This honey garlic salmon is salmon fillets seared to perfection and coated in a sweet and savory honey garlic sauce. The perfect easy and healthy dinner for a busy weeknight!
I’m always looking for simple seafood recipes that my whole family will enjoy. Some of our favorites include grilled tilapia, garlic butter shrimp, grilled swordfish and this delicious honey garlic salmon.
First came honey garlic chicken, which has been pinned over a million times! Then came honey garlic shrimp which is just as fabulous as the chicken version. And now I’m bringing you a new version of this favorite with honey garlic salmon. The 4 ingredient sauce just makes this dish special, and is such a great way to dress up plain salmon.
Table of Contents
Honey Garlic Salmon Ingredients
To make this recipe, you will need salmon fillets, olive oil, salt, pepper, honey, garlic, soy sauce, water, cornstarch and parsley. You can also garnish the dish with lemon wedges.
How Do You Make Honey Garlic Salmon?
Heat the olive oil in a pan or large skillet. Season the salmon with salt and pepper to taste. Sear the salmon on both sides until it is golden brown and cooked through. Remove the fish from the pan and cover to keep warm. Add the garlic to the pan, then stir in the soy sauce, honey and water. Bring the sauce mixture to a simmer. Whisk the cornstarch with cold water, then add the cornstarch slurry to the pan. Bring the sauce to a boil and cook for 1 minute or until it is thick. Return the salmon to the pan. Spoon the sauce over the top of the fish. Sprinkle with parsley, then serve with lemon wedges if desired.
Tips For The Perfect Dish
- This recipe works with both fresh salmon and frozen salmon. If you use frozen salmon, be sure to thaw it completely, then use a paper towel to blot the moisture off the fillets so that they will brown nicely.
- Be sure not to overcook your salmon! The salmon is done when the flesh is opaque and it flakes easily with a fork.
- Leftovers will stay fresh in an airtight container for 2 days. Reheat leftovers over low heat on the stove or in the microwave.
- Use fresh minced garlic for the best results. The kind in a jar doesn’t have as much flavor.
Quick Tip
I recommend serving the salmon over sushi rice or sour cream mashed potatoes, with a green vegetable on the side such as sauteed broccolini.
Recipe FAQs
The best method to cook salmon is one where the exterior gets crispy while the interior stays moist and enter. This can be achieved by grilling, broiling or pan searing salmon.
Salmon pairs well with a variety of sauces. Some of the most popular options include garlic butter sauce, honey garlic sauce, creamy dill sauce, honey mustard and pesto.
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Flavor Variations
While this recipe is delicious as-is, you can easily customize the flavors to suit your tastes.
- Protein: You can use other types of firm fish such as swordfish, halibut or steelhead trout. This sauce is also great on chicken breasts or pork chops.
- Sauce: Jazz up the sauce by adding extra ingredients such as ginger, sesame oil, sriracha or sesame seeds.
- Toppings: Finish the dish with a sprinkle of sliced toasted almonds, chopped cilantro or sliced green onions.
If you’re looking for a little bit different take on salmon, you’re going to love this recipe!
More Salmon Recipes
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Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Honey Garlic Salmon
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 pounds salmon fillets
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- lemon wedges for serving
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Season the salmon with salt and pepper to taste.
- Place the salmon skin side up in the pan. Cook for 4-5 minutes per side or until cooked through.
- Remove the salmon from the pan and place on a plate. Cover with foil to keep warm.
- Add the garlic to the pan and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the water, soy sauce and honey to the pan; bring to a simmer.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon cold water.
- Slowly pour the cornstarch mixture into the pan and whisk to combine. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute or until sauce has just thickened.
- Return the salmon to the pan and spoon the sauce over the top. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with lemon wedges if desired.
Notes
- This recipe works with both fresh salmon and frozen salmon. If you use frozen salmon, be sure to thaw it completely, then use a paper towel to blot the moisture off the fillets so that they will brown nicely.
- Be sure not to overcook your salmon! The salmon is done when the flesh is opaque and it flakes easily with a fork.
Make this recipe last week and now I’m making it again. My husband and I both absolutely loved it
This is one of our favorite recipes. So delicious.
Really made dinner in hurry taste great!! I added a few more seasoning to the fish and sauce (I’m Jamaican) we season everything and served with mashed potatoes.
Excellent recipe! Adding it to my dinner rotation. Very quick and easy. Sauce would be good on chicken as well.
what a wonderful dish! i only had two pieces of salmon and five people. so i steamed some green beans and
made some white rice to go with. then put it all on one platter . gave everybody a spoon and said dig in!! made for a great light late night dinner!
I made this for dinner tonight and it was fabulous! This recipe is a keeper.
Hi, I will be trying this recipe tonight. Looks good!
This recipe, exactly how it is described, is absolutely DELICIOUS!!! Thank you so much for sharing! I’m new to the whole cooking scene (I had to confirm what “simmer” meant) but this was so simple and incredibly worth it! Again, it was phenomenal! I will DEFINITELY be making more and following this page/author for more recipes and ideas!
Can you use Agave instead of Honey?
I think that would work although I haven’t tried it myself!
I added a teaspoon of ginger. Excellent, fast and easy.
Absolutely wonderful! Although we substituted corn starch for flour and soy sauce with a mixture of worsershire and a1 sauce it was delicious!! The main ingredient s were there so it worked. Maybe next time we try the actual recipe but I doubt it can get any better!
SO GOOD!! Like another reviewer said, this is also my first online review, despite the fact that I use online recipes on a weekly basis. Normally with online recipes, I end up taking a few tips from one recipe and an ingredient or two from another and making it my own. This one seemed so simple there was no reason to mess with it. It really is just so easy and delicious. I loved that the addition of the cornstarch made the sauce into that deliciously indulgent gelatinous consistency that you get with Chinese takeout (like General Tso chicken), except I had no guilt with these ingredients! I made this with salmon and served it with steamed broccoli and white rice. Will DEFINITELY be making this again.
Oh my goodness! I am so glad I found this recipe. The salmon was cooked perfectly. I added more honey because I love the sweeter taste. It was amazing. I cant wait to make it again.
I had cooked this meal for me and the family. It turned out awesome. Especially when the kids say it was good. We all know how they can be picky sometimes. I had also cooked sides of mashed potatoes and roasted herb Normandy Mix veggies.
First time for me to comment on an internet recipe. Made this today for supper. It was quick and easy and DELICIOUS.
I loved making this recipe! I made it with the salmon, and was a huge hit in my household. Had to comment about this delicious-ness. Saved it to my favorites
I cooked my Wife this dish and she absolutely loved it! I liked that it was easy to prepare and was able to cook it in less than 30mins. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Wonderful! My kids are very picky eaters and they even loved it! It is definitely going to be thrown into dinner rotation! Thanks for this delicious recipe!!
Best recipe with amazing for salmon. I get tired of making salmon the same old way I decided to look for a new recipe and found this one I am so pleased with it this was absolutely delicious!!! I would definitely recommend dish recipe and also I would recommend making white rice with it OMG I just couldn’t get enough and I wish I would have made more.
Everyone loved this! I just had everything ready before I started cooking and it was so easy and fast. Thanks!
Always looking for new ways to jazz up dinner..this was a amazing way to do just that! Did not have to change a thing..thank you!