This Honey Garlic Salmon is a terrific way to serve salmon that is just sooooo crazy quick and soooo crazy delicious! Head here to see all my quick and easy salmon recipes!
Honey Garlic Salmon recipe original published March 2015. Refreshed with new photos and video in 2017.
HONEY GARLIC SALMON SAUCE
This Honey Garlic Salmon recipe is all about the sauce. Just four simple pantry essentials in the right proportions – soy sauce, honey, garlic and vinegar.
I used to just whisk up the Sauce and pour it over pan seared Salmon. Then I started adding the sauce into the skillet with the salmon, and that’s even better, so I decided it was time to refresh this recipe (which I posted originally posted in March 2015!) plus I’ve added a recipe video.
When you first mix up the sauce, you won’t think it’s anything special. In fact, it’s pretty flat tasting just as it is. There are some sauces that steal the limelight in a dish – like Sweet & Sour Sauce and the Lemon Cream Sauce in this baked fish.
And then there are other sauces that are designed to compliment the dish it’s served with, rather than taking centre stage itself.
This Honey Garlic Sauce is one of those (as is Garlic Butter with salmon!) Once it’s cooked with the salmon and it caramelises…. WOWEE!!!
HOW LONG TO COOK SALMON?
3 to 4 minutes on the first side and 2 to 3 minutes on the second side for a standard fillet that’s about 2.5cm / 1″ thick at the thickest part.
This will yield a salmon that is perfectly cooked to medium rare – so the flesh flakes when you cut into it, it’s beautifully moist and coral inside rather than a pale pink / white.
Salmon is a fatty fish so it’s more forgiving if overcooked slightly. But when perfectly cooked, it’s a thing of beauty!!
This Honey Garlic Salmon recipe is a firm favourite in my household – and it’s been a reader favourite for many years now, ever since I first published it!
It’s a terrific quick and easy way to cook salmon that makes the most of all that we love about salmon – it’s juicy flesh, the salmon flavour, and how the surface caramelises beautifully when seared with the right sauce.
For a quick and easy meal, serve it with a side of steamed vegetables, like broccolini or asparagus shown in the photos. Add some bread or mashed potato for mopping up the sauce, and you’ve got a quick dinner on the table in less than 20 minutes! – Nagi xx
More fish recipes!
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Honey Garlic Salmon recipe video!
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Honey Garlic Salmon (5 Ingredients, 15 Minutes)
Ingredients
Sauce
- 4 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp soy sauce (all purpose or light soy sauce)
- 1 tbsp white vinegar (or sub with any other vinegar except balsamic)
- 1 large garlic clove (or 2 small) , minced
Salmon
- 2 salmon or trout fillets, skinless (6oz / 200g each)
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Optional Garnishes
- Sesame seeds
- Finely sliced chives or shallots/scallions
Instructions
- Take salmon out of the fridge 20 minutes before cooking. Pat salmon skin dry with a paper towel and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Whisk together the Sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
- Drizzle oil in a non stick fry pan and heat over medium high heat (or just under, if your stove runs hot). Place salmon in the pan, and cook the first side for 3 – 4 minutes until golden. Turn, then cook the other side for 2 – 3 minutes or until golden.
- Pour Sauce over salmon. Cook for 1 minute or until it starts to thicken slightly. Check the side of the salmon to tell how cooked through the middle is – I like mine medium rare inside. (Note 1). If Sauce thickens too much before your salmon is cooked to your taste, just add water 1 tbsp at a time.
- Remove onto serving plates.
- Serve salmon drizzled with Sauce, sprinkled with sesame seeds and chives/shallots, if desired.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
Currently in Fiji and receiving the usual daily reports from Dozer’s boarder – all is well and there are (apparently) no signs of separation anxiety. Hmph!!
This is an outstanding recipe. It was quick and absolutely delicious. This definitely is a keeper. We enjoyed it.
Delicious, I had all the ingredients and served it with rice, steamed broccoli and cauliflower
I made this tonight, it is so tasty 😀
Hi, Nagi, how are you?, i like so much the salmon and your recipe looks quite interesting, therefore, i’ll try it out. However, i’m learning how to program and i would like to add your recipe on my project, also helping you to distribute your work. Thus, am i allowed to include your recipe as it is?. (Including references to this website and attributions for you). Thank you.
so, so good!
Delicious and easy to make. I served with steamed broccoli and cilantro lime rice. Hubby said this was a keeper!
OMG, if I would have put swirls of sauce around my plate, and garnish, I would have thought I’d been to a 5 star restaurant! That turned out amazing!!
This recipe is a winner. Seared salmon is so tasty. The sauce complements the fish well. Thanks Nagi!!
Delicious! I replaced the soy sauce with Aminos for GF option and used about a tablespoon less of honey. I prepared it using wild Steelhead. I served it with Bok Choy and jasmine rice.
I loooooove this recipe, it was so easy to make. Placing it in my notebook of go to dinners to make. Thank you!
Hi! Is it possible to cook the salmon in the oven and then add the sauce for a few min? If so, how many min should sauce be in oven for, or should the salmon be baked with it from the start?
Thanks Nagi
I’m a big fan
Made this for dinner tonight, it was delicious
My wife and son loved it
I made this Honey Garlic Salmon recipe using brown sugar instead of honey and it was so delicious! We loved it. Next time I will make it with Honey. Thank you for sharing the recipe 🩷
This is fantastic Nagi, you are a gem! I didn’t have any honey, so I tried this with maple syrup and reduced the sauce a little more after removing the salmon. It was a real hit with my family! I can’t wait to try it again with honey next time.
As I am cooking for 8 can I cook the salmon in the oven covered first make the sauce and poor over?
Thank you Nagi. You did it again. I tried this recipe today, and my hubby loved it. I didn’t have honey so I used golden syrup. Didn’t have spring onion so I used parsley. Both worked well as a sub. I used the spare honey sauce from the pan to drizzle over our salad.
Delic – I used hot honey as my regular honey was hard and I baked it in oven after searing it just to ensure it cooked as I’m unsure about cooking/eating medium rare salmon. Definitely making this again ❤️
I spent too much time building IKEA furniture so I started dinner late. We had salmon in the fridge and I knew Nagi could get me out of my dilemma. This was spectacularly easy and so quick. I used hot chilli honey which was incredible and served it with broccoli and brown rice and topped with sesame seeds and coriander. Delicious!
If the recipe calls for skinless fish, how does one pat the skin dry?
I loved this recipe! Easy, quick and very tasty. Made for guests and everyone loved it! Made it per recipe.
Perfect!!