This brown sugar salmon recipe features a flavor-popping glaze that takes this fish to the next level! An ideal fast and easy dinner idea.

We’re always game for more fast and easy dinner ideas, and this is one to bookmark to make on repeat. Brown sugar salmon is simple and comes together quickly with just a few pantry ingredients! It’s a fun trick to whip out for a weeknight meal or when you’re entertaining guests, and it comes together in a flash. We like broiling the salmon to make it even quicker than baking! Here are a few notes on how to put it together.

Ingredients in brown sugar salmon

This brown sugar salmon recipe features a simple glaze featuring brown sugar, Dijon mustard and seasonings. It’s based on a concept where you simply mix equal parts brown sugar and mustard and paint it onto salmon, but we adapted it a few tweaks and extra seasonings to really make the flavors shine. The ingredients you need for brown sugar glazed salmon are:

Salmon fillets, wild caught if possible
Brown sugar
Dijon mustard
Olive oil
Onion and garlic powder
Salt and pepper

Tips for buying salmon

The most important thing when it comes to making salmon is the quality of the piece of fish. The type of salmon you can buy varies greatly. The quality of salmon you can find at the store varies greatly. Lower quality salmon can taste very fishy and have a mushy texture. It can also have a lot of white stuff (called albumin) when it’s cooked: which isn’t harmful but just doesn’t look appetizing! Here’s what to know when shopping for salmon:

1 to 1 1/2-inch thick fillets are handy for this recipe; you might find it labeled center cut at the store. Try to find something that looks like the fillets in this photo.
Buy fresh salmon. Salmon that’s fresh from the fish counter usually has the best flavor. Frozen can work, but try to find highest-quality frozen salmon: avoid those big economy-sized bags (we’ve found this type can be thinner and taste fishy).
Look for wild caught salmon. Fish that is wild caught in your country is usually a sustainable choice. (There are also quality options in well-regulated farms; see Seafood Watch Consumer Guide.)

How to cook brown sugar salmon

This brown sugar salmon recipe is quick and simple, partially because it uses a very fast cooking technique: broiling! Broiled salmon is efficient because it skips the oven preheating time, and the fish can cook in about 10 minutes. Here are a few tips for broiling brown sugar salmon:

Allow the salmon to come to room temperature before cooking. This can take 20 to 30 minutes, but it’s important. If the salmon is too cold when heat is applied, the outside can cook much faster than the inside. This makes it browned on the outside but still cold on the inside.
Remember the thickness determines the cook time. Very thin salmon can broil in just 5 minutes, but for this recipe we recommend a thicker piece. 1-inch salmon takes 8 to 11 minutes to broil.
Keep an eye on the broiler! Salmon can go from pink to brown very quickly in the broiler: so don’t stray too far away, especially at the end of the cook time!

How to know when salmon is done

The best way to know when salmon is done is to use a food thermometer! The internal temperature of the fish should measure 125 to 130°F in the thickest part of the salmon. The fish will continue to cook after you remove it from the heat. To ensure full safety, the FDA recommended temperature for seafood is 145°F, or well done.

Don’t have a food thermometer? You can use visual cues. Cook until the fish is just tender and pink at the center; it should also flake with a fork. It’s easy to overcook salmon, so the best way to measure is with a thermometer.

Alternate method: grilled brown sugar salmon

You can also make this brown sugar salmon recipe as grilled salmon! In the summer, it’s our favorite way to make it. Use the method in this Marinated Grilled Salmon to transform this recipe by doing the following:

Make the glaze as listed in the recipe below.
Place the salmon in a large dish or container skin side up, and pour in the brown sugar glaze. Marinade for at least 30 minutes at room temperature.
Place the salmon on a baking sheet. Brush it liberally with the marinade and discard any marinade. Sprinkle with the kosher salt (split between the fillets) and fresh ground pepper.
Grill the salmon over indirect heat skin side up for 3 to 5 minutes, until grill marks appear and it releases from the grates. Flip and cook another 2 to 5 minutes, depending on the thickness of the salmon, until flaky and just pink at the thickest portion and the internal temperature is 125 to 130°F. Allow to rest for a few minutes, then serve.

More salmon recipes

And that’s it! Let us know what you think of this brown sugar glazed salmon recipe in the comments below. Need more inspiration? Here are a few more salmon recipes you might enjoy:

Whip up a Salmon Rice Crunch Bowl or Greek Salmon Salad
Make spinach artichoke Stuffed Salmon
Try this fun and easy Marinaded Salmon or Sockeye Salmon with Lemon
Go for simple and delicious Salmon Croquettes with canned salmon

This brown sugar glazed salmon recipe is…

Dairy-free and gluten-free.