Why you’ll love this salmon recipe:
This baked ginger orange salmon recipe is a keeper! It’s perfect for when you’re craving a sweet and savory dish but also want a healthy option bursting with fresh flavors.
The salmon filets are topped with a sticky orange glaze. It features freshly squeezed orange juice and ginger root as the main ingredients along with a touch of soy sauce and brown sugar. It’s the perfect balance of tangy, sweet, and salty tastes!
- Quick – Made in just 30 minutes!
- Flavorful – Ginger’s intensely warming and aromatic flavors perfectly complement orange juice’s sweet, citrusy taste.
- Texture – The orange ginger glaze coats the salmon and soaks into its tender, flaky layers.
To complete the meal, serve orange ginger salmon with a generous scoop of fluffy white rice.
Key Ingredient Notes:
- Skinless salmon – The rule of thumb is 3-4 ounces of salmon per person. I love using fresh sockeye, coho, or pink salmon for this recipe. Take a look at my complete guide to salmon varieties to learn which option is best for you. To save time, try to purchase skinless salmon filets, but if you can’t find skinless, you can easily remove the skin yourself. Frozen salmon is also an option.
- Orange juice provides a tangy-sweet, citrusy taste! Freshly squeezed orange juice is ideal, but bottled orange juice is okay too, as long as it’s 100% pure orange juice.
- Brown sugar gives the glaze a rich, caramel-like sweetness.
- Soy sauce – Use a good quality low-sodium soy sauce. You can always add more salt to taste if needed.
- Ginger – For a slightly spicy, warming flavor and aroma. To grate fresh ginger, use the back of a spoon or a vegetable peeler to remove the skin from the root. Then, grate the peeled ginger root using a microplane or box grater.
- Garlic – Freshly minced garlic adds to the savory flavors.
Tip: If you’re using frozen salmon, remember to take it out of the freezer the night before, and place it in your fridge to defrost for at least 12 hours.
How to make baked orange salmon:
Before you get started, preheat your oven to 400°F, and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
1. Make the orange ginger glaze
- Combine the orange juice, brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Bring the mixture to a boil.
- Once boiling, lower the heat to medium, and simmer until the mixture is reduced by two-thirds, about 10 minutes.
2. Prepare the salmon
- Drizzle the olive oil over the prepared baking sheet.
- Place the salmon fillets on the baking sheet, and season with salt and pepper.
3. Bake the orange ginger salmon
- Spoon the orange ginger glaze over the top of the salmon filets.
- Bake the orange salmon for about 15 minutes or until cooked through.
- Serve over steamed rice with a sprinkle of chopped scallions (if desired), and enjoy!
How do I know when salmon is cooked?
There are two ways to determine when salmon is cooked through. The first is totally foolproof, and the second requires a bit of practice and experience.
- Use a meat thermometer. According to the USDA, the thickest part of the salmon should be cooked to an internal temperature of at least 145°F. This handy thermapen is super quick and reliable!
- Looks and texture. The color will change from translucent (raw) to opaque (pink) as it cooks, and the flesh will flake apart easily with a fork.
Tip: I prefer to cook salmon filets until their internal temperature reaches around 135°F, which will continue to rise as the salmon rests. Cooking salmon to 145°F can often result in dry, overcooked filets. So, just to be on the safe side, I take the salmon out of the oven a little early.
Time-Saving Tips:
If you’re in a hurry, purchase skinless salmon filets. Or, de-skin them yourself, because skinless filets cook faster. Salmon skin becomes soggy and unappetizing as it cooks. So, I prefer to avoid it altogether.
Here’s a couple more time-saving tips:
- If you plan on serving baked orange salmon with rice, use a microwaveable rice pouch instead of making it from scratch.
- Fresh ginger is always best, but ginger paste or frozen crushed ginger cubes are a close second! These fresh ginger substitutes eliminate the need to spend time peeling and grating fresh ginger root.
Make-Ahead Tips:
You can prepare the orange ginger glaze 1 day in advance, and store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container until you’re ready to use it. Then, when you’re ready to cook dinner, simply follow the rest of the recipe instructions.
