime Garlic Butter Salmon
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup honey
- 4 cloves garlic large, crushed
- 2 limes juiced
- 2 1/2 pound side of salmon 1.2 kg
- sea salt to taste
- cracked pepper to taste, optional
- lime slices to serve
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley divided
Instructions
- Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat oven to 375°F | 190°C. Line a baking sheet with a large piece of foil, or 2 long pieces of foil over lapping each other lengthways if your salmon is wide.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low-medium heat. Add the honey, garlic and lime juice, and whisk until the honey has melted through the butter and the mixture is well combined.
- Place the salmon onto lined baking sheet. Evenly pour the honey-lime mixture over the salmon. Sprinkle with a good amount of salt (about 2 teaspoons), cracked pepper, and 2 tablespoons of parsley. Fold the sides of the foil up beside the salmon to keep the sauce under the fillet.
- Bake until cooked through (about 15-18 minutes, depending on the thickness of your fish and your preference of doneness). Then, change oven setting to broil (or grill) for 2-3 minutes on medium heat to caramelise the top. Garnish with remaining parsley and serve immediately with fresh lime slices.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I’ve made this a couple times both with great success.
I like a little heat on mine so I add some S
sriracha sauce, 🔥😋
So good! We used dried parsley and it was great. We didn’t add the butter mixture on top of the fish when serving it – the fish was super moist on its own. Next time I make this, I want to substitute the butter for olive oil (because I’m trying to work on my cholesterol). This was just such a wonderful recipe and break from lemon! The lime really neutralizes and brings out sweeter flavors of the salmon. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe with us all! ❤️
I seldom eat Salmon but last winter I caught a Coho and my wife loves salmon.
Tried this recipe on the Coho and even I loved it.
It seems a great recipe for pork tenderloin.
Will try it.
I thought the lime might separate the butter if left too long so I mixed it just before the oven was to temp.
My go to choice for salmon ! Super good !
This is DELICIOUS and easy to make! My family LOVED it!
Garlic can turn blue or greenish looking when it comes into contact with something acidic — chemical reaction with the lime juice
Wow. What a phenomenal and easy recipe ! I love this. Will totally be on repeat in our house! Served with white rice and some roasted broccoli. Delicious.
Our new favorite salmon recipe! We have been cooking this weekly now. I am wondering if anyone has tried substituting the butter with olive oil.
Made this for dinner & my garlic turned blue. So perplexing. Any clues on how to prevent this? It was still tasty & amazing. .
Well, this was totally delicious. Made some adjustments (not changes) based on what I had and it was still great.
Had ONE lime so not sure if it was going to be limey enough so grated in the lime zest. Made the full amount of sauce even though we had less than a pound for 2 people – lots of sauce was perfect. Made the sauce in advance and it congealed before I put it on the salmon which was perfect because it stayed on top. Didn’t have unsalted butter so used salted and omitted the salt. Only had dried parsley flakes.
I set the oven to 400 then to broil and broiled the fish FIRST because I needed the oven to heat the bread – the slow cooking after broiling really did the trick.
We literally licked the pan clean – dipped our bread into it and husband proclaimed it to be a definite keeper. High praise.
Really, this was excellent.