When’s the last time you cooked fish in a new way? Lemon juice, olive oil and garlic are a tried-and-true approach, but personally, we’re a little bored of the usual. Enter these 50 easy salmon recipes that transform the flaky, fatty protein into something spectacular without demanding too much of the cook. Read on for our favorites, which range from salmon BLTs to salmon al pastor.
50 Easy Salmon Recipes That You’ll Want to Add to Your Regular Rotation at First Bite
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Published Feb 7, 2023
1. One-Pan Roasted Salmon with Potatoes and Romaine
- Time Commitment: 40 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, high protein, sheet pan recipe
We love cooking a main and sides in one fell swoop. Leave it to your trusty sheet pan to prepare salmon fillets, lemony potatoes and seasoned lettuce to perfection in 30 minutes flat.
2. Salmon Bowl with Farro, Black Beans and Tahini Dressing
- Time Commitment: 40 minutes
- Why I Love It: high protein, beginner-friendly
If you’re tired of rice and quinoa, allow us to introduce you to farro, an ancient whole-grain wheat that’s beloved for its nutty taste and chewy, toothsome texture.
3. Baked Sesame-Ginger Salmon in Parchment
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, high protein
Ready in 30 minutes—no pots or pans required. Feel free to substitute whatever veggies you have for zucchini if it’s out of season, like carrots, asparagus or Brussels sprouts.
4. Salmon BLT
- Time Commitment: 45 minutes
- Why I Love It: high protein, beginner-friendly, kid-friendly, <10 ingredients
Trust us, you’ll love this fresh take on an old favorite. Might we suggest mixing traditional mayo with roasted garlic to create a flavorful aioli?
- Time Commitment: 45 minutes
- Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, high protein, beginner-friendly
Even picky kids can get down with the sweet-and-savory homemade sauce. Quick-pickle cucumbers, onions and cabbage to add some zing to the bowl.
- Time Commitment: 40 minutes
- Why I Love It: high protein, special occasion-worthy
The Mexican pineapple-chile marinade is typically reserved for pork and lamb, but this salmon dish is proof that it works with any protein. Serve it over white rice or flake up the salmon for tacos or burrito bowls.
7. Antoni Porowski’s Salmon and Spinach Rice Bowl with Green Tea Broth
- Time Commitment: 40 minutes
- Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly, gluten free, special occasion-worthy
Inspired by the Japanese dish ochazuke, which is made by pouring hot green tea over rice, this bowl is a great example of light comfort food. (Psst: You could also try it with Arctic char instead.)
- Time Commitment: 55 minutes
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, special occasion-worthy, dairy free
Sorry shrimp, you’ll have to sit this one out. Make the cashew-lime crema and grilled pineapple salsa ahead to save time before dinner (along with optional pickled red onions).
9. Miso-Glazed Salmon with Gochujang Rice
- Time Commitment: 45 minutes
- Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly, high protein
Never heard of gochujang? It’s a Korean red chile paste that’s equal parts hot, sweet, savory and pungent all at once. It’s a pantry staple in our kitchen, and once you try it, it’ll be in yours too.
10. Instant Pot Coconut Salmon with Fresh Herbs and Lime
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes
- Why I Love It: special occasion-worthy, high protein, Instant Pot recipe, <30 minutes
This salmon dish is pretty enough to double as a work of art (just look at the turmeric-kissed broth). Finish it with jasmine rice, fresh basil and lime wedges.
11. Sheet Pan Eggs with Smoked Salmon, Cream Cheese and Dill
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, sheet pan recipe, <10 ingredients,
Introducing the easiest (and tastiest) way to dish up brunch for a crowd. It has all the fixings smoked salmon calls for, like cream cheese, red onion, capers and fresh dill.
12. Sheet Pan Honey-Tahini Salmon with Chickpeas and Couscous
- Time Commitment: 25 minutes
- Why I Love It: sheet pan recipe, high protein, crowd-pleaser, <30 minutes
Simple prep + low cook time + minimal cleanup = a weeknight dinner for the books. This one also happens to be delicious, thanks to a few pantry staples, dry spices, fresh parsley and Greek yogurt.
13. Salmon with Pesto and Blistered Tomatoes
- Time Commitment: 35 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, <10 ingredients, kid-friendly
All that’s missing is a side salad, a crisp rosé and fresh bread. The recipe calls for store-bought basil pesto, but you can easily make your own if you feel so inclined.
14. Salmon and Fennel Dinner Salad
- Time Commitment: 55 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, high protein, special occasion-worthy
Complete with herby, lime-spritzed yogurt dressing. Couscous makes this salad even heartier, while crisp Napa cabbage and juicy strawberries keep it super refreshing.
15. Salmon Noodle Bowls with Chili-Yuzu Relish and Pickled Radish
- Time Commitment: 40 minutes
- Why I Love It: make ahead, special occasion-worthy, beginner-friendly
There are about five different components to this dish, including the noodles and salmon. The quick-pickled radishes, soy dressing and chili-yuzu relish can easily be made ahead to make mealtime a breeze.
