This baked Miso Salmon recipe is easy and sublime! Baked on a sheet pan with seasonal veggies, in the most flavorful miso marinade, this healthy weeknight dinner is ready in 30 minutes.
I have woven a parachute out of everything broken. ~William Stafford
In our former restaurant and catering business, this Miso Salmon recipe was one of our most requested recipes. It is perfect for busy weeknights when time is short – it tastes great and is an elegant enough dish for special gatherings.
If you like, you can marinate the salmon up to 2 days ahead of time or just make it using the marinade as a glaze. Add veggies to the baking sheet, and you’ll have a tasty, low-carb, high-fiber meal- my husband and I often just eat the salmon and veggies!
Miso Salmon Ingredients
- Salmon Fillets: Use the best quality salmon you can; wild king salmon is the best, or sockeye, Copper River, coho, or sustainably raised Atlantic ( hormone and antibiotic-free).
- Olive oil – for added richness
- Toasted Sesame oil– for a toasty nutty flavor.
- Mirin – Sweet Japanese cooking wine or sake ( or see recipe notes for a substitution)
- Miso paste: We prefer white miso paste for its subtle flavor, but different types of miso work too: red miso paste, shiro miso, or yellow miso paste, etc.
- Brown sugar: or sub honey or real maple syrup
- Fresh garlic and ginger: finely minced or use ginger paste., finely minced
- Optional: a few drops of liquid smoke (only if you like smoky flavor) and soy sauce
- Optional Veggies: quick-roasting veggies like snow peas, asparagus, small baby carrots, bell pepper, zucchini, green beans, mushrooms, etc.
- Optional garnish: scallions (green onion) and sesame seeds
How to make Miso Salmon
Step one: Make the miso glaze. Place the miso marinade ingredients in a small bowl and whisk. You can pour this over the salmon and marinade for up to 2 days in the fridge, or just coat the salmon on both sides with the marinade.
Step 2: Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Season the salmon with salt and pepper. Add any veggies you like and use any leftover marinade to toss the veggies (or feel free to toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper).
Step 3: Bake! Bake until the salmon registers 125 F at the thickest part, then place under the broiler for 2 minutes to caramelize the miso glaze giving even more depth and umami flavor. Depending on the thickness, this is anywhere from 10-15 minutes.
Your goal is to cook the salmon to “medium,” which is about 135F, but keep in mind it will continue cooking after you remove it from the oven. If the veggies need longer, keep them in.
Step 4: Garnish. Sprinkle with scallions and sesame seeds and serve!
Serving Suggestions
Serve miso glazed salmon with roasted seasonal veggies, our crunchy Asian Slaw, Asian Cucumber Salad, or our Kyoto Sweet Potatoes for a healthy, hearty dinner! Or keep it simple with salmon and veggies!
Storage
Leftovers will keep up to 3 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Reheat on the stovetop or microwave.
Chef’s Tips
- Broiling the miso salmon for the last few minutes of baking will caramelize the sauce- adding great flavor here!
- Do not cook on aluminum foil- this will leach into your food and into your body.
- If you do not have mirin– sub 1/4 cup water with a tablespoon of honey ( or brown sugar) and a teaspoon of rice vinegar.
- The secret to perfectly cooked salmon is to not overcook it. Cook to “medium,” which is about 135F, but keep in mind it will continue cooking after you remove it from the oven. If the veggies need longer, keep them in.
What to serve with Miso Salmon
More Favorite Salmon Recipes!
- Perfect Grilled Salmon
- Simple Salmon Cakes
- Roasted Pomegranate Miso Salmon
- Teriyaki Salmon with Baby Bok Choy
- 30 Best Salmon Recipes!
Miso Salmon Recipe
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 2
- Category: main
- Method: sheet-pan dinner
- Cuisine: northwest
Description
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1/4 cup Mirin (or sub 1 1/2 tablespoons honey and 2 1/2 tablespoons water)
- 2 tablespoons miso paste
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar, honey or maple
- 2 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely minced or use ginger paste.
- 3 garlic cloves, finely minced
- optional: 1/8 teaspoon liquid smoke (if you like smoky flavor)
Salmon
- 2 x 4 to 6-ounce pieces of salmon ( or black cod or sea bass)
- pinch salt and pepper
- 1 teaspoon orange zest- optional
- 1–2 cups fresh shelled spring peas ( or sub shelled edamame)
- 2–3 cups fresh snow or snap peas, or sub asparagus or french green beans
- garnish: scallions and sesame seeds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F
- Place marinade ingredients in a very small bowl and whisk.
- On a parchment-lined sheet pan, to one side, place the spring peas and snap peas. Pat the salmon dry and brush liberally with the marinade on all sides, spooning a little extra over the top.
- Season the salmon with salt and pepper.
- Drizzle any remaining marinade over the veggies and give a quick toss ( or toss with olive oil, salt and pepper)
- Bake 12-15 minutes, or until the desired doneness, keeping in mind thicker cuts of salmon will take longer, thinner cuts shorter. If you have a broiler, broil for 2 minutes at the end to caramelize the top of the salmon.
- Divide the veggies among two bowls, top each with a piece of salmon.
- Garnish with scallions & sesame seeds.
Notes
You can roast other veggies too- strips of bell pepper, thin wedges of cabbage, thin wedges of bok choy. Just take salmon out when done, and continue roasted veggies until tender.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 562
- Sugar: 32.2 g
- Sodium: 865 mg
- Fat: 20.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 55.7 g
- Fiber: 15.3 g
- Protein: 40.1 g
- Cholesterol: 57.9 mg
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I am an old man, and I can’t find what ingredients you are suggesting be used to make the miso marinade? Everything in your ingredient list? If so, why would one lather miso and brown sugar and maple syrup, on salmon. Two of those are not needed as surely the taste of the Miso will be lost if they are? Cheers!
Hi Frank, of course you can do as you like, but the sweetness (either brown sugar or maple, not both) does add a nice balance to the miso.
I loved this! Used yellow miso and followed as written except subbed 1 T. rice vinegar/1 t. sugar for the Mirin and added in a dash of crushed red pepper. Really, really tasty, simple and quick.
Perfect Amy, so happy you enjoyed!
Perfect dinner! A simple and elegant meal without all the fuss.
Great to hear Oak!
Ok, to be fair, I only did half this recipe as we already had some veggies planned, I just needed a simple, Asian-themed salmon glaze to go with them and wow, this was perfect! Definitely looking forward to trying it as written and also to having it on hand whenever we have random veg to use up.
Glad you enjoyed!
Question: when and where do you use the orange zest?
I sprinkle it over top before it bakes. 🙂
So delicious! I grilled my salmon and had it with a simple green salad and cucumbers and jasmin rice with Furikake I had just bought at Trader Joe’s. Topped the green salad with some homemade asian pickles. My husband could not stop eating! Thank you for another excellent recipe!
Sounds perfect Oak!
This is divine. I have made this multiple times now in less than a week and I love it. Instead of the veggies listed, I have been sautéing what I have on hand which has been onions and kale. I start with onions until they have a little color and then adding kale to the pan and cooking that with the extra marinade too. So so so good. Thank you
Sounds great! So glad you are enjoying.
I needed a quick glaze for salmon and this one did the trick. I wanted to lick my plate after the fish was gone. It was a perfect balance of sweet, salty and zesty from the garlic and ginger and it paired perfectly with the salmon.
Thanks Betsy, this is our favorite!