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With a sweet and savory Asian-inspired marinade, this Sesame Maple Glazed Salmon is a fish recipe that even the non-seafood eaters will love. Serve your perfectly broiled salmon with broccoli, rice, and the flavorful sauce for a jaw-dropping meal. A simple swap of tamari for the soy sauce makes it gluten free.
Maple Glazed Salmon – sweet and savory!
After soaking in a sweet and savory marinade, this broiled salmon has tons of delicious flavor. Drizzle the simple sauce over the top of the salmon and it becomes even more mouthwatering. It might even get those that say they don’t like seafood happily eating their fish.
This is always a good thing since salmon is packed with heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. It’s also full of B vitamins, especially vitamin B12, as well as potassium and selenium. Salmon is a total superstar for heart and brain health!
In this easy salmon recipe, the earthy sweetness plays so well with the savory Asian flavors from salty soy sauce and nutty sesame oil and sesame seeds. Then when it is broiled, it caramelizes which makes it even tastier.
Easy, healthy, and tasty, maple glazed salmon is definitely a winner for the family! They will devour it every time.
Ingredients
First, you’ll need about a 1 to 1 1/2 pound piece of salmon. You can also use salmon fillets if you prefer, but reduce the cooking time to about 10 minutes. Other than that, it’s mostly pantry staples to make the sumptuous marinade and sauce.
For the sesame maple salmon marinade:
- Olive oil – avocado oil is also fine to use.
- Maple syrup – use real maple syrup, not pancake syrup. It makes all the difference in the flavor.
- Sesame oil – if you can get toasted sesame oil, it adds even more toasty, butty flavor.
- Rice vinegar – use unseasoned so you can control the level of salt.
- Soy sauce – use gluten free soy sauce or tamari, if needed
- Garlic – I recommend using a clove or the minced garlic from a jar or tube. But you can use 1/4 tespoon garlic powder if that’s all you have.
- Dry ginger powder – you can also use 1/2 Tablespoon greated fresh ginger if you prefer.
- Crushed red pepper flakes – adds a hint of heat, but you can always omit it.
For the soy maple sauce:
You’ll use some of the same ingredients as the marinade, and the same notes apply here.
- Maple syrup
- Soy sauce
- Dry ginger powder
- Chives
- Sesame seeds – toast them in a skillet over low heat until they are lightly golden and give off a nutty aroma.
How to Make Maple Glazed Salmon
Marinate the salmon. Combine the marinade ingredients, pour into a ziplock bag, and add the salmon. Marinate for 30 minutes or up to several hours.
Prepare to cook the salmon. Preheat your broiler. Line the bottom of your broiler pan or a baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy cleanup since some of the marinade will drip off. Then spray the top of the broiler pan or a wire rack liberally with cooking spray or olive oil. You can also skip the rack and cook it right on the foil-lined pan. You don’t need cooking spray and should be able to use a thin spatula to slide the fish off the pan, leaving the skin stuck on the foil.
Broil the salmon. Remove salmon from the marinade and place directly on the broiler pan or wire rack or foil-lined pan. Pour a little of the marinade over the salmon and discard the rest. Season with salt and pepper. Then broil for 15 to 20 minutes, until opaque and flakes easily with a fork and it reaches an internal temperature of 145°F.
Make the sauce. While the salmon is cooking, toast the sesame seeds and stir together the sauce ingredients.
Serve. Remove from the oven/broiler and serve immediately with broccoli and rice or cauliflower rice with the Maple Sesame Sauce drizzled over both.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know when it is done?
It is recommended to cool salmon to an internal temperature of 145°F. I recommend having an instant-read thermometer to be able to check meat temperature quickly and accurately. If you start to see white stuff on your salmon, relax. It’s called albumin, and it’s just a natural protein that can be released from the fish during the cooking process. It might mean that your salmon cooked too quickly or is overcooked. But I promise that it’ll still be tasty!
Can I eat salmon skin?
Salmon skin is safe to eat. Some people prefer not to eat it either due to the texture depending on how it is cooked, or the possible presence of things like pollutants from the water. But it is packed with even more of the nutritional benefits you get from eating salmon.
How do I store leftovers?
