Honey Lemon Salmon

honey lemon butter salmon in a skillet with fresh lemon wedges

4.38 from 8 votes

This honey lemon salmon recipe has tender, melt-in-your-mouth pan-fried salmon with a sticky sweet lemon & butter glaze. It's quick and easy to make!

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: honey lemon salmon, lemon honey glazed salmon

Servings:

Author: Natasha Bull

Ingredients

1 pound fresh salmon cut into 4 pieces
Salt & pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter divided

Sauce:

1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons chicken broth or water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch

Instructions

Take the salmon out of the fridge 15-20 minutes prior to starting the recipe if you can. Cut the salmon into 4 equal pieces and pat it dry with paper towel. Season generously with salt & pepper.
Add the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter to a skillet over medium-high heat. Let the pan heat up for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, add the sauce ingredients to a medium bowl and whisk it together. Set aside.
Cook the salmon (skin-side down) for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to medium and flip the fish over and cook for another 2-3 minutes (should be almost cooked through).
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter to the skillet and let it melt, then pour in the sauce (just pour it in between the salmon pieces). Let it bubble/thicken for 30 seconds or so, and then take the pan off the heat (the pan will still be hot and the sauce will continue to thicken, but this avoids burning it). Flip the salmon over & spoon the sauce over it.
Before serving, I like to squeeze some extra lemon juice over the salmon (I just use one wedge of lemon). This adds more lemony freshness and balances the sweetness. The salmon skin goes nice and crispy and is delicious when you eat it right away, but it'll easily peel off if you prefer not to eat it.

Notes

The salmon I used in this recipe was about 1" thick. If your salmon is thicker or thinner, you may need to adjust cooking time a bit.
It's ok if you've got a bit over a pound of salmon, just make sure it's not too much over or the salmon pieces will be crowded in the pan and not cook properly.
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.

Nutrition