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These delicious Baked Salmon Filets roast over lemons with a sticky honey-garlic-herb glaze. They are super flavorful and delicious, and they cook in 20 minutes or less.
I love a side of salmon, but a bag of individually packaged and frozen filets in the back of your freezer is a convenient way to enjoy this healthful, fatty fish more often.
Buying individually quick frozen salmon filets usually means they were frozen on the spot, maybe even while at sea (if they are wild), so they are the freshest they possibly can be. A side of salmon comes refrigerated so you have no idea if it was previously frozen (and spoiler alert: it most certainly was).
The Baked Salmon Filets roast on a bed of lemon slices and are topped with a honey, garlic, and fresh herb glaze. The whole thing is ready in just 15 to 20 minutes, and it’s a meal you’ll want to make again and again.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Salmon: A large filet is around 1 to 2 pounds, and can easily be cut into 4 individual portions. Thicker filets may require more baking time.
Step-by-step instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Arrange lemon slices in an even layer in the middle of the pan. Pat salmon dry, and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Set filets on top of lemon slices.
- In a small bowl, whisk together butter, honey, garlic, oregano, thyme, and dill. Pour over salmon filets, coating tops and sides.
- Bake until the salmon opaque, flaky, and reached 145 degrees on a digital thermometer, about 15 minutes to 20 minutes.
- Garnish with fresh dill and serve with lemon wedges.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes 4 generous servings.
- Storage: Store leftover cooked salmon covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in oven or microwave with a splash of water.
- Freezer: Place cooled filets in an air-tight freezer safe container or tightly wrap them in plastic wrap. Store up to 3 months in the freezer. Longer than 3 months might effect the texture of the salmon.
- Paleo: Use clarified butter in place of the regular butter.
- Sauce: Omit the lemon slices and fresh herb glaze and substitute a drizzle of Lemon Butter Sauce, Teriyaki Sauce, or even Hollandaise Sauce after baking. Djion and whole-grain mustard are also excellent dipping sauces for salmon.
- Meal prep: Salmon Filets are an excellent addition to your weekly meal prep rotation, if that’s your jam. Serve it with Cooked Quinoa or Baked Rice and Roasted Broccoli or Roasted Asparagus.
- Favorite sides for salmon: In addition to the Roasted Fennel shown below, I love salmon with a side of buttery fava beans with garlic and basil, Oven Roasted Potatoes with fresh thyme or chives, or with a pile of Creamy Cucumber Salad with fresh dill.
Frequently Asked Questions
According to the FDA, you should always cook salmon to 145 degrees at the thickest part. This will yield firm, perhaps dry, salmon. If you prefer a juicier salmon, some sources (including America’s Test Kitchen) suggestion 125 degrees for farmed salmon and 120 degrees for wild salmon.
Yes, you should always season both sides of salmon, even if one side has skin on it.
Cooked salmon skin is perfectly safe to eat from a digestive perspective. However, salmon absorb toxins and pollution through their skin. So if you know you love salmon skin and definitely want to eat it, seek out wild-caught salmon instead of farmed salmon.
Favorite sides for salmon
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Baked Salmon Filets
Ingredients
- 4 (4-6 ounce) salmon filets (see note 1)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 lemons thinly sliced, plus more for serving
- 6 tablespoons butter melted
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme chopped (or ½ teaspoon dried)
- 1 teaspoon fresh dill chopped (or ½ teaspoon dried), plus more, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- Arrange lemon slices in an even layer in the middle of the pan. Pat salmon dry, and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Set filets on top of lemon slices.
- In a small bowl, whisk together butter, honey, garlic, oregano, thyme, and dill. Pour over salmon filets, coating tops and sides.
- Bake until the salmon opaque, flaky, and reached 145 degrees on a digital thermometer, about 15 minutes to 20 minutes. Garnish with fresh dill and serve with lemon wedges.
Notes
- Salmon: A large filet is around 1 to 2 pounds, which can easily be cut into 4 individual portions. Thicker filets may require more baking time.
- Yield: This recipe makes 4 generous servings.
- Storage: Store leftover cooked salmon covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. It’s a great recipe for meal prep along with cooked quinoa or rice and roasted broccoli. Reheat in oven or microwave with a splash of water.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.