16. Mashed Potato Fritters with Smoked Salmon and Chives
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly, special occasion-worthy
This is hands-down the most ingenious way to repurpose leftover mashed potatoes. Not only are they stuffed with Parmesan cheese and chopped chives, but they’re also topped with smoked salmon and tangy crème fraiche.
17. Honey Mustard Sheet Pan Salmon
- Time Commitment: 45 minutes
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, sheet pan recipe, high protein
This dinner dish is totally painless to prepare. Just marinate the fish while the oven preheats, then chop the veggies and season them. Once it’s hot, pop everything on a sheet pan and bake to perfection.
18. Hemp- and Walnut-Crusted Salmon with Broccoli and Kimchi Cauliflower Rice
- Time Commitment: 1 hour
- Why I Love It: high protein, special occasion-worthy
Salmon can be mad in mere minutes, but have you ever cooked it low and slow instead? It comes out ridiculously tender and juicy, plus it’s basically impossible to overcook at a lower temp.
19. Soy-Ginger Salmon Bowls with Coconut Rice
- Time Commitment: 35 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, high protein, dairy free
Carrots! Cucumbers! Edamame! Avocado! This flavorful bowl has it all. We fell particularly hard for the three-ingredient coconut basmati rice, which we’d pair with pork, crispy tofu, shrimp and everything in between.
- Time Commitment: 45 minutes
- Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, high protein, beginner-friendly
Yes, it’s slow-cooked—but you won’t need to wait six hours for your Crockpot to make dinner. Instead, this salmon is cooked in a pan at a low temp for about 25 minutes.
21. Wild Alaska Salmon and Smashed Cucumber Grain Bowls
- Time Commitment: 55 minutes
- Why I Love It: dairy free, beginner-friendly
As nutritious as a big green salad…but a million times more exciting and filling. Smashing the cucumbers helps them soak up every drop of marinade and seasoning possible.
22. Joanna Gaines’s Weeknight Salmon with Baby New Potatoes and Dill
- Time Commitment: 40 minutes
- Why I Love It: sheet pan recipe, high protein, beginner-friendly, special occasion-worthy
This buttery, lemony masterpiece is a cinch to pull together, but also elegant enough to serve at a dinner party. (Preferably alfresco and with white wine, if you ask us.)
23. Wild Alaska Salmon and Summer Squash Kebabs
- Time Commitment: 25 minutes
- Why I Love It: <30 minutes, low carb, keto-friendly, gluten free
The moment summer hits, it’s skewer season. We’d recommend committing the fresh, garlicky chimichurri sauce to memory and slathering it on everything you ever make.
- Time Commitment: 48 hours
- Why I Love It: no cook, <10 ingredients, crowd-pleaser, high protein
Your morning bagel is going to love this one. Don’t let the days-long commitment deter you: The salmon only needs about 15 minutes of hands-on attention, since the rest is all curing time.
25. Salmon Burgers
- Time Commitment: 45 minutes
- Why I Love It: kid-friendly, beginner-friendly, high protein
Got beef with beef? It’s by no means a requirement when it comes to making a juicy, succulent burger. Make the coleslaw a day ahead so it has extra time to marinate.
26. Salmon Chowder
27. Baked Lemon Butter Salmon Pasta
- Time Commitment: 25 minutes
- Why I Love It: kid-friendly, beginner-friendly, <30 minutes, <10 ingredients
Now *this* is what we call fuss-free dining. The ingredients couldn’t be more basic, but fresh lemon juice and chopped herbs make it taste decidedly fancy nonetheless.
28. Caribbean Jerk Salmon Bowl with Mango Salsa
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why I Love It: high protein, beginner-friendly
Make the mango salsa and rice ahead, so all you have to do before dinner is sear the salmon and drain the black beans. You can thank us later.
29. Smoked Salmon and Avocado Summer Rolls
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes
- Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly, special occasion-worthy, no cook, make ahead
To be enjoyed all year round, despite the name. If you use raw sprouts in place of vermicelli, you won’t even need to cook anything to assemble these handhelds.
30. Honey Mustard Salmon in Foil
- Time Commitment: 25 minutes
- Why I Love It: <30 minutes, high protein, crowd-pleaser
All the flavor, none of the cleanup. (Good looking out, foil.) Pop steamable veggies—like broccoli, green beans or asparagus—into the packets with the salmon to save time.
31. Mango Avocado Soba Noodles with Sesame Salmon Poke
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes (plus marinating time)
- Why I Love It: <30 minutes, dairy free, special occasion-worthy
The secret to mind-blowingly flavorful poke? Letting the fish marinate overnight. Here, the salmon can sit in a mix of soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, ginger and garlic for up to 8 hours.
32. Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Pastries
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes
- Why I Love It: <30 minutes, <10 ingredients, crowd-pleaser
Who says finger food can’t be classy? Thanks to store-bought frozen puff pastry, these dainty pastries come together in a flash with minimal fuss.
