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Hot honey salmon is, hands down, my favorite salmon recipe of ALL time. Salmon is perfectly pan seared so that it’s still tender and flaky, never dry, then swaddled in the most delicious savory, sweet, spicy hot honey sauce. It just doesn’t get better for us! Oh, and did I mention how quick and easy it is to make?

4 salmon fillets smothered in a rich hot honey sauce resting in a large silver skillet.

Before You Get Started

Let the salmon sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes before cooking it. It’ll cook more evenly throughout if it’s not cold when it hits the pan!
Salmon cooks up quickly. If your sides need more than 15 minutes, start those first!

How to Make This Recipe

See recipe card below for full list of measurements, ingredients, and instructions.

Sear the Salmon

Season your salmon fillets however you like, then heat avocado oil in a large skillet. When the oil is hot, place the salmon fillets in the skillet skin-side down. Now walk away! OK, wait, don’t actually walk away. Just leave the salmon to cook undisturbed for 5 minutes or so, until the skin is golden and crispy.

Cheryl’s Tip: If the salmon skins stick to the skillet, don’t pull or pry or force them to come up! Just let them sear a little longer and then try again. Once they release from the pan easily, then you can move on to the next step.

Add the Hot Honey sauce

Once the salmon skins are nice and crisp, take the skillet off the heat and flip the salmon over. Leave the skillet off the heat for just a minute or so, just enough time to let the pan cool a bit, then pour the hot honey mixture into the skillet around the salmon fillets.

fINISH THE SALMON

Put the skillet back on the heat and turn the stovetop temp down to medium. Cook the salmon fillets, spooning the hot honey sauce from the pan over the tops of the fillets every minute or so, until the salmon is as cooked as you want it to be. I’ve included a temperature guide in the recipe card below!

Cheryl’s Tip: Be careful not to overcook the salmon! A fillet should give a little when you press on it (gently!) with tongs, but not so much that you’d consider it “soft”. For foolproof results, use an internal meat thermometer!

Serve and enjoy

When you’ve hit your target salmon temperature, move the fillets over to your serving plates and let them rest 5 minutes. Spoon the hot honey sauce from the pan over the salmon and serve with your favorite sides!

Overhead photo of 4 salmon fillets smothered in a rich hot honey sauce resting in a large silver skillet.

What I Love About This Recipe

If you’re a fan of hot honey chicken (in any iteration, but especially my hot honey chicken skillet or crispy hot honey chicken tenders!) then you will LOVE hot honey salmon! It’s the same premise, with tender, moist salmon fillets taking the place of chicken thighs or chicken breasts.
It’s so, so simple! Pan-seared salmon fillets, lightly seasoned and dressed up with an easy sauce. There’s no involved breading, no multi-step cooking process. Just a quick, easy, straightforward, show-stopping entrée that’s got some amazing flavors along with a bunch of nutrients.
The flavors! Oh, man, the flavors in this recipe are incredible! Buttery salmon. A variety of spices and herbs. Sweet, rich honey infused with bold hot sauce then punched up with garlic and umami-rich soy sauce. It’s lick-your-plate-clean delicious.
Hot honey salmon doesn’t need any fancy sides! Serve it with rice, potatoes, pasta, or green veggies like broccoli or asparagus or even a light salad. You don’t need to go overboard – just round out the meal with something that lets the salmon really shine!

Recipe Variations

Salmon Seasoning: I use Redfish Magic seasoning for my salmon, but any spice blend or seasoning salt will work! If you want a Cajun hot honey salmon, you can use blackened seasoning or even just some Tony Chachere’s.
Homemade Hot Honey: Have regular honey on hand already? Turning it into hot honey is super easy – just whisk in a little bit of your favorite hot sauce! How much depends on how hot you want it to be. I like to do 2 parts honey to 1 part hot sauce, but you could absolutely do a 3:1 or 4:1 ratio instead for less intensity.

Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions or variations listed are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.

