Grilled Salmon with garlic lime butter is flaky, juicy, and cooked to perfection with crispy salmon skin. Brushing on the flavored butter makes each bite irresistible.
We’re sharing our best tips for cooking salmon on the grill so it doesn’t stick. Watch the video tutorial and see why we are so obsessed with this salmon recipe.

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Watch Grilled Salmon Video Tutorial:
Watch Natasha make this amazing salmon on the grill and learn all of our best tips and tricks for easy flipping and preventing salmon from sticking to the grill. Grilled salmon is quick and easy to make, and infused amazing flavor. That flavored butter is so good, we even used it on Grilled Corn on the Cob.
Your family and dinner guests will be humming over this salmon recipe. It’s sure to become your go-to salmon recipe for grilling season.
Grilled Salmon Recipe:
Break out the BBQ for this Grilled Salmon with Garlic Lime Butter and eat like you’re on vacation! Cooking salmon on the grill adds incredible smoky tones to salmon and the flavored butter takes it over the top with fresh summer flavor.
This grilled salmon recipe is easy-easy-easy. It marinates while you preheat your grill and cooks super fast.
Ingredients for Grilled Salmon and Garlic Lime Butter:
No need to go to a million different stores on a wild goose chase for any oddball ingredients for this recipe! Simple yet flavorful is the motto here! Just grab a few basic ingredients and you’ll be ready to get grilling.
- Unsalted butter
- Garlic smashed (NOT PRESSED)
- Lime juice plus lime wedges to serve
- Fresh dill
- Sea salt and black pepper
- 2 lb Salmon filet (SKIN-ON)

Tools for Grilled Salmon:
This recipe is simple and does not require any fancy equipment. Here are the tools we use to make it easier and safer to grill salmon.
- A long pair of Tongs to flip salmon
- A grilling spatula (or heatproof spatula)
- An oven mitt (for safety!)
- Saucepan and silicone brush to apply butter
How to Make Garlic Lime Butter:
This amazing flavored butter is used to marinate, baste, and then brush the salmon once it’s off the grill.
1. In a saucepan, melt butter and add smashed garlic, salt, and black pepper. Simmer 1 minute until fragrant then add chopped dill and lime juice and immediately remove from heat.
Cook’s Tip: Smashing the garlic infuses great garlic flavor into the butter sauce without burning on the grill.

How to Grill Salmon:
1. Spoon 1/3 of the sauce over the salmon then brush it on to distribute. Let salmon rest and marinate while preheating the grill.

2. Preheat grill to medium/high (350˚F-400˚F) and oil the grates. Place salmon onto grill, skin-side-up. Cover and grill over medium/high for 3 minutes.
3. Loosen salmon with a spatula if needed, then carefully flip over and brush the tops with 1/3 of the garlic-lime butter then cover and cook another 2-3 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 140˚F then transfer to a platter (it will rise to 145˚F while it rests).
4. Transfer to a platter and drizzle with 1/3 sauce reserved in the saucepan (if the butter sauce hardens, heat on the stove just until melted). Garnish with fresh dill and serve with lime wedges to squeeze over the top.

How to Keep Salmon from Sticking to the Grill:
Do yourself a favor and oil the grates! It’s a quick step that will make grilling and flipping salmon so much easier. Oil the grates after preheating. To oil the grill, dip a folded paper towel in a high heat cooking oil (it should not be dripping with oil). Use tongs to hold the oiled paper towel and rub over the hot grates. This also works great when making Grilled Salmon Skewers.
Salmon Grilling Tips:
- When grilling salmon, be sure to buy skin-on salmon fillets. Salmon is very tender and flaky and the skin helps keep it together on the grill without falling through the grates.
- The butter in this recipe makes the salmon juicy and rich in flavor – don’t worry about the amount as some of it is lost on the grill.
- When flipping salmon, wear an oven mitt and start with the filets at the back in case of flare-ups.

