This baked miso butter salmon is a quick and easy dinner that’s filled with flavor. The garlic and miso butter adds an umami richness that can’t be beat. Made with broccoli on a sheet pan in the oven using the broiler setting, this simple salmon recipe is ready in 20 minutes or less. Pair with rice, quinoa, salad or just eat on it’s own for the perfect meal.

If you haven’t added miso paste to your kitchen supplies yet, you’re missing out. A staple of Japanese cuisine, it’s salty with a fermented rich umami flavor that takes your dishes up a notch. Paired with butter and salmon? I’m swooning just thinking about this dish!
The combination of savory miso and creamy butter creates a truly unique taste and helps keep this salmon tender and moist. This helps with the quick cooking method and adds a rich buttery flavor. I even created a full recipe post for the miso butter since it’s that good and can be used on anything! It’s the queen of compound butters.
Why Make THIS Recipe for Miso Butter Salmon
Salmon has to be one of the easiest and most nutritious meals you can get on the table quickly. It You can’t beat that for a family-friendly healthy meal.
- Quick – this recipe is hands down one of the fastest meals you can prepare, ready in just 20 minutes.
- Healthy – yes, it has lots of butter but it’s worth it here! It’s also full of protein and healthy fats, like Omega 3 fatty acids, and fiber from the broccoli.
- Simple – with limited ingredients and nothing too complicated, it just takes a few simple steps.
- Tasty – the perfect combination of flavors from the garlic, butter, miso and fresh garnishes.
Ingredients and Substitutions
This delicious salmon recipe uses mostly simple everyday ingredients. You probably have most of these simple ingredients on hand. If your local grocery store does not carry it you may need to visit the Asian grocery stores, but most grocery stores cary miso paste at this point. Here’s exactly what to add to your grocery list.
Salmon and Broccoli
- salmon filet – wild caught salmon is best here and always. I highly recommend buying frozen salmon to make choosing wild caught more budget friendly. It’s often frozen upon harvest making it a better, fresher choice than the salmon at the grocery store seafood counter. Just defrost first, and if not already done, remove bones and cut the salmon into 4 equal portions.
- salt – salt is essential in pretty much everything. I use Himalayan pink salt but sea salt works great too.
- pepper – finely ground black pepper makes it easy to give the salmon and broccoli a nice even coating.
- broccoli – use the florets from a large head of broccoli. Sugar snap peas, shiitake mushrooms, green beans, or asparagus cut into 2-inch pieces would work well too.
Miso Butter
- butter – use softened, room temperature butter. Salted or unsalted butter both work and is a matter of preference. You can replace with plant based butter if needed.
- miso paste – I used and recommend using white miso paste. There are several different types of miso but most often you will see red, white and yellow miso paste in the grocery store. White is the most mild flavored and I recommend it, especially if you’re new to cooking with miso. Red miso paste is saltier with a stronger fermented taste and can be a little intense to start off with.
- minced garlic – fresh minced garlic or jarred pre-minced garlic will both work here.
- black pepper – finely ground is best here but fresh cracked adds nice pungency and a touch of spice.
Garnish
- lemon juice – fresh lemon juice is best in this recipe.
- cilantro – fresh cilantro adds a little bit of complexity and overall fresh vibrant feel to the recipe. If you’re someone who can’t tolerate the taste of cilantro, use parsley, fresh dill or another fresh herb.
- green onion – sliced green onions, also known as scallions, add some color and fresh flavor to the baked salmon.
- Sesame seeds – sesame seeds add some crunch and flavor to the salmon. You can toast them for a more intense flavor.
How to Make Miso Butter Salmon
- Using a tweezer, gently remove any visible bones from the salmon and cut salmon against the grain into 4 equal portions.
- Preheat the broiler and position the oven back to the top row.
- Mix room temperature butter with miso paste, garlic, and black pepper in a small bowl and set aside.
- Rub 1-2 Tablespoons of miso butter onto the broccoli and season with salt and pepper.
- Pat the salmon filets dry using a paper towel and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the salmon pieces on a rimmed baking sheet. You can line the baking pan with parchment paper first for easy clean up.
- Rub miso butter onto each side of each salmon piece, using about 1 tablespoon per piece. If the miso butter does not rub easily, warm it in the microwave for a few seconds. You want it spreadable not liquid though so only a few seconds!
- Take the broccoli and spread it out around the edges of the pan, around the salmon.
- Place the pan in the oven underneath the broiler and let it cook for 5-7 minutes or until salmon is done and broccoli is just starting to get crispy.
- Squeeze lemon juice over the top of each salmon piece. Garnish the top of the salmon with cilantro, green onion and sesame seeds and plate it alongside the broccoli. Serve right away.
Recipe Notes, Tips and Tricks
Recipe Notes:
- Skin on or off? Skinless salmon is less fishy but this is a personal preference. If salmon has skin still attached and you want to leave it on, cook it skin side down.
- Easy clean up. To make clean up easy, you can line the sheet with parchment paper first.
- Confirm salmon is cooked through. Make sure the inside of the thickest part of the salmon is 140° – 145° degrees. Investing in a instant-read thermometer helps with this step. The risk to overcooking is higher than undercooking here so pull it out early and check if you’re in doubt.
- Use room temperature butter. Butter has to be at room temperature so that it will easily blend with the miso paste. Take it out of the fridge an hour or so before you want to prepare the miso butter.
- Removing bones. When using tweezers to remove any bones from the salmon, pull gently in the direction of the bone to avoid damaging the fish.
- Air fryer. If you’ve got an air fryer on hand you can use it and save yourself a few minutes of cooking time. Air fry salmon and broccoli at 400° F for 6-9 minutes. Check at 6 minutes and adjust cook time if needed. Also, make sure not to over crowd the air fryer and do broccoli after separately if needed.
