If you want a quick dinner that tastes such as you truly tried, this BBQ salmon within the oven is your new weeknight MVP. Tender salmon fillets are brushed with a candy and smoky brown sugar Dijon glaze, baked till flaky, then completed with crispy onions and contemporary chives.

It’s every thing you need in a straightforward baked salmon recipe: quick, flavorful, and fancy sufficient to idiot your loved ones into considering you had a plan all alongside. Whether you looked for baked BBQ salmon, oven baked salmon, or simply find out how to prepare dinner salmon within the oven with out drying it out, this recipe has you lined.
Quick Recipe Notes
- Why This Glaze Works. The brown sugar helps the prime caramelize, the Dijon provides tang and sharpness, and the chili powder offers the glaze a refined smoky heat. It tastes barbecue-impressed with out needing bottled sauce, which retains the salmon lighter and lets the fish nonetheless style like salmon.
- Bottled BBQ Sauce Option.Want a shortcut? Swap in your favourite thick barbecue sauce in place of the glaze, then brush on a second layer throughout the final few minutes of baking.
- Skin On or Skin Off?You can use salmon with the pores and skin on or off, however I favor skin-on as a result of it helps defend the fish from drying out whereas it bakes. Once it’s cooked, the salmon lifts proper off the pores and skin simply, so that you get all of the profit with none dinner-table drama.
Farm Raised vs. Wild Caught Salmon
Farm raised salmon is raised in a managed setting, whereas wild caught salmon is harvested from its pure habitat.
Both can work nicely on this BBQ baked salmon recipe, so your best option actually comes all the way down to funds, availability, and private choice. Farm raised salmon is often milder in taste, extra buttery, and lighter in colour, whereas wild caught salmon tends to be deeper in colour, firmer in texture, and a bit extra strong in taste.
Wild caught salmon is usually costlier, whereas farm raised is often simpler to search out and a little bit extra inexpensive. If you’re newer to salmon or favor a much less “fishy” taste, farm raised generally is a excellent spot to begin. If you want a richer, extra pronounced salmon taste, wild caught could also be your decide.
Bottom line: both one will bake up superbly right here, so use what you want greatest.

Recipe Essentials
You solely want a handful of easy elements to make this bbq baked salmon recipe. A full checklist of elements with measurements for this recipe is obtainable within the printable recipe card under.
- Salmon – You can both use a complete fillet or 4 particular person fillets. Check the part above for choosing the perfect piece of salmon.
- Coarse kosher salt
- Ground black pepper
- Light brown sugar
- Dijon mustard
- Vegetable oil
- Chili powder
- French fried onion strings
- Chives

How to Make BBQ Baked Salmon (Step-by-Step)
Making this salmon recipe is very easy, you’ll undoubtedly be including it to your common dinner rotation.
- Prepare oven and pan. Preheat the oven and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment or aluminum foil or straightforward clear up. Set apart.
- Season salmon. Pat the salmon fillets dry with a paper towel, season with the coarse Kosher salt and floor black pepper . Place them on the ready baking sheet.
- Make sauce and baste. In a small bowl, mix brown sugar, Dijon mustard, vegetable oil and chili powder till it varieties a paste, baste onto the salmon.
- Bake. Cook for quarter-hour, or till simply flaked with a fork and it reaches an inner temperature of 125°F for medium uncommon.
- Add toppings. Top with the French fried onion strings and snipped chives.

Chef’s Tips
Pat the salmon dry first. Moisture is the enemy of a good glaze. A dry floor helps the brown sugar Dijon combination cling as an alternative of sliding round like a toddler in socks on hardwood.
Use fillets of comparable thickness. That approach they bake evenly and no one will get one dry piece whereas one other is nonetheless doing laps in the center.
Don’t overbake. Pull salmon round 125°F for medium or nearer to 130°F to 135°F if your crowd prefers it extra carried out. It will proceed cooking barely after it comes out of the oven.
Bake uncovered. You need the glaze to set and frivolously caramelize, not steam.
Want extra colour? Broil for the final 1 to 2 minutes, however maintain an eye on it. Brown sugar goes from beautiful to “nicely, that’s unlucky” fairly shortly.
Leave the pores and skin on if potential. It acts like a little insurance coverage coverage towards drying out and lifts off simply after baking.
For frozen salmon: thaw totally, then pat very dry so the glaze sticks.
Rest for 2 to 3 minutes earlier than serving. It helps the juices redistribute and retains the fish extra tender.
Make it A Meal
Salmon pairs with practically something from pasta to rice and positively veggies. I’ve served it over my well-known garlic linguine and in addition almond rice pilaf. Broccoli, a aspect salad and hearts of palm truffles are additionally nice choices.
And come on, bread is all the time a superb choice. Cheddar biscuits and the final tacky garlic bread are my favorites. Or potatoes- you may by no means go improper with any sort of potato. I personally favor garlic mashed potatoes.

Frequently Asked Questions
Atlantic salmon and sockeye salmon each work nicely for baked salmon recipes.
Salmon is usually baked uncovered so the highest can caramelize barely.
Yes. Thaw the salmon fully and pat it dry earlier than seasoning and baking.
Perfect baked salmon ought to look opaque on the surface and nonetheless barely translucent within the middle earlier than resting. If it flakes simply with a fork and the thickest half hits your required temperature, dinner is finished and also you get to look smug about it.
That white stuff is albumin, a pure protein that rises to the floor when salmon cooks. It’s completely suitable for eating, and you may decrease it by not overcooking the fish.

More Flaky Salmon Recipes
Everyone is comfortable when salmon is for dinner! Here are a few of our favourite recipes.

Easy baked salmon with a candy and smoky brown sugar Dijon glaze, baked till flaky and completed with crispy onions and contemporary chives.
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Servings:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment or aluminum foil or straightforward clear up. Set apart.
Pat the 4 salmon fillets dry with a paper towel, season with the 1/2 teaspoon coarse Kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon floor black pepper . Place them on the ready baking sheet.
In a small bowl, mix 4 tablespoons mild brown sugar, 4 tablespoons Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and 1/2 teaspoon chili powder till it varieties a paste, baste onto the salmon.
Cook for quarter-hour, or till simply flaked with a fork and it reaches an inner temperature of 125°F for medium uncommon.
Top with the 2 tablespoons French fried onion strings and snipped 1 tablespoon chives.
If you have tried this recipe, come again and tell us the way it was within the feedback or star rankings!
Freezing: Most salmon, even “contemporary” salmon has been beforehand frozen and shouldn’t be refrozen. Cooked salmon that’s frozen tends to defrost dry and gummy. I extremely advocate consuming this one contemporary.
Calories: 327 kcal, Carbohydrates: 12 g, Protein: 34 g, Fat: 14 g, Saturated Fat: 4 g, Cholesterol: 93 mg, Sodium: 252 mg, Potassium: 869 mg, Sugar: 11 g, Vitamin A: 140 IU, Vitamin C: 0.2 mg, Calcium: 39 mg, Iron: 1.7 mg






