Besides crispy skinned salmon made on a cast iron, this is my other favourite way to cook salmon. Broiling the salmon results in nicely charred, perfectly cooked salmon that isn’t dry. This sweet and spicy salmon has tons of flavour from a simple marinade and is served alongside crispy kale and charred green onions. And because I love some crunch and texture, I throw on some chopped salty peanuts too. I hope you love this oven broiled salmon as much as I do.

Ingredients

Because salmon is the star of the show here, focus on getting your hands on some nice pieces of fish.

Salmon fillet: I recommend purchasing high quality wild caught salmon if you can. The quality of the salmon not only tastes better, but it is also a healthy source of many important nutrients as well. Personally, I buy wild caught sushi grade salmon from a local fish shop here in Toronto that I love. The taste is clean and delicious, plus it means I can cook it to medium or medium-rare and safely enjoy it.
Fresh garlic cloves
Lime juice
Rice vinegar
Tamari
Honey
Avocado oil
Kale
Green onions
Serrano pepper (or other chili pepper or jalapeño)
Salted and roasted peanuts

Make the Marinade

First things first, let’s make the salmon marinade. You only need to marinate the salmon for about 20 to 30 minutes. Don’t forget that once you have made the marinade, only use half on the salmon and save the rest for later, when basting the salmon while it’s broiling.

In a small bowl, whisk together the marinade ingredients.

Pour half of the marinade in a large ziploc bag, or a pyrex type dish works as well. And then transfer the salmon to the ziploc bag (or pyrex dish) and let it sit for 20 to 30 minutes in the mixture.

How to Make the Oven Broiled Sweet and Spicy Salmon

Preheat the broiler.

Grab a large rimmed baking sheet (these are the ones I use and love). Place the kale leaves and green onions on the baking sheet, doing your best to space things out so they can crisp up in the oven.

Drizzle the kale and green onions with oil and season with a pinch of salt. Place in the oven to broil for three minutes.

Remove the baking sheet and take the kale leaves off and set them aside on a plate. They should be fairly crispy and slightly charred. Leave the green onions on the baking sheet.

Remove the salmon from the marinade and place on top of the green onion. Drizzle with half of the reserved marinade and broil for six minutes.

Take out the baking sheet and drizzle the remaining marinade on top of the salmon. Top with the serrano pepper. Place back in the oven to broil for two minutes.

Top with the chopped peanuts and sesame seeds.

How to Know When Salmon is Cooked through?

Depending on your preference and the quality of the salmon you are using, the salmon can take anywhere from eight to ten minutes on broil.

I buy sushi grade wild salmon, so I usually cook it to medium-rare at the thickest part. If you like it cooked more, broil for an additional one to two minutes.

You’ll know when the salmon is cooked through when it easily flakes. You can test this by using a fork or your finger to gently press down on the top of the fillet.

Substitutions

No honey: use maple syrup or other liquid sweetener instead
No spice: although, I love the taste of this sweet and spicy salmon, if you want less spice, remove the seeds or use a milder pepper, or chili flakes.
Tamari: use soy sauce, or coconut aminos.
Nuts: you can omit the peanuts, or use another type of nut (almonds would be great too)
Lacinato kale: if you can’t find the lacinato type of kale (although it’s my fav and my preference), you can omit and use more green onions or use curly kale.

This recipe was inspired by the always inspiring Bon Appétit.

Other Dinner Recipes to Try

I hope you enjoy this easy, flavour packed sweet and spicy salmon as much as I do.

If you make this oven broiled sweet and spicy salmon please share with me, by tagging me on Instagram or leave a comment and/or review below. I truly love seeing and hearing form you!

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