Baked teriyaki salmon in under 30 minutes! This easy and lower sugar teriyaki recipe is served over a delicious, ginger and garlic-flavored cabbage stir-fry.
Baked teriyaki salmon is always a surefire winner at our house. Honestly, I could feed my kids anything with teriyaki sauce and they’d be happy. Ever since they were little, their birthday dinner requests always involved Baked Teriyaki Turkey Meatballs. Their devotion was later solidified with Baked Teriyaki Salmon Egg Rolls and Teriyaki Baked Chicken Tenders.
This meal comes together in about 30 minutes. That includes making the sauce (so easy!), cooking the salmon and stir-frying the cabbage. Start by chopping the cabbages, garlic and ginger, then make the teriyaki sauce. While the salmon is cooking, stir-fry the cabbage.
If you’d like, serve it all on top of a bed of brown (or white) rice or quinoa.
What you need for this baked salmon teriyaki:
These are the main components of this recipe (affiliate links included):
- Salmon: The recipe calls for 1 pound of salmon. If you buy one large fillet, cut it into four even pieces before cooking. Either skinless or with skin works. Once the salmon is cooked, it’s easy to separate the fillet from the skin.
- Napa cabbage: Napa cabbage is available in the produce section of most grocery stores. It has a milder flavor and lighter texture than regular green cabbage. If you can’t find Napa cabbage, go ahead and substitute with green cabbage.
- Red cabbage: Red cabbage (sometimes labeled as purple cabbage) is widely available in grocery stores. Cut it into wedges, then slice crosswise. Discard the core.
- Sauce ingredients: All of the teriyaki sauce ingredients are available in most grocery stores. Alternatively, follow these links to buy online. The sauce is composed of soy sauce, water, rice vinegar, maple syrup, avocado oil (or canola), cornstarch (for thickening), garlic and ginger.
- Oils: Avocado oil is good for stir-frying because it has a high smoke point. Canola oil can be used instead. Just a splash of sesame oil is added for flavor.
How to make salmon teriyaki:
Honestly, it doesn’t get much easier than this teriyaki glazed salmon recipe. The basic steps: make the sauce, bake the salmon, serve on top of stir-fried veggies with the remaining sauce.
Let’s talk about a few tips to make this meal come together as easily as possible.
Start by making the sauce. Combine all of the liquid ingredients plus the cornstarch and whisk together until completely combined. Then stir in the garlic and ginger. The cornstarch acts as a thickener. If you don’t have any on hand, use all-purpose flour instead.
Bring the sauce to a gentle boil. While it’s cooking, give it a good whisk every minute to stop it from burning. It should take 5 to 6 minutes for the sauce to thicken enough.
Transfer half of the sauce to a bowl and set aside. You’ll be mixing this into the cooked cabbage later, so you don’t want to be dipping your basting brush into it as you baste the uncooked salmon.
For easy clean-up line a baking sheet with foil. Believe me when I say that cleaning off baked-on teriyaki sauce is no fun!
Once the salmon is done (see my tip below), serve it over the stir-fried cabbage.
The cabbage takes just a few minutes to cook. I like my cabbage to have some crunch. Two or three minutes is all it takes to cook the veggie without overdoing it.
How to tell when salmon is done:
I share this tip with all of my salmon recipes because it’s so handy. Insert a small, sharp knife into the thickest part of the fillet and hold it there for 10 seconds.
Remove the knife and carefully lay the side of the knife on the inside of your wrist or on your upper lip. If it’s hot (yes, be careful!), the fish is done. Easy, right?
Other ways to tell if the salmon is done. First, the fish should flake easily with a fork. Alternatively, make a small cut into the thickest part of the fillet. The flesh should be opaque.
Remember that the salmon will continue to cook for a few minutes after it’s removed from the oven, so take care not to overcook it.
Other healthy salmon recipes:
Maple Dijon Baked Salmon {Cookin’ Canuck}
Light Salmon & Potato Chowder {Cookin’ Canuck}
Lime & Garlic Salmon {Laughing Spatula}
20 Minute Simple Salmon & Asparagus {Garnish & Glaze}
Baked Teriyaki Salmon with Cabbage
Ingredients
The salmon:
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons canola or avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 4 (4 oz. each) salmon fillets
- Sesame seeds & sliced green onion for garnish
The cabbage:
- 2 teaspoons canola or avocado oil divided
- 3 green onions thinly sliced, green & white/light green parts separated
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 3/4 lb. Napa cabbage chopped (about 5 cups)
- 1/2 lb. red cabbage chopped (about 2 cups)
Instructions
The salmon:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil.
- In a medium saucepan, whisk together the soy sauce, water, rice vinegar, maple syrup, oil and cornstarch until smooth. Stir in the ginger and garlic.
- Set the saucepan over medium-high heat and bring the soy sauce mixture (teriyaki sauce) to a gentle boil, whisking occasionally. Continue to cook (keep whisking occasionally) until the sauce thickens, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer half of the sauce to a bowl and reserve.
- Place the salmon fillets on the prepared baking sheet, skin side down (if the fillets aren’t skinless). Brush each fillet with 1 tablespoon of the teriyaki sauce.
- Cook the salmon until it is just cooked through, 6 to 12 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets. In the last two minutes of cooking, place the salmon under the broiler to brown the sauce a bit. Take care not to burn it. The salmon fillets should easily release from the skin.
- Serve the salmon on top of the cooked cabbage. Garnish with sesame seeds and sliced green onion, if desired.
The cabbage:
- Heat 1 teaspoon avocado oil in a large nonstick skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the white & light green sections of the green onion, ginger and garlic to the oil. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
- Add the remaining avocado oil and the sesame oil to the pan. Add the Napa and red cabbage.
- Cook the cabbage, stirring constantly, until it is slightly wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the reserved teriyaki sauce.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the green sections of the green onion.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclosure: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Karin Hathaway
Hi,
I think one of your recipe ingredients for salmon is added twice. (water ) I think one should be rive vinegar. Looking forward to making this!!
Dara
Thank you for catching that, Karin! Fixed now. 🙂
Amanda
Hi Dara – Step 2 says to add the garlic and ginger to the sauce but I don’t see it listed in the ingredients for the salmon (only below for the cabbage)? Thanks.
Christy
I’m confused about that also!