These Healthy Salmon Marinades are the perfect easy, delicious recipe! Made with minimal ingredients, paleo, keto and Whole30 – they’re great for meal prep! Whether you make them on the grill or baked in the oven – everyone will love them! Made without butter, these low carb salmon recipes are great for meal prep, lunch, or dinner. This post is sponsored by my friends at ButcherBox.
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There’s nothing worse than being on day 3 of eating whatever you meal prepped and being *so* bored with eating that food. That’s why I came up with these 4 healthy salmon marinade recipes!
Even if you’re not meal prepping and just looking for something delicious to make for dinner – these salmon marinades are for you.
We’ve got salmon marinades with lemon, with mustard.. a spicy salmon marinade.. there’s one for everyone!
All of these marinades are paleo, whole30, keto and delicious.
If you’ve never marinated salmon, you’re missing out! It takes salmon from being good, to great. Simple ingredients can really amp up the flavor to give you a totally delicious meal!
However.. marinades can only take your salmon so far, the root of a delicious meal is where your seafood is coming from.
You’ve probably heard me talk about how much I love ButcherBox before (if you haven’t – check out this ButcherBox Review!) and as much as we love their steaks, bacon and chicken… we love their salmon even more!
I mean.. isn’t it beautiful?! Look at that color! ButcherBox’s salmon is wild caught, flash frozen and vacuum sealed so that when it arrives to you – it’s just as fresh as when it came out of the ocean.
I prefer wild caught fish for a few reasons.. not only does it taste much more delicious, it’s loaded with omega-3’s, has a nice flaky texture, and has no hormones or antibiotics added (which many farm-raised fish do have).
Want free ground beef? Right Now when you join ButcherBox you can get free ground beef for a year and $10 off! That’s up to 24 lbs of ground beef for free!
What you will need for these Easy Salmon Marinade recipes
The base of all the salmon marinades is:
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
- You’ll also need some mustard, spices and coconut aminos.
It will also be helpful to have parchment paper, a citrus juicer, and a citrus zester.
Marinade for Salmon recipe substitutions
These salmon marinades are pretty versatile. Here are a few ways you can customize them!
Meat– You can use any meat with these marinades. Chicken breasts, chicken thighs or even steak would both be delicious in this! We also have a Healthy Chicken Marinades post!
Oil – You can use avocado oil in this recipe and it will be just as delicious!
Salt– If you’re following a low sodium diet, skip the salt
Rosemary – If you don’t have fresh rosemary, do half of the amount of dried rosemary
Other Marinades: Check out these healthy salmon recipes: Lemon Salmon, Honey Sriracha Salmon, Easy Asian Salmon
How to Marinate Salmon
These healthy salmon marinades are pretty easy to put together.
- Simply gather your ingredients, mix, and marinate.
- When you’re ready to bake, lay your salmon out on a baking sheet.
Pictured here is our Spicy Asian Salmon Marinade, but you’ll follow these steps for the Mustard Garlic, Lemon Rosemary, and Chili Lime Marinades too! All of these make great simple, baked salmon recipes – let me show you how to cook them!
How long to marinate salmon?
Salmon needs to marinate for at least 30 minutes for best flavor. We don’t recommend marinating salmon for more than 2 hours because lemon and lime juice can break down the fish.
How to cook Marinating Salmon
You can cook salmon a few different ways.
Baking Salmon in the Oven: I like to bake salmon in the oven. To cook salmon in the oven, preheat oven to 400 + prepare a lined baking sheet.
Lay salmon pieces on the sheet side by side. Bake for 15-20 minutes until salmon flakes easily with a fork.
Grilling Salmon: You can also cook salmon on the grill. Preheat your grill to 375. Lay salmon in baking dish and pour marinade over it. Allow salmon to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
You can grill the salmon in the dish, but I prefer to lay salmon on grilling mat or wrap in a piece of aluminum foil. Cook for 15 minutes. Do not flip! You can test to see if the salmon is done by seeing if it flakes easily with a fork.
Salmon Marinade Recipes FAQs
We don’t recommend marinating salmon overnight. When you marinate salmon overnight it can break down the fish. Salmon needs to marinate for at least 30 minutes for best flavor. We don’t recommend marinating salmon for more than 2 hours because lemon and lime juice can break down the fish.
