Name: Favorite Marinated Salmon
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 2 pounds salmon; 1/4 cup olive oil; 2 Tbsp soy sauce; 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar; 2 tsp brown sugar; 2 cloves garlic, minced; 3/4 tsp ground ginger; 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes ((less if you don't like spice)); 1/4 tsp dry mustard; 1/8 tsp sea salt

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Looking for a tried and true salmon recipe? This Favorite Marinated Baked Salmon recipe is simple, fast, easy and super delicious. Don’t want to use the oven? You can use this to make grilled salmon too!

This salmon dish is among the recipes I have made for decades. It’s naturally dairy-free and easily gluten-free. It was first published way back when (in 2003) in an online magazine called Mom’s Voices. 🙂

Why You Will ❤️ This Easy Homemade Salmon Marinade

Simple, wholesome ingredients! This marinade uses simple, pantry ingredients.
It tastes incredible! Picky taste testers far and wide in my family (including international exchange students) all LOVE this dish.
Easy peasy! It’s an easy salmon dinner that tastes gourmet!
Make-ahead friendly!

Ingredients Needed

2 pounds of salmon, cut into 4 pieces
Ingredients for the BEST homemade salmon marinade:
- Olive oil
- Soy sauce (use gluten-free soy sauce or coconut aminos to make this gluten-free)
- Balsamic vinegar
- Brown sugar
- Garlic cloves (you can substitute garlic powder or jarred garlic if needed)
- Spices – ground ginger, crushed red pepper flakes, dry mustard, salt

How to Make My Favorite Marinated Salmon (baked or grilled):

Whisk together all the ingredients
Place the salmon in a large baggy with the marinade
Refrigerate 30 minutes to 2+ hours
Remove the salmon from the marinade
Bake at 400 degrees F for 10-15 minutes or until the thickest part flakes with a fork (or grill using a fish basket)

Make-Ahead Meal Prep Salmon Tip!

At one point in my life, I had a house full of kids. One summer, I added two international exchange students to the mix. Feeding everyone — and satisfying such a diverse range of taste preferneces — required a LOT of planning, meal prep and making meals ahead of time that I could freeze and easily reheat.

This Favorite Marinated Salmon was one of my favorite easy dinners. I would buy 2 really large pieces of salmon from the store (usually Costco), and as soon as I got home, I’d whip up a quadruple batch of this marinade, cut each of the large salmon pieces in two, place all 4 pieces in separate freezer baggies and add 1/4 of the marinade to each bag.

I’d freeze three for later and put one in the refrigerator to make that night or the next. When I wanted to make salmon again, I’d pull one of the bags out of the freezer in the morning and thaw it in the refrigerator all day. That night, the salmon would be ready to go into the oven … and be ready in 10 minutes. I’d usually pair it with a salad, baked potatoes and/or some steamed broccoli.

Can I Grill This Salmon Instead?

Yes. If grilling, place in a fish basket and grill for 10 minutes per inch of thickness or until the thickest part of the fish just flakes with a fork; turn halfway through grilling.

Looking for More Salmon Recipes?

Try one (or all) of these:

Salmon Piccata Pasta (dairy-free, gluten-free)
Candied Jalapeno Salmon Tacos with Strawberry Avocado Salsa
Harissa Salmon Patties
One Pan Pistachio Salmon
Jamie Oliver-Inspired Tomato Chorizo Salmon

If you tried this Marinated Baked Salmon or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I LOVE hearing from you! 🙂