This honey glazed salmon is one of our very favorite salmon recipes! The 5-ingredient honey garlic glaze is tangy, savory and sweet.
I cook salmon for dinner almost every week, and we have a few favorite salmon recipes that we make all the time, including our everyday Baked Salmon Recipe, Air Fryer Salmon Bites, Lemon Garlic Baked Salmon, and today’s featured recipe: Honey Glazed Salmon.
This family-favorite salmon recipe combines flaky, juicy salmon with the best sweet and tangy glaze. You’ll love that you can have this glazed salmon on your dinner table in less than 30 minutes! The secret to making the deliciously thick, sticky glaze that will coat the salmon is to simmer the sauce on the stove for a few minutes to thicken it up before brushing it over the fish. I served this honey glazed salmon with Roasted Potatoes and Carrots. It’s a simple, flavorful meal that you’ll want to make again and again.
Ingredient Notes
Here’s a look at what you’ll need to make this honey garlic glazed salmon:
- Salmon: You’ll need 4 salmon fillets, about 6 ounces each to serve 4 people. I cook the salmon with the skin on. It’s easy to remove the skin once the fish is cooked.
- Honey: For sweetness.
- Soy Sauce: Salty soy sauce balances out the sweetness of the honey, and gives the glaze savory, umami flavor. I like to use low sodium soy sauce so that the glaze doesn’t turn out too salty.
- Butter: Adds richness and flavor and helps the glaze to thicken up as you simmer it on the stove.
- Garlic: I use 4 cloves for lots of garlicky flavor.
- Red Pepper Flakes: I love to add 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes to the glaze for a bit of heat. The spice is a delicious contrast to the sweetness of the honey and the richness of the butter.
How to Make Honey Glazed Salmon
I always start by letting the salmon come to room temperature for 20 minutes while I preheat the oven and make the glaze. This helps the salmon to cook through more evenly.
Make glaze: Combine the honey, soy sauce, butter, garlic and red pepper flakes in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring often, until bubbly, then continue cooking, stirring constantly, for 1-2 minutes, until slightly thickened. The sauce will thicken up more as it rests.
Reserve glaze: Remove the pan from the heat. Reserve about 3 tablespoons of the glaze in a small bowl to drizzle over the salmon when you serve it. You’ll brush the rest of the glaze over the fish as it bakes.
Brush some glaze over the salmon: Put the salmon in a parchment paper-lined baking dish, skin side down. Pat it dry with paper towels. Then brush a thin layer of the glaze over the tops of the salmon fillets. You don’t want too much glaze to pool in the bottom of the baking dish from the beginning of the bake time or it will burn. We’ll brush more glaze on once the salmon is partially cooked.
Bake salmon for 10 minutes. Then brush with more of the glaze from the pan. Continue baking for 2-8 more minutes, or until salmon is cooked through to 145°F, brushing with more glaze every few minutes. The cook time will depend on the thickness of the salmon fillets.
Serve salmon with the extra glaze that you reserved in the small bowl.
What to Serve with Honey Garlic Glazed Salmon
Here are some of my favorite side dishes for this glazed salmon recipe:
- Mashed Potatoes or Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
- Roasted Green Beans (I love this recipe so much! The green beans roast with garlic and sliced almonds – yum!)
- Roasted Potatoes and Carrots (as pictured in these photos)
- Brown Rice or Wild Rice
- Kale Salad
Honey Glazed Salmon
Ingredients
- 4 salmon fillets, 6 ounces each, skin on
- ¼ cup honey
- 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional, ¼ teaspoon adds mild heat
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a 9×13-inch baking dish with a sheet of parchment paper (or foil) for easy clean up.
- Remove the salmon from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the honey, soy sauce, butter, garlic and red pepper flakes. Heat over medium heat, stirring often, until bubbly, then continue cooking, stirring constantly, for 1-2 minutes, until slightly thickened. (The sauce will thicken up more as it rests.) Remove pan from the heat. Reserve about 3 tablespoons of the glaze in a small bowl for serving.
- Place salmon, skin side down, in the prepared baking dish. Pat dry with paper towels. Brush a thin layer of the glaze over the tops of the salmon fillets.
- Bake salmon for 10 minutes. Then brush with more of the glaze from the pan. Continue baking for 2-8 more minutes, or until salmon is cooked through to 145°F, brushing with more glaze every few minutes. The cook time will depend on the thickness of the salmon fillets. Discard any extra glaze left in the pan.
- Serve salmon with the glaze that you reserved in the small bowl.
Could I use this recipe for grilled salmon? Wondering if it might stick bc of the sugar content….
Thanks!
Hi Nancy,
This one isn’t ideal for the grill because it would be messy and could stick to the grill. For grilled salmon I recommend using a dry rub (see my Grilled Salmon recipe).
Thank you for this recipe. It was absolutely delicious. I want to make it again for dinner tomorrow! Served it with rice with green chilies and cooked carrots. I really enjoy all of your recipes.
I’m so glad you loved it! Thank you for trying my recipes and for taking the time to leave a review.
Love your recipe pictures and directions, but what temperature am I baking it at?
L
💖💖 Vanessa
The recipe card with full instructions including ingredient amounts and baking temperature is at the end of the post. To go straight there, click the “Jump to Recipe” button that is at the top of the post under the post title. You bake the salmon at 400°F.