I’ll be surprised if you have leftover maple glazed salmon. But if you do or if you want to make it ahead for meal prep, you can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Keep the sauce separate.
You can enjoy the leftover maple salmon cold over a salad. Or reheat it in the microwave or oven. The sauce only needs to come to room temperature.
Serving suggestions
I love to serve this maple glazed salmon recipe with simple steamed broccoli, but you can always amp of the flavor with Sesame Maple Roasted Broccoli. And I’ll often make either white rice or brown rice (in those posts, you’ll get instructions for five different ways to cook them!). When you drizzle it with that maple sesame sauce, it tastes amazing.
But there are plenty of other side dishes to make it a meal:
- For a quick and easy dinner, make brown rice ramen noodles that boil up in minutes and frozen vegetables cooked according to package instructions.
- Turn it into a quinoa bowl with a base of Cheesy Quinoa and add Roasted Cauliflower.
- Make it lower carb with lots of veggies by making Cauliflower Rice or Sesame Zoodles.
- Have a meal that’s kid-friendly and fun with Sesame Glazed Cauliflower Wings and Pineapple Broccoli Salad.
More easy seafood recipes
Sesame Maple Glazed Salmon
Ingredients
For the salmon:
- 1-1 1/2 pounds raw salmon
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 Tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons soy sauce or tamari, gluten free if needed
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1/8 teaspoon dry ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- Maple Sesame Sauce, see below
- About 1 lb broccoli, if desired, steamed to desired doneness
For the Maple Sesame Sauce
- 3 Tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 Tablespoons soy sauce or tamari, gluten free if needed
- pinch dry ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon minced chives
- 1 Tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- In a large bowl or baking dish, combine olive oil, maple syrup, sesame oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce/tamari, garlic, ginger, and crushed red pepper, and whisk well until combined.
- Add salmon to the dish or place everything in a ziplock bag, then refrigerate and marinate for at least 30 minutes (I marinated it for a couple of hours).
- Prepare the glaze, as per the Note below.
- Preheat the broiler in your oven. Line the bottom of your broiler pan or a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and spray the top of the broiler pan or a wire rack liberally with cooking spray or olive oil.
- Remove salmon from the marinade and place directly on the broiler pan or wire rack. Pour some of the excess marinade over the salmon, sprinkle with a little bit of salt and pepper, then place directly under the broiler. Cook for 15-20 minutes, depending on the salmon’s thickness, until opaque and flakes easily with a fork and it reaches an internal temperature of 145°F.
- Remove and serve immediately with broccoli and Maple Sesame Sauce drizzled over both. Serve the extra glaze on the side.
For the Maple Sesame Sauce:
- In a small bowl, combine the ingredients and stir until well-mixed.
Did you make this?
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Brianne, we love salmon and this recipe looks so wonderful!
Salmon is one of my faves…but I don’t have it that often because Joe doesn’t care for it. I just gotta buy something different for him—that wouldn’t be hard!
I bet you could throw some chicken in this marinade. Usually when we have fish, I just have a little, then load up on veggies or rice or whatever. But this time, I wish I had more salmon!
Oooh I bet the glaze with maple and sesame was fabulous on the salmon! I’m a big salmon fan, but haven’t ever made it with the maple glaze. That needs to change asap! I am so glad you were able to participate in this month’s post 🙂
It was such a good combo – try it! So happy to participate. Hoping to join in for Cinco de Mayo. Depends how tomorrow’s dinner turns out 🙂
This is my kind of meal and that glaze looks phenomenal!!!
Thanks Ann!
I recently did a maple chipotle glazed salmon, I’m now into the whole maple glaze thing. I’ll have to try it with sesame seed and garam masala.
I bet the sweet-heat combo was awesome. I’ll have to try it.
Nice recipe for salmon and perfect for the HRC event today. Thank you for sharing it.
Thanks for stopping by to check it out.
Your glazed salmon looks fantastic!!! I would be very happy with this for my birthday entree…..mmmmmmm.
Thank you!!
What a great dipping sauce for the fish. I could eat that with so many things!
Ir really livened up some plain, steamed broccoli, too!
Your salmon looks out of this world! I love salmon but my family doesn’t, but who cares, I need to try this recipe!!
Thank you. I bet this marinade and glaze would also be good on some chicken or pork.