How Long Do You Grill Salmon?
So you know how long to cook salmon on the grill, we created this salmon grilling chart. The ideal internal doneness temperature is 145˚F. We take it off the grill about five degrees early since the temperature will continue to rise as the salmon rests off the grill. If you see white beads forming on the salmon, that means it is overcooking.
Follow these salmon grilling guidelines for cooking over medium heat (350˚F):
- 1″ thick fillets = 3 minutes per side
- 3/4″ thick fillets = 2-3 minutes per side
- 1/2″ thick fillets = 2 minutes per side
What to Serve with Grilled Salmon:
In just 30 minutes or less, you’ll have dinner on the table for a simple weeknight meal everyone will enjoy. Serve it with Grilled Vegetables, and Creamy Mashed Potatoes or Fluffy White Rice to complete the meal.
If you need more menu inspiration, explore all of our Side Dish Recipes.
Love Salmon? Try Our Top Salmon Recipes:
There’s so much you can do with salmon and the recipe options are endless! These are the top-rated salmon recipes on our site. It’s so hard to pick a favorite.
- Baked Salmon – with garlic and dijon sauce
- Teriyaki Salmon – you will fall in love with this glaze
- Salmon Cakes – don’t skip the homemade tartar sauce
- Avocado Salmon Salad – Excellent with lemon dill dressing
- Pan-Seared Salmon – easy with mouthwatering lemon butter
- Sheet Pan Salmon and Asparagus – 20 minute dinner
Grilled Salmon Recipe with Garlic Lime Butter

Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, (8 Tbsp)
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed (NOT PRESSED)
- 2 Tbsp lime juice , (from 1 lime)plus lime wedges to serve
- 2 Tbsp dill, chopped, plus more to garnish
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 lbs salmon filet, skin-on, cut into 6 portions
Instructions
- In a sauce pan, melt 1/2 cup butter over medium heat. Smash 4 garlic cloves with the flat side of a knife and add to saucepan with 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Simmer 1 min or until fragrant. Add chopped dill and 2 Tbsp lime juice then immediately remove from heat.
- Arrange salmon fillets on a platter skin-side-down and spoon on 1/3 of butter sauce and brush over the tops. Let salmon marinate while preheating grill.
- Preheat grill to medium heat (350˚F to 400˚F). Oil the hot grates. Place salmon onto preheated grill, skin-side-up. Cover and grill over medium (350˚F) heat undisturbed, about 3 minutes on the first side.
- Carefully flip salmon over (it helps to have a spatula to loosen it and tongs to flip it over), brush on 1/3 of butter sauce then cover and cook another 2 minutes (or according to salmon grilling chart), until internal temperature reaches 140˚F (the temperature will continue to rise to an ideal 145˚F internal temperature off the grill).
- Transfer salmon to a platter and drizzle with remaining 1/3 of sauce in saucepan (if butter has hardened, heat on the stovetop just until melted). Garnish with fresh dill and serve with lime wedges to squeeze over salmon.
Notes
1″ thick fillets = 3 minutes per side
3/4″ thick fillets = 2-3 minutes per side
1/2″ thick fillets = 2 minutes per side
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
My entire family really enjoyed this salmon. My 2-year old was surprised by the taste at first (must have been the fresh lime that excited her taste buds) but she enjoyed it also! That is just the best feeling when your kids happily eat something you make and especially when salmon is full of brain and heart-boosting Omega 3 fatty acids. YES!!





