A quick and easy dinner that delivers! This is honey garlic soy salmon, a dish made from just 6 ingredients in under 35 minutes. Marinate fresh salmon in a 5-ingredient sauce, and then reduce the rest down on the stove to a glaze as the salmon bakes. Serve with thickened glaze, brown rice, and your favorite vegetables for a simple, flavorful, and healthy meal.
I originally published this recipe in 2015 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and a few more helpful success tips.
Desserts are certainly where my heart is, but it’s so much fun to share everyday dinner recipes with you. I struggle to find a meal my entire family enjoys, which includes young children who are often skeptical about what shows up on their plates! Today’s honey garlic soy glazed salmon is usually the answer when (1) I need dinner FAST, (2) I need dinner to be DELICIOUS for everyone, and (3) I need to use as few ingredients and dishes as possible. 😉
One reader, A, commented: “I never make salmon because I usually mess fish up. I wanted to try again and looked for a baked recipe that wasn’t lemon covered—this looked like something pretty simple and I decided to give it a shot. My family LOVED it! My daughter said it tastes like restaurant salmon and everyone is begging me to put it into our rotation. I never leave recipe comments, but I’m sitting in front of my empty plate and was so happy with it that I have to hype this one up! ★★★★★“
Another reader, Nikki, commented: “This is my second time making this recipe. It’s so good and so easy. This is definitely one I’m going to be coming back to. ★★★★★“
You’ll Love This Honey Garlic Soy Salmon, Too:
- 35 minutes total: 15 minutes to marinate, 15–20 to bake
- Only 6 easy ingredients
- Marinade doubles as the glaze
- Minimal effort, maximum flavor
- Casual enough for the week, fancy enough for guests
- Healthy, wholesome, dairy free
- Easy recipe to halve or double
Marinade Doubles as a Glaze
The 5-ingredient glaze is inspired by delicious Asian cuisine and made with soy sauce, ginger, garlic, honey, and a little sesame oil to help the marinade stick. As a marinade, it’s sweet and salty but has a deeper, more complex flavor from the garlic and fresh ginger. Use half of the mixture for a marinade, and then reduce the rest on the stove for a few minutes to drizzle over the cooked salmon. As a thickened glaze, the flavor is incredibly bold. It’s so, so tasty.
I also LOVE this honey soy sauce glazed salmon from the fantastic food blog Omnivore’s Kitchen. There’s a little whole-grain mustard and chili powder in that sauce.
This marinade/glaze reduction is also great on chicken. Replace the salmon with boneless chicken breasts or thighs and increase the bake time until the chicken is cooked through. See recipe Notes.
You can also skip the protein, make the sauce, reduce down on the stove and pour over a plate of steamed vegetables and rice. I’ve done that often and leftovers are delicious for lunch the next day.
Ingredients You Need & Why
There are so few ingredients in this honey garlic soy salmon dish… and each one has a key job!
- Salmon: The fresher the salmon, the better. You want about 24 ounces (680g) total, and purchasing individual fillets makes prep easier. There are many different types of salmon, but try to find salmon fillets that are an even thickness so that they all cook in the same amount of time.
- Honey: Honey is one of the main ingredients and pairs so well with garlic, something you may know if you’ve had this honey garlic shrimp before. (A similar, but even quicker dish!)
- Soy Sauce: I typically use Kikkoman less sodium tamari soy sauce, which is labeled gluten free. Again, not sponsored… just a fan! If you’re gluten sensitive or intolerant, you can use that or swap the soy sauce with actual tamari sauce.
- Sesame Oil: This is a new addition over the past couple years and I use it for sticking power. After dozens of times preparing this dish, I found the salmon holds onto the marinade a little better when there’s 1 Tablespoon of oil. If you don’t have sesame oil, olive oil is a fine replacement.
- Garlic: You can use fresh or jarred/minced.
- Fresh Ginger: Ginger gives this dish a warm, fresh, slightly sweet element. It’s one of my favorite ingredients in cooking and you’ll love it in peach pie, too.
Can I Use Frozen Salmon?
Yes, you can use frozen uncooked salmon. Thaw completely and then follow the recipe as written, including marinating and baking. You can use frozen/thawed salmon when making this 5 ingredient honey chipotle salmon and this baked lemon garlic salmon, too.
Step Photos: How to Make Honey Garlic Soy Salmon
Place salmon in a container or zipped-top bag. I usually use these glass containers for marinating and they work just as well for storing leftovers and freezing meals/baked goods. (See my list of Freezer Meals for some inspiration!) Mix the marinade ingredients together and pour about half over the salmon:
Marinate the salmon for at least 15 minutes and up to 4 hours. You can stretch this to 8 hours if needed. You’ll love that this dish can work with any schedule, in a rush or not!
