Hot Honey Salmon Skillet
Sweet and spicy, this Hot Honey Salmon Skillet is a must-try recipe for seafood lovers! It combines a kick of heat with honey and flaky fish for a simple but flavorful fish dinner.
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With the perfect blend of sweet, savory, and spicy, this salmon dish is the perfect anytime meal! It comes together quickly and makes an excellent main course.
Why This Recipe Works
Excellent as a quick weeknight meal but elegant enough to be served for Sunday dinner, this super easy salmon dish is great if you like things on the spicy side.
Perfectly flaky fish cooked in a sweet and spicy honey sauce is an amazing starter for any meal. It's easy to cook, packed with flavor, and pairs well with so many of your favorite sides.
And if you can't get enough salmon, try my Air Fryer Lemon Butter Salmon or this Olive Garden Herb Grilled Salmon!
Ingredients Needed
- Salmon Filets: Feel free to use skin-on or skinless salmon filets.
- Seasonings: Aside from the homemade hot honey, you'll need some salt, black pepper, and paprika to add flavor to your salmon.
- Hot Honey Sauce: This unique sweet and spicy condiment can easily be made by combining honey, crushed red pepper flakes, rice vine vinegar, unsalted butter, and fresh garlic cloves.
How to Make this Hot Honey Salmon
- Step 1: Combine the salt, pepper, and paprika in a small bowl.
- Step 2: Pat the salmon dry with paper towels and coat on each side with the seasoning blend.
- Step 3: In another small mixing bowl, combine honey, red pepper, and vinegar.
- Step 4: Heat a nonstick skillet to medium heat. Add the salmon flesh side down and cook undisturbed for 4 to 6 minutes. Flip and cook skin side down for another 2 minutes or so.
- Step 5: Move the salmon to the edges of the pan and melt butter in between. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, then add half of the hot honey.
- Step 6: Use a spoon to drizzle the sauce over the salmon as it continues to cook. Once finished, serve over rice and drizzle with remaining sauce.
Recipe Tips
- You can also use a store-bought hot honey if you don't want to make your own.
- If you have leftover salmon, allow it to cool and transfer to an airtight container. Store in the fridge for about 3 days.
- You can reheat the salmon in the oven at a fairly low temperature (around 275) to avoid drying out. Another option is to heat a little bit of oil in a skillet and cook the salmon over medium heat.
Recipe FAQ's
Salmon is fully cooked when its internal temperature reaches 145 degrees F. It should also be fully opaque and flake apart fairly easily when you take a fork to it.
This dish cooks the salmon in some of the hot honey, but it's also combined with butter and vinegar to prevent it from burning.
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Hot Honey Salmon Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 4 salmon fillets approximately 6oz weight each (with skin or without)
Hot Honey
- ¼ cup honey
- ½ tablespoon to 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes depending on heat preference*
- 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 4 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 4 fresh garlic cloves minced
Instructions
- In a small bowl mix the salt, black pepper and paprika together.
- On a large cooking sheet add the salmon fillets and gently pat dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle the paprika spices over the flesh side of the salmon fillets. Set aside.
- In a new small bowl add the honey, crushed red pepper and vinegar. Whisk together until combined and set aside.
- Heat a 10–12-inch non-stick skillet over medium high heat for 2-3 minutes; then add the salmon flesh side down and cook for 4-6 minutes (*depending on salmon thickness), leaving undisturbed until a crust begins to form.
- Using tongs or a spatula, gently flip each piece over and cook on the skin side down for 2 minutes more.
- Reduce the heat to medium/low. Move the fillets to the outside edge of the skillet. Place the butter in the center of the pan, once it melts add the garlic and saute for about 1-2 minutes. Add ½ of the hot honey and mix in with the garlic and butter.
- Start basting the salmon; move the filets to one side or the back of the skillet and tip the skillet to fill a large non-stick spoon, then pour over and baste the salmon with the honey mixture.
- Continue tipping the skillet to baste each salmon filet for about 2-3 minutes.
- Remove from heat and present the hot honey salmon on a platter.
- Serve with sauteed broccolini and white rice and drizzle with the remaining hot honey.
Notes
- You can also purchase store bought hot honey like Mikes. You will need about 1/2 cup.
- Atlantic Salmon is often fattier and more forgiving than Wild Caught salmon when pan searing/sauteeing. Skinless can be used, just make sure to sear the salmon filets skin side down first when ready to cook.
- Leftovers: Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
