Maple Tahini Roasted Salmon
This maple tahini roasted salmon is a keep in your back pocket recipe! It’s glamorous enough for company, but easy enough for a weeknight. And it only has 10 minutes of prep time! Just whisk the marinade together and let the salmon marinate for 30 minutes. Roast it and then that’s it! You are a rockstar because this salmon is sublime. The silky, rich fish with the nutty tasting tahini, and sweet ginger sauce is to die for!
Table of contents
Ingredients For This Recipe
Tahini
Tahini can be found in the international isle of well stocked supermarkets. It is often with the Middle Eastern ingredients. It is an important component in Hummus and used as a condiment in Middle Eastern cuisine.
I love the way tahini tastes with Maple syrup and have mixed the two for Maple Tahini Dressing and even used it for Maple Tahini Chicken and Broccoli Stir-fry.
Pure maple syrup
Make sure you purchase pure maple syrup. My husband and I make our own maple syrup and I even wrote a cookbook about it, so trust me when I say, the pure stuff is so much better than pancake syrup (which is corn syrup with artificial flavors added to it.)
Tamari
If you avoid wheat and gluten look for Tamari which is wheat free soy sauce. Or you can use regular soy sauce if you are not sensitive and that’s what you have on hand.
Garlic
I like to grate the garlic with a microplane grater for this marinade so it melts into the marinade. Just peel the cloves and run them along the grater. Stop short of the ends and toss the nubs into the marinade.
Ginger
Peel the ginger with a kitchen spoon or vegetable peeler then mince it or grate it with the grater. I think fresh ginger has the best flavor for this marinade.
Boneless skinless salmon
Look on the Seafood Watch app or website to check which kind of Salmon to buy. It changes frequently depending on which farms are using sustainable practices or populations are overfished. Buy center cut boneless salmon.
You can ask the fish monger to remove the pin bones and skin for you. Or you can do it yourself: Here’s how to skin salmon before cooking.
Remove the pin bones with clean needle nose pliers. Remove the skin with a chef’s knife. Or you can leave the skin on, and remove it once it is cooked.
How To Make This Marinated Roasted Salmon
Marinade
- Make the maple tahini marinade in a baking dish. Simply whisk together the tahini, maple syrup, tamari, garlic and ginger.
- Set aside two tablespoons of this mixture to use as a sauce for serving.
- Add the salmon to the marinade and set it in the refrigerator.
- Marinate the salmon for 30 minutes, turning it over in the marinade about half way.
Roasting the Salmon
- Line a baking sheet with parchment and preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
- Remove the salmon from the marinade and discard the marinade. Let excess marinade drip off the salmon.
- Lay the salmon on the parchment-lined sheet and transfer it to the oven.
How To Tell When The Salmon is Done
- To test if the salmon is done, you can use an instant read thermometer to check the internal temperature. Remove it when it reads 125 degrees F.
- You can also test the salmon for doneness with a knife. Simply press the knife into the salmon to see if it flakes. If you like your salmon medium or medium-rare pull the salmon out of the oven while the center is still dark pink. (It will lighten and become opaque as it cooks.)
- For ¾-inch thick filet it will take about 6 to 8 minutes. For 1-inch filets, 7 to 9 minutes, and for thicker pieces, 9- 12 minutes.
To Serve
Once the salmon comes out of the oven, you can tent it with foil or serve it immediately. Drizzle the reserved 2 tablespoons of unused marinade over the fish, dividing evenly.
To garnish sprinkle with sesame seeds and scallions if you like.
What To Serve With This Easy Maple Tahini Roasted Salmon
- The ginger in the marinade gives this roasted salmon a slightly Asian flair, so I would recommend pairing it with an Asian inspired salad like this Cucumber and napa cabbage coleslaw, or this Mizuna Salad with Peanuts.
- For a fast option this Asian Coleslaw is a good one and super pretty with its colorful veggies.
- These Sesame Noodles or these Peanut Noodles with Cabbage would also be great.
More Easy Salmon Recipes
Thanks for reading. If you make this recipe, please come back and review and rate!!
Happy Cooking!
~Katie
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maple tahini roasted salmon
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
This maple tahini roasted salmon is a keep in your back pocket recipe! It’s glamorous enough for company, but easy enough for a kid friendly weeknight. And it only has 10 minutes of prep time!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup, dark or amber
- 2 tablespoons tamari
- 1 garlic clove, grated or minced
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
- 1 1/2 pound boneless skinless salmon
- sesame seeds and scallions for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Whisk together tahini, maple, tamari, garlic and ginger in a baking dish. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the tahini mixture into a small dish and set in the refrigerator for step 4. Place salmon in the marinade, and turn to coat. Set in refrigerator 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
- Drain salmon and discard marinade. Arrange on the parchment lined baking sheet. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and roast until the salmon is cooked to desired doneness, depending on thickness of salmon. Check for doneness by probing the fish with a knife, it’s best if it flakes but is still slightly very slightly rare in the center. For ¾-inch thick filet 6 to 8 minutes. For 1-inch filets 7 to 9 minutes. And for thicker 9- 12 minutes.