Place salmon on lined baking sheet; reserve used marinade if desired to reduce with the rest of the unused marinade:
The sauce will caramelize over the salmon as it bakes:
While the salmon bakes, reduce the remaining marinade on the stove to make a glaze. You want a rich, thick glaze:
Drizzle the glaze all over the warm baked salmon. You could even drizzle a spoonful onto the salmon fillets towards the end of the bake time and return them to the oven to finish baking.
And your dinner is hot & ready! Feel free to garnish the honey garlic soy salmon with green onion and/or sesame seeds. I like to steam broccoli and make a packet of brown rice as the salmon bakes.
The edges are crisp, the honey garlic soy salmon is tender, and the flavors are unbelievable!
Honey Garlic Soy Glazed Salmon
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: serves 4
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: Asian
Description
This simple baked salmon is smothered with a 5-ingredient salty-sweet glaze and is ready in under 35 minutes!
Ingredients
- 4 salmon fillets, about 6 ounces (170g) each
- 1/3 cup (80ml) reduced sodium soy sauce (or regular)
- 1/3 cup (113g) honey
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) sesame oil (or olive oil)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced (or 2 teaspoons jarred/minced)
- 1 teaspoon peeled minced fresh ginger
- optional for garnish: chopped green onion and/or sesame seeds
Instructions
- Marinate the salmon: Place salmon fillets into a large zippered food storage bag or shallow dish/container. In a medium bowl, whisk soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, garlic, and ginger together. Pour about half of the mixture (just eyeball it) over salmon. Turn salmon to coat. Seal the bag/cover the dish and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes and up to 4 hours.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375°F (191°C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, parchment paper, or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
- Line the marinated salmon fillets on the baking sheet, skin side down. You can hold onto this used marinade—see step 5. Bake salmon for 15–20 minutes or until done, which is 10 minutes per inch thickness measured from the thickest part of the fillet. (Salmon is considered done when an instant read thermometer reads the center of the thickest part as at least 145°F (63°C).) Feel free to turn your oven to broil for the last minute to really crisp the edges.
- Meanwhile, as the salmon bakes, pour the remaining unused marinade into a small saucepan or skillet over medium-high heat. If you want, you can add the remaining (used) marinade as well. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 3–4 minutes or until slightly thickened. Keep a close eye on it because it can quickly burn. It will bubble up a lot as it reduces. Remove from heat.
- Drizzle thickened glaze over baked salmon and serve with optional garnish.
- Leftovers keep well in the refrigerator for a few days. Reheat to your liking.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: You can marinate the salmon up to 4 hours in advance. If needed, you can extend to 8 hours.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Containers | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat, Parchment Paper, or Foil | Instant Read Thermometer | Small Saucepan
- Sides: To complete the meal, serve the salmon with steamed broccoli and rice. Both are excellent with glaze drizzled on top. You can cook both as the salmon bakes.
- Can I use frozen salmon? Yes, you can use frozen uncooked salmon fillets. Thaw completely before using.
- Can I replace salmon with chicken? Yes, you can replace the salmon with boneless chicken breasts or thighs and increase the bake time until the chicken is cooked through. Marinate the chicken for closer to 1 hour instead of just 15 minutes.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 salmon filet
- Calories: 408
- Sugar: 21.7 g
- Sodium: 922.9 mg
- Fat: 11.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 28.6 g
- Protein: 48 g
- Cholesterol: 86.7 mg
Reader Comments and Reviews
easy and good!
I love the Honey Glaze Salmon recipe. However, I am allergic to soy. What can I substitute for the soy sauce in the marinade.
you can use tamari or coconut aminos
Cooked this for my husband and I, I didn’t have masses of time but it was a really fabulous recipe which tasted delicious! I will definitely cook it again thank you!
Delicious salmon recipe, will definitely cook again.
I’ve made this twice now, and it was a big hit both times 🙂 my boyfriend and family loved it! It was actually the best salmon recipe I’ve ever made. Thank you! Please consider uploading more salmon recipes
I made this for lunch on the 4th of July. It was outstanding! Pretty sure it’s the best salmon I’ve ever made.
This post is a couple years old but the recipe holds. My family LOVED this! I loved how simple it is but packed with flavor. Thank you!
omg made this recipe 3 times now and it just keeps getting better <3 lol omg I cant get enough ! THANKS SALLY FOR THIS AWESOME RECIPE 🙂 😀
Loved this salmon, but I did cook it a bit differently as I like my salmon seared outside, but rare inside. I realized your blog is about baking, but instead of baking, I heated a skillet with a bit of sesame oil, seared the salmon 1 minute on each side, then removed it from the skillet.
Prepared the sauce the same way, but added some Chinese mushrooms, some bok choy and some baby corn to the skillet and sauteed the vegetables while the sauce was thickening. Served it all with jasmine rice. So delicious! Your marinade is a keeper! Thanks!