- Pan fry. Instead of using the broiler in this easy miso butter salmon recipe you can also pan fry the salmon on a large skillet and roast the vegetables separately or in the pan to the side of the salmon. If you choose this method, sear each side for about 3 minutes on medium-high heat. You can spoon any miso butter from the pan back onto the filets before serving.
- Cooking for kids? I know each kid is different but my daughter loved this recipe! I left the cilantro and green onion off hers (ha, since heaven forbid an herb touches her tongue) but she gobbled up the fish and broccoli.
Storage and Freezing
You might just want to double that miso butter portion of the recipe and save half for later! Miso butter keeps well in the refrigerator and you can use it in many delicious ways. You can also freeze it for a few months. You can freeze it in a log and slice off what you need as you need it or freeze it in an ice cube tray and remove a block at a time.
Salmon is always best eaten fresh, but leftovers are still edible. Leftover miso salmon will keep in the fridge in an airtight container but is best eaten within 2 days. The amount of time it will still taste good depends on how fresh the fish was to begin with. Warm leftover salmon in the microwave or air fryer, breaking into several pieces beforehand. The oven will cause it to dry out in re-warming.
Variations
This recipe is excellent as written, but if you want to add your own flair to it, here are a few ideas:
- Up the flavor of the miso butter and add a touch of lime, orange or lemon zest, fresh ginger, or lemon or lime juice.
- Add some spice by stirring in a teaspoon of sriracha or chili crisp oil.
- Add a splash of Tamari, soy sauce or coconut aminos for even more umami flavor. Soy sauce is often added to miso butter in Japanese cooking.
- For a sweeter miso butter sauce, add 1 tablespoon of honey. If you do this, you’ll definitely want to line the pan with parchment paper since the honey will make it stick to the pan.
What to serve with miso butter salmon?
This salmon comes ready prepared with a side of broccoli! If you want to add a nice grain, rice or noodles go especially well, as do other simple veggies.
Here are a few sides that pair well:
How do you cook frozen salmon?
Buying frozen salmon is a great way to get wild caught salmon at an affordable price. You will need to defrost Salmon before cooking. To do this, place salmon in the refrigerator the day before, or even longer for larger pieces of salmon. To defrost quickly, submerge sealed package of frozen salmon into a bowl of ice water until fully defrosted (normally 30 minutes to 1 hour).
Equipment
- 1 Small bowl
- 1 Spoon
- 1 Baking sheet Everything fits on a "half sheet" like the one linked
Ingredients
Salmon
Miso Butter
- ¼ cup Butter softened but not melted
- 2 Tablespoons Miso Paste
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Broccoli
- 3 Cups broccoli florets about 1 large head broccoli
- Salt and Pepper to taste about 1/4 teaspoon of each, possibly more salt
Garnish
- 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice juice from ½ – 1 lemon
- 2 Tablespoons cilantro roughly chopped
- ¼ cup sliced green onion
- Sesame seeds
Instructions
- If needed, gently remove bones with tweezers. Cut salmon filet against the grain into 4 strips.
- Start preheating your oven’s broiler and move the oven rack to be on the top row, about 6-8 inches (15cm) underneath.
- In a small bowl mix butter, miso paste, garlic, and black pepper. Set aside.
- Rub 1-2 Tablespoons of miso butter onto the broccoli and season with salt and pepper.
- Use paper towels to pat dry each salmon piece on all sides. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Use more salt and pepper if your salmon pieces are larger. Place the salmon pieces on the center of the rimmed baking sheet. To make clean up easy, you can line the sheet with parchment paper first if you prefer.
- Rub about 1 Tablespoon of miso butter onto each salmon piece, coating each side. If the miso butter does not rub on easily, you can warm it in the microwave for 5 seconds or the preheated oven – careful since it will melt quickly and you don’t want that!
- Sprinkle broccoli around the salmon on the sides of the pan.
- Place pan in the preheated oven underneath the broiler and let it cook for 5-7 minutes until salmon is cooked through and broccoli is roasted. The inside of the thickest part should be at 140° – 145° degrees. Careful not to overcook!
- Squeeze lemon juice over the top of each salmon piece and garnish the top with cilantro, green onion and sesame seeds.
Notes
- Skin on or off? Skinless salmon is less fishy but this is a personal preference. If salmon has skin still attached and you want to leave it on, cook it skin side down.
- Easy clean up. To make clean up easy, you can line the sheet with parchment paper first.
- Confirm salmon is cooked through. Make sure the inside of the thickest part of the salmon is 140° – 145° degrees. Investing in a instant-read thermometer helps with this step. The risk to overcooking is higher than undercooking here so pull it out early and check if you’re in doubt.
- Use room temperature butter. Butter has to be at room temperature so that it will easily blend with the miso paste. Take it out of the fridge an hour or so before you want to prepare the miso butter.
- Removing bones. When using tweezers to remove any bones from the salmon, pull gently in the direction of the bone to avoid damaging the fish.
- Air fryer. If you’ve got an air fryer on hand you can use it and save yourself a few minutes of cooking time. Air fry salmon and broccoli at 400° F for 6-9 minutes. Check at 6 minutes and adjust cook time if needed. Also, make sure not to over crowd the air fryer and do broccoli after separately if needed.
- Pan fry. Instead of using the broiler in this easy miso butter salmon recipe you can also pan fry the salmon on a large skillet and roast the vegetables separately or in the pan to the side of the salmon. If you choose this method, sear each side for about 3 minutes on medium-high heat. You can spoon any miso butter from the pan back onto the filets before serving.
Nutrition
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