21 Salmon Recipes For Any Meal

When you think about "salmon," you might envision an elaborately plated entrée at a nice restaurant. Maybe there's even a single burning candle? Here at Tasting Table, we invite you to skip the white tablecloth. Cooking salmon can be easy and accessible — and it totes some major health benefits. Just one 3.5-ounce serving of wild salmon packs roughly 25 grams of protein, per Healthline. The fish is also a good way to incorporate omega-3 fatty acids — which promote heart and neurological health – into your diet.

Salmon was the second most-popular seafood among American consumers after shrimp in 2018, according to IntraFish. While this ranking might seem impressive, it only represents less than 3 pounds of salmon consumed per person per year. This isn't surprising, given that people in the U.S. tend to eat less than the recommended amount of seafood set by health guidelines (via the USDA). 

Folks may be unfamiliar with preparation methods or options for it, but believe it or not, salmon is a truly versatile ingredient. It can be baked, grilled, smoked, fried, cured, or served raw. If you're looking to incorporate more salmon into your diet — or you're a foodie excited to cook with it for the first time — we've rounded up 21 salmon recipes sure to make fans out of even the pickiest eaters. 

For an entrée that excites, look no further than this salmon filet with a honey-lime glaze. It's a "fancy dinner out" main course that's surprisingly easy to create at home — and it's ready in less than half an hour. The marinade, a playful take on the sweet-and-sour flavor combo, shines in this salmon recipe. As impressive as the dish appears, it features a deceptively simple ingredient lineup: soy sauce, garlic, lime juice, and honey over a salmon filet. For a presentation that wows, plate the salmon over a bed of rice pilaf. Or put together a quick salad as a refreshing side.

Recipe: Honey Lime Salmon

If you have a sous vide cooker lying around your kitchen, this one's for you. "Sous vide is the process in which you vacuum pack food and cook it at a precise temperature," Dalton explains. A plastic freezer bag will work just fine, if you don't have a sous vide bag. After the filet is cooked, finish it in a skillet with lemon juice and butter.

For this recipe, Dalton recommends using skin-on salmon filets. If you can't find them in your grocery store, this is a good excuse to visit your local fishmonger. (It's a lot of fun.) Serve with roasted baby potatoes and wilted spinach.

Recipe: Sous Vide Salmon

Bored with your go-to workday lunches? Enter: the sushi burrito. We're getting creative with this one. Sushi burritos are quick to assemble and easy to transport, recipe developer Kit Hondrum of Kit's Kitchen says, making them an ideal solution for a lunchtime rut. As the name implies, a large sheet of nori is filled with sushi rice and sliced salmon and ahi tuna. It's also packed with ribboned carrots, cucumbers, romaine lettuce, green onions, avocado, and pickled ginger — all complemented by sriracha mayo, which adds a hit of spicy richness.

Hondrum suggests using a combo of salmon and ahi tuna, but salmon could do the heavy lifting on its own. (Side note: Since the salmon is staying raw in this recipe, be sure to use farmed salmon instead of the wild variety to avoid any potential parasites. Better to err on the side of caution.)

Recipe: Ginger Sushi Burrito

This dish sounds like it belongs on a plate at a Michelin-starred restaurant with "$$$$" on its Google Maps listing. But the only plate salmon Florentine belongs on is yours – and it can happen in your kitchen at home. To do it, salmon filets are baked in the oven and topped with a creamy spinach sauce. That's it. Recipe developer Christina Musgrave of Tasting with Tina suggests enjoying this deceptively simple meal with a glass of white wine. A chilled Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc might do the trick.

Recipe: Salmon Florentine

Put the kids to bed for this recipe: The adults are talking. This bourbon glazed salmon is perfect for a weeknight dinner or your next party. Plus, you can make the glaze in advance, so it'll be ready whenever you are. (Hello, hosting made easy.) The glaze is a combination of maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, tomato paste, brown sugar, minced garlic, crushed red pepper, and (of course) bourbon. Recipe developer Molly Pisula of Vanilla Bean Cuisine recommends stirring a little tamari into the mix, but soy sauce will work too. To assemble, simply glaze the salmon filets and roast them in the oven. Pisula suggests serving the fish with steamed white rice and broccoli.

