15 Baked Salmon Recipes For Easy Weeknight Dinners

There's a reason salmon is so popular. There are the well-known health benefits, the versatile flavor profile, and how easy it is to cook. But sometimes, easy ingredients are the hardest to improve upon since they turn out so well —regardless of what you do with them. While a simple salted salmon filet can fill you up, it won't necessarily feed your hunger for bold flavors and variety.

To that end, we've compiled a list of 15 different recipes that focus on baked salmon. There are other ways to prepare salmon, ranging from grilling to pan-frying, but baking is a super-convenient method for busy weeknights when you just want to toss the fish in the oven and let it cook. There's more prep work involved than simply shoving a frozen dinner in the microwave, but most of the recipes included here only take 30 minutes, and most of that time is in the oven.

Many of these recipes focus on the salmon filet itself, which can then be paired with sides or added to a larger dish like pasta. Others are fully fleshed-out main dishes that are ready for the table. If you're cooking wild salmon, make sure you're using it when it's in season. However, farm-raised salmon is good all year-round.

If the last recipe was a little too bare bones for you, this honey citrus salmon dish is a nice step up in complexity. Instead of lemon slices, the salmon is flavored with a simple marinade that mixes honey, fresh orange juice, and minced garlic for a big burst of flavor. The marinade only needs 30 minutes to work its magic before you pop the salmon in the oven. The fish practically cooks itself.

Recipe: Simple Baked Honey Citrus Salmon

We're digging deep into our collective culinary history with this one, back to a time when people would lay a cut of salmon on a piece of wood and set the plank over an open fire to cook. This recipe doesn't call for an open flame, but its earthy, smoky flavor profile conjures the primal image all the same while combining bourbon, orange juice, and brown sugar. In case you're wondering, yes, a cedar plank is safe to use in the oven once it has been soaked in water.

Recipe: Cedar Plank-Baked Salmon

Delicious all year long but carrying strong autumn vibes, this salmon dish uses a cranberry compote to bring a bright tartness to the fish. Compote is often confused with jam, but apart from the fact that they both use fruit, there isn't a whole lot of overlap. This recipe requires cooking the cranberries, mixing them with nutmeg and balsamic vinegar, and spreading the mixture generously over the salmon before baking. Feel free to substitute other types of berries if you like.

Recipe: Glazed Salmon With Cranberry Balsamic Compote

This is an interesting dish that uses familiar ingredients in novel ways. Most of us are familiar with fennel as an herb for seasoning. In this recipe, we're going to take whole fennel and chop it up into bite-sized pieces that surround the salmon filet. The salmon gets a nice citrus marinade before being ringed with orange slices. Once it's finished baking, you get a seafood dinner bursting with bright citrus flavor and nice pieces of fennel for contrast.

Recipe: Orange Marmalade Salmon With Roasted Fennel

There are so many creative ways to use miso paste, and this miso-teriyaki salmon is a banger. As you may have realized, we're channeling the Far East with this dish, complete with rich umami flavors and a tantalizing sweetness. The nice thing about this recipe is it's perfectly enjoyable on its own but fits nicely into a larger dinner plan as well if you need it to. This versatile salmon recipe is a powerful addition to your culinary repertoire, so don't miss out.

Recipe: Miso-Teriyaki Salmon

Another versatile recipe that's just as good on its own as it is combined with side dishes, this honey lime salmon is a uniquely bright take. Although salmon is relatively neutral in flavor, we don't often see it paired with the bright citrus flavor of lime. This recipe amounts to a pleasantly marinated salmon filet, so prep work is kept to a minimum (and cleaning up after is a breeze). Consider pairing it with cilantro rice or shredding it up and using it as a taco filling.

Recipe: Honey Lime Salmon

Another great recipe that allows you to prep the marinade beforehand, this miso salmon dish differs from the miso-teriyaki salmon we listed earlier by dropping the teriyaki sauce. The result is something a little less sweet that packs some powerfully delicious umami flavor, thanks to the brown miso in the marinade. This recipe makes for a great main dish since the flavors are so big. Side dishes such as rice and veggies work great as complementary additions to this dish.

Recipe: Miso Salmon