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This honey mustard salmon recipe is a fantastic weeknight meal! It’s a quick skillet salmon recipe that uses simple ingredients, and your picky eaters will love it.
Prefer chicken? Try my Easy Honey Mustard Chicken or Easy Baked Honey Mustard Chicken instead.
Why you’ll enjoy it
This might be my favorite way to jazz up salmon. The key to making the best honey mustard sauce is the proportions, and we’ve got it nailed here. Pair that gorgeous sauce with golden pan-seared salmon, and it’s the ultimate 30-minute weeknight meal! The little ones will totally enjoy it too, so it’s a great way to get the kids to eat more seafood.
There are a lot of recipes out there for baked honey mustard salmon, but I honestly think it’s so much better as a skillet recipe. You can perfectly control the temperature and sear so that the salmon is flaky, never overcooked, and always tender. You just can’t do that with oven recipes!
Ingredients you’ll need
- Salmon – we’re cutting a good quality salmon filet into four pieces
- Garlic powder – infuses savory flavor right into the salmon
- Flour – for dredging to get a nice crust and also thickening the sauce
- Olive oil & butter – for pan frying the salmon
- Chicken broth – it enhances the flavor of the sauce even more
- Mustard – we’re using both Dijon mustard and grainy mustard for the ideal combo of taste and texture!
- Honey – just the right amount to balance out the mustard
- Parsley – a little bit of parsley gives a great pop of freshness to finish the dish
How to make honey mustard salmon
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Cut the salmon into four pieces and coat with garlic powder and flour, shaking off any excess. Add oil and butter to a skillet over medium-high heat. After a few minutes, add the salmon and sear until golden. Transfer to a plate. Add the rest of the butter to the skillet along with the flour, and cook for a minute.
Whisk in the chicken broth and then the Dijon, grainy mustard, and honey until dissolved. Return the salmon to the skillet and simmer until cooked through. Season with salt & pepper, sprinkle with parsley, and enjoy!
Helpful tips
- It goes without saying that this sauce is fairly sweet, but you can definitely reduce the honey a bit if you want it less sweet. Just keep in mind that the honey balances some of the sharpness from the Dijon mustard!
- I recommend serving this dish with lemon wedges, particularly if you’re not as big a fan of sweet/savory combos.
- Watch the color change as the salmon is cooking. It’ll go from a deeper pink to a lighter pink. Keep a close eye on it to guide you! Salmon can go from perfect to overcooked very quickly.
Substitutions and variations
- You can switch up the kinds of mustard you use, but be sure to taste test to get the sauce just right!
- If you need this recipe to be gluten free, skip the flour and add a cornstarch slurry at the end, but be sure to check to ensure all other ingredients you use are in fact gluten free.
Tools for this recipe
- A quality enameled cast iron skillet makes it easy to get the perfect sear on your salmon every time!
- A splatter guard makes clean-up a breeze.
- I use tongs to easily turn the salmon when cooking it.
What to serve with it
- This salmon pairs well with garlic mashed potatoes, roasted green beans, rice, or you could even serve it over pasta.
- I love to make this Super Simple Parmesan Arugula Salad with it, or you could try a side salad with this creamy balsamic dressing.
Leftovers and storage
- Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Warm the salmon over a low heat in a saucepan. If you re-warm it over too high of a heat, the fish may dry out. You could microwave it on a lower setting as well, but it’s not my go-to reheating method.
- One of my top tips for leftover salmon is using it (cold) in a green salad the next day!
- I don’t recommend freezing this salmon.
More irresistible salmon recipes
Did you have any questions about this easy salmon recipe? Let me know in the comments below!
Honey Mustard Salmon
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh salmon cut into 4 pieces
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Flour for dredging + 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 tablespoons butter divided
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons grainy mustard
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1-2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
- Lemon wedges for serving optional
Instructions
- Cut the salmon into 4 equal pieces and sprinkle with salt & pepper, the garlic powder, and then coat each piece in flour and shake off any excess.
- Add the oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter to a skillet over medium-high heat. Let the pan heat up for a few minutes.
- Add the salmon to the skillet and sear for 3-4 minutes/side until golden (do not overcook – the salmon will finish cooking in the sauce). If using skin-on salmon, start with skin side down. If the salmon is a lot thicker than 1", sear it for slightly longer. Transfer the salmon to a plate.
- Add the remaining butter to the pan and let it melt, then sprinkle the flour in. Let it cook for about a minute (stir it a couple times).
- Whisk the chicken broth in until smooth, then add in the mustards and honey and continue whisking until they've dissolved in the sauce.
- Add the salmon back to the pan, and let it cook for another few minutes until cooked through and the sauce has thickened up a bit. You may need to turn the heat down. Season with extra salt & pepper as needed and serve with the fresh parsley sprinkled over top. I love to serve this dish with lemon wedges to balance the sweetness (and lemon and salmon go so well together).The sauce is quite sweet (as you'd expect from honey mustard). If you would prefer it to be a bit less sweet, reduce the honey to 1.5 tbsp. Keep in mind it balances the sharpness of the Dijon, so you don't want to reduce it too much without adjusting other ingredients.
Notes
- You can definitely change up the mustards if you wish. You may need to do a little experimenting to get the sweetness ratio right, however.
- Use salmon with or without skin. If you prefer not to eat the skin, simply peel it off after the searing step (it’s deliciously crispy to start with but does soften up in the sauce).
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This has become an obsession in my house. Absolutely love this recipe.
I’m thrilled to hear that!! 😀 Thanks, Amber!
Turned out great!
Thank you, Sarah!
Delish and easy recipes! The whole family loved it!
Thrilled to hear it!
Looks Amazing!
Made this tonight and it was excellent. Thank you.
You’re very welcome!! Glad you enjoyed it, Melissa. Thanks for your review! 🙂
Made it tonight and it was quick, easy, and delicious! I served the sauce on the side and have leftovers for tomorrow. I bought two 1/2 lb salmon filets, so they were on the thinner side, I could have done 2 minutes on each side instead of 3, but they weren’t overcooked or dry.
I’m so glad it was a hit, Maria!! 🙂 Thanks for your 5-star review!