Teriyaki Salmon Recipe

Content… What Makes Teriyaki Sauce Great? Recipe Ingredients How to Make It Recipe Variations Tips and Tricks Make-Ahead Instructions Serving and Storage Instructions What to Serve More Healthy Salmon Recipes to Try

What Makes Teriyaki Salmon Sauce Great?

Teriyaki sauce delivers a double whammy of flavor. Umami and salty from the soy sauce, sweet from the brown sugar, and tangy from the apple cider vinegar for a truly decadent sauce. Then add spicy from the sriracha and other ingredients for the ultimate flavor party.

An added plus is that the made-from-scratch teriyaki sauce delivers flavor and tenderizes the salmon fillets. And it only takes 20-30 minutes. However, salmon doesn’t usually need tenderizing, so you can marinate it for as long as you have.

Recipe Ingredients

1. Salmon – For convenience, I use fillets. Sometimes, it’s hard to find fresh, so frozen works OK, and they don’t take long to thaw. You could also use salmon steak, fresh or frozen.
2. Teriyaki Sauce – Black pepper, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, brown sugar, sriracha, apple cider vinegar, water, and cornstarch make up a mouthwatering salmon teriyaki sauce.
3. Garnish – Green onions provide a gorgeous splash of green on the glazed salmon. If you don’t have green onions, freshly chopped parsley will do fine.

How to Bake Teriyaki Salmon

• Preheat oven to 400°F (205℃). Grease a large baking pan or oven-proof cast iron skillet—season salmon fillets with pepper. Set aside.
• Mix – In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, brown sugar, sriracha, apple cider vinegar, water, and cornstarch.
• Marinate – Place salmon fillets in a large Tupperware bowl or resealable bag. Add the marinade, coat the fillets well, and let it marinate in the fridge for 20-30 minutes.
• Bake – After the marinating, remove the salmon from the fridge and put it in the baking dish. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until flaky when poked with a fork. Cooking time varies depending on the thickness of salmon fillets.
• Sauce – While baking the salmon, pour the leftover marinade into a small saucepan. Heat over medium until it comes to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened. It usually takes 3-4 minutes, then remove from heat and set aside.
• Serve – Take the salmon out of the oven when ready, plate, and drizzle teriyaki sauce on top. Or serve it with extra sauce on the side. Top with green onions and serve with rice and broccoli.

Recipe Variations

1. Pan-fry. Heat oil in a large skillet. Sear the fillets for 3-4 minutes on each side or until they reach your desired doneness, and set aside. Then, thicken the remaining marinade in the skillet and drizzle it over the salmon.
2. Fish swap. Teriyaki sauce loves to spice up any firm-fleshed fish—Mahi Mahi, fresh tuna, swordfish, snapper, etc. It’s all good.
3. Protein swap. Pork and chicken also love being smothered in teriyaki.
4. Sesame. A few drops of sesame oil are absolutely delectable in the sauce. And garnishing the salmon with green onions and sesame seeds is classic.
5. Rice wine. Sometimes, I replace the water with the same amount of sweet rice wine for an interesting twist.

Tips and Tricks

1. If you realize you’ve run out of vinegar, lemon or lime juice will be just as delicious.
2. Cover your baking sheet (if using) with foil and then spray with oil for easier clean-up.

Make Ahead Instructions

For an even faster, healthy weeknight meal, sauce the salmon and freeze it in an airtight freezer bag. Because the sauce’s acidity can over-tenderize the salmon, try cooking it within a month.

Or you could bake it first, freeze it, and thaw it for salads, casseroles, or a quick fish sandwich.

Serving and Storage Instructions

Salmon is best hot from the oven with your favorite sides.

Refrigerate leftover salmon for 3-5 days or freeze it for up to 2 months. Reheat them in the oven or microwave, or eat them cold on a salad.

What to Serve With Teriyaki Salmon

Teriyaki salmon is fabulous with jasmine rice, grilled bok choy, and roast broccoli. And ginger tea is always a welcome beverage.

More Healthy Salmon Recipes to Try

1. Salmon Salad
2. Pan-Seared Salmon
3. Grilled Salmon
4. Oven-Baked Salmon
5. Blackened Salmon
6. Orange Honey Glazed Salmon

This blog post was originally published in January 2020 and has been updated with additional tips