Easy oven-baked crispy skin salmon makes for a mouth-watering, nutritious dinner. This quick and simple recipe only requires about 15 minutes from start to finish!
Make this recipe at least one night per week for dinner to optimize your brain health and boost your immune system!
I’m often asked which recipes I make from my site on a regular basis, and this easy crispy salmon recipe is by far one of the recipes I make the most!
The flavorful seasoning with enticing crispy skin as well as a crispy top with tender fish between is just too tough to beat!
For me, crispy salmon skin is one of those foods that drives my neurotransmitters wild (in a good way). I call in bacon of the sea. 😉
An added bonus? Salmon is a superfood!
Health Benefits of Salmon:
Wild-caught salmon is one of the most nutrient-dense foods you can eat! It’s loaded with protein and omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential for brain and hormone health.
In fact, recent studies show humans should be getting at least 3 grams of omega-3 fats per day for proper brain and immune system function. Not to mention, omega-3s have been shown to reverse epigenetic aging (source).
Salmon also contains B Vitamins, which are essential for many functions in your body, including hormone balance and turning the food you eat into energy. It contains more potassium per weight than bananas, which helps keep you hydrated, controls blood pressure, and lessens your risk of stroke.
In addition, salmon is rich in selenium and the antioxidant, Astaxanthin. Astaxanthin helps reduce your risk of heart disease and it also helps lower your LDL cholesterol! If you have high cholesterol, consider taking 3 to 4 grams of omega-3 fatty acids every day to lower your cholesterol before you consider taking statins.
This antioxidant is also what gives salmon its anti-inflammatory property, as it reduces systemic inflammation.
How to Make Crispy Salmon Skin:
If you’ve been wondering how to make salmon skin crispy, I have the answer for you right here!
The trick for how to get crispy salmon skin by cooking salmon in the oven is simply to use your broiler setting and place the salmon on the third or second-to-the-top shelf!
Let’s dive into the details.
- Turn on the high broil function of your oven (I always broil on high) and move one of the racks to the third shelf from the top. Don’t broil on the top shelf, because the fat in the salmon can hit the top element and cause a spark. I’ve had success using the second shelf from the top but for some ovens this is still too close.
- Spray a large baking sheet with cooking oil. If you don’t have a large cookie sheet, use an broiler-safe casserole dish that you know is heat-resistant enough to withstand high temperatures in the oven.
- Place salmon skin-down in the dish and lightly coat the flesh with olive oil (or cooking oil of choice).
- Sprinkle with your favorite spices (I always learn toward garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and/or chili powder and sea salt). Note: if you follow a Low-FODMAP diet, use dried herbs like oregano and thyme instead of garlic powder and onion powder.
- Place salmon on the third-to-top shelf in your oven and broil for 8 to 12 minutes, depending on the thickness of your salmon. 10 minutes works for me in most cases. If you like rare salmon (raw in the center), broil for 6 to 8 minutes.
Salmon is considered fully cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit. To verify the temperature, insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the salmon and wait until the numbers stop moving to get an accurate read.
Some people prefer their salmon medium-rare, in which case you can cook the salmon to an internal temperature of 125 degrees F.
I caution this method to only use it when you know you’re using quality salmon that has been previously frozen to kill any bacteria and parasites.
What To Serve with Salmon:
My top side dish recommendations for serving with salmon are salad, roasted vegetables, and/or any kind of rice such as steamed white rice, brown rice, or even cauliflower rice for a low carb option.
Make my Cilantro Lime Rice or my Lemon Garlic Rosemary Rice for some extra flavor!
Paired with the Stir Fry Vegetables , or my Crowd-Pleasing Roasted Vegetables and/or Spicy Kale Salad with Roasted Garlic, this insanely simple meal is one I make more frequently than I’d like to admit.
I try to add more variety to my weekly meals but I always find myself coming back to this one.
If you’d like to cook salmon to perfect doneness without any oil, try my Poached Salmon Recipe!
And if you’re a crispy salmon fanatic, my recipe for Crispy Bang Bang Salmon Bites Bowls is my most popular dinner recipe!
Otherwise, here are more delicious crispy salmon recipes.
More Crispy Skin Salmon Recipes:
- Crispy Honey-Glazed Salmon
- Smoky Broiled Sockeye Salmon with Peach Avocado Salsa
- The Only Grilled Salmon Recipe You’ll Ever Need
- Grilled Salmon with Strawberry Salsa
- Crispy Curried Salmon with Basil Coconut Rice
My cookbook, Paleo Power Bowls, is now available! CLICK HERE to check it out. Thank you for your all your support!
