Miso salmon is one of those dinners you’ll crave time and again. It’s incredibly simple, packed with umami flavor, and broils into the most beautiful salmon filet.
Why You’ll Love This Miso Salmon
I still remember the first time I had miso-marinated cod at Nobu restaurant about 25 years ago. It was incredibly delicious! So today’s salmon recipe takes that same approach, but turns it into miso-marinated salmon. Between the insanely flavorful miso glaze and the beautifully caramelized top layer from broiling, this might just be my new favorite way to cook salmon. It’s right up there with my signature garlic herb baked salmon, but this broiling method delivers next-level texture and flavor. Just be sure to follow my tips below to avoid overcooking. Salmon can go from perfect to dry very quickly! Here’s a few more reasons to love this recipe:
- It cooks really fast. Just 7 to 9 minutes under the broiler is all it takes!
- The miso salmon glaze is so simple. A handful of pantry ingredients come together for a rich, savory-sweet marinade.
- It’s a total crowd-pleaser. Everyone I’ve served this to has raved about it, especially when paired with ginger rice and my Asian cucumber salad (more ideas below!).
Miso Salmon Ingredients
- Salmon: You’ll need 4 salmon filets for this recipe. You can use any type of salmon, including sockeye, coho, or king salmon. I’m using king salmon in the video below.
- White miso paste: Traditional miso is made from fermented soybeans, salt, and a grain, like rice or barley. If you’re gluten-free like me, remember that barley contains gluten, so look for white miso (also called shiro miso) that uses rice or soybeans only, with no barley or wheat.
- Mirin, soy sauce, sesame oil: The ultimate trio for Japanese-style marinades. I’m also using tamari soy sauce, which is gluten-free.
- Honey: A little sweetness balances the saltiness and helps caramelize the glaze beautifully.
Find the printable recipe with measurements below.
How To Make Miso Salmon
Step one: Create the miso glaze by whisking together the white miso paste, mirin, honey, soy sauce, and sesame oil.
Step two: Pat the salmon fillets dry and place them in a shallow glass dish. Reserve about 2 tablespoons of the marinade in a separate bowl, then pour the rest over the salmon. Turn the fillets to coat well, then marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Step three: Preheat your oven’s broiler. Line a quarter sheet pan with parchment paper and arrange the salmon fillets on top. Place the rack 4 to 6 inches below the broiler. This is super important as it’ll determine how well your filet cooks (see my notes in the recipe card below). Broil for 7 to 9 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets. The tops should be golden and slightly charred, and the inside just cooked through. While the salmon is still hot, brush it with the reserved marinade for an extra hit of flavor.
Ways To Serve
Not sure what veggies to pair it with? Choose anything light and crisp, such as my Asian cucumber salad, garlic ginger bok choy, sautéed spinach, or steamed broccoli tossed in sesame oil and sesame seeds. Plus my ginger rice! And don’t forget something pickled for the full Japanese experience! Think pickled radish or pickled cucumber.
Storage Tips
Let the salmon cool completely before storing it in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. If you’re freezing leftovers, place them in a sealed container (use parchment between fillets to prevent sticking) and freeze for up to 3 months.
When reheating, go low and slow, either in a 275°F (135°C) oven for about 10 minutes or in the microwave just until warmed through to keep the salmon from drying out.
More Salmon Recipes
- Air Fryer Salmon: Perfect for quick weeknight dinners.
- Blackened Salmon: Most delicious Cajun salmon.
- Salmon Tacos: A flavorful twist for taco night.
- Salmon Patties: A great way to use up baked salmon.
- Or give these other salmon recipes a try!
If you make this miso salmon recipe, I’d love to hear how it turned out in the comment box below! Your review will help other readers in the community. And if you’re hungry for more healthy food inspiration and exclusive content, join my free newsletter here.
Description
Video
Equipment
- Quarter Sheet Pan Perfect for cooking salmon filets!
Ingredients
- 4 6-ounce salmon filets
- optional: sliced green onions and sesame seeds for garnish
Miso Marinade
- ¼ cup white miso paste
- ¼ cup mirin
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
Instructions
- Make the miso marinade. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the white miso paste, mirin, honey, tamari soy sauce, and sesame oil.
- Marinate the salmon. Pat the salmon dry with a paper towel, then place in a glass dish. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the marinade in a small bowl, then pour the rest of the marinade on top of the salmon. Make sure the salmon is well coated, then marinate for 30 minutes to 1 hour in the fridge.
- Broil the salmon. Turn on your oven's top broiler. Line a quarter baking sheet with parchment paper (see notes below), and place the salmon filets on top. Position the top rack about 5 to 6-inches underneath the broiler. Broil the salmon for 7 to 9 minutes, depending on thickness. The salmon should get lightly charred on top, and the middle should be just cooked through.
- Glaze and serve. While the salmon is still hot, brush a light coating of the remaining marinade on top. If you'd like, garnish with sliced green onion and sesame seeds before serving.
Lisa’s Tips
- Storage tip: Let the salmon cool completely before storing it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 to 4 days. If you’re freezing leftovers, place them in a sealed container (use parchment between fillets to prevent sticking) and freeze for up to 3 months.
- If your salmon is on the thicker side (i.e. king salmon), you can lower the rack slightly to prevent the marinade from burning. This will allow the salmon to cook through with a gentler broil. Alternatively, thinner salmon can go closer for a quick sear and caramelization.
- Some recipes recommend scraping the marinade off the top. I tested it both with the marinade scraped off and without scraping and found no difference in terms of caramelization. So no need to scrape.
