Hot honey salmon is a dish full of layered flavors. Salmon naturally pairs well with sweet elements like honey, maple syrup, and brown sugar, with its rich oils to help balance the sweetness. This hot honey version takes it to the next level, creating a caramelized glaze with a semi-subtle spicy kick. A splash of lemon adds just the right touch of acidity, bringing brightness and depth to every bite.
Why You are Going to Love This Hot Honey Salmon Recipe
I am still on the hot honey band wagon, and wanting to develop more recipes using this amazing condiment. As mentioned earlier, salmon pairs well with honey so hot honey wasn’t a huge jump and I am very happy with the outcome. Not only does this recipe taste amazing, but it comes together in about 20 minutes! Who doesn’t like a main dish that is straightforward AND delicious? I doubt I’m the only one in the room with my hand up 😜✋.
If you enjoy this recipe and want to shake it up a bit, you can use other types of fish that would pair well with this hot honey glaze such as: black cod (sablefish), mahi mahi, and halibut.
Equipment Needed
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This recipe doesn’t use a lot of fancy equipment, but a cast iron skillet is great to provide even heat. If you don’t have a cast iron skillet you can also use a really good quality stainless steel frypan or a non-stick frypan.
Ingredients for Hot Honey Salmon
Salmon fillets – coho, sockeye, spring, steelhead to name a few possibilities.
Kosher salt, cracked black pepper, onion powder, paprika, cayenne – for seasoning the salmon.
Olive oil – small amount to fry the salmon in.
Hot honey – adds the spicy sweetness.
Cloves of garlic – for seasoning the sauce
Light soy sauce – base of the sauce, provides saltiness to the dish as well as umami flavor.
Freshly squeezed lemon juice – adds brightness to the sauce
Water if necessary – added if the sauce begins to evaporate too much
Fresh parsley for garnish
How to Make Hot Honey Salmon
Rinse salmon under cold water and then pat dry with paper towel.
In a small bowl prepare the spice rub by mixing together the salt, pepper, onion powder, paprika, and cayenne.
Sprinkle the spice rub all over the tops of the salmon fillets (no need to season the skin). Set the salmon aside.
Prepare the sauce in a small bowl by combining the hot honey, garlic, soy sauce, and lemon juice. Set aside. If you don’t have hot honey on hand, you can check out my easy recipe here.
Heat up fry pan (cast-iron) over medium/high heat. Add olive oil. Once the olive oil is hot, add the salmon fillets skin side up and cook for 3 minutes. Flip once golden brown and cook the salmon skin side down for another 4 minutes.
Add the sauce to the pan and continue cooking the salmon while basting with the sauce for another 4-6 minutes until the fish is fully cooked. If the sauce is starting to evaporate too much you can add a bit of water to keep it saucy. The salmon is done when it is completely opaque and flakes easily with a fork. You can also check the internal temperature with a thermometer which should be at least 145F.
Serve over rice, cauliflower rice, noodles, or greens. Drizzle with sauce.
Notes
- Rinsing the salmon isn’t totally required, but it is a good habit and will get rid of anything that might bring an unpleasant taste to the final cooked salmon.
- Hot honey is a great condiment to have on hand, the possibilities for drizzling it are endless. But if you don’t already have this in your cupboard, you can make your very own with my hot honey recipe.
- When cooking the salmon you can cook it skin side down to start or skin side up. I am not a fan of skin and I remove it before eating or leave it on my plate. I find starting with it skin side up, the meat comes off the skin easily before plating if I like. But, if you like crispy salmon skin, then by all means start with the skin side down for about 4 minutes to crisp it up and then flip. You will probably have to flip it again at some point before you begin basting with the sauce.
- The water in the recipe is “use as needed”. This means, if your sauce is starting to evaporate too much and getting thick, you can thin it down with a little water. Add just a tablespoon at a time, so that you don’t end up with a watery sauce when you are ready to serve.