Recipe By: Cheryl Malik

Hot Honey Salmon

Prep 15

Cook 15

Total 30

Juicy pan-seared salmon smothered in a sweet, savory, spicy hot honey sauce. Pair with rice, pasta, or your favorite veggies for a quick & easy dinner that's full of nutrients!

4 fillets

Equipment

medium mixing bowl
whisk
Cutting board or large plate
Large skillet
Tongs
Spoon
internal meat thermometer

Ingredients

For the Hot Honey Sauce

▢ ½ cup hot honey store-bought or make your own
▢ 1 teaspoon garlic powder
▢ 2 tablespoons water or low-sodium chicken broth
▢ ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
▢ 1 pinch cayenne pepper optional

For the Salmon

▢ 4 salmon fillets approximately 6 ounces each, at room temperature
▢ seasoning salt to taste; or Redfish Magic seasoning, see Notes
▢ 1 tablespoon avocado oil or other neutral-flavored oil

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

Add ½ cup hot honey, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 2 tablespoons water, ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce, and 1 pinch cayenne pepper (if using) to mixing bowl. Whisk ingredients together until fully incorporated.
Place 4 salmon fillets on cutting board. Season fillets generously on all sides with seasoning salt or seasoning blend of choice. Set aside.
Place large skillet on stovetop over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon avocado oil and continue heating skillet until oil is hot and shimmery, tilting and swirling pan as needed to distribute oil across entire surface.
When oil is hot, place seasoned salmon fillets in skillet skin-side down. Sear salmon, undisturbed, 3 to 5 minutes or until skin is golden, crisp, and releases easily from pan. Note: if salmon skin sticks to skillet, continue searing salmon just until skin releases easily. Do not force salmon to release from pan.
Once skins are ready, remove skillet from heat and flip salmon fillets over. Let pan cool approximately 1 minute, then pour prepared hot honey sauce into skillet.
Return skillet to stovetop and reduce heat under pan to medium. Cook salmon, spooning sauce over tops of fillets often, 3 to 5 minutes or until salmon reaches desired internal temperature (see Notes below).
Once salmon has reached desired temperature, carefully transfer salmon fillets to serving plates.
Optional: if hot honey sauce is thinner than desired, return skillet to stovetop and reduce heat to low. Simmer sauce, stirring often, until desired consistency is achieved.
Spoon hot honey sauce over salmon fillets as desired. Serve warm with preferred sides.

Seasoning: I like to use Redfish Magic, which is a blend of cayenne, black pepper, salt, paprika, dried thyme, dried oregano, garlic powder, and onion powder. If you’re using something like this, you may not want to use any salt or cayenne in your hot honey sauce, especially if you’re sensitive to either ingredient.

Salmon Doneness by Temperature

Medium Rare: Mostly opaque, but still soft and moist. Remove fillets from skillet when internal temperature reaches 110° Fahrenheit internally. Let fillets rest 5 minutes. Serve between 115° and 120° Fahrenheit.
Medium: Opaque, slightly firm, and lightly pink in center. Remove fillets from skillet when internal temperature reaches 115° Fahrenheit internally. Let fillets rest 5 minutes. Serve between 120° and 125° Fahrenheit.
Medium-Well: Opaque, more firm, and barely pink. Remove fillets from skillet when internal temperature reaches 120° Fahrenheit internally. Let fillets rest 5 minutes. Serve between 125° and 140° Fahrenheit.
Well-Done: Opaque, very firm, and not-at-all pink. Remove fillets from skillet when internal temperature reaches 130° Fahrenheit internally. Let fillets rest 5 minutes. Serve between 140° and 150° Fahrenheit.

Note: The USDA recommends salmon reach an internal temperature of 145° Fahrenheit to ensure any potentially harmful bacteria are destroyed before consumption.

Approximate Information for One Serving

Serving Size: 1 fillet with sauceCalories: 424calProtein: 35gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gCholesterol: 94mgSodium: 1249mgPotassium: 899mgTotal Carbs: 35gFiber: 0.2gSugar: 28gAdded Sugars: 28gNet Carbs: 35gVitamin A: 78IUVitamin C: 0.03mgCalcium: 26mgIron: 2mg