How to Cook Salmon 11 Ways, From Baking to Air Frying

Maybe you already know how to cook salmon? It's the most popular fish and for very good reasons. Salmon’s vivid color, rich flavor, and melt-in-your-mouth texture make for a luxurious meal that’s fast and easy to prepare. It’s a perfect choice for quick weeknight dinners and special occasions alike. And salmon’s long list of nutritional benefits let you feel virtuous and indulgent all at once.

Salmon filets or steaks are an optimal go-to when you need to get a meal on the table quickly, thanks to their short cooking time and the wide variety of ways you can prepare them. You can even cook salmon filets and steaks directly from the freezer; no thawing required! 

Salmon is an ideal choice for your next dinner party. Because it’s so quick to prepare, you can wait until after your guests arrive to cook the main dish—no tending to the oven for hours or worrying about keeping it warm. A whole side of salmon or a large fillet makes an impressive presentation at the table or set out on a buffet, and has the added benefit of allowing everyone to take only as much as they will eat, so (hopefully) no salmon goes to waste. Whether you're a longtime fan or new to this king of fish, explore all the different ways to cook salmon and find the ones that best fit your needs.

Cooking Salmon in the Oven

With your oven you can prepare salmon baked, roasted, broiled, or en papillote.

The “set it and forget it” approach is one major benefit of cooking salmon in the oven. No constant monitoring required here; just set a timer for slightly under the recipe’s recommended cook time to begin checking the salmon for doneness.

Baking and Roasting Salmon

Baking and roasting are very similar techniques, and even some experts disagree on the exact distinctions between the two methods. Both achieve their results by surrounding the food with dry heat. In general, roasting involves higher temperatures—usually 400 degrees Fahrenheit and above —and can lead to deeper browning and caramelization on the food’s surface.

Broiling Salmon

Broiling differs from other oven methods due to the source and direction of the heat. Whereas baking and roasting cook food by surrounding it with ambient heat, broiling cooks with high, direct heat from one side only, at the top of the oven. This method can give your food a well-browned surface while leaving a rare interior, like in our Broiled Salmon With Vegetables and Scallion Rice.

Salmon en Papillote

Cooking en papillote is the French way of saying, "wrapped in parchment paper and cooked in the oven." When you wrap salmon filets or steaks in parchment, you’re making tidy individual steaming pouches that cook the fish with its own moisture, keeping all the juiciness and flavor in.

Which Oven Method Is Best for Cooking Salmon?

Of these four different oven cooking methods, the best choice to help you avoid overcooking and keep the salmon moist is en papillote, closely followed by baking at a low temperature. To achieve a flavorful browned and caramelized exterior, roasting and broiling are the way to go. You do run a greater risk of overcooking with these high-temperature approaches like broiling and roasting, but they’re especially good methods of preparing high-quality wild salmon, which is extremely flavorful and still firm when served medium-rare.

Cooking Salmon on the Stove Top

You can achieve very different (but equally delicious) results through different cooking techniques when preparing salmon on your stove-top burners.

Pan-Seared and Sauteed Salmon

Cooking salmon in a hot skillet is a quick cooking method that results in crispy skin and generous, flavorful browning on both sides. Always use a nonstick skillet, and remember to pat the fish dry with paper towels before cooking. If your salmon filets or steaks are especially thick (1 inch or more), you’ll get the best results when you give them a nice sear on the stove and then pop the pan in a moderate oven (350 degrees) to finish cooking all the way through without burning the surface.

Poached Salmon

Poaching is a classic cooking method that uses a lightly seasoned broth to cook delicate foods with gentle, moist heat. It's another good technique to use if you’re worried about overcooking your salmon. Poached salmon stays moist even after cooking, so you can serve it hot, chilled, or at room temperature—great as a make-ahead entree for entertaining or to use as leftovers in other dishes such as salads and pastas.

Try Simple Poached Salmon Filets or Whole Poached Salmon.

Cooking Salmon on the Grill

The firm texture and generous fat content of salmon make it one of the best kinds of fish for the grill. When buying salmon for grilling choose skin-on fillets or steaks, which will hold up best to the hot grates without falling apart.

Prepare your grill by first cleaning it thoroughly and oiling it generously so the delicate fish will not stick. Then, preheat the grill before putting any food on it. With an oiled and preheated grill, you won’t need to put oil on the salmon, thus avoiding flare-ups and scorching.

To prepare salmon for grilling, first pat it dry with paper towels to remove surface moisture, and then sprinkle on any dry seasoning you like. Lay the filets or steaks carefully on the hot grill and then tend to it carefully. Fish cooks quickly, so you should never leave it on the grill unattended. On average, salmon needs to cook for approximately 7 minutes per inch of thickness. Let it cook about 75 percent of the way through on the first side, and then flip just to finish it off with a nice sear on the other side.

Cooking Salmon with Your Specialty Appliances

Are you someone who can never have enough kitchen gadgets? Expand the horizons of your favorite appliances by learning how to prepare salmon with your air fryer, Instant Pot, and sous vide cooker.

Sous Vide

Nathan Myhrvold, one of the world’s top experts on sous vide cooking, taught Martha his sous vide salmon technique. Using this low-temperature water bath technique is his favorite way to prepare salmon. He begins by soaking salmon filets in a simple salt and sugar brine to impart flavor and moisture to every bite. Then, each filet is individually vacuum sealed with a drizzle of olive oil before circulating in a water bath at a mild 115 degrees Fahrenheit. The salmon comes out of the sous vide bath evenly cooked and exquisitely tender and moist. As an optional last step, the sous vide salmon can be quickly pan-seared in butter to impart another layer of complexity and flavor.

Air Fryer

Your air fryer is an especially good way to cook salmon directly from the freezer. First, coat the frozen filets lightly with oil and season however you like. Then, simply cook the seasoned frozen fish on the air fryer rack at 400 degrees for 7 to 10 minutes until it’s opaque through the middle.

Instant Pot

Yet another brilliant use for your multi-cooker: prepare moist and tender salmon in record time. The tightly enclosed and sealed environment of the Instant Pot recreates similar results to slow baking or oil poaching. For detailed instructions, check out our complete guide to cooking salmon in the Instant Pot.