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why I Love It: sheet pan recipe, kid-friendly, <10 ingredients
With all those bright colors, this dish looks as nutritious as it is. Try to use salmon fillets of equal size and thickness, so they cook evenly at the same rate.
- Time Commitment: 10 minutes
- Why I Love It: make ahead, beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser, no cook, <30 minutes
You’re going to want to slather all your sandwiches with this tasty spread. It’s spicy, savory and tangy, since the recipe calls for Greek yogurt, hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce.
35. Corn Chip-Crusted Southwestern Salmon Cakes with Creamy Lemon-Chili Sauce
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why I Love It: high protein, gluten free, beginner-friendly
You’ll never guess the secret ingredient in a million years. (OK, we’ll spill: It’s Fritos.) They’re the key to holding these patties together without the help of gluten-filled breadcrumbs.
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, high protein
A salad is only as tasty as its dressing, and this one has tzatziki, hummus and a lemony Greek vinaigrette you’ll definitely want to make a double (or triple) batch of.
37. Pan-Seared Salmon with Succotash
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, high protein
We’ve never been so psyched to eat lima beans before. Chalk it up to Creole seasoning, butter and an Insta-worthy seared salmon fillet.
38. Salmon Niçoise
- Time Commitment: 35 minutes
- Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, make ahead, special occasion-worthy
The O.G. French salad usually calls for tuna packed in oil, but this version uses pan-seared salmon instead. Oh, and don’t even get us started on the punchy caper vinaigrette.
39. Blackened Salmon
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes
- Why I Love It: <30 minutes, beginner-friendly, high protein, <10 ingredients
Butter and lemon are a tasty combo that never gets old. Add bright, spicy Cajun seasoning to the mix and it goes from tasty to heavenly in an instant.
40. Sticky Garlic Butter Salmon
- Time Commitment: 25 minutes
- Why I Love It: <30 minutes, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly, high protein
The trick to getting a sticky, just-sweet-enough exterior is maple syrup and barbecue sauce in the glaze. Feel free to substitute honey for syrup if that’s what you have on hand.
41. Salmon with Herb & Garlic Cream Sauce
- Time Commitment: 40 minutes
- Why I Love It: kid-friendly, high protein, beginner-friendly
Creamy, wine-spiked sauces like this always feel so luxurious. Chervil is an herb frequently used in French cuisine that’s similar to parsley, so swap one for the other if you can’t find any.
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes
- Why I Love It: <30 minutes, special occasion-worthy, beginner-friendly, high protein
Can you believe this stunner only calls for eight ingredients? Plate it with cinnamon quinoa, fresh orange slices, almonds, olives and fresh mint.
43. Cedar Plank Grilled Barbecue Salmon
- Time Commitment: 45 minutes
- Why I Love It: high protein, special occasion-worthy
Bookmark this now to wow all your guests come summer. The salmon is cooked alongside zucchini, yellow squash and mushrooms for good measure.
- Time Commitment: 5 minutes (if the salmon is already cooked)
- Why I Love It: <30 minutes, beginner-friendly
Sure, we have a soft spot for Kool-Aid pickles and feta pasta, but Emily Mariko’s viral masterpiece might be our favorite TikTok recipe to date. We’ll take extra sriracha on ours, please.
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes
- Why I Love It: <30 minutes, high protein, beginner-friendly
Crushed Ritz crackers are used for binding and breading, imparting a buttery je ne sais quoi to every bite. For dipping, try the pickle-y homemade remoulade on for size.
- Time Commitment: 35 minutes
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, beginner-friendly
Consider this salad an edible party. We’re talking quick-pickled onions, marinated kale, fresh citrus and the most lip-smackingly delicious yogurt ranch dressing.
47. Summer Salmon Cold Noodle Salad
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why I Love It: make ahead, beginner-friendly
Dinner for two on the patio? Sounds like a plan. This dish is also a great way to use up leftover salmon, since the salad is served cold anyway.
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why I Love It: special occasion-worthy, beginner-friendly, high protein
From the cushy sourdough bun to the herbaceous dilly ranch dressing, this sandwich blows your usual turkey-and-Swiss way out of the water. Make extra of the Cajun spice seasoning to use on other proteins.
- Time Commitment: 10 minutes
- Why I Love It: air fryer recipe, high protein, keto-friendly, <30 minutes
Leave it to your handy air fryer to turn tender, flaky salmon into a crispy, poppable snack. Did we mention the bites are finished with garlicky lemon butter?
- Time Commitment: 15 minutes
- Why I Love It: <30 minutes, beginner-friendly, low carb
No tortillas or wraps necessary—bibb lettuce leaves take over here to make this dish as low carb as possible. Finish the fish with double sesame seeds for extra crunch.
Taryn Pire is PureWow’s associate food editor. A former bartender and barista, she’s been writing about all things delicious since 2016, developing recipes, reviewing restaurants and investigating food trends at Food52, New Jersey Family Magazine and Taste Talks. When she isn’t testing TikTok’s latest viral recipe, she’s having popcorn for dinner and posting about it on Instagram @cookingwithpire.
