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This easy Baked Salmon is flavored with lemons and herbs, baked in foil, then broiled until crispy. There is minimal prep work involved and it’s ready in 20 minutes or less!
If you’re striving to eat more seafood in general, or more salmon in particular, this succulent side of salmon might be just what you need in your meal rotation.
Let the salmon rest on a bed of lemons while it roasts for extra flavor infusion, and add a simple syrup of butter, honey, and herbs on top. At the end, broil the syrup until it’s a glaze, and that’s it. It’s a simple, delicious way to enjoy this stellar fish.
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 salmon filet is half a salmon (also known as a side of salmon). A large filet is around 1 to 2 pounds. Cooking times may vary depending on the thickness of the filet. Thicker filets (2 inches and over) may take about 20 minutes.
Step-by-step instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and coat with non-stick cooking spray. Lay lemon slices in an even layer in the middle of the foil.
- Season salmon with salt and pepper on both sides. Set filet on lemon slices.
- In a small bowl, whisk together butter, honey, garlic, oregano, and thyme. Pour over salmon.
- Fold up the sides of foil, tightly wrapping the salmon. Bake until the salmon is cooked through, about 15 minutes to 20 minutes. Open foil and increase heat to broil.
- Broil until the butter mixture has thickened and turned into a glaze, about 2 minutes, and internal temperature reads 145 degrees on a digital thermometer. Garnish with parsley and serve.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes at least 4 generous servings (the exact serving size depends on the piece of salmon you purchase).
- Storage: Store leftover cooked salmon covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Paleo: Use clarified butter instead 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.
- Meal prep: Salmon is an excellent addition to your weekly meal prep rotation, if that’s something you get excited about. Pair it with Cooked Quinoa or Baked Rice and Roasted Broccoli.
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, skin absorbs 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.
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Baked Salmon
Ingredients
- 1 large salmon filet (see note 1)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 lemons thinly sliced
- 6 tablespoons butter melted
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme (or ½ teaspoon dried)
- minced fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and coat with non-stick cooking spray.
- Lay lemon slices in an even layer in the middle of the foil. Season salmon with salt and pepper on both sides. Set filet on lemon slices.
- In a small bowl, whisk together butter, honey, garlic, oregano, and thyme. Pour over salmon. Fold up the sides of foil, tightly wrapping the salmon.
- Bake until the salmon is cooked through, about 15 minutes to 20 minutes. Open foil and increase heat to broil.
- Broil until the butter mixture has thickened and turned into a glaze, about 2 minutes, and internal temperature reads 145 degrees on a digital thermometer. Garnish with parsley and serve.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Salmon: A salmon filet is half a salmon (also known as a side of salmon). A large filet is around 1 to 2 pounds. Cooking times may vary depending on the thickness of the filet. Thicker filets (2 inches and over) may take about 20 minutes.
- Yield: This recipe makes at least 4 generous servings (the exact serving size depends on the piece of salmon you purchase).
- Storage: Store leftover cooked salmon covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
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.
Can I use rosemary instead of thyme since I have it in my spices?
Hi Maureen, I don’t see why not! Take care! – Meggan
Great recipe, I added some capers in the mix!
Hi Mary Jane! That sounds delicious! Thank you! – Meggan
I 1st made this 12/09/2021. It turned out very well. I only had two lemons so I sliced them fairly thin and that turned out well. My salmon was “skin/on” so I placed ALL of the lemon slices on the non-skin side of the fillet. I also used two sheets of foil, one on top and the other on the bottom. When it was ready to bake I sealed the edges of the foil on all four sides. I found that after 17 minutes at 350° the salmon was at room temperature so I resealed the foil and raised the temperature to 425° and then put the foil packet back in for about 22 minutes or so (a combination that had worked fine for me) for Individual Serving Foil Packet Salmon in the oven for me in the past. It turned out well. So, next time I will just use that time and temp. It turned out great and everyone, including my great granddaughters loved it…I will be making this again. I served this with Artichoke Hearts braised in butter, homemade baked beans and canned peas.
Thank you for sharing Pat! I’m so glad it worked out for you and that everyone enjoyed. Sounds like a delicious meal. – Meggan
Great recipe! So easy and comes out perfect every time. I use frozen 6 Oz fillets, thaw and cook according to the recipe. Love the broil at the end to crisp up the salmon, lemon and seasoning. Thanks!
Ooooh I love me some simple baked salmon. So good!
I´m a sucker for salmon and this recipe sounds amazing, I love the whole wrapping it in foil idea, never tried that method before, and anything with fresh thyme always calls my name! thanks for this recipe 🙂