20 Minute Miso Butter Salmon (Easy, Broiled in Oven)

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

1. Using a tweezer, gently remove any visible bones from the salmon and cut salmon against the grain into 4 equal portions.
   
2. Preheat the broiler and position the oven back to the top row.
3. Mix room temperature butter with miso paste, garlic, and black pepper in a small bowl and set aside.
   
4. Rub 1-2 Tablespoons of miso butter onto the broccoli and season with salt and pepper.
5. 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.
6. 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!
   
7. Take the broccoli and spread it out around the edges of the pan, around the salmon.
8. 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.
   
9. 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

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:

• Coconut rice
• Miso noodles
• Sautéed spinach
• Korean fried rice

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).