The Best Salmon Marinade Recipe

The BEST salmon marinade recipe, made with 6 simple ingredients! Use this healthy, easy salmon marinade for baked, pan seared, or grilled salmon.

Full ingredients + instructions are on the recipe card at the end. Before you scroll or jump down, don’t miss the useful tips in the post!

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This is my go-to healthy and easy salmon marinade recipe, and once you try it, I bet it will be yours, too. It’s my best salmon marinade for grilled salmon, but I also love it for baked or seared salmon as well. It’s slightly sweet, slightly savory, majorly flavorful, and super simple.

Oh, and this marinade can go beyond salmon, too. It pairs well with almost all kinds of flaky fish, or you can even use it for baked pork chops instead of the pork chop marinade I usually use.

Salmon Marinade Ingredients

  • Olive oil – I chose extra virgin olive oil for flavor, but avocado oil is suitable here too.
  • Lemon juice – The acid helps to tenderize the salmon, plus the tang of citrus pairs very well with fish.
  • Maple syrup – I use Wholesome Yum Keto Maple Syrup, which is naturally sweetened, sugar-free, and tastes just like real maple syrup. But you can use regular too if that works for you.
  • Fresh herbs – I used dill and parsley, as these summer herbs work well on fish. Look for bright, leafy herbs that aren’t turning yellow. Dark green will have the most flavor. You could use dried herbs in a pinch (1/3 the amount of fresh), but for salmon fresh herbs work best.
  • Garlic – Use fresh minced garlic, or jarred to save a few minutes.
  • Sea salt – Salt helps the marinade penetrate into the fish.
  • Black pepper
Ingredients to make salmon marinade recipe

How To Make Salmon Marinade

This homemade salmon marinade recipe is beyond simple: simply mix all the ingredients together!

Easy salmon marinade mixed together in a bowl

How To Use Salmon Marinade

Once the grilled salmon marinade is mixed together, transfer it to a large zip lock bag or baking dish, add the salmon, and move it around to coat in marinade.

TIP: Marinate salmon for 30 minutes ideally. An hour is the max. After that, the acid in the lemon will start “cooking” the salmon (like a ceviche), so you don’t want to marinate it too long or it will get mushy.

Then it’s time to cook. I love this marinade for grilled salmon, but you can also use it for pan seared or baked salmon.

Easy salmon marinade with fillets in baking dish

Storage Instructions

You can definitely mix together the marinade a day or two in advance, but wait to marinate the fish until 30 minutes before cooking.

How long can you marinate salmon?

30 minutes is the ideal time to marinate salmon, but you can go up to 60 minutes. The marinade will start to break down the fish, and if you marinate it for longer than an hour, it will start to get mushy.

Can you freeze salmon in marinade?

No, you don’t want to freeze the salmon in the marinade, as it will surpass the 60 minute time limit. The acid will break down the salmon even if it’s frozen.

Best salmon marinade after cooking on a plate with salad

What To Serve With Salmon

Serve this salmon marinade recipe with a light side:

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The recipe card is below! Readers that made this also viewed these recipes:

Baking dish with salmon marinade on salmon fillets

The Best Salmon Marinade Recipe

The BEST salmon marinade recipe, made with 6 simple ingredients! Use this healthy, easy salmon marinade for baked, pan seared, or grilled salmon.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

Click underlined ingredients to see where to get them. Please turn Safari reader mode OFF to view ingredients.

Salmon Marinade

Salmon To Use With Salmon Marinade

Instructions

Get RECIPE TIPS in the post above, nutrition info + recipe notes below!

Click on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.

  1. Whisk together all marinade ingredients in a small bowl.

  2. Pour the marinade into a gallon zip lock freezer bag. Add the salmon fillets, seal the bag, and massage to coat well.

  3. Marinate for 30 minutes, no longer than 1 hour.

  4. Cook salmon on the grill like this, or you can also bake or pan sear it.

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Recipe Notes

Serving size: 6 oz salmon, marinated and cooked

Nutrition info makes the following assumptions:

  • Using Wholesome Yum Keto Maple Syrup. Sugar and carbs will be higher if you use regular.
  • Only 1/4 of the marinade is included in the nutrition calculation, as a lot is discarded after marinating the salmon.

Nutrition Information Per Serving

Nutrition Facts

Amount per serving. Serving size in recipe notes above.

Calories 395

Fat 26.5g

Protein 34g

Total Carbs 0.3g

Net Carbs 0.2g

Fiber 0.1g

Sugar 0.1g

Where does nutrition info come from? Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy, sourced from the USDA Food Database. You can find individual ingredient carb counts we use in the Low Carb & Keto Food List.

Net carb count excludes fiber, erythritol, and allulose, because these do not affect blood sugar in most people. (Learn about net carbs here.) We try to be accurate, but feel free to make your own calculations.

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