30 Easy Salmon Recipes for Any and All Occasions | America's Test Kitchen (2024)

Salmon is an incredibly versatile fish that has an endless slew of delicious and simple preparations that salmon lovers and salmon skeptics alike will love.

In addition to its versatility, salmon is also undeniably unique with a very notable flavor. Unlike the small amount of fat in white fish, which generally is stored mostly in the liver, salmon fat is spread throughout the flesh, making it one of the most tender and moist fishes you can eat.

Pairing these earthy rye crepes with a smoked salmon filling takes its inspiration from classic blini toppings. Although it contains less gluten than whole-wheat flour, rye still contains enough to form sturdy crepes that are perfect for filling. Mixing crème fraîche with lemon, chives, and chopped capers makes for a briny, bright mixture to pair with the rich smoked salmon and spread inside the freshly made crepes. Sliced shallots quickly pickled with vinegar and sugar (heated in just the microwave) offer a tangy contrasting crunch.

We think salmon is a perfect fish for burgers because its rich, oily flesh has enough flavor and fat to bind together and make an ideal patty. To keep the burgers compact and intact on the grill grates, we found that dicing the fish by hand into ⅛-inch pieces makes the perfect texture—any coarser, and the burgers fell apart. To further prevent the burgers from crumbling when flipped, we oil both the spatulas and the cooking grate. We lightly dip a small wad of paper towels in vegetable oil and wipe the grate using long tongs. Furthermore, refrigerating the burgers for at least 15 minutes before grilling helps them hold their shape.

Poke is a raw Hawaiian fish salad that’s become increasingly popular across the rest of the United States, so we looked to simple, classic versions for inspiration. The success of the recipe rests on a foundation of fresh, rich, clean-tasting salmon. To find this, look for raw salmon with flesh that is moist and shiny; it should spring right back when pressed and smell clean, not fishy. At the fish counter, try to get a center-cut fillet of salmon that has little to no thin belly attached, since it can be unpleasantly chewy and fatty when eaten raw. We call for farm-raised salmon because wild-caught salmon can be prone to parasites. With good salmon in hand, we dress it with a simple, savory-sweet teriyaki sauce made by microwaving a mix of soy sauce, mirin, sugar, garlic, and ginger.

Enthusiastic reader Terri B. says of this recipe, “We have this recipe on frequent rotation at our house, as they are easy enough for a weeknight meal, yet noteworthy enough to impress guests at a dinner party,” and we know why. We worked hard to craft a dead-simple salmon cakes recipe by pulsing small pieces of salmon in the food processor, which allows for more even chopping and results in small, distinct pieces of fish. But this level of chopping can make flimsy cakes, so in order to keep the cakes together while still ditching the messy egg and flour steps of the breading process, we instead coat the salmon cakes with panko and employ it within the mixture to bind our cakes together.

In another version of salmon cakes, we also use a food processor to chop salmon into a mix of both fine and larger pieces for a varied and not overly dense texture. We add a single slice of bread to provide just enough binding, while a combination of shallot, parsley, mustard, and capers complement the salmon. Our secret ingredient in this mixture is a small amount of mayonnaise that ensures our patties stay moist. By broiling the patties in the oven they are easy to flip and keep from overcooking. We arrange them on one end of a baking sheet, leaving plenty of room for asparagus to cook simultaneously.

Though slow roasting is a less common method for cooking fish because you run the risk of it drying out, with salmon it gave us nothing but ultratender, buttery results. To evoke the flavors of cured salmon, but without the added time, we sprinkle the fish with a mixture of brown sugar and salt. Cooking the salmon in a very low 250-degree oven for an hour keeps the fish from overcooking and minimizes any carryover cooking once it is out of the oven. We developed this recipe using a glass baking dish, but if you use a ceramic or metal pan, check the temperature of the salmon 10 minutes early.

Salmon, broccoli, and red potatoes make for a classically wonderful meal. But cooking them all on one pan without any one component coming out over- or undercooked was a puzzle we knew we could solve. Because potatoes require the most time in the oven and salmon requires the least, we start by roasting the potatoes (cut side down) and broccoli together for the first half of the cooking time and then swap in the salmon for the broccoli halfway through roasting. Cooking in stages prevents the pan from overcrowding, ensuring even cooking. To finish the roasted salmon, we top the fish with a vibrant sauce of chopped chives, mustard, lemon juice, olive oil, and honey.

For an oven-roasted salmon recipe that gives us a nicely browned exterior and a silky, moist interior, we developed a hybrid roasting method. To start, we preheat the oven to 500 degrees but then turn it down to 275 just before placing the fish in the oven. The initial blast of high heat firms the exterior of our salmon fillets and renders some excess fat, but then the fish gently cooks in the oven and stays moist as the temperature slowly drops. Because of the high start temperature, the salmon needs only about 13 minutes in the oven until it is cooked through. This simple preparation is endlessly versatile and can be topped with any sauce or relish and then paired with whatever starch or vegetable side you prefer.

For a different flavor profile with similarly delicious results, we turned to dill and garlic. We still cook the salmon in a low, 250-degree oven, but we add dry mustard and granulated garlic to our salt and sugar spice rub before cooking. This gives the salmon an even more savory flavor profile that penetrates into the fish while it roasts for nearly an hour. As soon as we pull the fish from the oven, we pour a combination of olive oil, fresh chopped dill, and lemon zest and juice evenly over the salmon. We let the fish rest for 5 minutes while this herby, zippy sauce soaks into the salmon.

It’s no secret that we love an air fryer—so much so that we’ve written several books on the topic. Thanks to the air fryer’s built-in timer and controlled temperature, this salmon cooking method is easy, mess-free, and you don’t have to closely monitor the fish to avoid overcooking it. Cooking salmon at 400 degrees gave us the best color and taste but also a lot of smoke. This came from the salmon’s delicious fat dripping to the bottom as well as splattering onto the heating element above. To keep that ideal temperature but get rid of the smoke, we cook the fillets skin side down (since the fat primarily resides in the skin), away from the heating element, and use a foil sling, which prevents that fat from dripping to the bottom—now our fillets are easier to rotate and remove.

To further take advantage of how well air-fryers can cook salmon, we turn to a sweet, tangy glaze that offers an appealing contrast to the rich, meaty salmon. The direct heat from above in the air fryer works to caramelize the glaze’s sugars, while the circulated air cooks the fish from all sides. Orange marmalade was just the ticket to give our glaze distinct, orangey flavor, and it helps the glaze cling to the salmon. Whole-grain mustard mixed into the glaze adds even more acidity and pops of mild heat to balance its sweetness and cut the richness of the fish. We brush the mixture on the fillets before cooking and after 10 minutes are met with crisp-glazed fish boasting beautiful browned edges and a velvety pink interior. Just listen to readers like Hans C., who declared, “Even the people in my household who don’t like salmon said this was delicious.”

In the oven, glazed salmon can fall victim to the harsh heat of the broiler, so to prevent this, we turn down the heat to just 300 degrees. Our teriyaki-inspired glaze complements the fatty salmon but can slide right off, so we sprinkle some cornstarch over the fish, along with brown sugar and salt, and rub it in to distribute it evenly before cooking. We start the fish with a quick hard sear for just 1 minute per side in a skillet before transferring the fish to the oven and cooking for another 7-10 minutes. This quick cooking method uses mostly gentle heat in the oven to prevent moisture loss from the salmon, which can happen when salmon reaches 140 and 150 degrees and its muscle fibers contract, pushing out moisture in the protein known as albumin.

For a crisp crust and a juicy interior on pan-seared salmon, our secret is starting the salmon in a cold skillet. The usual method for cooking fillets is in a hot nonstick skillet with oil, but that can result in salmon with a thin dried-out end and an exterior crust that is more tough than crisp. The solution to the dryness problem was relatively easy: salt. We first brine the salmon to season it and keep it moist as it cooks. We then place it in a cold, dry nonstick skillet skin side down over medium-high heat. The skin protects the fish from drying out while cooking and is easily peeled off and discarded once the fish is cooked. The skin also releases fat into the pan, which is then used to sear the second side until it is golden brown and crisp—no additional oil required.

For our version of this classic French pairing, we start by building a flavorful base for the lentils, gently cooking onion, carrots, and celery in olive oil until soft. Fruity tomato paste and plenty of garlic add even more depth before the lentils and water go in. This step is of the utmost importance because although lentils can be boiled like pasta, the excess water washes away flavor. Instead, by adding them to a mirepoix base with just enough water to hydrate the lentils, they cook through without losing any flavor. Then, we set them aside to focus on our brined salmon, which we cook using the cold-start method. A bit of mustard and sherry vinegar stirred into the lentils brightened their flavor, making them an ideal pairing for the rich fish.

Though we love fried fish tacos, sometimes we want to opt for a non-fried version. For a lighter take on this treat, we swap salmon in for the typical white fish because salmon is naturally rich, so it doesn’t need to be battered and fried. A spice rub instead gives the fillets a nice crust, and by air-frying them with the skin on in a foil sling, they hold together and emerge perfectly moist inside. For a slaw that stands up to the salmon, we incorporate bright and fruity pineapple. We roast the pineapple pieces in the air fryer, allowing them to caramelize a bit before combining them with crunchy coleslaw mix, cilantro, and lime—a perfect bright complement to the fish.

For another mess-free, one-pan salmon meal in the oven, we turn to our tried and true unconventional rice-cooking method: baking. After rinsing long-grain white rice to rid it of excess starch so that it won’t turn mushy, we bake it, covered, with chicken broth in a 400-degree oven. When the rice is nearly tender, we tuck the salmon fillets into the baking dish along the sides of the rice and add our vegetables in the center and corners of the dish so no rice is exposed. Placing the fillets along the sides of the dish rather than in the middle helps them cook evenly, and completely covering the surface of the rice with the fish and vegetables before broiling means that no hard, crunchy bits of exposed rice dry up under the broiler’s blast.

Just listen to Monica S. to trust the enduringness of this unexpected salmon dish; she says, “We’ve been making this for over 8 years now!” Traditional fish pies date back hundreds of years, but modern versions tend to be no more than an excuse for less desirable or leftover fish. We wanted to create a new fish pie that would highlight salmon and let it shine with flaky pastry and a creamy sauce full of vegetables. We found that the salmon overcooked in nearly every recipe we tried, so instead we add the fish raw to the hot filling toward the very end of cooking off-heat to ensure that it cooks through by the time the pastry browns.