Side Dish Ideas:
The fresh, citrusy flavors of baked orange salmon pair with practically any side dish! And, because orange salmon is so easy to whip up, you’ll have plenty of time to make a couple of sides to round out the meal!
Storing Tips:
Store leftover baked orange salmon in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
To reheat, warm the salmon in the oven at a very low temperature to prevent it from drying out. Low and slow is best when it comes to reheating leftover salmon! Preheat your oven to 275°F, and reheat the salmon for about 15 minutes or until warmed through.
FAQs:
No, it’s best to cook orange ginger salmon uncovered. If it’s covered, the salmon will steam instead of roast. Steaming could lead to a mushy texture and prevent the glaze from caramelizing.
Orange and ginger flavors balance each other exceptionally well, which is why they’re often paired together in sauces, marinades, glazes, cocktails, desserts, and Asian cuisine, like in this homemade orange chicken recipe. Ginger’s spicy, warming notes and orange’s strong, citrusy tang are the perfect match!
If your orange glaze is too thin, continue simmering it, which should reduce the glaze to a thick, syrupy consistency. If this isn’t working, a cornstarch slurry should do the trick! Alternatively, if your glaze has become too thick and you need to thin it out, add orange juice or water 1 tablespoon at a time until the glaze has thinned to your liking.
Orange Glazed Salmon
Ingredients
- 4 skinless salmon filets 4-6oz each
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup orange juice
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- 2 garlic cloves grated
For serving:
- Fresh scallion slices
- Cooked white rice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
To make orange ginger glaze
- Combine orange juice, brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger and garlic in a small saucepan.
- Bring it to a boil over medium high heat.
- And then reduce heat and simmer on medium heat until the mixture is reduced by two thirds, about 10 minutes.
To bake salmon
- Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy cleaning.
- Drizzle olive oil over the baking sheet and place salmon filets. Season with salt and pepper.
- Carefully spoon the glaze over salmon filets and bake for about 15 minutes, or until salmon cooked through.
- Serve with steamed rice and scallions.
Share your thoughts! If you make this please leave a review letting me know how it was!
Nutrition
* Disclaimer: All nutrition information are estimates only. Read full nutrition disclosure.
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This recipe was originally published on April 17th, 2018.
Reader's Reviews
Joe Roberts says
If you’re lazy, and I am, there are a some very good glazing sauces in your grocery aisle. And expensive isn’t necessarily better. I use the same orange ginger glaze for stir fry. You can adjust with a few drops of soy sauce or juice to your taste. Ginger not so much since it takes time to meld with the other ingredients, and can be a bit raw or bitter. I just paint it on (literally), reserve a little, and throw it into a countertop convection oven at 375F/gas mark 5 (convection is usually better at a slightly reduced temp) for about 10 minutes. Then I repaint the top of the salmon, maybe very lightly sprinkle some brown sugar, and switch to broiler for about 2 or 3 minutes to caramelize the glaze.
It also works great with maple syrup (about 2:1 syrup), which is a nice twist on the brown sugar.
I also like it with some penne pasta, or similar that goes with with pesto-type ingredients, and fresh baby spinach which I toss with a little lemonade(!) and microwave about 40 seconds. The pasta and spinach prep time out very well after putting the salmon in the oven.
Mary Walker says
I cooked this salmon recipe last night for supper. It was delicious!
Christie says
Thanks Shinee! It turned out really great. The sauce thickened even more in the oven and I spooned the extra than ran off onto the pan over the salmon before serving. Delicious. Where can I find the link to your video?
Shinee says
Oh, I’m so glad you loved it. Thanks for the feedback!! Sorry, I forgot to link the video: https://www.facebook.com/BusyCooksCommunity/videos/392865884526194/
Christie says
I think the brown sugar was also supposed to go in the saucepan, but it wasn’t listed. I added it anyway.
Is the glaze supposed to be thick or really liquid? Mine is still quite “liquidy” after 10 mins of simmering.
Shinee says
Hi, Christie. Oops, I apologize for the mistake, and thank you for bringing it to my attention. It’s now fixed. I’d say, the sauce is still runny enough to easily spread on fish, but thick enough to stay in place. If that makes sense. Here is my video for this recipe, where you can see the consistency of the sauce at around 26-second mark. Hope this helps.