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Broiling gets this juicy Maple Glazed Salmon perfectly seared outside while locking in all the flavors of a sweet-savory Asian-inspired marinade. It’s an easy salmon dinner that you can make any night of the week! Swap tamari for soy sauce to make it gluten-free.
Why I Love This Maple Glazed Salmon Recipe
Delicious Details
- Cuisine Inspiration: American
- Primary Cooking Method: Oven
- Dietary Info: Gluten-free option, Dairy-free
- Skill Level: Easy
After soaking in a sweet and savory marinade, this maple glazed salmon is cooked under the broiler to lock in all that delicious flavor! Drizzling the maple glaze over top before serving makes this easy salmon recipe even more mouthwatering. Here’s why you’ll love it:
- Rich umami flavors. 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.
- Weeknight-friendly. I love that salmon is a quick-cooking fish, especially when I can pop it under the broiler! Simply get it soaking in the marinade, and once it’s ready, this maple glazed salmon cooks in about 20 minutes.
- Leftover-friendly. Maple glazed salmon is perfect for meal prep! The broiled salmon stores well and reheats like a dream, or I sometimes enjoy the leftovers over salads. Just add a fresh drizzle of glaze for serving.
What You’ll Need
This recipe uses mostly pantry staples to make the delicious salmon marinade and soy-maple glaze (and quite a few of them overlap!). These are some quick notes to get you started. Scroll to the recipe card for a printable ingredients list and full recipe details.
- Salmon – I often use a whole side of salmon. You can also use salmon fillets if you prefer, but reduce the cooking time to about 10 minutes.
- Olive Oil – Or avocado oil.
- Maple Syrup – Use real maple syrup, NOT pancake syrup!
- Sesame Oil – I like to use toasted sesame oil to boost the nutty, toasty flavors in the marinade.
- Rice Vinegar – Using unseasoned rice vinegar makes it easier to control the saltiness. You can also use white wine vinegar.
- Soy Sauce – If needed, use gluten free soy sauce or tamari to make this recipe gluten-free.
- Garlic – I recommend using fresh cloves or store-bought minced garlic. But you can use 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder if that’s all you have.
- Seasonings – Ground ginger (or 1/2 Tablespoon freshly grated ginger) and crushed red pepper flakes for a hint of heat. Feel free to skip the chili flakes if you prefer.
- Chives – Freshly minced for the glaze. You can also use finely chopped green onions.
- Sesame Seeds – If you’d like, lightly toast the seeds in a skillet over low heat to bring out their nutty flavor even more.
- Optional rice and broccoli – for serving. Keep reading for more meal ideas.
How to Make Maple Glazed Salmon
Here are the easy steps to make this juicy, flavor-packed maple glazed salmon! Be sure to scroll to the recipe card for the printable instructions.
- Marinate the salmon. First, add your salmon to a Ziploc bag along with the marinade ingredients. Place the bag into the fridge and let the salmon marinate for at least 30 minutes.
- Cook. Season, then broil the marinated salmon on a foil-lined broiler pan for 15-20 minutes. The salmon should flake easily with a fork.
- Make the maple glaze. Meanwhile, toast the sesame seeds and then whisk them together with the soy-maple glaze ingredients.
- Glaze and serve. Drizzle the broiled salmon with maple glaze and serve with rice and a side of veggies, like broccoli. See below for more serving ideas!
Recipe Tips
- Substitute the maple syrup. If you don’t have real maple syrup, rather than using artificial syrup, use honey instead.
- Use fresh or frozen salmon. This recipe turns out great with fresh or frozen salmon, whichever you have on hand. If you’re using frozen, be sure to fully defrost the salmon in the fridge before letting it marinate.
- Marinate for longer. Your salmon can soak in the marinade for 30 minutes up to a few hours. The longer it rests in the marinade, the more flavor the finished fish will have.
Frequently Asked Questions
The USDA recommends cooking salmon to an internal temperature of 145ºF. Use an instant-read thermometer to check at the thickest part of the filet. Cooked salmon should flake easily and the middle will be pale pink, not raw.
If you notice a slimy white substance seeping from your salmon, don’t panic. It’s a protein called albumin, and it’s released during the cooking process. Albumin is totally fine to eat, and your salmon will still taste great!
It might not look very appetizing, but salmon skin is 100% edible. If you’d prefer not to eat the skin, though, it’s easy enough to pick around it.
Storing and Reheating Leftover Salmon
- Refrigerate. The cooked maple glazed salmon stores well in the fridge (great for meal prep!). Keep leftovers airtight and enjoy them within 3 days. I recommend storing the maple glaze separately and adding it before serving. I love leftover salmon flaked cold over a salad.
- Reheat. Warm the salmon covered in the microwave or in the oven. The sauce only needs to come to room temperature.
Make It a Meal
My favorite way to serve maple glazed salmon is over white rice or brown rice with a side of steamed or roasted broccoli. The glaze tastes amazing drizzled over everything! It’s also easy to make the meal more kid-friendly with a side of sesame glazed cauliflower wings and pineapple broccoli salad.
This salmon recipe also makes a quick and easy dinner served over sesame zoodles or my favorite gluten-free ramen noodles from Lotus Foods. Or, for a delicious meal-prep lunch, I’ll add the cold salmon to a quinoa bowl with roasted cauliflower.
More Salmon Recipes
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.