Need an easy healthy dinner recipe? This Teriyaki Salmon is a weeknight staple, with a quick homemade teriyaki sauce and no marinade!
Hello salmon fans! Here’s another one to add to your arsenal of healthy and easy salmon recipes! This Teriyaki Salmon will become your staple of the week. It has a quick homemade teriyaki sauce and best of all: no long marinating time required! Sear on the stovetop, paint with teriyaki, then bake for a few minutes until cooked through. It’s quick and easy, and it’s the prettiest cut of salmon to grace your plate. It works for weeknight dinners or quick dinners (Alex and I did it for both!). Ready to cook?
Is this teriyaki salmon baked or fried?
Well it is both! We have a baked salmon recipe that is super delicious. But if you make teriyaki salmon, brush it with teriyaki sauce, and toss it in the oven, you end up with a mushy salmon. (Yes, we tried!)
How do you get that nice crispy crust you’d expect from teriyaki salmon? Fry on the stove first! The good thing is you can throw the whole pan in the oven to cook and cook the rest of the fish. It only takes 2 minutes to sear salmon and 3-5 minutes to cook, so it’s quick and easy to prepare.
Allow the salmon to come to room temperature while preheating!
Here’s a tip for this teriyaki salmon, and really every fried fish recipe. Allow the salmon to come to room temperature before cooking. Why? If the center of the fish is cold, the outside of the fish will cook faster than the center. You risk a burned exterior with an undercooked interior. And nobody wants that!
Good news: you still have to preheat your oven! When you place the salmon on the counter, it will sit at room temperature for about the time it takes you to preheat your oven. (Our oven takes at least 15-20 minutes to get to 400!) During this time, you can make the teriyaki sauce and prepare all the other components of your meal. See below for recommended side dishes!
How to quickly make homemade teriyaki sauce
This Teriyaki Salmon uses our Quick Homemade Teriyaki Sauce! It is very easy to make at home and the taste is perfect. Of course, you can substitute your favorite teriyaki sauce if you’re in a hurry. Here’s everything you need for the sauce (these are typical ingredients that we always have on hand in our pantry):
- soy sauce (or substitute tamari or coconut aminos)
- maple syrup
- rice vinegar
- Toasted Sesame Oil
- garlic powder and ground ginger
- Cornstarch for thickening
All you have to do is heat the sauce, then mix cornstarch with water and add that to thicken the sauce. It takes about 5 minutes to prepare!
What is the best way to thaw frozen salmon?
You can absolutely use frozen salmon for this recipe. What is the best way to defrost salmon? Here are two options:
- Best option: Put the salmon in the fridge the day before (you can leave it in the wrapper).
- day of: Place the salmon in its wrapper in a bowl of cold water for about 1 hour until thawed.
What to serve with teriyaki salmon
Here’s the fun part: what to serve with this easy teriyaki salmon on weekdays? There are many ways to outfit it to make a healthy dinner! Here are some of our favourites:
Want a meal plan?
This recipe is included in our Pescetarian Meal Plan! Check out 1 month’s recipes including download a meal planning spreadsheet.
This recipe for teriyaki salmon is…
Pescetarian, gluten free and dairy free
The description
Need an easy healthy dinner recipe? This Teriyaki Salmon is a weeknight staple, with a quick homemade teriyaki sauce and no marinade!
For the salmon
For the Homemade Teriyaki Sauce (under ½ cup much needed)
- 2 tablespoons regular soy sauce (or substitute tamari or coconut aminos)
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground dried ginger
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 6 tablespoons the water
- Prepare the salmon: Place the salmon on a plate on the counter and allow to come to room temperature for 15-20 minutes before cooking (this should preheat around the same time as the oven). Pat dry, then rub the neutral oil on all sides of the salmon.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Meanwhile, make the teriyaki sauce (for ½ cup): In a small saucepan, combine soy sauce, maple syrup, rice vinegar, sesame oil, garlic powder, and ginger over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. In a small bowl, whisk together the water and cornstarch. Whisk in the saucepan until the mixture thickens, about a minute. Divide the teriyaki glaze in half between two small bowls and allow to cool.
- Cook the salmon: When the oven is preheated, heat a dry ovenproof skillet over high heat until very hot. Place the salmon in the hot pan, skin side up. Cook, without touching, for 2-3 minutes to sear the top of the salmon, until the center of the salmon begins to cook and you can see a brown layer. Turn off the heat and use a thin spatula to flip the salmon. Coat the top and sides of the salmon with half the teriyaki sauce (¼ cup).
- Place the pan in the oven and cook until just cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes (depending on the thickness of the salmon).
- Use a hot surface to remove the pan from the oven. Top with desired amount of remaining teriyaki sauce. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and chopped spring onions and serve.
- Category: main course
- Method: Cook
- Kitchen: Asian
Keywords: Salmon teriyaki
More great salmon recipes
While we mainly eat plants here, we also enjoy seafood every now and then! Here are our favorite salmon recipes:
