How to Pan Sear Crisp, Moist Salmon Fillets – Make restaurant-quality, perfectly cooked salmon in your own kitchen! Golden crust, moist & flaky within. Fast, easy tutorial, 20 minute meal, healthy & delicious.
It all started when my stepdaughter, aka “the pickiest eater on planet Earth,” developed a taste for salmon. Once I discovered she liked this great alternative to red meat, which can be high in saturated fat, I was determined to perfect my cooked salmon technique. I much prefer it to red meat, which is high in saturated fat. She preferred the pan seared salmon served at one of our favorite local restaurants– it was moist and flaky with a crisp golden crust. After struggling to make it the same way at home, I finally landed on a technique that produces restaurant-quality salmon every time. And my stepdaughter? She now likes mine better than the restaurant version!
This technique involves a simple combination of pan searing and oven roasting. Use boneless fillets, skin on for a crispy skin or skin off for a crispy golden crust — either will work. By following this great recipe, you can have perfectly seared salmon filets on the table in less than 20 minutes. Roast some veggies, steam a little couscous, and you’ve got a healthy, satisfying meal.
Restaurant? We don’t need no stinkin’ restaurant! Give yourself a pat on the back and a Michelin star, you’ll be rocking salmon fillets like a boss from now on.
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How to Sear Salmon Fillets
Ingredients
- Boneless salmon fillets skin off or skin on (up to 4 per batch)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (you may also substitute avocado oil, which has a higher smoke point)
- Salt and pepper
NOTES
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. If you have time, let the salmon come to room temperature, it will cook faster and more evenly that way (but don't stress, when I'm in a hurry I do it straight from the fridge). The salmon fillets should be generously seasoned with salt and pepper.
- Place skillet over medium high heat for 3-4 minutes till drops of water sizzle and bead on the surface when you sprinkle them. When water dries pour 2 tbsp olive oil and swirl around the bottom of the pan to evenly coat. Oil will begin to smoke lightly after a moment or two.Place salmon fillets gently into the skillet, up to 4 at a time (depending on the size of your skillet), making sure not to crowd the pan. The fillets should not touch. If using skin-on fillets, the skin side should be facing upward, with meat against the pan.
- Turn the burner up to high heat. Let the salmon sear for 2-3 minutes till a golden brown crust begins to form on the bottom edge of the meat. You'll be able to see the crust starting at the edge where the meat touches the pan. Once you see that, there is no need to lift the salmon and check-- the crust will continue developing in the oven. The less you disturb the salmon during cooking, the better.
- At this point, do not turn the salmon. Instead, transfer the whole skillet to the preheated oven. Let the salmon continue roasting in the oven for another 6-10 minutes. How long it cooks will depend on the thickness of the fillets and desired doneness-- some people like salmon a little on the rare side. Our family likes it fully cooked and flaking, but still moist. For a fillet that is 1-inch thick at its thickest point, this usually takes around 7-8 minutes in the oven. Once cooked you can cut into the thickest part of a fillet with a sharp knife to make sure it's done to your liking.When the salmon is done roasting, use an oven mitt to carefully remove the skillet from the oven. I do mean carefully, the skillet will be hot and the oil will be sizzling!
- Remove the fillets from the pan carefully with tongs or a fish spatula, plate them crust-side up, and serve. Keep in mind that if you keep them in the hot skillet they will continue to cook. If you're not serving the fillets immediately, you might want to take them out of the oven a little under-done and leave them in the hot skillet to finish cooking before you serve them. If you've left the skin on, it will be crisp at this point. Skin off, the only crispy area will be that golden brown crust. My stepdaughter likes that part the best. These are especially nice with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Message from Diane in NYC. My husband lost his mind – he loved this salmon preparation method!! I have been practicing & experimenting. Thank you!!!
I’ve been looking for a simple no-fuss recipe to cook salmon and I like my salmon moist. This recipe is perfect. Thank you.
Exactly the direction I needed for that restaurant type sear. Thanks so much!
Really great recipe! Wish I had it years ago! Thanks so much for sharing!
Wow, it worked! This is literally the first time I achieved the golden brown sear on my salmon that eluded me! Salt, pepper, a bit of oil and butter in a very hot ceramic non-stick pan. Cooked it till light brown, popped it in the 425 degree oven for maybe 5 minutes. The salmon was flaky and cooked all the way through, so next time I’ll cut down my oven time just a bit to retain a bit of pink. Easy enough that I was able to cook it at the same time I was making risotto and oven roasting some veggies. Thank you for the great recipe!
Amazing. I have been searching for years to find a way to perfect the sear. You nailed it!!!
I love this recipe! Simple and delicious
My new go to method.
This was my best salmon EVER! I’ll never make it any other way. Thank you!!!❤️
Perfect recipe! It has become my “go to” for salmon. Easy and delicious. I use a seasoning salt bs just salt and pepper but have done both. My kids love this.
My daughter mentioned cooking Salmon the other day. I had to hunt your recipe down for her. I hate to think of how many good Salmon fillets I wasted before finding your recipe. Now she won’t make my mistake.
I have prepared this recipe several times. Within its simplicity is the ability to get the same results every time.
We do not like partially cooked salmon (unless it’s sushi). We get the salmon to just cooked through and very moist.
Thanks.
excellent recipe. thank you much
I’ve never commented on a recipe before but I want to thank the author. This method of cooking salmon resulted in a perfect crust. It was so easy that even I was able to do it. Thanks.
You’re welcome! 🙂
Thank you Tori for a delicious, easy, terrific recipe! I’m far from considering myself an experienced cook, and was always afraid to try cooking salmon, but your recipe is so easy to follow, and fast, that I find it to be one I use quite often now. And since I’m not a pro in the kitchen, I also found the pictures and video to be quite helpful, especially the 1st time I tried it. Thanks again!!!
This is so amazing!! Salmon’s one of those fish that is easy to over cook then it is a waste, in my opinion. This took the guess work out of the equation! Cooked to perfection! Moist, flaky salmon every time!!! I can not thank you enough!
Happy to hear it!
This salmon recipe is the BEST! (I have tried several.) I love salmon and order it when we eat out. My husband isn’t that fond of it; however, after using your recipe not only can I make salmon whenever I want to eat it, but my husband says it is the best salmon he has ever eaten. Thank You!
Tonight I want to make my other favorite that I order while dining out which is a Beef Filet. Not finding a recipe of yours, I have to ask, couldn’t you please make a beef filet recipe just as easy and wonderful as the salmon???? PLEASE!
P.S. My daughter’s name is “Torri”. I am passing your recipe for salmon on to her. If it is a “Tori’s” recipe how could it not be wonderful? I would love to pass on a BEEF FILET recipe too!
Thanks so much.
Hi Carol! I will keep that in mind. 🙂 We don’t eat much beef in my home, except for the occasional holiday brisket, but I may have to do a special post on this because I’ve had other requests. Glad you’re enjoying the salmon!
I have never made salmon before, and this was perfect! The crispy crunch on top was so good! I made a tiny tweak and brushed some hoisin sauce on the top when done. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I feel I would have completely failed at this without such detail
I don’t write many reviews, but I just had to for this recipe because it was fantastic. I love salmon, but don’t cook it much because it never tastes like it does in the restaurants, plus I tend to overcook it, as I’m afraid of undercooking it. I followed the recipe as written-let it get to room temp, used cast iron skillet, etc. I totally impressed myself with my newfound salmon cooking skills, thanks to you! I wasn’t sure what size salmon fillets to use. I used the frozen sockeye salmon fillets from Walmart-4 oz each. Did 3 minutes on the stovetop, 7 minutes in the oven. IT WAS SO DELICIOUS! And so simple, even I couldn’t mess it up, and that’s saying something. I will be using this recipe a lot. I can’t wait to try it with different varieties of salmon and playing with some different spices. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you!! I feel like I have finally mastered salmon like I get in a restaurant. I forgot to season with salt, but used dried lemon peel and dill. It was still fantastic and so easy. Thank you for including instructions for what to look for to determine if it is searing with a nice crust. I left it alone when normally I would have checked several times. I am positive that I’ll be using this technique at least twice a week now.
I use this recipe ALL the time. At least once a week. Very easy and delicious for a novice cook. Thank you!!!