If cooking salmon at home is something you avoid doing, then I am so excited for you to try this easy baked salmon in foil! It is so simple to prepare, has only a few ingredients, the fish is ultra-tender and the clean-up is so easy!

Easy baked salmon on a platter

Why This Recipe Works

If you have guests visiting, or you want a holiday meal that will be impressive looking, but you don’t want to risk making something too complicated, this Easy Baked Salmon in Foil is the recipe you’ve been searching for!

Tip of the Day: The key to baking salmon in the oven, is all about the foil packet! The reason the foil is so great is twofold (pun only slightly intended.)

  • First, it helps seal in the moisture as the salmon bakes so that it stays moist and tender.
  • Second, all you have to do is toss out the foil when you’re done. That’s it for clean-up! I’ll share below just how to make the foil packet and how long to bake the fish too!

Another reason this recipe is so easy is that you don’t even remove the skin from the salmon before baking it. So there is no extra step of removing the skin or slicing it into portions. I think serving a large piece for entertaining looks so festive.

a close up of portion of salmon being sliced off the filet

Ingredient Notes For This Recipe

ingredients with labels for this recipe

Salmon

I like to use my Seafood Watch App when I am buying salmon. It’s hard to keep track of which salmon is best for the environment, so having the app (which is constantly updated and will make recommendations for you in your specific buying area) is so useful.

For this recipe I call for 2 pounds of salmon with the skin. If possible, ask for “center cut” which means they will cut off the tail piece if it is attached. The tail is very thin, and can cook through more quickly, when you have a center cut portion, the fish will end up baking more evenly.

Because you’re essentially steaming the salmon in the foil packet, I found that fresh salmon is much better than previously frozen salmon. It has better texture and will not get as much (harmless but kind of ugly) white albumin proteins cooked on the outside of the fish. See more below in our FAQ section.

If the salmon comes with the “pin bones” still in the filet, make sure you ask for them to be removed, or you can do yourself with needle nose pliers.

Seasoning For The Salmon

To season this recipe, I relied on only three essential ingredients: butter, garlic and Fish Seasoning Blend and oh my does this combo adds so much to the salmon!

Look for Fish seasoning in the spice blends in the spice section of large supermarkets and natural food stores. Avoid those with added salt.

How To Make This Recipe

mixing butter and garlic, spraying the foil with cooking spray

Step 1: To start preheat your oven. Next you will want to blend the melted butter and the garlic together. This will act like your glue to adhere the seasoning to the fish.

Step 2: Lay a sheet pan on the work surface. Overlap two large pieces of foil over the sheet pan. (They should be about 20-inches long.) Lay them side by side and overlapping about 1/3 of the width along the middle seam. Coat the center of the foil with cooking spray.

coating the fish with butter and garlic then sprinkling with seasoning

Step 3a: Brush the garlic and butter combo over the top of the fish.

Step 3b: Then all that’s left to do is sprinkle on the Fish Seasoning and some salt and pepper.

wrap the foil into a packet

Step 4: First, I bring the two sides together, and crimp them down the length. I try not to seal it up too close to the salmon, so that it has a little room to steam up.

Then I roll up the top and bottom sides of the foil to make a long narrow packet.

Baking Tips

Bake the foil packet on the sheet pan. If you have a thick piece of salmon, err on the longer end of the cooking range, but if it is a thinner piece (like sockeye salmon) you’ll want to check on it on the shorter end of the cooking range.

Serving Tips

  • Because it is so pretty and festive to cook salmon this way, I like to serve the salmon right on the foil. Just open the packet up, sprinkle on some parsley and add some lemon wedges for garnish.
  • For a fancier presentation, you can also slide the fish filet off the foil onto a platter. It comes off easier than you think! You can slide the two pieces of foil apart under the salmon and let it come out the center! Just like the tablecloth trick! Then arrange lemon and parsley on top for garnish.
  • You can cut the salmon into pieces or it’s so tender you can use a fish spatula to break the salmon into portions. When you break it off, just leave the salmon skin behind.

Serving Suggestions

Expert Tips and FAQs

My cooked salmon has white stuff on the outside of it, is it overcooked?

Not necessarily. This salmon is essentially steaming in the packet, therefore the proteins (albumin) on the outside of the salmon will steam and denature as the salmon cooks through. This is normal!

How Can I Tell When it is Done?

You can either open the packet and test the fish with the tip of a knife. If it is still rosy pink and not opaque, then it is not cooked through. You can also temp it with an instant read thermometer. 125 degrees F is medium.

My salmon is cut into individual portions, will this still work?

Yes! Just set them side by side on the foil. They will cook slightly faster than a single piece of salmon, so make sure to check on it early.

a large piece of salmon cooked with seasonings on a white platter

More Salmon Recipes

Thanks so much for reading. If you make this recipe, please come back and let me know how you liked it by leaving a star rating and review! I appreciate it so much!

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Easy Baked Salmon in Foil

Easy Baked Salmon in Foil

  • Author: Katie Webster
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 18
  • Total Time: 35
  • Yield: 6
  • Category: Main Course
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: American

★★★★★

5 from 16 reviews
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Description

If cooking salmon at home is something you avoid doing, then I am so excited for you to try this easy baked salmon in foil! It comes together with only a few ingredients and the clean up is so easy!

Scale

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 clove garlic, minced

2 pounds salmon filet, pin bones removed, if necessary

1 ½ teaspoon The Spice Hunter Fish Seasoning Blend

1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

Freshly ground pepper to taste

Fresh chopped parsley, optional

1 lemon cut into wedges for serving

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Stir butter and garlic in a small dish.
  2. Cut two 20-inch long sheets of foil, and lay overlapping on a large baking sheet to create a rectangle of foil 20 inches long by 20-inches wide. Spray center area lightly with cooking spray.
  3. Pat salmon dry. Place the salmon on top of the foil skin side down. Brush the butter mixture over the salmon. Sprinkle with The Spice Hunter Fish Seasoning Blend, salt and pepper. Fold the foil over the salmon and seal up into a packet.
  4. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and roast until the salmon is just cooked through, 15 to 19 minutes. Carefully open packets. Sprinkle with parsley. Cut into portions and serve with lemon wedges

Notes

For best results when forming the foil packet bring the two sides together, and crimp them down the length. I try not to seal it up too close to the salmon, so that it has a little room to steam up. Then roll up the top and bottom sides of the foil to make a long narrow packet. They key is not to allow the steam to escape.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 3 1/2 ounces without skin
  • Calories: 209
  • Fat: 11 g
  • Saturated Fat: 2 g
  • Carbohydrates: 1 g
  • Fiber: 1 g
  • Protein: 25 g