- Normally I don’t recommend broiling with parchment paper as it can catch fire—so do keep an eye on it! But this recipe cooks so quickly, you should be fine. Just make sure that the parchment paper isn’t coming up the side of your sheet pan. You can also line the sheet pan with aluminum foil if you’d like, for a safer option.
- Because the miso marinade contains sugar, it can go from beautifully caramelized to scorched quickly. Make sure to keep an eye on it after the 5-minute mark.
Nutrition
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Behind The Scenes
I could easily eat all 4 salmon filets on this tray! There’s just something about the simplicity of this recipe and the insanely delicious flavor that means I never tire of it. And while king salmon is my personal favorite, it’s admittedly a splurge (price-wise). But the good news is that this miso salmon is absolutely perfect with any variety of salmon, so feel free to grab whichever salmon works with your budget!
Hi Lisa. I often make your recipes and take them to work to share with my coworkers. Everybody really loves all the dishes I make and one of them just told me she bought your book! Sharing is caring. I truly appreciate you!
Aw, thanks for sharing the recipes with your coworkers, Daniela! I hope she loves her new book.
Excellent dish, ingredients and prepping was so easy. Your description of recipe was very easy to follow. A lovely Sunday dinner!!
Thanks for all you do !!
Thanks so much, Joanne! I’m happy you enjoyed this new salmon recipe.
Hey Lisa!
Where’d you get king filets like that? Or did you just purchase a large filet and cut them in strips like this?
I made a similar recipe with black cod (like Nobu) and it was delicious. Looking forward to trying this one as well!
Hi Jim – I purchased these king filets at a local fish market!
Perfect Miso Salmon, Ginger Rice and Smashed Cucumber Salad
What a delicious combo! Nothing much was changed. My grocery didn’t have Persian cucumbers so I got an organic Englich long cuc. The skin was a little tougher than I like so I had to peel it. I used honey for the salmon marinade, but opted for for agave syrup for the cucumber salad dressing. Other than that, a lovely dinner for one tonight with a meal prep container of leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
Hi Rosalie – I’m so glad the whole meal came together beautifully! If you can get Persian cucumbers next time, that would be ideal for the cucumber salad.
I just took my farm raised salmon filets out of the freezer, but truth be told, if i can get to Costco today, they do have King salmon, so going to grab it. Tonights dinner with both other fixins.
Can’t wait for you to try this miso salmon, Beth!
I love this one! It was a perfect balance of umami, sweet, tart, and salty to compliment the salmon!
Wonderful! I’m so glad you loved this miso salmon, Kristina!
Delish!
Great to hear you loved this miso salmon, Eve!
Another winner! Whole family loved it. Battle of the salmon: we had it two days in a row as I bought a whole side. Husband, a chef, made dinner yesterday, but I cooked tonight with this recipe. Kids said my salmon was better 😁. Husband said it was excellent, please make it again.
Haha, sounds like a salmon cook-off in your house! And secretly happy that your kids said this recipe was better! ;)
Lisa: I can’t thank you enough for these inspired recipes, but I’ll try. Thank you! I tried it for the first time in cooking for family and guests, and it was superb. I also paired the Ginger Rice and the Asian Cucumber Salad, and both were terrific and perfectly complemented the salmon recipe. Just for fun, I’m going to try the marinade/sauce with other fish as well. As I’ve said before, getting the gift of your cookbook from our son was truly life changing, and I’m so grateful for that.
Thrilled to hear the whole combination of miso salmon, ginger rice, and cucumber salad was the perfect meal to serve for your family and guests, Mark!
I made this for dinner tonight and it was excellent! (Of course) My husband said this will need to be on regular rotation. Thank you Lisa!
Happy to hear this miso salmon is now a part of your regular rotation, Mary!
This was delicious and so easy to make! I’ll definitely be putting it in our dinner rotation. I love the feature to bump up the servings in the recipe. I was working with 4lbs of wild coho salmon from Costco. I still ended up with extra sauce that I’ll freeze. I served it over wild rice I toasted in duck fat. Thank you for another tasty recipe Lisa!
Serving this with rice tossed in duck fat sounds amazing! Glad you enjoyed this salmon recipe, Marjie.
I made this today and it was great. Will definitely be adding this to the other delicous salmon recipes on your site. Thanks!
Thrilled you loved this miso salmon recipe, Rodney!
Hi Lisa,
I’m a big fan here. If you post something, I know it will be good!
Just wondering what ideas you have for what I could sub for the mirin?
Hi Rachel – You can use sherry wine as a substitute!
Hi Lisa, we love your recipes, thank you! Apologies if this is a very silly question but is there a particular temperature the broiler should be set to for this recipe? I am desperate to find the magic formula to get beautifully browned salmon that isnt overcooked. Ours always seems to come out pale and overcooked :-(.
Hi Eloise – my current oven just has “low” and “high” setting on the broiler. My old oven didn’t have any other setting than simply turning it on. But for my current oven, I set it to “high.” What are the settings on your broiler?
Definitely going to make this again and again! Delicious!
So happy you loved it!
Can I substitute soy sauce with coconut amino? I don’t like the taste of sesame seed? Substitute oils or no oil works?
Hi Francine – yes, no problem!
Hi Lisa, when you say broiler does that mean grill? The heat comes from the top and can also be used as a toaster here in Australia 🇦🇺?
Hi Julie – that sounds like the same thing then. Essentially, it’s the top heat only element in the oven, and not the entire oven heating (aka baking). Hope you enjoy!
Yes, the broiler is the same thing as the grill 😁
I am just learning to like salmon, so this recipe was very favorable and so easy to make – thank you! I loved the cucumber salad as well, it was very refreshing.
Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed your miso salmon bowl, Bev!