An easy and simple recipe for skin-on oven broiled salmon. Brush with olive oil, season, then broil on high for 4 minutes. Easy and delicious!
Whenever I want to make something quick and nutritious for dinner, I default to one of my trusted salmon recipes. I always have frozen salmon fillets on hand. All I need to do is remember to defrost them the night before. Although even if I forget, I can simply use them frozen in most recipes and cook the fish a little longer.
This broiled salmon recipe is one of my go-to weeknight dinners because it’s good for you, easy to make, and truly delicious. Baked salmon is another good one. Super easy too, but it takes slightly longer and you do need to heat up your oven.
The ingredients you’ll need
You’ll only need a few simple ingredients to make this tasty broiled salmon recipe (the exact measurements are included in the recipe card below):
Salmon fillets: Try to use sustainable salmon if you can. It’s better for you and better for the environment.
Olive oil: If you worry about its smoke point, you can use avocado oil instead.
Kosher salt and black pepper: I use kosher salt in most of my recipes. If using fine salt, you might want to reduce the amount you use.
Spices: Garlic powder and dried thyme. Make sure they are fresh! A few years ago, I had stale thyme in my spice cabinet (it was six months past its expiration date). It ruined quite a few dishes until I realized what was going on!
How to broil salmon?
The detailed instructions are listed in the recipe card below. To make this super easy recipe, all you need to do is:
Spray or brush the salmon fillets with olive oil.
Season them with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and dried thyme. Then give them another quick coating of oil.
Broil them on high, skin side down and directly beneath the heating element (which is usually four inches below), for just 4 minutes.
Broiling is such a great cooking method!
Broiling is by far the easiest way to prepare salmon. It comes out tender, delicious, and it’s ready in FIVE MINUTES. Faster than fast food and so much healthier!
The more I cook, the more I like broiling. Broiling is a truly fast cooking method. It leaves the food juicy and is far less messy than stovetop frying. I have several broiler recipes on this blog, including:
The only drawback is that you really need to pay close attention to the food and make sure it doesn’t burn. It’s not just about the flavor – charred food should be minimized.
Should I remove the skin?
I never do. I think it’s the best part of fish, and especially salmon. You CAN remove it if you want, but I think you will lose out on a very flavorful part of the fish.
How to serve broiled salmon?
I often serve it with olive oil broccoli salad. I make the broccoli salad in advance, so all I have to do at dinnertime is make the salmon. It’s truly one of the easiest dinners I make and one of the healthiest too.
It’s also excellent with roasted cherry tomatoes, the ones you see in the photos. But I serve it with those only when I have leftovers of them. They require baking and I don’t like to mix two different cooking methods in one meal (I’m way too lazy for that).
How to keep the leftovers?
You can keep leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days, in a sealed container. They do tend to dry out when reheated, so I like to flake them cold and mix them into a salad the next day for my lunch.
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Broiled Salmon
INGREDIENTS
- 4 (6 oz) salmon fillets
- Olive oil spray
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
INSTRUCTIONS
- Heat the broiler on high and set an oven rack directly below the heating element (4 inches below). Line a large rimmed broiler-safe baking sheet with foil.
- Generously spray both sides of the salmon fillets with olive oil.
- Place the fish in the pan, skin side down. Sprinkle their tops with kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and dried thyme.
- Lightly spray the tops again, to help keep the spices (especially the thyme) moist and prevent it from scorching under the broiler.
- Broil the salmon until opaque and cooked through, about 4 minutes. Serve immediately.
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Vered DeLeeuw, LL.M., CNC, has been following a low-carb real-food diet and blogging about it since 2011. She's a Certified Nutrition Coach (NASM-CNC), has taken courses at the Harvard School of Public Health, and has earned a Nutrition and Healthy Living Certificate from Cornell University. Her work has appeared in several major media outlets, including Healthline, HuffPost, Today, Women's Health, Shape, Reader's Digest, and Better Homes and Gardens.