No. Do not wash salmon or any other meat/fish before marinating. Properly cooking fish will kill any bacteria, there’s no reason to wash salmon.
Yes, salmon marinate in the fridge. You shouldn’t leave salmon at room temperature for more than 2 hours for food safety reasons. It’s best to marinate in the fridge.
Salmon will get more tender as it marinates. Acids like lemon and lime juice will help to tenderize salmon.
The best oven temp for salmon is 400-450 degrees F.
Yes, you can eat the skin on salmon. You don’t have to eat it if you don’t like it!
Best Salmon Marinade storage
Marinading Salmon: Don’t store salmon for more than 24 hours in a marinade. The marinades can start to break down the fish.
Storing: This salmon will last 3-4 days in the refrigerator.
Freezing: We do not recommend freezing cooked salmon.
Reheating: We prefer to eat any leftovers of this salmon cold, but if you’d like to reheat it’s best to heat in the oven or in a toaster oven for a few minutes.
How to serve these Best Marinade for Salmon recipes
These healthy salmon marinades will go with just about anything! I paired them with my Garlic Brussels Sprouts and Crispy Roasted Potatoes, but here are a few more ideas!
- Brown rice or quinoa
- Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad
- Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad
- Corn Tomato Avocado Salad
- Healthy Lemon Parmesan Asparagus
- Easy Farro Salad
- Grilled Vegetables in Foil
- On this Salmon Salad with Tahini Lemon Dressing
Don’t forget – ButcherBox has an awesome deal going on right now when you try it!
Other healthy dinner recipes:
Looking for other easy meals? Check out these 40+ Healthy Dinner Recipes or 30+ Best Salmon Recipes. Click here to grab our free healthy 30 minute dinners cookbook.
Best Salmon Marinade Recipes
Ingredients
- 1 lb ButcherBox Salmon (about 4 salmon filets)
Lemon Rosemary
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary minced
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 tablespoon lemon zest
Spicy Asian
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 tablespoon coconut aminos
- 1/2 tablespoon sriracha
Chili Lime
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1/2 tablespoon lime zest
Mustard Garlic
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In separate bowls, whisk together marinades. Pour into individual ziploc bags. Place 1 large piece of salmon (about 4-6oz salmon) with each marinade. Carefully try to squeeze out air from the bag. Marinate for at least 30 minutes. Do not marinate for more than 2 hours.
In the Oven:
- Allow the salmon a minimum of 30 minutes to marinate. Do not marinate for more than 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 400 + prepare a lined baking sheet. Lay salmon pieces on the sheet side by side. Bake for 15-20 minutes until salmon flakes easily.
- Eat immediately, or allow salmon to cool for 5 minutes + store in containers with veggies/side for meal prepping
On the grill:
- Preheat grill to 375. Lay salmon in baking dish and pour marinade over it. Allow salmon to marinate for at least 30 minutes. Do not marinate for more than 2 hours.
- Lay salmon on grilling mat or wrap in a piece of aluminum foil. Cook for 15 minutes. Do not flip! You can test to see if the salmon is done by seeing if it flakes with a fork.
- Eat immediately, or allow salmon to cool for 5 minutes + store in containers with veggies/side for meal prepping
If freezing:
- Transfer the individual bags to the freezer.
- Lay flat in freezer. To defrost, remove from freezer 24 hours in advance + place in refrigerator.
- Allow to defrost + cook per directions above
Katie Sanchez says
I’ve tried two of these so far and they’re amazing! Thumbs up from my kids too. I was in a rut with how to season salmon and this has fixed that. I can’t wait to try the other two!
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you liked them, Katie! Makes me happy to hear 🙂 We have another post with that you could also use on salmon!
Valerie says
I made the chili lime and spicy asian marinades and they were delicious and full of flavor! Easy to prep and leave in the fridge till you’re ready to bake. I love how simple the ingredients are -you don’t have to go out and buy more spices! 🙂
The Clean Eating Couple says
Glad you enjoyed them, Valerie! You can even freeze them for next time!
Katie says
I make salmon a lot for my family and had gotten into a slump. I was tired of making it the same way every time and I’m sure my family was getting tired of eating it seasoned the same way. Having these recipes on hand has been a game changer! Our favorite is the Chili Lime marinade, but they are all delicious!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Glad you liked them!!
Trudi says
TheseALLsoumd goodThanks