Honey Garlic Salmon Baked in Foil

Name: Honey Garlic Salmon Baked in Foil
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
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)

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!

overhead view of honey garlic salmon bake in foil with spinach on plate

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 printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!

ingredients for honey garlic baked salmon with text labels — Ingredients to make Honey Garlic Salmon Baked in Foil: Salmon fillets, oil, honey, soy sauce, garlic and salt.

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.

photo collage to show how to prepare honey garlic salmon baked in foil

3. Seal the foil over the salmon and bake!

close up photo of honey garlic salmon in foil

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

What temperature should salmon be cooked at?

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.

What can I use if I don’t have foil for baking?

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).

white plate with honey garlic baked salmon and spinach on white marble surface

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

PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.

Printable recipe

Printable Recipe Card

three salmon fillets in foil with honey garlic glaze

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