FAQs
What to serve with hot honey salmon? I like to keep things simple, especially with fast recipes. This hot honey salmon goes great on a bed of rice, or even cauliflower rice. I’ve served it here with a side of broccolini, but it would also be great with my Shanghai bok choy, or hot honey Brussels Sprouts. You can never go wrong with a salad on the side like Quinoa Arugula Salad, or Peach Burrata Salad.
How to pick out fresh salmon. Starting with the freshest ingredients means your final results will be the tastiest as possible. If buying a whole salmon, look at the eyes, they should be plump and clear, the skin should be shiny and slippery. If buying fillets, they should feel firm and if you press your finger in to the meat, it should bounce back. There should be no discoloration and the flesh should be moist and shiny without a strong fishy or ammonia odour.
How to store leftover hot honey salmon. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
How to reheat hot honey salmon leftovers. You can reheat in a fry pan with a little oil over medium heat, adding a lid helps to heat it up faster, you can also add a couple of tablespoons of water to the pan which will form steam under the lid and heat the salmon up faster without drying it out. I’m not a fan of reheating fish in the microwave as it makes your microwave smell of fish, but it can be done for about a minute – I put a paper towel overtop so you don’t have any splatters in your microwave. I haven’t tried it, but you could probably also use an air fryer. I would loosely wrap in aluminum foil (to keep the sauce from drying out) and heat at 375 for about 6 minutes.
Hot Honey Salmon
Ingredients
- 4 Salmon Fillets (5 ¼ oz each or 150g)
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Cracked Black Pepper
- ½ teaspoon Onion Powder
- ½ teaspoon Paprika
- ⅛ teaspoon Cayenne
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
- ¼ cup Hot Honey 2.8 oz (80g)
- 4 cloves Garlic finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons Light Soy Sauce
- 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice Freshly squeezed
- Water If necessary
- Parsley For garnish
Instructions
- Rinse salmon under cold water and then pat dry with paper towel.
- In a small bowl prepare the spice rub by mixing together the salt, pepper, onion powder, paprika, and cayenne.Sprinkle the spice rub all over the tops of the salmon fillets (no need to season the skin). Set the salmon aside.
- Prepare the sauce in a small bowl by combining the hot honey, garlic, soy sauce, and lemon juice. Set aside. If you don't have hot honey on hand, you can find an easy hot honey recipe on this site.
- Heat up the fry pan (cast-iron). Add the olive oil. Place the salmon down skin side up and cook for 3 minutes on medium/medium-high heat. Flip once golden brown, cook for another 4 minutes.
- Add the sauce to the pan and continue cooking the salmon while basting with the sauce for another 4-6 minutes until the fish is fully cooked. If the sauce is starting to evaporate too much you can add a bit of water to keep it saucy.The salmon is done when it is completely opaque and flakes easily with a fork. You can also check the internal temperature with a thermometer which should be at least 145F.
- Serve over rice, cauliflower rice, noodles, or greens. Drizzle with sauce.
Notes
- Rinsing the salmon isn’t totally required, but it is a good habit and will get rid of anything that might bring an unpleasant taste to the final cooked salmon.
- Hot honey is a great condiment to have on hand, the possibilities for drizzling it are endless. But if you don’t already have this in your cupboard, you can make your very own with my hot honey recipe.
- When cooking the salmon you can cook it skin side down to start or skin side up. I am not a fan of skin and I remove it before eating or leave it on my plate. I find starting with it skin side up, the meat comes off the skin easily before plating if I like. But, if you like crispy salmon skin, then by all means start with the skin side down for about 4 minutes to crisp it up and then flip. You will probably have to flip it again at some point before you begin basting with the sauce.
- The water in the recipe is “use as needed”. This means, if your sauce is starting to evaporate too much and getting thick, you can thin it down with a little water. Add just a tablespoon at a time, so that you don’t end up with a watery sauce when you are ready to serve.
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Salmon is a favorite with my crew and me. The hot honey was such a delectable twist for dinner.