- Drizzle the reserved tahini sauce over the hot salmon. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and scallions. Serve immediately.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 9 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Calories: 225
- Sugar: 8 g
- Sodium: 775 mg
- Fat: 6 g
- Saturated Fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 10
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 33 g
This was simple and delicious. We made the recipe exactly as written and thought it had the perfect amount of sweetness and umami flavor from the tahini. I would not change a thing. Love it. Thanks, Katie.
Plan on this tonite, Katie. 2 questions (I’m new in the kitchen…)
1. What effect if I leave the skin on?
2. Do I put the thermometer in at the start and pull the dish out when it gets to the right temp, or mark the time cooking then stick the thermometer in?
You can leave the salmon skin on if you want. It won’t have good texture, but you can easily eat around it at the table.
There are two kinds of meat thermometers, the old school type that you put in while the meat is still raw and it goes into the oven with whatever you are cooking, as the temperature of the meat rises, so will the reading on the thermometer. The second is an “instant-read” thermometer (which will give you a reading in a quick amount of time.) Both will work, but the latter is my preference because that’s what I learned to cook with in culinary school/professional kitchens. If you happen to have the former, it’ll work fine. Just make sure to set it into the deepest part of the salmon filet so that it gives an accurate rating. Let me know if that’s helpful or if you need more clarification.
Many, many thanks for the getback, too, Katie! My thermometer is the stick in and cook kind. Salmon was a tad undercooked, but no biggie… still ate it all (w/skin on…) Next time I think I’ll try just pre-heating the pan, cooking per directions – but no parchment paper, and seeing if the skin gets a little crisper…
Thanks again for your response.
This marinade is FANTASTIC. Reserve a little more than what the recipe calls for – you won’t regret it. We served it with roasted broccoli and onions, potatoes, and a Sauvignon blanc (if you’re a wine drinker). Will definitely make again!
Still cooking (can’t go wrong here, so 5 stars even before we gobble), but wanted to say hello and how happy I am with your presentation and all the additional recipes included. Very informative, fun, easy to read and follow….
I’m a follower…
Yummy! I cut back on the maple syrup, and I felt like it needed more acid once I tasted it so I added the juice of one lime (to a triple batch). Going to drizzle it over grilled salmon, roasted green beans and zucchini!
Thanks for posting this.
Thank you for sharing this recipe. It’s absolutely wonderful! Used half the maple, but otherwise followed exact recipe. And this is definitely a keeper!
The only other tahini marinade we ever used with salmon is a savory one, green (herbed) tahini sauce made slightly runny (blending together tahini with parsley, cilantro, chives, lemon, carbonated water, salt and pepper). Very tasty, but we wanted a sweeter marinade this time, to fit with other dishes, and I was hoping to find one that uses tahini.
Thanks again!
Excellent dish. Very easy to prepare. I used slightly less maple syrup, and substituted tamari with soya sauce. I also did not discard the marinade, pouring it instead on the salmon for extra taste while cooking. Did a quick grill setting in the oven to get a slight glaze, but have to be careful not to overcook. Key is to be mildly done in the middle.
I am so happy you tried this. Your modifications sound great to me! Thank you for coming back to review Anthony!
We’re regular salmon eaters yet this combination of flavors and ingredients is superb in every way. I did put it over quinoa and giving serious consideration on making it a second time in ten days. Excellent meal, readily available ingredients, healthy for you, flavor unique, guest quality and quick to put together. 5+stars by me.
I am so happy you found this recipe! Tahini and maple together are a magical combination! Thanks for the review and star rating. I appreciate it!
The maple ginger combo sounds perfect for salmon and the tahini is just next level delish!
The maple tahini combo is EVERYTHING! Goes so well with salmon.
It is a crime to discard the marinade… In your Maple Ginger Roasted Salmon you reduced the marinade after removing the salmon; it is the most delicious thing ever. Why not try it with this marinade? I don’t think the tahini would suffer from reducing. What do you think?
I hear you. And thank you about the salmon recipe, so many folks with my book tell me they make that recipe over and over again. Glad you found it and love it too. As far as cooking down this marinade… it certainly wouldn’t hurt to try, since it would be in a separate pot. I would whisk constantly once it gets close to boiling. If it looks broken, you don’t have to add it on. Keep in mind it may be a little saltier overall.
Could this be marinated in the am and made after work? (Essentially an 8-9 hour marinade) Recipe says 30 mins but wondering if it matters. Time is tight this week but I’m dying to try your recipe. Thanks!
I wouldn’t recommend a longer marinade session. The acidity of the marinade will cook the fish and make the texture tough. If you are strapped for time you can get away with a shorter marinade. The mixture costs the salmon well enough so that it will give it some nice depth of flavor. You can whisk the marinade together ahead of time. Then as you’re ready to make the meal, pop the salmon in the marinade and let it sit while you heat your oven. Even the 10 minutes that will take should impart great flavor.
I love the tahini in this dish – what great flavors! I’m always interested to hear new ideas on cooking salmon. It is one of my favorite fish to eat, and so healthy! Thanks!
I am so glad you think so too Danielle. I love salmon too. Its my favorite fish to cook at home.