Salmon is one of our favorite meals and we are experts at crafting delicious Salmon recipes. Knowing how to bake the perfect piece of fish is a key element for delicious buttery salmon, and this how to guide will show you how to get perfect salmon every time!
The key to making perfect Salmon is to bake it until it is a few degrees less than fully done, then let it come up to temperature while it rests.
Baking salmon is easy- use a tablespoon of olive oil, salt, pepper and a baking sheet and you’re good to go! Salmon is considered ‘fully’ cooked when it is 145 degrees Fahrenheit at its most thickest, internal part of the fish.
By cooking salmon to a temperature of 135 degrees Fahrenheit and letting it come up to 145 degrees farenheit outside of the oven, you’re letting the fish cook completely, without it becoming dry and overdone. The end result is perfect, buttery, melt in your mouth salmon!
How to Perfectly Bake Salmon
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Place salmon on foil lined sheet pan.
- Rub 1 tablespoon of olive oil or avocado oil on salmon.
- Sprinkle salt and pepper lightly over salmon.
- Bake for 15 minutes, or until thickets part of salmon is 135 degrees Fahrenheit, keeping an eye on salmon temperature to ensure it does not overcook. Remove from oven at 135 degrees farenheit, allowing salmon to rest and come up to 145 degrees Fahrenheit during resting period.
If you are looking for similar recipes, here’s a few of our favorites.
- Pecan Crusted Rosemary Salmon
- Salmon with Lemon Dill Sauce
- Garlic Lemon Baked Salmon with Broccoli
- Sheet Pan Orange Ginger Salmon
- Honey Glazed Sheet Pan Salmon Dinner
- Feta and Herb Crusted Salmon
Check out this infographic to help show you how to perfectly cook your salmon using other methods, too!
Enjoy healthy and delicious fish! And to make it even easier on home chefs, here is a video for how we do it! – Kathi and Rachel
Perfect Baked Salmon
Ingredients
- 4 6 oz fresh (not frozen) salmon filets (Atlantic is my favorite. 1 filet per peson)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit.
- Line a sheet pan with foil and spray with nonstick.
- Place salmon onto foil lined sheetpan. Rub filets with olive oil, and sprinkle each piece with salt and pepper.
- Bake for about 10-15 minutes, or until fish is 135 degrees at its thickest most internal part. Allow to rest and come up to temperature (fish is considered full cooked at 145 degrees Fahrenheit internally), for about 5-10 minutes.
- Serve & enjoy!
Jessica says
Good Recipe
Kim says
My salmon always comes out a little overdone, and this recipe confirms what I’ve been doing wrong! Next time, I’ll follow your advice and take it out of the oven a little before it’s ready. Just reading this recipe is making me crave a healthy dish like salmon for dinner tonight!
Kathi & Rachel says
Hi Kim – thanks for the nice note! I’m a big fan of your site, especially the round ups! I use them a ton! Kathi
Rachael says
Baked mine in cast iron w/ a lid instead of foil. Seasoned with fresh thyme, sage, black garlic, pink salt and lime juice. Superb!
Smiley says
Very good recipe, and easy too. I put some soy sauce and sesame oil, garlic and green onions on as a marinade, and then baked according to your recipe. Nice!
Tom says
This is the easiest, fastest, and most delicious way we have enjoyed fish. And clean-up was done in less then 10 minutes!! We will definitely do this again…and again.
Kathi & Rachel says
We are so glad you loved this recipe! Thank you so much for the nice comment!
Kristine S says
This is so easy, yet very delicious. The only thing that I have to watch is the cooking time. It can still need a little more time to cook, but it does so quickly.
Definitely a keeper!
Kathi & Rachel says
Thank you! We are so glad you liked it.
DMP says
Worked perfectly. Salmon tasted great, cooked through but not dry. I covered the salmon fillets with foil while resting.
No says
Your serving size must be a bite, it’s a bit misleading.
Kathi & Rachel says
Sorry for the error. The correct calories for a 6 ounce piece of salmon are about 350.