Major salmon fans over here and this teriyaki salmon recipe is a winner! It’s so simple and doesn’t require any lengthy marinating, but is super flavorful. The Asian salmon turns out flaky, juicy and absolutely delicious with the homemade teriyaki sauce.
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This is an easy salmon dinner idea the whole family will love. My son LOVED it and he doesn’t usually refill his plate for salmon. Funny all I have to tell him is “it tastes like Panda” and he’s sold. He’s big on Asian flavors :).
Ingredients for Teriyaki Salmon:
You can use a 2 to 3 lb salmon filet for this recipe. We used a wild-caught Sockeye Salmon (more on selecting salmon and it’s affect on how long to bake salmon below). The homemade teriyaki sauce is so simple but so good (which is great on chicken too!). P.S. Use a gluten free soy sauce like Tamari brand (Amazon affiliate link) to make it gluten free! See the ingredient measurements in the print-friendly section below.
How to Make the Teriyaki Salmon:
Prep: Grease a large rimmed baking sheet (cover with foil and then grease for easier clean-up). Preheat oven to 400˚F.
1. Combine sauce ingredients and stir until brown sugar is dissolved.
2. Place individual salmon slices in a mixing bowl. Pour the sauce over the salmon, cover with plastic wrap and let marinate 20 minutes (at room temp or refrigerated).
3.Transfer salmon to prepared baking sheet (keep the marinade). Bake at 400 for 12-16 minutes or until salmon is flaky and cooked through, bake times may vary by thickness and cut of salmon (see notes on how long to bake salmon below).
4. While salmon is baking, transfer remaining marinade to a small sauce pan and bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally until slightly thickened (3-4 min) then remove from heat.
5. Once salmon is out of the oven, brush with teriyaki syrup, then sprinkle with chopped green onion and sesame seeds as desired.
Juicy!! I’m so bummed there aren’t any leftovers…
How Long to Bake Salmon:
Baking times for salmon will vary based on the type of salmon you are using.
Farmed Raised Salmon (like “Atlantic Salmon” or farmed King Salmon) tend to have a higher fat content so they can be baked for a longer period of time without drying out. Farmed salmon also tends to come in thicker, fattier pieces of salmon which are more forgiving and you can bake longer.
Wild Caught Salmon (like Coho Salmon and Sockeye), tend to be thinner and less fatty fillets (with the exception of WILD Caught King Salmon which can be just as thick and fatty as farm raised). In general, wild salmon is easier to overcook and needs to be baked more carefully. With wild-caught salmon, aim for the lower baking times if a range is given and check for doneness before you cook it any longer.
Print-Friendly Teriyaki Salmon Recipe:
Teriyaki Salmon Recipe

Ingredients
For the Teriyaki Salmon:
- 2 1/2 lbs salmon filet sliced into 2" wide slices, *
For the Teriyaki Sauce:
- 3 Tbsp teriyaki sauce
- 3 Tbsp hoisin sauce
- 3 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp white vinegar
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
- 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 large or 3 medium garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tsp freshly grated ginger, or 1/2 tsp ground ginger
To serve:
- Sesame seeds to garnish, optional
- Green onion, chopped, optional
Instructions
Prep:
- Grease a large rimmed baking sheet (cover with foil and then grease for easier clean-up). Preheat oven to 400˚F.
How to Make Easy Teriyaki Salmon:
- Combine sauce ingredients and stir until brown sugar is dissolved.
- Place individual salmon slices in a mixing bowl. Pour the sauce over the salmon, cover with plastic wrap and let marinate 20 minutes (at room temp or refrigerated).
- Transfer salmon to prepared baking sheet (keep the marinade). Bake at 400 for 12-16 min or until salmon is flaky and cooked through, bake times may vary by thickness of salmon.
- While salmon is baking, transfer remaining marinade to a small sauce pan and bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally until slightly thickened (3-4 min) then remove from heat.
- Once salmon is out of the oven, brush with teriyaki syrup, then sprinkle with chopped green onion and sesame seeds as desired.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
More salmon recipes worth trying:
Baked Salmon with Garlic and Dijon
Baked Salmon with a Tangy Glaze
Hi,
For the sauce, it says 3 tablespoons of teriyaki…? I’m confused. Do you mean cornstarch perhaps? Thank you!
