This is one of the best recipes for salmon baked in foil! The honey garlic marinade tastes so good and the entire dish only needs 5 ingredients. We’ll glaze the fish with a delicious mix of honey, soy sauce and fresh garlic. Then, wrap it in foil and baked in the oven, which only takes around 15 minutes. So easy!
This is a great Asian inspired dinner. Serve it with your favorite healthy sides for and easy family meal you can make in a pinch!
Easy baked salmon recipe
Baking salmon in foil is my favorite way to prepare it. Apart from air frying it, maybe 😉 Making it with a honey garlic sauce is just even better, and there’s many reasons why I’m head over heels for this recipe:
- Prep time is incredibly short – we’re talking 5 minutes here. Talk about an easy dinner!
- You only need a handful of ingredients (5 ingredients, plus salt!) and it will still come out very flavorful and delicious.
- It’s a healthy dinner even my fish-snubbing child will happily eat. I consider this a huge win!
Ingredients you’ll need
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Salmon: I prefer using fillets vs a whole side, as they cook faster. I also prefer skin-on salmon because they tend to dry out less and are harder to overcook.
- Oil: I used canola oil because it’s something I always have on hand and consider pretty universal in terms of accessibility. Feel free to use your favorite cooking oil. A toasted sesame oil actually tastes super nice here, so feel free to use it if you have it in your kitchen.
- Soy sauce: I used a plain, regular soy sauce. There’s not that much variety available in my neck of the woods, but plain works perfectly. Feel free to use low sodium if you want to.
- Honey: A mild, runny honey works best for this recipe. You could use brown sugar instead if you prefer that.
- Garlic: I love fresh garlic here, but feel free to substitute ½ teaspoon dried garlic powder if you don’t have fresh on hand.
- Extra flavor: This recipe I absolutely delicious with some minced fresh ginger added. I have young children so it’s way too intense for them and I don’t add it. Since I try to share family-friendly recipes here, I didn’t want to develop this recipe with the ginger as a must, and it really isn’t. But I’m just saying, if you don’t have babies and enjoy a lot of flavor… Add some minced ginger. And also, some red pepper flakes are nice, too.
How to Foil Bake Salmon
This is a walk-through of the recipe with step photos. Skip to the printable recipe card at the bottom for exact times and temperatures.
This is the most simple recipe:
1. Place the salmon in a foil-lined dish.
2. Combine the ingredients for the honey garlic sauce and pour all over the salmon.
3. Seal the foil over the salmon and bake!
Recipe tips
- Use a heavy-duty aluminium foil, or double up on it. You don’t want all of your sauce to leak out!
- You’ll notice I call for the wrapped salmon to be placed in a baking dish. I strongly recommend following this versus placing the salmon directly on the sheet pan. In case of a leak in the foil, you will only have to wash a baking dish and not an entire sheet pan.
- The exact cooking time depends a lot on the exact size and thickness of your salmon fillets, and if you’re using individual fillets or a whole side of salmon. I always recommend checking the internal temperature with a food thermometer to be on the safe side.
Baked salmon FAQs
According to the USDA’s food safety information, you need to cook salmon to 145°F to be safe for consumption. Get the full chart here.
If you don’t have any foil (or don’t want to use any), you can also use unwaxed parchment paper to make a pouch to cook your salmon in. Alternatively, you can cook the fish in any closed vessel that’s oven safe and just big enough to hold the fish (eg a casserole dish with a lid).
Serving suggestions
We enjoy this salmon with a side of rice or sesame noodles. I also serve some vegetables and a salad on the side.
Our favorites with this particular dish are a creamy cucumber salad, a spinach salad or a creamy coleslaw. For the vegetables, either sautéed green beans or garlic roasted broccoli are really nice!
Watch the recipe video
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Honey Garlic Salmon Baked in Foil
Recipe details
Ingredients
- 4 salmon fillets
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced; see notes if you want to add even more flavor
- salt to taste; I use flaky sea salt on the fish for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 410°F (210°C).
- Place a large piece of aluminium foil in a shallow baking dish. Place salmon fillets on top of foil (lightly season salmon with salt, if desired).
- Whisk remaining ingredients together in a small bowl and pour over salmon.
- Wrap foil over salmon, making a loose packet.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes or until salmon is cooked all the way through. (Depending on your oven and exact brand of foil you're using, this can take up to 10 minutes longer, make sure to check salmon with a food thermometer.) Serve immediately, sprinkled with sea salt flakes if you like.
Notes
Ingredient notes
- Salmon: I prefer using fillets vs a whole side, as they cook faster. I also prefer skin-on salmon because they tend to dry out less and are harder to overcook.
- Oil: I used canola oil because it’s something I always have on hand and consider pretty universal in terms of accessibility. Feel free to use your favorite cooking oil. A toasted sesame oil actually tastes super nice here, so feel free to use it if you have it in your kitchen.
- Soy sauce: I used a plain, regular soy sauce. There’s not that much variety available in my neck of the woods, but plain works perfectly. Feel free to use low sodium if you want to.
- Honey: A mild, runny honey works best for this recipe. You could use brown sugar instead if you prefer that.
- Garlic: I love fresh garlic here, but feel free to substitute ½ teaspoon dried garlic powder if you don’t have fresh on hand.
- Extra flavor: This recipe I absolutely delicious with some minced fresh ginger added. I have young children so it’s way too intense for them and I don’t add it. Since I try to share family-friendly recipes here, I didn’t want to develop this recipe with the ginger as a must, and it really isn’t. But I’m just saying, if you don’t have babies and enjoy a lot of flavor… Add some minced ginger. And also, some red pepper flakes are nice, too.
Recipe tips
- Use a heavy-duty aluminium foil, or double up on it. You don’t want all of your sauce to leak out!
- You’ll notice I call for the wrapped salmon to be placed in a baking dish. I strongly recommend following this versus placing the salmon directly on the sheet pan. In case of a leak in the foil, you will only have to wash a baking dish and not an entire sheet pan.
- The exact cooking time depends a lot on the exact size and thickness of your salmon fillets, and if you’re using individual fillets or a whole side of salmon. I always recommend checking the internal temperature with a food thermometer to be on the safe side.
- According to the USDA’s food safety information, you need to cook salmon to 145°F to be safe for consumption. Get the full chart here.
Nutrition
More recipe information
Recipe first published on 02/03/2016. Updated on 03/24/2021.
Ananda F. says
Do you think it would be fine to add veggies to this ? Like asparagus underneath the fish in the packets ?
Nora says
Yes, I think that would work just fine!
Bonnie says
Easy and Delicious!
Nora says
So glad the salmon turned out well for you, Bonnie!
Rachel says
Came out perfect!
Nora says
I’m so glad, Rachel!