Recipe: Bourbon Glazed Salmon

This Salmon Wellington is a reimagination of a U.K. classic, and after trying it, you may never go back to the original. Traditionally, English Beef Wellington is a beef tenderloin covered with layers of duxelles, pâté, Prosciutto di Parma, and puff pastry (via MasterClass). This version instead calls for a cream cheese mixture with spinach and dill. To assemble the Wellington, roll out a slab of puff pastry, coat it with the herbed cream cheese, and center the salmon filet. Then, top the whole thing with more puff pastry, seal up the edges, and bake it until it's golden brown. Olayinka compares the taste of this dish to that of a salmon and cream cheese bagel. (Sold.)

Recipe: Salmon Wellington

Delight guests with a tray of these yummy salmon burgers at your next Sunday football gathering or dinner party. The fish patties are breaded and pan-fried, then topped with iceberg lettuce. We championed salmon burgers earlier on in this recipe roundup, but the showstopper for this particular variation is the homemade sweet pickle relish. It's made with minced bread-and-butter pickles and smeared onto sweet King's Hawaiian rolls, which we're using as buns here. In fact, these smaller salmon burgers are more like sweet and savory sliders. For a complementary pairing, enjoy the bites with a Pilsner and wavy potato chips.

Recipe: Salmon Burgers with Sweet Pickle Relish

There's a good chance you already have everything you need to make this spicy honey glaze on hand: red chili flakes, sesame oil, honey, soy sauce, chopped garlic, and salt. Too easy, right? It gets even easier. To make the dish, simply cover both sides of the salmon filets with the glaze, bake, brush on a little more glaze, and then broil for a few minutes to char the tops. For a complete meal, Olayinka recommends pairing the fish with rice, salad, or fresh pasta. But this spicy honey-glazed salmon could also be a killer addition to a big batch of fried rice. Cube the salmon, scramble an egg, dice up some green onions, steam some carrots and sugar snap peas, make a batch of rice, and coat it all in the spicy honey glaze. Boom — luxurious salmon fried rice. (You can thank us later.)

Recipe: Spicy Honey-Glazed Salmon

When you get home late from work and it's already dinnertime, look no further than this recipe. To make this Korean-style air fryer salmon, just glaze the salmon filet and pop it in your air fryer. Those are literally all the steps. But don't get it twisted: This simple recipe is anything but plain. The sticky gochujang glaze speaks for itself. It contains brown sugar, which caramelizes on the salmon, resulting in a crispy mouthfeel. While the sweetness from the sugar balances out the spiciness, you can customize your preferred spice level by adding more or less gochujang.

Recipe developer Joe Dillard of For Frying Out Loud recommends garnishing the fish with toasted sesame seeds and diagonal slices of green onions. Serve it with steamed rice, green beans, and julienned carrots.

Recipe: Korean-Style Air Fryer Salmon

When you think about preparing salmon at home, a simple bake seasoned with lemon and garlic is likely one of the first methods that comes to mind. Indeed, it's a classic for a reason. As Musgrave notes, this lemon-garlic baked salmon is a perfect recipe for novice home cooks or anybody trying to cook salmon for the first time. To do it, olive oil gets rubbed over a whole salmon filet. After a sprinkle of salt and pepper and the flavorful addition of minced garlic and lemon slices, it all gets slammed in the oven for 20 minutes.

You can enjoy it on its own, but the simplicity of this salmon makes it ideal to use in other recipes as well. Chop it up and toss it in a rice bowl with some fresh cucumbers and avocado. Shred it and sprinkle it over a salad with red onions, halved grape tomatoes, and feta cheese. Prepare a nutrient-rich lunch with salmon and roasted veggies like zucchini, asparagus, and squash.

Recipe: Lemon-Garlic Baked Salmon