I never comment on foods really when I should! But seriously this is probably the best salmon I have ever had in my life! Your marinade is unbelievable! My husband hates fish and he ate so much of it! We were all fighting for it! With the grilled flavor… so good! Thank you so much!
Wow, that is just awesome! Thank you, Amber, we appreciate your good comments!
So delicious. Can’t wait to make again
I’m so glad you enjoyed that Karen!
Hi Natasha!!!
I made this tonight on my indoor grill!!!! It was fantastic!!!!! My neighbors 9 month old and 2 yo LOVED it as well!!!!
I also made your roasted potatoes and made a salad. I did my potatoes in the air fryer and cooked them at 400 for 20 minutes and 1/2 way shook them. I will definitely make the salmon again… MMMM yummy…
Yay, that is so awesome! I love it when kids also enjoy my recipe.
I made this for dinner. I can count on my hand the number of times I’ve cooked non battered fish the 40 years I’ve been married. My husband does not like fishy fish and neither do I. This was good, but after thinking about it, I didn’t really taste the marinade. Hmmm…. not sure why. Was hoping to taste the butter, garlic and lime juice.
Thank you for sharing that feedback with us Carri! I’m wondering if your salmon was larger than the recipe required and needed more marinade? Was anything else altered in the recipe?
We used to eat out a lot. My 3 kids are gourmet eaters. Now due to the Pandemic we are eating at home all the time. I made this for my family and husband and 3 kids loved it. The sauce was amazing.! The salmon was juicy and flavorful. I would definitely recommend this recipe. My husband and I are now big fans of Natashas Kitchen! We are looking forward to trying more of your recipes.
That is so awesome! Thank you so much for your kind words and great feedback, Teri. I hope you and your family will enjoy the other recipes that you will try!
Natasha,
I wanted to make this dish but didn’t have dill or limes so I substituted parsley and lemon. The salmon was so juicy and tasty. Cant wait to try it with the dill and lemon. This will go to the top of my salmon list.
So Yummy!
Rob
That is so awesome! I’m so glad you were able to find some substitutes and it turned out great. Thanks for your good feedback, Rob.
Made it tonight. Wonderful.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe Rich!
Did you leave the scales on? Just wondering since I didn’t see you take the skin off the end or anything and I’ve never tried eating fish with the skin on but would love to try
Hi Travis, we used a 2 lb Salmon filet (SKIN-ON) but scaled. I hope that helps.
Can this be made on the stove top in a skillet or a grill pan?
Hi Claire, I haven’t tested this on a stovetop to advise. It may work in an oven! You could bake this in the oven instead following these baking instructions.
Delicious! So fast and not dried out. I was hesitant about skin side up, but the fillets flipped with no problem. There was a lot of humming going on at the table…yummy! I served with a cannellini/ red onion/avocado salad and corn on the cob.
Will definitely use this recipe again! Thank you!
Sounds like you found a keeper! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Kathy!
The sauce looks great. However cooking to 145 degrees? Will ruin the salmon by over cooking. Cooking to 125-130 makes for a much more tasty piece of fish.
Thank you for that feedback Paul!
I cooked this with Help from my 12 year old son who doesn’t like salmon. As we made the sauce, the aroma caught his interest. After it came off the grill, we could not wait to eat it!! We followed the grill prep instructions and had NO STICKING!! I was So afraid I’d ruin my salmon on the grill to it sticking, I almost used the oven. I’m so glad I didn’t. This recipe was so amazing!! The salmon was So delicious!! He ate all of his and then some! I can’t wait to do this again! I did add a little honey to the sauce. And it was super with our side of sweet potatoes. I’d post a picture if I could. I don’t see that
Option. 😊
Yay that is so awesome! It’s so great to hear that you and your son both loved this salmon recipe. I hope you will both love every recipe that you try!
The grilled salmon with garlic lime butter is delicious and so easy. We also used it on shrimp skewers, oh so good.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me! That sounds great!
Natasha!!! This recipe is delicious! I printed it out a while ago and finally made it tonight. Home run! Thank you! A new grilled salmon favorite! I made it just as you specified and we loved it. Definitely a keeper!
The dill was very nice. I keep thinking about cilantro though…have you tried that in this recipe? It would be a very different flavor, obviously, but seems like it might be nice too. Just wondered.
Thank you for all your inspiring, delicious recipes!!! <3
That’s just awesome! Sounds like you found a new favorite!
Hi Natasha. We just discovered you 2 weeks ago. So far, we have prepared 4 of your recipes, and they’re all excellent and easy to do. Thank you! If I don’t have dill, what substitute can you recommend for this dish?
You can try using tarragon, that should work too.
Hi Natasha, I’m starting the Mediterranean diet next week & this salmon recipe would be a great start. The only thing is, I can’t use butter. I have to use olive oil. Do you think that will work with this recipe?
Thanks for sharing all your wonderful recipes.
Hi Livia, I think that should work too. Please share with us how it goes if you do an experiment!
I don’t love salmon, but I’m trying to eat more healthy foods so I tried this recipe. While I still don’t love salmon, it was a solid recipe. And that lime butter… I want to slather it on everything! I think I’ll use the leftover butter for grilled shrimp for lunch tomorrow! I served this with your grilled balsamic veggies which are always a hit in my house. I grilled a piece of salmon for my Greyhound also, and he gobbled it up and walked around licking his lips, so this recipe is both human and dog approved 🙂
Sounds great and thanks for sharing that with us. Yes the butter would definitely work well with your grilled shrimps!
I just made this recipe tonight for dinner and it was so delicious! The whole family loved it. I generally don’t leave the skin on and I did and it was so moist without being strong tasting. Definitely going to make this again. Thank you for your recipes. Every one that I have made has been terrific. Whenever I want a new recipe for salmon I check out yours. We also love the salmon cakes. It’s one of our favorites!
I love it! Thank you for your good comments, Glenda and I hope you love every recipe that you try!
Made this and it was delicious! Instead of grilling the salmon I pan fried because we had a thunder storm that night. It still came out amazing. I will definitely make it again.
That storm is rolling our way today! I love the idea of trying this on a pan, thank you for sharing that with me Cris!
Hi Natasha,
This recipe looks great! We don’t have an outdoor grill in our backyard, so I was wondering if you think I could use my George Foreman grill for this recipe. Thank you, and I love your recipes!
Hello Anna, that should work too. I hope you like it!