This miso salmon is fresh fish fillets soaked in a flavorful marinade, then broiled to perfection and topped with sesame seeds. A unique and delicious main course option that takes just minutes to put together!
When I’m looking for fresh ways to serve up salmon, I turn to family favorite salmon recipes such as almond crusted salmon, honey glazed salmon, broiled salmon and this flavorful miso salmon. Serve your salmon with a side of sushi rice and watch the rave reviews come in!
My favorite Japanese restaurant serves the best miso salmon, I end up ordering it every time I go! I’ve since learned to make this dish at home, and it’s actually quite simple to prepare.
Table of Contents
Miso Salmon Ingredients
To make this recipe, you will need salmon fillets, miso paste, mirin, brown sugar, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds and green onions.
How Do You Make Miso Salmon?
Start by whisking together a marinade of miso paste, mirin, brown sugar, sesame oil, soy sauce and fresh ginger. Place the salmon in the marinade, and let it sit for 15-30 minutes. Preheat the broiler, then place the salmon fillets on a pan. Spoon any remaining marinade over the top of the fish. Broil until the salmon is just cooked through. Add a garnish topping of sesame seeds and sliced green onions, then serve and enjoy.
Tips For The Perfect Dish
- I like to use fresh salmon whenever possible as I find the flavor and texture is better than frozen. When it’s available, I choose wild caught king or sockeye salmon. I’ve also made this recipe with Atlantic salmon with good results.
- This recipe calls for mirin, which is a sweet Japanese rice wine that’s designed for cooking with. You can find mirin in the international foods aisle of most major grocery stores or in local Asian markets. Rice vinegar will work in a pinch, although the flavor is not exactly the same.
- Line your pan with foil for easy clean up!
- You don’t need to add any salt to the marinade, as there is plenty of salt in the miso paste and soy sauce.
- Serve your salmon over steamed rice with a vegetable on the side such as sauteed mushrooms and onions, roasted green beans, grilled broccoli or sauteed cabbage. I typically use sushi grade white or brown rice.
- This dish stays fresh in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. You can reheat any leftovers in the oven in a covered pan at 350 degrees F until warmed through.
Quick Tip
Be careful not to overcook your salmon! Salmon is done when the flesh is opaque and it can be flaked with a fork.
Recipe FAQs
Miso is a fermented soybean paste that adds a rich and savory flavor to dishes. It is a commonly used ingredient in Japanese cooking. Miso comes in different varieties and is typically found in tubs in the refrigerated section of the grocery store. My store carries miso in the dairy area. This recipe calls for white miso paste, which is typically quite easy to find and has a smooth, mild flavor.
Salmon is great addition to any healthy diet because it is rich in omega-3 fatty acids. These fatty acids thought to help reduce blood pressure, lessen inflammation and help protect against cancer. Salmon is also full of nutrients including protein as well as vitamins A, B and D, selenium, potassium and phosphorus. This combination of nutrients and vitamins is thought to support brain function, immunity and strong bones. So go ahead, enjoy that succulent salmon fillet with zero guilt!
Miso can be used to add umami flavor in marinades like this recipe. It’s also great when made into miso soup, and adds a punch of savory flavor to salad dressing, stir fries and noodle dishes.
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Miso Salmon Flavor Variations
This recipe is great as-is, but you can absolutely add other ingredients to customize the flavors to your tastes.
- Fish: While this recipe is typically made with salmon, you can substitute another firm fish such as swordfish, halibut and Chilean sea bass.
- Vegetables: Feel free to add some quick cooking veggies to the sheet pan such as snow peas, asparagus, zucchini or bell peppers.
- Flavorings: You can add other ingredients to the sauce such as sriracha and minced garlic or swap out the mirin for sake.
Miso salmon is a must-try recipe that tastes like it came from a fancy restaurant. While this dish is easy enough to prepare on a busy weeknight, it’s also elegant enough to serve to company. If you love this recipe, you’ll also want to check out some of my other Asian inspired favorites including beef bulgogi and ahi tuna salad.
More Salmon Recipes To savor
Salmon with Avocado Salsa
25 mins
Grilled Salmon with Garlic and Herbs
1 hr 25 mins
Greek Salmon Salad
35 mins
Miso Salmon Video
Love This Recipe?
Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Miso Salmon
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 pounds salmon cut into 4 fillets
- 3 tablespoons white miso paste
- 1/4 cup mirin can also use sake
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds black, white or both
- 2 tablespoons green onions thinly sliced
- cooking spray
Instructions
- Place the miso, mirin, brown sugar, ginger, soy sauce and sesame oil in a large bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Add the salmon fillets to the bowl and spoon the marinade over the top. Cover and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes, or up to 4 hours.
- Preheat the broiler. Coat a sheet pan with cooking spray.
- Arrange the salmon fillets on the sheet pan and spoon any excess marinade over the top.
- Broil for 8-10 minutes or until salmon is opaque and flakes easily with a fork.
- Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions, then serve.
Notes
- I like to use fresh salmon whenever possible as I find the flavor and texture is better than frozen. When it’s available, I choose wild caught king or sockeye salmon. I’ve also made this recipe with Atlantic salmon with good results.
- This recipe calls for mirin, which is a sweet Japanese rice wine that’s designed for cooking with. You can find mirin in the international foods aisle of most major grocery stores or in local Asian markets.
I have all the ingredients for this except the fresh ginger and I don’t have powdered either. Is there a fair substitute?
There’s not a great substitute I’d just omit it!
My picky eater loves loves loves this!
Thoroughly enjoyed this recipe! Will add it to the regular rotation.
I have made this several times and it’s always delicious!
This is the best miso salmon I’ve ever had!
Absolutely delicious and unbelievably easy! I broiled on high but my salmon was on the thicker side so finished it off for two minutes at 350. Amazing!!
Totally fabulous recipe! Everyone at the table was delighted. It will be made again and often. Thank you!
So, so delicious I’ve literally made it twice weekly for the past 5 weeks. I cannot get enough of it. I will say I searched a separate site for a rundown of the different types of salmon available, grated best to worst. I have made this recipe mostly with fresh, sockeye, salmon, once with coho salmon, and once with Atlantic salmon. The Coho was awesome, the sockeye almost always perfect although it can be a little too fishy for me sometimes. I have not been able to get a hold of any king salmon yet. Once I did not have an option for any of the Pacific salmon, and I made it with an Atlantic salmon, and the only time that I wasn’t thrilled by it. All Atlantic salmon is farmed. There’s a very big difference between an Atlantic salmon and a fresh Pacific salmon. None of the filets I bought were previously frozen. I also add more ginger than the recipe calls for but that’s because I absolutely love ginger. I will say I find most people are the opposite and can’t handle much of it so I’m sure this recipe is spot on with the amount of ginger that it’s included, but if you’re like me and you love ginger , it will not ruin it to put more in there. The side dish that I eat it with every time is jasmine rice. I am trying to find a bok choy recipe that I like because I think this would be a good vegetable to go along with it, but I have not gone there yet. Bottom line this is a really, really good recipe.
Miso and salmon were made for each other. This recipe is so quick and easy, it’s one of our favorites in the rotation. Thanks for sharing!
One of my favorite restaurant meals is miso salmon, so I can’t wait to try this at home! This salmon sounds like it will also be really delicious cold the next day in a salad.
Oooh, you had me at ready in just minutes! This salmon looks absolutely amazing and I especially love the addition of the white miso.
Miso salmon has such a delicious flavour and I didn’t know it was so simple to make. We eat salmon a lot, so I’ll be making this recipe again.
Thank you so much for this recipe! We eat quite a bit of salmon, and this is by far my family’s favorite style. My son just asked if I was making my “famous salmon” tonight, so I thought I ought to give the credit where it is due. Everything about it is spot on, although I do omit sesame seeds, which is just personal preference.
Delicious and easy to make. I added a little Yuzu juice (a citrus similar to lemon) and it was a great flavor combo! The kids ate it up, too.
This is excellent. I made the recipe as stated except I got carried away grating my ginger in. I love ginger, but in this case too much changes the flavor so I had to readjust my other ingredients ;so measure exactly as instructed. I was only able to marinate the salmon about 30 minutes and I didn’t baste it but it was excellent under a low heat broiler. My family loved it as well. Such a nice change from teriyaki or pesto.
i greatly prefer grating the ginger instead of mincing
i grated in a couple cloves of garlic as well
otherwise fantastic! will make again
I also grate my ginger into the marinade.
Delicious recipe! Just made for dinner this evening and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Miso compliments salmon very well! Plus this is super easy to make and the ingredients are very accessible. I served this with brown rice and broccoli. It feels good to have a healthy dinner that can also taste amazing!