Super-Fast Honey Garlic Salmon Marinade
This easy 5-ingredient salmon marinade produces wildly flavorful and perfectly fork-tender, flaky fillets! It’s giving hot honey vibes with a touch of honey, a drizzle soy sauce, zesty garlic; and only needs 15-minutes to marinate, and comes out perfectly baked in the oven or air fried!
5 star review
“Absolutely love this recipe. I make it once a week with rice for my 2 and 5 year old (we skip the red pepper flakes) and they clean their plates every time. ”
– Genevieve
Sticky Honey Garlic Marinated Salmon with Just 5-Ingredients
Most weeknights, spending hours in the kitchen making complicated recipes is not possible. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t have a home-cooked meal during the week! These situations are where I fall back on super-fast, minimal ingredient dinners like this honey soy marinated salmon.
One of the quickest marinade recipes I’ve created, the honey salmon only needs to marinate for 10 to 15 minutes and cook for another 15 minutes. And, yes, salmon is delicious on its own with salt and pepper, but why not take it to the next level with the best 5-ingredient marinade?
This sweet and spicy marinade combines honey, soy sauce, garlic, olive oil, and red pepper flakes for a take on hot honey, which is the perfect pair for salmon. Once grilled, baked, or broiled, the salmon is bursting with flavor and has a little bit of caramelization thanks to the honey — serve it as is or with a big dollop of sriracha mayo for a bit of extra spice. Yum! By the way, if you can’t get enough of this flavor profile, you’ll also love my quick teriyaki chicken marinade, too.
Welcome to My Kitchen: Let’s Make Hot Honey Salmon Marinade
Get a Jump on Prep
Since salmon is delicate, don’t marinate the fish longer than 1 hour as it will start falling apart. However, you can still save time by meal prepping the marinade up to 4 days in advance (just store in the fridge). With the marinade prepped in advance, all you have to worry about is marinating and cooking the salmon the night of!
If You’d Rather Fire Up the Grill
Grilling salmon produces beautiful grill marks, but it can be a bit finicky since the salmon flakes when it’s cooked, and the sugar can cause it to stick. I do prefer to oven bake this soy marinated salmon, but if you prefer to grill, simply grill skin-side down. You won’t get the grill marks, but you will get the delicious grill flavor. Otherwise, baking or broiling the salmon is equally as delicious.
Ingredient Notes
- Soy Sauce: For gluten free, use tamari.
- Honey: If you don’t have honey, you can use brown sugar. With brown sugar, the marinade won’t be as sticky and therefore won’t stick to the salmon as well, but it’s just as delicious.
- Garlic: Since there are so few ingredients in this recipe, fresh garlic is best. Feel free to increase or decrease the amount of garlic based on your preference.
- Red Pepper Flakes: These are key for the hot honey profile, however, if you’re not a fan of spice, you can reduce the amount or leave it out.
- Salmon: Any cut of salmon works – whole pieces, filets, or defrosted frozen pieces. I call for 1 ½ pounds of salmon in this recipe, but if you use about half the amount of salmon, simply half the marinade recipe.
This Recipe Is…
Super-Fast Honey Soy Salmon Marinade
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce (or tamari for gluten-free)
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 ½ pounds salmon
Equipment
Instructions
Make the Salmon Marinade
- Whisk together the olive oil, soy sauce, honey, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl until smooth.
Marinade the Salmon
- Pat the salmon dry and check for and remove and pin bones. Add half of the marinade along with the salmon to a 1-gallon zip-top bag or baking dish. Set the remaining half of the marinade aside.
- Toss the salmon to coat, then press as much air out of the bag (if using) as possible, or cover with plastic wrap (if using a baking dish). Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes, or up to 60 minutes, flipping every 15 minutes.
Oven Baking Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Add the salmon and marinade to a medium baking dish. Cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 135F at the thickest part (the salmon will be slightly underdone at 135F, but will continue to cook while it rests).
- Allow to rest for 5 minutes, then drizzle with remaining marinade and serve.
Air Fryer Instructions
- Set the air fryer to 400F. Remove the salmon from the marinade, shake off any excess, and discard any remaining marinade from the bag or dish.
- Place the salmon skin side down and air fry 6-11 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 135F at the thickest part (the salmon will be slightly underdone at 135F, but will continue to cook while it rests).
- Allow to rest for 5 minutes, then drizzle with remaining marinade and serve.
Notes
- For more ingredients & modifications, make ahead tips, and more, see the blog post above.
Made this one for dinner tonight and cooked the salmon in the air fryer. It was delicious and so easy to put together. Will be making again!
Oh yay, so happy to hear this one was a hit and that it worked well in the air fryer. Thanks so much for leaving a reivew!
Absolutely love this recipe. I make it once a week with rice for my 2 and 5 year old (we skip the red pepper flakes) and they clean their plates every time.
Genevieve, yippee, so happy to hear this easy salmon recipe is a hit with the whole family! Thanks so much for taking the time to share your thoughts and for leaving a reivew!
Can I cook the salmon on the grill?
Vickie, you can, but just make sure the grill is super hot and well oiled, since the marinade has sugar in it and has a tendency to stick. You can also try grilling it skin-side down the entire time (so no need to flip), which should give you great results.