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
Made this my boyfriend and his family for New Year’s Eve dinner! It was a big hit. His mom even asked me for the recipe, and my boyfriend said this was the best salmon he has ever eaten.
(Now they think I’m a good cook! I better read more recipes to keep the good reputation)
Wow! That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
Hello! I have not yet made this; what is a prepared baking sheet?
Hi Peggy, See the section titled: How to Make the Teriyaki Salmon: It will show you how to Prep the sheet: “Prep: Grease a large rimmed baking sheet (cover with foil and then grease for easier clean-up). Preheat oven to 400˚F.” I hope that helps.
Hi Natasha! I’m a huge fan of your recipes. This one is by far one of the best ones I’ve tried from your site. I’m thinking about buying an air fryer. What would the instructions be to cook on an air fryer?
Thanks!
Hello Luis, thank you for your support and I’m glad that you are enjoying my recipes. I saw someone shared this comment “I also cooked the salmon in the air fryer at 400 degrees for 8 minutes. Served it with jasmine rice and sautéed bok choy. My boyfriend couldn’t stop raving about this meal! Thanks for this recipe!” I hope that helps.
Delicious! Thank you Natasha for this recipe.
You’re welcome, Gisele. Glad you loved it!
This looks delicious, but I have a question. Is it safe to “re-use” the marinade? I thought the golden rule with marinades was that if you marinaded raw meat, you should discard the marinade and not use it on the cooked meat. Does the fact that after marinading the raw fish you are heating the marinade, will that eliminate any bacteria left from the raw fish?
Thanks….looking forward to trying this recipe!
Phyllis
Hi Phyllis, keep in mind that the marinade is boiled, just be sure to boil it according to the instructions and it will be safe. That same marinade that was touching the salmon is already in your pan when you are cooking the salmon being on the salmon. I hope that makes sense.
This is going to be our go-to salmon recipe from now on. My son who will only eat salmon with lots of bbq sauce, exclaimed after the first bite, “mom, this doesn’t take like salmon, it’s delicious!” He ate his portion without any issues. Thank you so much!
sorry…..doesn’t “taste” not take LOL
Sounds like you found a new favorite, Silvia! That’s so great!
Wondering if we can pan sear this instead of bake? Would there be any issues with the marinade if using a cast iron skillet?
Hi Shaunte, I haven’t tested this with pan-searing alone, but it may work. If you experiment, I would love to know how you like that.
I have experimented with pan searing 🙂
You can, but if you do you can’t sear the part that’s been in the marinade because the brown sugar burns. So here’s what I’ve been doing to enjoy both the teriyaki and the wonderful crisp skin you get from pan frying.
I put the marinade in a shallow dish and put the salmon in it flesh side down. This way there’s no marinade on the skin.
Then I pan fry skin side down for several minutes on med-high heat. Watch for the salmon to turn opaque roughly half way up.
At this point I take the salmon out of the pan and place it skin side up on a baking sheet and pop it into a 400 degree oven for 8-10 minutes.
This is so good – and so easy to make. It turned out perfect using frozen farmed Atlantic salmon from Costco. Really, unbelievably good.
Sounds awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful comments and review with us, Kris.
Made this today for Valentines day; wife and I both loved, even the 12 y/o ate it up! Thanks!
That’s so great, Jim! Thank you for sharing with me.
Delicious❣️
Best recipe. This is my third time making this and we just love it.
Thank you!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
Made this today and it was as easy (and delicious) as it sounded. Only had to sub the pre-made teriyaki with a bit extra soy, hoisin, and vinegar. Made with veggie fried rice on the side. The cook-time tips helped a lot and were spot on.
Hi Nahia, thanks for sharing some tips and feedback with us! I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe and we appreciate your comments.
I reduced the recipe for 2 people. There will more then enough sauce to marinate the salmon, but not enough to boil and make a glaze. Obviously the marinade is more on the thicker side, so with the little bit of marinade I have left, I find when I put it on the stove it gets too thick because there is a small amount. Would you recommend I double up on the amount of sauce, so I have enough to make a glaze?
Hi Ana, thanks for sharing that with us. You can try that next time if you wish to have more sauce for the glaze.
The whole family LOVED it! Thank you for the recipe!
So great to hear that, thank you so much for sharing!
Hi Natasha, this is my second recipe from your site and it was delicious. No pics, we were too hungry 🙂 I’ll definitely be back, Thank you!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Ruth!
I love watching u. I am not a great cook but I do try your recipes as u try to make them simple for us
Thank you
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you’re enjoying our recipes!
I am making this tomorrow and hope you see this question! In the sauce ingredients it says “teriyaki sauce”- i’m confused, isn’t that what we are making from scratch??
We found it simplifies the recipe significantly since a homemade teriyaki sauce has 6-8 ingredients by itself, and making it from scratch would increase the total prep time in the recipe. It’s more of a homemade teriyaki glaze.
Agree with you Deemom. The teriyaki sauce is a redundant ingredient, all of the other ingredients make up teriyaki sauce by themselves. then as a backup plan, you add store bought teriyaki sauce lol
halved the recipe and it turned out delicious! will definitely make again, thanks!
Perfect! Thank you for sharing that with us, Erica.
I marinated the salmon for 3 hours and doubled the sauce recipe! It wasn’t too salty but It is a tad too sweet. Next time I will half the sugar. Overall, a good recipe
Sounds good, Vicky. Thank you for sharing that with us!
This was delicious. We cooked it on our grill instead of in the oven and it was perfect. Even my picky kids liked it.
Hi Jenn, I’m so happy to hear that! I hope that you and your family will love every recipe that you will try.
I made this last night and followed recipe exactly except grilled on cedar plank over open fire. It’s as easy, fast, and DELICIOUS as it sounds. Sorry I didn’t make a photo…it was very appetizing looking as well!
Awesome! So good to know that you really enjoyed this recipe, no worries about the pic but you may share some pics of your creation on our Facebook page or group so others can see it too.
This recipe is delicious! I’ve made it several times now and it’s always a hit.
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review!