Crazy weeknight dinners just got a heck of a lot less stressful thanks to this maple glazed salmon. Just five ingredients, 10 minutes of effort, and dinner is done. Swear.–Renee Schettler Rossi

Four fillets of maple glazed salmon of a white square platter

Maple Glazed Salmon

5 / 3 votes
These maple glazed salmon fillets are simplicity itself. Nothing more than salmon soaked in maple syrup, soy sauce, and paprika. Sure, they marinate all day, but they take all of 10 minutes to cook. And the flavor? Well, look at how many testers loved it.
David Leite
CourseMains
CuisineAmerican
Servings2 servings
Calories309 kcal
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time9 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients 

For the marinade

  • 1/3 cup regular or gluten-free soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

For the salmon

  • Two (6-ounce) wild salmon fillets (about 1-inch or 25-mm in thickness)

Instructions 

  • Early in the day, stir together the soy sauce, maple syrup, water, and paprika ingredients in a snug dish or a resealable plastic bag. Place the salmon in the dish or bag, turn to coat, and cover or seal. Place in the fridge for up to 9 hours–trust us, the longer the better the flavor.
  • Just before serving, adjust the oven rack so it’s in the top third of the oven. Preheat the broiler for at least 5 minutes. Line a baking sheet with foil.
  • Place the salmon on the foil, skin sides down. Broil for 6 to 8 minutes, keeping close watch. The salmon is done when the sides are no longer translucent and the tops look as if they are about to flake. Serve immediately.
The Minimalist Kitchen Cookbook

Adapted From

The Minimalist Kitchen

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Nutrition

Serving: 1 portionCalories: 309 kcalCarbohydrates: 15 gProtein: 36 gFat: 11 gSaturated Fat: 2 gMonounsaturated Fat: 4 gCholesterol: 94 mgSodium: 1084 mgFiber: 0.5 gSugar: 12 g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Tried this recipe?Mention @leitesculinaria or tag #leitesculinaria!
Recipe © 2018 Melissa Coleman. Photo © 2018 Caitlin Bensel. All rights reserved.

Recipe Testers’ Reviews

As someone who doesn’t cook a lot of fish because I always worry about spending a lot of money and then ruining it, this is now my go-to, back-pocket recipe for richer fish. The maple marinade came together in no time and made more than enough for 1 pound of salmon. Broiling the salmon was so easy and cleanup was a breeze. I love the saltiness of the soy and the maple helped create a delicious crust on the top of the fish. So simple yet so good!

This maple glazed salmon recipe makes for a rich, decadent fish! The long marinade time had me a bit skeptical, but the finished product was a hit! The maple flavor really did shine through in each bite. My husband was impressed, and he isn’t a big fan of fish. I served this with rice and some roasted vegetables.

Beautifully simple preparation and result. All of about 5 minutes prep in the morning and a few minutes cooking under a heated broiler mean you can easily serve this on a weeknight, although it’s a very special dish and worthy of weekend attention for guests. Delicious and almost candied with a subtle smokiness from the smoked Spanish paprika. It’s a great reminder of why salmon is so special.

This maple glazed salmon is a quick and easy weeknight dinner. Let the salmon marinate and it cooks in minutes later in the day. I served it with a quick stir-fried cabbage and rice.

This maple glazed salmon was super easy to make and imparted great flavor on the salmon. I thought that the length of time in the marinade would affect the texture of the salmon, but it didn’t. It took 5 minutes in the morning to prep and another 10 to cook—perfect for a weeknight!

In spite of the fact that the recipe serves two, I believe you could serve four simply by doubling the amount of the filets. There would be no need to increase the marinade since there was plenty, almost too much, for just two pieces of salmon. The 9-hour marinade allowed the flavors to completely permeate the flesh, resulting in a complex flavor combination of salty, sweet, and smoky. The 1-inch-thick fillets were perfectly cooked in 5 minutes.

We eat fish frequently and I’ve tried a lot of salmon recipes, but after his first bite of this maple glazed salmon, my 9-year-old son declared this to be “the best salmon he’d ever eaten.” High praise, indeed! This is such a winner of a recipe. Simple and quick to prepare (as long as you remember to marinate it) and so delicious to eat.

It was hard to pass up this recipe for a few reasons: 1. my adoration for salmon; 2. a flavorful marinade for any protein; 3. a simple weeknight recipe for 2 people. The results were marvelous! I like that you can essentially leave it in the fridge all day and pop it out, ready to be cooked that evening for a quick dinner. The combination of maple syrup and soy sauce was perfectly salty and perfectly sweet, neither flavor too overpowering. The smoked paprika added a nice depth of flavor as well. The fish was cooked perfectly at 6 minutes under the broiler—lightly browned around the edges, flaky, and flavorful. Overall we adored this recipe and I will be making it again and again! I served it with a panzanella salad and a cup of carrot soup.

I was definitely interested in finding out how the long soak in marinade would affect the salmon’s texture, but I shouldn’t have worried. Thanks to the firm flesh, there was no change in the perfect, thick flaking of the fish after cooking. At first, the seasoning didn’t knock me over, but then the subtle hints of sweet smoke surfaced and I was sold more and more with every bite. Salmon can have such a strong character on its own, but the soy-maple-paprika seasoning proved to be a great dance partner, infusing flavor without a lot of flash and attention. I agree with the recipe author that with such a simple preparation, using very fresh and quality fish is imperative. It should also be said that this recipe is about as simple and not difficult as can be. Perfect for anyone who has anxiety about cooking fish! I put this together in a bag before work, came home and turned on the broiler, and 15 minutes later we were sitting down to a delicious healthy dinner. I served this with an Asian flair alongside some bok choy braised in a light soy mustard sauce, a small bowl of vegetable potstickers, and a cucumber-tomato salad with rice vinegar dressing.




About David Leite

I count myself lucky to have received three James Beard Awards for my writing as well as for Leite’s Culinaria. My work has also appeared in The New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, Saveur, Bon Appétit, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Yankee, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, and more.


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4 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I made this Maple Glazed Salmon recipe about 15 hours ago and I literally can’t stop thinking about it, in the best way! An easy quick prep time of 5 minutes, 5 hours of marinating and 9 minutes under the broiler produced the most perfect, not too sweet, smoky, tender piece of salmon ever! With such little effort, I almost felt guilty eating it (said no one ever!) I served it with the LC Lemon Israeli Couscous. Great combination especially with the citrus and fresh herbs, which really brightened and complemented the final dish. I would not hesitate to serve this dish to guests. They’ll think you slaved all day! Haaa!

  2. 5 stars
    This was fabulous and who can complain when a main dish takes less than 3 minutes to pull together? It took me longer to find my smoked paprika than it did to make the marinade. I used tamari, a high-grade Canadian amber maple syrup someone gave me as a gift, and your basic smoked paprika. You could probably get more than 2 servings out of the marinade if you place the marinade bag on a flat baking pan in the refrigerator. I made the marinade before I left for work and marinated the salmon for about 7 hours. In my oven, the cooking time was about 5 minutes. The fish was flaky with a hint of delicious sweet/smoky flavor. There was a touch of caramelization on the edges of the fish which added a great texture (I love that sort of crunchy but not dry texture). I served the salmon with sticky rice, garlic roasted broccoli seasoned with a bit of red pepper flakes, and a cucumber salad dressed with yuzu rice vinegar, grapeseed oil, a hint of sesame oil, and a sprinkling of sesame seeds for added “crunch.” I will definitely make this dish again and again. Thanks for another “keeper meal,” Leite’s Culinaria.