This Baked Sweet Chili Garlic Salmon will be your favorite way to eat salmon! This quick and easy baked salmon recipe only takes 20 minutes and is packed with sweet, tangy and spicy Asian flavors that will become a family dinner favorite.
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BEST BAKED SALMON RECIPE
Who loves Wild Alaskan Salmon? 🙋 Honestly, I’m sort of a salmon snob after growing up in Alaska and having access to tons of fresh fish. The truth is there is NO comparison, and I can’t bring myself to buy farmed salmon anymore. Now, some people may consider this Baked Sweet Chili Garlic Salmon recipe an affront to good salmon (i.e. Mr. Briar) – many people feel that good salmon shouldn’t be covered up with other flavors. Although I can appreciate a great piece of simply well cooked salmon, with nothing more than some lemon and salt, I do like to mix it up and add some different flavors in now and then.
A HEALTHY BAKED SALMON RECIPE
One of my favorite ways to prepare salmon is with an Asian inspired, sweet and spicy sauce. Sweet chili sauce, garlic, ginger, and honey all work together to make this a delicious flavor party. Oh, and did I mention it takes less than 20 minutes to make this salmon? One of the easiest weeknight dinners, not to mention impressive! And of course, salmon has tons of health benefits. Salmon is packed with omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B-12 and protein. Eating salmon can even reduce your risk of heart disease and cancer! I can’t think of any reason why you shouldn’t make this Baked Sweet Chili Garlic Salmon for dinner tonight!
HOW TO BAKE SALMON
Baking salmon is so easy – if you are intimidated by salmon, don’t be! Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit, bake the salmon for 12-15 minutes. The most important thing to remember is DON’T OVERCOOK THE SALMON! Overcooked salmon is a tragedy. Salmon cooks pretty fast, so it is best to keep an eye on it.
HOW LONG TO BAKE SALMON IN THE OVEN
I usually set my timer for 12 minutes, then check on it and let it cook a few more minutes if needed. A salmon filet rarely needs longer than 15 minutes unless it is very thick. A quick trick for knowing if your salmon is done is if it flakes easily with a fork. When it does, you know it is done! If you are worried about underdone salmon, you can also use a meat thermometer to take the internal temperature of the salmon. The FDA recommends cooking the salmon to 145 degrees Fahrenheit.
Are you a fan of salmon? What is your favorite way to make it?
Sweet Chili Garlic Salmon
Ingredients
- 1 pounds sockeye Salmon wild caught
- sesame seeds for garnish optional
- green onions sliced, for garnish (optional)
For Sauce:
- 1/4 cup sweet chili sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce I use low sodium, see note
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 4 gloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger root
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce*
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F, prepare a baking sheet by covering it with foil for easy cleanup.
- Whisk together ingredients for sauce. Place the salmon on the baking sheet and pour 1/3 of the sauce over the fish. Use a brush to cover the surface with sauce, reserve the remaining sauce for later (don't contaminate it with anything that touches the fish). If using low sodium soy sauce, season fish lightly with salt.
- Bake salmon for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and pour half of the remaining sauce over the filet and again brush it over the surface of the salmon. Save the remaining sauce for drizzling over finished salmon.
- Return fish to the oven and bake for 2-5 more minutes, until fish is cooked through. Salmon is done when it flakes easily with a fork and has an internal temperature of 145 degrees.
- Remove from oven. Pour remaining sauce over salmon. Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions if desired.
Notes
Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes Recipe
Chicken Scarpariello Recipe
Mary Marhold says
So you leave the skin on?
Meghan says
Yes, I leave the skin on while cooking. Usually when you use a spatula to lift a piece from the sheet pan, you can easily separate it from the skin. Although some people do like to eat the skin.
Jennifer Westgate says
Absolutely delicious! I never rate recipes but this was so good that I had to let you know! It tastes like the salmon at my favorite restaurant. Thank you so much for the recipe. It will be on my regular rotation.
Meghan says
I’m so happy to hear that Jennifer!
Carolyn says
The pictures are beautiful! It looks delicious!
Meghan says
Thank you Carolyn!
Jessica says
What could this be served with to make it a full meal that’s not rice or pasta. Thanks.
Meghan says
Hi Jessica, I would serve it with roasted broccoli or roasted asparagus! Also even just serving it with a side salad would be great. If you aren’t trying to be low carb you could serve it with roasted or baked potato. Here is my favorite roasted broccoli recipe: https://www.foxandbriar.com/lemon-parmesan-roasted-broccoli/
Pat Odoms says
I fixed this recipe & served it with baked sweet potato with homemade cinnamon sugar (brown), fresh spinach, corn on cob, homemade cole slaw.
Meghan says
Yum, that sounds like an amazing dinner!
Nicole @ Young, broke and hungry says
I have a piece of salmon sitting in my fridge right now, trying to figure out what to do with it – now I know. This recipe sounds amazing!
Meghan says
Yay, I hope you love it Nicole!
E.A. says
I was fortunate enough to find some frozen Alaskan sockeye fillets at Sam’s club, although it’s rare to even find that in our area. I would have stocked up on that had if I had a larger freezer!
This looks like a perfect recipe to try with our last two fillets~~I share the “Alaskan fish snobbery” you mention, also spending at least the first 1/2+ of my life in that beautiful state, & rarely am lucky enough to indulge, even with a pre-frozen wild-caught sockeye!
As usual, your recipe doesn’t disappoint & your pictures are exquisite!
Meghan says
We found some at Costco that was great! It’s the right time of year for it. Hope you love it!