Made with only 5 ingredients, this miso salmon comes together easily with a few simple steps. Sweet and savory, this baked salmon recipe is flaky and moist in the middle, making for an easy dinner recipe for a busy weeknight.
Salmon fillets marinated in a mixture of miso paste, mirin, soy sauce, and sesame oil, this miso salmon recipe is an easy but delicious recipe that is full of bold flavor. It is also a super easy recipe to scale up, making it perfect not just for a weeknight meal and meal prep, but for hosting dinner gatherings as well!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- You only need 5 ingredients to make this miso salmon. Most of the ingredients you might already have on hand!
- After marinating the salmon, it only takes 10 minutes to bake in the oven. It’s perfect for a busy weeknight. Just marinate the salmon before you leave for work, and you can toss it in the oven when you’re home.
- It reheats wonderfully, so you can make this ahead of time and bring it to work. You can even skip reheating it and use it in a salad.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- salmon fillets — I am using wild-caught salmon with the skin on, but feel free to use whatever you have on hand. If your fillets are frozen, fully thaw them before preparing this recipe.
- miso paste — I use white miso paste, which is the sweetest and mildest of the miso pastes. That is my personal preference, but you’re welcome to use a different miso paste if you prefer.
- mirin — mirin is a Japanese sweet rice wine, if you are unable to find it, you can try rice vinegar with extra honey. See my post on What is Mirin for more recipes using mirin!
- soy sauce — I use low sodium soy sauce.
- sesame oil — I use pure sesame oil.
How to Make Miso Salmon
- Pat dry the salmon fillets with paper towels to remove any extra moisture and place them in a shallow bowl or plate.
- In a small bowl, combine the miso paste, mirin, soy sauce, and sesame oil.
- Spread the miso mixture on the salmon fillets, making sure to get both sides. Set aside in the fridge for at least an hour to marinate.
- Heat the oven to 425F and line a sheet pan. Place the salmon skin-side down in a single layer on the sheet pan.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, depending on the size of your salmon fillets.
- Serve immediately or garnish with some toasted sesame seeds and green onions if desired.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- Make sure to always pat dry the salmon. Any moisture will cause the salmon to steam instead of caramelize in the oven.
- It is a good idea to let salmon sit out for a couple of minutes (not too long!) so it won’t be cold going into the oven. This helps promote more even cooking.
- When the salmon is cooked through, it should reach an internal temperature of 52°C to 57°C (125°F to 135°F). Use an instant read thermometer to check!
Make Ahead Tips
- Meal prep: once cooled, refrigerate salmon in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the fridge. Meal prep it with some jasmine rice and bok choy stir fry!
- Freezer: while you can freeze cooked salmon in an airtight container for up to 3 months, the texture of the salmon may change. I recommend making salmon fresh when needed.
The salmon’s internal temperature should reach 145°F (62°C). You can use a meat thermometer to check. If you do not have one, you can use a fork and flake the salmon to check. The salmon will flake easily if it’s done.
I sprinkle a little bit of water into the meal prep container and then I cover it with a microwave lid/cover before I microwave my meal prep. The water will help create a little bit of steam to help keep the salmon from drying out. If you don’t want to reheat salmon, you can turn this into a salmon salad meal prep.
Types of Miso
This recipe uses a mild white miso paste but there are a ton of miso pastes available. Here are the ones you’re likely to find in general grocery stores:
- White Miso: white miso paste is the mildest and sweetest miso as it is fermented for a shorter time and is lower in salt than darker varieties. The color can range from white to light beige.
- Yellow Miso: yellow miso is like the middle ground between white and red miso. You get the sweetness of the white miso paste combined with the smokiness and saltiness of the red miso paste. It can be yellow to light brown in color.
- Red Miso: red miso has a long fermentation period as it has a strong nutty and salty flavor, and is packed with umami. It also contains the highest levels of protein of all types of miso. It can range in color from red to dark brown.
Miso Salmon
Ingredients
- 4 salmon fillets
- 3 tablespoons white miso paste
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2½ tablespoons sesame oil
Instructions
- Pat dry the salmon fillets with paper towels to remove any extra moisture and place them in a shallow bowl or plate.
- In a small bowl, combine the miso paste, mirin, soy sauce, and sesame oil.
- Spread the miso mixture on the salmon fillets, making sure to get both sides. Set aside in the fridge for at least an hour to marinate.
- Heat the oven to 425F and line a sheet pan. Place the salmon skin-side down in a single layer on the sheet pan.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, depending on the size of your salmon fillets.
- Serve immediately or garnish with some toasted sesame seeds and green onions if desired.
Nutrition Per Serving
More Salmon Recipes to Try
- Sweet Chili Salmon
- Air Fryer Teriyaki Salmon
- Almond Crusted Salmon
- Air Fryer Everything Bagel Salmon
Other places to connect with me
@carmyshungry on Instagram
Facebook
Shop my Amazon faves
Email: [email protected]
Leave a Reply