If you make Crispy Salmon, please feel free to share a photo and tag me at @The.Roasted.Root on Instagram!
Crispy Salmon Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 (1-pound) salmon fillet
- 2 teaspoons avocado oil or cooking oil of choice
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
Instructions
- Preheat your oven on the high broil setting.
- Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray, or lightly oil the bottom of a casserole dish and place the salmon fillet in it skin side down. Drizzle avocado oil over the flesh of the salmon and use your hands to spread it over the full surface so that everything is coated. Sprinkle with sea salt.
- In a small bowl, combine the paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and coriander. Sprinkle this mixture liberally over the salmon (note: you may have leftover seasoning, and that’s fine! You can use it for future salmon/chicken/steak endeavors or on vegetables).
- Place the salmon on the third-to-the-top shelf of the oven and broil for 10 minutes. (6 minutes for rare salmon, and up to 15 minutes for a very thick cut of salmon). Remove from the oven and allow salmon to cool 5 minutes before serving with your favorite side dishes.Note that salmon is considered fully cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Insert a digital thermometer into the thickest part of the salmon to check for doneness.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Is it really supposed to be cooked skin side down? I tried it (with a large piece, not individual servings as you show, maybe that was my problem?) and the skin near the edges was really nice and crispy. But the majority of the skin was not crispy at all, which was disappointing.
I also notice that even though the verbiage talks about crispy skin, there’s no picture with crispy skin, or even skin at all, and the video doesn’t show skin at all. Is this method supposed to be for crispy *skin*, or just crispy salmon?
Hi Stephanie! For me, the skin does turn out crispy on the bottom; however if you want crispier skin, you could make my skillet salmon recipe: https://www.theroastedroot.net/how-to-cook-salmon-in-a-skillet/ This method ensures the skin gets a deeper level of crisp and also the outside of the flesh gets crispy too. It does take longer and requires some monitoring, but I believe it might be a better fit for your goal.
So i wanted a different way to cook a salmon filet. I stumbled across your recipe (loving your roasted root site- as i roast many veggies). Anyway, I followed your directions and this was so freaking delicious! Thank you. Its a keeper for me.
Amazing!! I love hearing that, Debra! Thanks so much for swinging back around to share your feedback 🙂
I get a kick out of your promoting wild caught as the way to go with eating salmon and yet you show a farm raised salmon filet in the preparation of your recipe.
Rare isn’t raw in the center.
Hi Nicole! Just for future support with salmon – Salmon is fully cooked once it reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit. To check for doneness, pull the salmon out of the oven when you think it’s done and insert a thermometer into the thickest part of the filet. Wait until the numbers stop moving in order to get an accurate read. This will help ensure the salmon is fully cooked. The thickness of the salmon filet impacts the exact cooking time, so thicker filets (or larger filets) require more time in the oven. I hope all this helps! Happy cooking! 🙂
We live in the northwest corner of Washington state. My husband has been salmon fishing almost every day for the past few weeks and has been bringing back salmon every time. I have been scrambling for new salmon recipes! This one looks wonderful. (I’m a vegetarian, so I’ll just take his word for it!) Thanks for this recipe!
Oh what a lovely area to live! I’m thrilled you found a salmon recipe you’re interested in making and huge kudos to your husband for all that fishing! I’m envious of his fresh catch 🙂
MAKE SURE YOUR CASSEROLE DISH IS BROILER SAFE, ALSO DON’T USE PARCHMENT PAPER.
This was my first time using the broil function on my oven and it caused my casserole dish to shatter about 7 minutes into cooking the salmon.
I was sad because I switched from parchment paper on a baking sheet to the casserole dish at the last second, only to be informed by my partner that the parchment paper would have caught fire if I had used it.
You might want to add a cautionary note to your recipe about making sure one’s casserole dish is broiler safe, as well as for the possibility that the parchment paper can catch fire.
Hi there! Thank you for sharing your experience. I’m so sorry to hear that happened to your casserole dish! My casserole dishes have all withstood the heat from broiling, so it is good to know that some of them aren’t as heat-resistant as others. I changed the verbiage in the post to not include the parchment paper option. Thank you bringing all of this to light! xo
Thank God I was cooking near the oven and smelled the smoke early or I could’ve triggered my entire apartment building’s fire alarms at 1am. That’s a fast way to earn 400 enemies.
I don’t cook with parchment paper often and rarely ever broil, so I didn’t catch this. Now I know better. Please take that recommendation (“you can also line the dish with parchment paper”) out of your directions or it could turn into a bigger problem for someone else.
(p.s. thank you for sharing your recipes!)