This honey garlic salmon recipe is a simple guide on how to cook this delicate protein with a delicious sweet and savory sauce. Before we start, here are some interesting health facts about salmon.
Is Honey Garlic Salmon Healthy?
Yes, our honey garlic salmon recipe is healthy. Here’s why:
- It’s high in lean protein: Salmon is a great source of lean protein, providing 22 g in every 100 g of raw salmon. This gives our dish almost 50 g protein per serving.
- It contains healthy fats: Salmon is packed with essential omega-3 fatty acids, mainly EPA and DHA. While these fats may add a few more calories to your meal, evidently, they have some anti-inflammatory qualities among other health benefits such as improving skin health.
- It provides a moderate amount of calories: Although the recipe contains salmon — a fatty fish, there are only 500 calories per serving.
Main Ingredients for Honey Garlic Salmon
Let’s take look at what you’ll need for this honey garlic salmon recipe:
- Salmon: We use boneless, skin-on sockeye salmon filets. If you can’t find it at your local grocery store, you can use Atlantic salmon instead.
- Spices and herbs: We actually don’t season our salmon. All of the flavors come from the reduced honey garlic sauce. As for herbs, we sprinkle some chopped scallions for garnish.
- Egg noodles: We serve our honey garlic salmon over a bed of Chinese egg noodles. You can also use spaghetti noodles as they are quite similar in texture.
- Broccoli: Since the dish is loaded with protein and carbs, we figure it would be better to throw in some veggies to add more nutrients to your plate.
- And our special honey garlic sauce.
Honey Garlic Sauce for Salmon
Bringing the whole dish together, the honey garlic glaze is the showpiece of this recipe.
The glossy coating gives the salmon a wonderful visual appeal while keeping it moist and tender. At the same time, the glaze also clings to the noodles and broccoli, giving everything a sweet and savory taste.
This sophisticated sauce may sound complicated to make but it’s actually easy. All you need to do is mix honey, cornstarch, water, soy sauce, and lemon juice. We also add black pepper, paprika, and Sriracha hot sauce for heat but you may leave them out if you prefer a milder flavor.
If you love a savory honey glaze on fish, check out our other recipes:
- Honey Soy Salmon Recipe: Unlike today’s recipe, our honey soy salmon is extra fragrant thanks to the toasted sesame seeds. We also use less honey so that the sauce is more savory than sweet, perfect to be served with fluffy steamed rice.
- Honey Mustard Salmon Recipe: This recipe features juicy baked salmon with assorted vegetables, bringing a nutritious and visually appealing meal. And best of all, everything is done in one single pan, so you don’t need to worry about kitchen mess!
How to Make Honey Garlic Salmon
Before you start, we recommend giving the broccoli and scallions a good rinse under running water to get rid of any dirt. After that, cut them as instructed in the ingredient list below.
Measure all the other ingredients and boil the egg noodles before you start handling the raw salmon.
As for the fish, remove the scales from the filets and rinse well. Pat them dry with paper towels and set them aside.
Note: If you need to trim your filets, we recommend using a different cutting board for the fish to avoid cross-contamination.
Once everything is ready, you can start boiling the broccoli and cooking the salmon. While everything is cooking, mix the honey garlic sauce in a small bowl and have it ready at hand.
The whole cooking process takes less than 15 minutes so it’s best to be well-prepared.
Tips for Cooking Salmon
To be honest, there are actually no tips for today’s honey garlic salmon recipe because it’s so simple and quick to make.
That said, there are a few things you may want to keep in mind:
- The salmon filets should be completely dry: If you add wet fish with dripping water to a pan of hot fat, it will splash. This rule also applies to other meat and fish so remember to pat them dry.
- You should use a large spatula to flip: Fish filets are delicate and can break easily so you need to handle them with care using a spatula. You may also need a second spatula or large spoon for extra support while you flip.
Can You Cook with Frozen Salmon?
Yes, you can cook with salmon that comes straight out of a freezer. But that is a discussion for another day: Frozen salmon is definitely not appropriate for today’s recipe.
How to Store and Reheat
We recommend storing the leftover honey garlic salmon and noodles in separate airtight containers. They should last three to five days in the refrigerator.
Before reheating, arrange a portion of the salmon and noodles on a plate. Cover and microwave for 2 minutes. Your meal should be perfectly warmed and delicious again.
What to Serve With Honey Garlic Salmon
For today’s meal, we decided that our honey garlic salmon should be served with a side of watermelon arugula salad and a glass of fresh lime juice.
This summer salad is a mix of crispy greens, juicy sweet fruits, and a zesty lemon dressing. The fresh salad eases the richness of the fatty salmon, giving you an enjoyable, balanced meal.
And instead of going for dessert, we reckoned it would be more refreshing to drink a glass of sweet and sour lime juice to cleanse your palate.
Here are the combined nutrition facts of this meal:
Honey Garlic Salmon Recipe
Today's honey garlic salmon recipe features juicy salmon filets drenched in a sweet and savory glaze with a hint of heat and tanginess.
- cook TIME 13 mins
- prep TIME 10 mins
- total TIME 23 mins
- COURSE Main Course
- CUISINE Chinese
- SERVINGS servings
- CALORIES 501 kcal
INGREDIENTS
- 26 ozboneless salmon (scales removed)
- 6 ozbroccoli (cut into florets)
- 2 tbsphoney
- 1 tspcornstarch
- 2 fl ozwater
- 0.5 tspblack pepper
- 0.5 tsppaprika
- 2.5 tbspreduced-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tsplemon juice
- 1 tspsriracha
- 2 tbspunsalted butter
- 2 tbspgarlic (finely minced)
- 2 tbspscallion (finely chopped)
- 2 ozlemon (sliced, for garnish)
- 10 ozboiled egg noodles (from 5 oz dry)
INSTRUCTIONS
Cook the broccoli: Fill a deep pan with about 1 ½-inch water and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, add 6 oz broccoli and cook for 2 minutes. Strain the boiled broccoli into a colander in the sink. Rinse the broccoli under running water to prevent it from cooking any further. Drain excess water and set aside.
Make the sauce: In a small mixing bowl, combine 2 tbsp honey, 1 tsp cornstarch, 2 fl oz water, ½ tsp black pepper, ½ tsp paprika, 2 ½ tbsp soy sauce, 2 tsp lemon juice, and 1 tsp Sriracha. Whisk well to combine.
Sear the salmon: In a nonstick pan over medium heat, add 2 tbsp unsalted butter and 26 oz salmon, skin side down first. Sear for 10 minutes, flipping halfway through so that it’s golden brown on both sides.
Cook the sauce: Add 2 tbsp minced garlic around the salmon and stir for 30 seconds. Add the sauce and stir for about 10 seconds. Turn off the heat and pour the sauce over the salmon.
Garnish: Scatter lemon and scallions over the salmon.
Serve: Arrange broccoli and egg noodles on a plate. Place the salmon on top of the noodles and scoop a spoonful of the sauce over the salmon. Serve immediately.
NUTRITION
Luna Regina
Writer, Author
Emily Rogers, MPH, RDN
Nutrition Reviewer