Hi Li! To make the teriyaki sauce for the salmon, you will use actual teriyaki sauce along with the other ingredients listed.
My family & friends 🧡 love it so much
Absolutely the best, the teriyaki was outstanding. I made it exactly like the recipe but
Put it under the broiler for a couple of minutes at the end. Once it’s out of the oven, the skin
Comes off easily for serving.
Natasha, what do you think about using a whole fillet of salmon side instead of cutting into smaller fillets? Can I marinate for several hours or is this too much? How long would you bake a whole side for and at what temp?
Hello, using whole fillets would be fine an d you can marinate it but just don’t go far beyond 4-6 hours. You can preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C) bake for 10 minutes per inch of thickness.You can check for doneness by testing the salmon with a fork—it should easily flake.Hope you love it!
Absolutely delish! Definitely will do over and over…
Salmon is my favorite food all the time I never get tired eating salmon!
Amazing as always! I had never tried baked salmon before but recently started dating a guy who loves salmon dishes so I wanted to try it – he was amazed by this teriyaki marinated variation as well!
Great post! I love how you broke down the recipe into easy-to-follow steps, and the photos make it look so delicious. I’m definitely trying this out soon—thanks for sharing!
You’re very welcome. I’m glad it was helpful.
I did not catch anything about leaving or removing the skin ?
I find a pot of boiling water poured over the skin shrinks it and then removes easily
Hi Denis, I cook salmon with the skin on to protect it from drying out or burning on the bottom. You are more than welcome to remove it after. If you experiment without it, let me know how you liked the recipe.
Hi Natasha! Do you happen to have any recommendation on what to eat on the side/what to pair with this? 🙂
Hi Katharina! Steamed white rice, quinoa, mashed potatoes and a side of veggies or salad are a great combination.
Thank you so much! We did mashed potatoes and loved it. Will definitely try the others in the future!
This was really good, I did put less sugar in, and because I had thiner filets I boiled them. I did double the sauce and saved half and reduced for the glaze (yummy). I know if you save the marinate from the fish and boil it, it is safe not as others said not safe. One other thing I did add shaohsing wine not white vinegar as I cook a lot of Thai,Japanese and Chinese food and use it often when ask for vinegar.
I agree with you, it is safe to use the marinade to cook with later. This is not a food safety hazard. Issues can arise with stews, gravies and cooked rice which is left to cool too slowly at ambient or warm temperatures as if a bacteria is present, it may form a toxin which is released when heated. This is a cold marinade with sugar and salt which are also inhibitors for bacterial growth. I’m looking forward to trying this recipe!
This is our new family favorite salmon recipe. Superb, when King salmon is used (also called Chinook salmon). Excellent when Coho salmon is used. Highly recommended.
Hi I don’t have bought teriyaki sauce. Any ideas what could be substituted?
Hi Mary, if you look up a homemade teriyaki sauce recipe you’ll see that it uses a lot of the ingredients that are already in use for
this recipe. You may try to leave it out and just adjust the other ingredients to your preference adding more sweetness as needed.
I also have other salmon recipe variation you can choose from here in this Salmon category.
Thanks for your quick reply, Natasha! I will try adding some Miren, Shao Hsing and extra soya.
I made this and it’s delicious. However, it is not a good food safety practice to use marinade for raw protein and then cook it. Recommendation: use a portion of the marinade for the raw fish (and throw away) and the other portion to thicken and use with brush when it comes out of the oven.
Loved this recipe! So nutritious and delicious 🙂
Hi, can I use white granulated sugar if I don’t have brown sugar?
Hi Zahra! Sure, you can. It will be lacking the flavor profile of brown sugar which is rich and caramel-like. If you have molasses or pure maple syrup you can mix some with the granulated sugar to help bring some of those rich flavor notes.
I made this tonight. My grandson and daughter in law said it was the best salmon ever! I didn’t have the teriyaki sauce so I subbed dark soy sauce and cut back a little on the soy sauce. Everyone loved it. Thank you.
Coated fried salmon bellies in this incredible sauce, my kids couldn’t get enough of it.
That is the best when kids love what we moms make. That’s so great!
This was a big hit with my family !
I used the sauce on baked chicken tenders too.
Sauce is delicious on both Salmon and Chicken.
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Stokes!