This brown sugar baked salmon is such a scrumptious and straightforward dinner. Our simple brown sugar rub is ideal for salmon fillets. It caramelizes and turns right into a candy and smoky glaze within the oven.

My household loves this simple salmon recipe. It takes minutes to organize, and also you’ll love the brown sugar glaze on prime.
One in every of my favourite salmon recipes, this baked salmon is straightforward to show right into a sheet pan dinner. Merely toss a handful of veggies onto the sheet pan and bake them alongside it!

Key Elements
- Salmon: Any salmon fillet will work for this baked salmon recipe. I particularly love salmon with the next fats content material, like sockeye, king, and coho. Salmon with the next fats content material stays comfortable and moist after it’s baked.
- Brown sugar: It provides sweetness, and it evenly caramelizes within the oven. You don’t want rather a lot — one tablespoon for 4 massive fillets is lots.
- Lemon: A little bit of lemon zest provides a pop of taste. We use our microplane to zest the lemon. Then, we use the zested lemon for serving. A squeeze of contemporary lemon juice simply earlier than serving is a should.
- Smoked paprika: It provides a smoky-sweet taste and shade to the salmon spice rub. For a spicier rub, strive a bit chipotle powder or cayenne (1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon ought to do it).
- Veggies: Since we bake our salmon fillets on a big baking sheet, we’ve got some house left for veggies. Select a quick-cooking veggie, corresponding to inexperienced beans, zucchini, asparagus, snap peas, broccolini, or cherry tomatoes.
Learn how to Make Brown Sugar Baked Salmon
This baked salmon is tender, moist, and comfortable within the center. Add our brown sugar spice rub, and the surface turns into evenly caramelized, candy, and a bit smoky. We like it!
I exploit the identical salmon rub when making cedar plank salmon and love its simplicity. All it’s worthwhile to do is combine brown sugar with lemon zest, salt, and smoked paprika. Then rub it throughout your salmon fillets (I’m fairly beneficiant with it).


Add your salmon to a sheet pan and bake it within the oven till finished. I exploit a 400°F oven for this baked salmon recipe, which suggests it often takes between 15 and 20 minutes. Keep in mind, you’ll be able to flip this right into a sheet pan dinner, and add your favourite veggies to the baking sheet. I’ve shared options under.
When baking salmon, you’ll be able to inform it’s prepared to come back out of the oven when the flesh is considerably opaque and flakes simply if you insert a fork into it. If in case you have an inner thermometer, use it! I take my salmon out when it reads 125°F, which suggests it will likely be a barely darker pink within the center.


Storing Brown Sugar Baked Salmon
Baked salmon will be saved in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 4 days. It will also be frozen in an hermetic container or freezer bag for as much as 3 months. Thaw it in a single day within the fridge earlier than reheating. To reheat, bake in a preheated oven at 325°F (165°C) for 10 to fifteen minutes.
What to Serve with Brown Sugar Baked Salmon
Since we bake our salmon fillets on a big baking sheet, we’ve got some house left for veggies. I like sheet pan dinners! This salmon recipe wants 15 to twenty minutes within the oven, good for green beans, asparagus, zucchini, snap peas, peppers, onions, broccolini, or cherry tomatoes.
For those who desire heartier greens, partially bake them first. Add the salmon for the final 15 to twenty minutes of cooking, adjusting the full baking time primarily based in your chosen veggies. For instance, broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts take 20 to 25 minutes, whereas root greens and winter squash take 30 to 45 minutes.
Extra aspect dishes for baked salmon embody corn salad, mashed sweet potatoes, cilantro lime rice, and my favourite quinoa salad.
Brown Sugar Baked Salmon
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PREP
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COOK
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TOTAL
My household loves this simple brown sugar salmon recipe! Because the salmon bakes within the oven, the brown sugar rub melts and caramelizes right into a scrumptious, candy, smoky glaze. To make this a sheet pan dinner, toss your favourite veggies onto the baking sheet with the salmon. The article above has options for which veggies work effectively on this recipe.
Makes 4 servings
You Will Want
For the Salmon
4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets, ideally wild-caught
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon wonderful sea salt
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika or substitute chipotle powder for a spicier model
Half of a lemon, quartered
For the Beans
3/4 pound inexperienced beans or fast cooking veggie
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and contemporary floor black pepper
Instructions
1Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Put aside a big rimmed baking sheet.
2Combine the brown sugar, lemon zest, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and the smoked paprika in a small bowl.
3Pat the salmon fillets dry and rub them with olive oil.
4Scatter the brown sugar rub over the salmon, and gently therapeutic massage it into the fish. Swipe the pores and skin aspect of the salmon by any spice rub that’s fallen onto the reducing board. If in case you have the time, marinate the salmon for 10 to fifteen minutes.
5Add the salmon fillets, skin-side down, to the baking sheet.
6Toss the beans with a tablespoon of olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt, after which scatter them across the salmon on the baking sheet.
7Bake the salmon till it’s cooked by, 12 to fifteen minutes, relying on its thickness. We prepare dinner salmon till an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest half reads 125°F.
8Serve with lemon wedges on the aspect for squeezing over the salmon.
Adam and Joanne’s Suggestions
- Learn how to inform when salmon is cooked: Cook dinner salmon to 125°F (51°C), which suggests it will likely be comfortable, tender, and barely pink within the middle. For a visible cue, search for the flesh to be considerably opaque. Additionally, when inserting a fork into the salmon, it ought to flake simply.
- Baking time: Relying on the sort and thickness of the salmon you’re baking, prepare dinner time will range. The prepare dinner occasions steered above are for center lower fillets, about 1-inch thick. For thinner fillets or finish items, test the salmon a bit earlier. For thicker fillets, you could want a further 5 to 10 minutes of bake time.
- Veggies: Attempt inexperienced beans, chopped zucchini, snap peas, bell peppers, broccoli, asparagus, or cherry tomatoes. Heartier veggies like broccoli will take longer, so partially bake them for 10 to fifteen minutes earlier than including the salmon to the baking sheet.
- The vitamin info supplied under are estimates.
Vitamin Per Serving
Serving Measurement
1 (6-ounce) fillet and 1/4 of the beans
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Energy
325
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Complete Fats
15g
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Saturated Fats
2.9g
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Ldl cholesterol
76.5mg
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Sodium
374.9mg
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Carbohydrate
8.7g
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Dietary Fiber
2.4g
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Complete Sugars
5.1g
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Protein
38.4g