Very good. I used sockeye salmon and cook it a lot. I ended up searing it for a minute on each side as did Jeana and then put it in a 350 oven for about 4 min. Coming from a commercial salmon fishing family every species of salmon is a little different, and I think this method works well for sockeye. Thank you for sharing your recipe! (Oh and I used half of the recipe with sockeye, and the other half with wild raw shrimp where your recipe originally came from…the shrimp was very tasty and might prefer it with shrimp just a little more)
(I meant to edit this first sentence to say I cook salmon frequently, and not a lot meaning to overcook it)
This is genuinely one of my favorite recipes to make. My family loves it too. Needed to comment about how good this is because I keep coming back to it. Thank you so much for sharing this !
Everytime I try a new recipe for salmon, the hubby basically gags, makes faces and disgusting noises. (Worse than a two year old!!) This has gone on for years. For health reasons, he agreed to give salmon one more try. I was stressed…. one shot, one chance or never again. I surfed and read until I was freaking out! Well, I am overjoyed to announce he pushed his empty plate back and proclaimed this is the best tasting salmon I have ever put in front of him. Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe! Happy day! }i{
This was SO good!!! I like ginger and honey but I hate salmon. The ginger took away the fishy taste. So glad you posted this. 🙂
I made this tonight and it was delicious, though I think I reduced the glaze too much because it came out much thicker and stickier than expected (or on your beautiful pictures) but I ploughed on and dolloped it on rather than glazing and it still tasted yummy!
Hi Sally. I started the marinade process for dinner tonight Friday but something has come up and can’t cook it tonight. Can it stay okay in the refrigerator until Sunday?
This looks amazing! I’m thinking of trying it with a tuna steak. Do you think that will work?
Thanks.
Mary Ann
Yes, definitely. Maybe 4 tuna steaks for this amount of sauce/marinade. I would marinate them like you would the shrimp, then pan-fry in a little more oil (maybe 1 full Tablespoon). Add the extra sauce when you flip the tuna steaks.
Just had to comment and say that this recipe has quickly become a favorite!! LOVE. Thank you so much for sharing!
I just made this for dinner and the flavor of that glaze is amazing! I used it on chicken tonight because I had it on hand, but will be using salmon next time. Thank you!
Oh this salmon was so good and my husband loved it too! After eating the salmon he went back for rice + the sauce. He loved it! This recipe is similar to others I have tried but BETTER with the honey and ginger. This will be in our regular meal rotation. Glad it’s a healthy one. Thank you!
This salmon recipe was absolutely delicious, super simple, quick and easy. My guess is that even non fish cookers and eaters will love it. My husband had brought home some fresh wahoo (Ono on the west coast) that day so mine was half salmon half wahoo. Too good for words! I am going to save what was left to top my salad for tomorrow’s lunch.
Very tasty! I could only find skin-on salmon so I turned it halfway through, and the skin came out deliciously crispy.
Also had to substitute mirin for some of the honey, making it more of a sauce than a glaze, so I baked the broccoli in the sauce. That may even have been more delicious than the salmon – will definitely make that again!
Made this last night – superb! Had been looking for a recipe like this. Well done!
This salmon was a big hit tonight alongside your zucchini fritters and an heirloom tomato and burrata salad. Thanks so much!
So delicious! I just had my third baby in three years and this meal came together so quickly and easily. My husband was very impressed! Thanks for the great recipe. I will be making this again for sure (along with your peanut butter cookies that we can’t get enough of!!).
This was beyond amazing – we’ll def be having it again!
This was really good. The only thing I might do is baste the salmon w/the marinade half way through the cooking time. I had no brocolli, but served a lemon, feta chesse pasta side dish! Hubs wants me to pin it!!
Made this tonight using sockeye salmon. Its already easy but I still found a few shortcuts. I didn’t have fresh garlic or ginger on hand so I used the frozen cubes, 1 garlic and 4 ginger (I like ginger and always lighten garlic in all recipes). Also, I didn’t make the reduction.
Outcome: Still delicious. I’ll probably make this every week at least once. My 11 year old LOVED it.
When I read this blog post yesterday, I had salmon thawing in the fridge and bunch of broccoli staring me in the face. I made this recipe exactly as written, and it was incredible! My husband has requested that I keep it in the rotation 🙂 Thanks so much, Sally!
We tried this recipe last night and loved the sweet and saltiness of the salmon! With the leftover sauce, we drizzled it on the broccoli. I’d like to see more savory recipes on SBA as well. 🙂
Also made THE chocolate chip cookie recipe and topped it with 1/4 cup of cinnamon chips. So delicious.
Thanks Sally!
So delicious!!!!!!!!
Just made this for dinner tonight and it was a winner! Thanks Sally.
Can powdered ginger be used instead of fresh? If so, how much would you recommend?
Thanks!
Yes. I recommend 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger.