Honey-Soy Alaska Salmon with Charred Scallions and Black Sesame Seeds

These days there are countless articles about how to be a weekend meal-prep warrior, so you can have everything planned and prepped for the week ahead. That’s all well and good, but the truth is that life happens—and even the most prepared of us face nights when we just need to throw dinner together. Keeping frozen wild Alaska salmon on hand can save the day. Here, it bakes up with a salty-sweet sauce made with pantry essentials in about 15 minutes.

We rely on wild Alaska salmon because it is sustainably and ethically sourced and we know it was immediately flash-frozen, which ensures it's still at peak freshness when it comes out of the freezer. And if you’ve been avoiding frozen salmon because it requires forethought to thaw, then we’re here to tell you there’s an easier way. Pull the salmon out of the freezer and cook it. Straight from frozen. No thawing or defrosting necessary.

In this recipe, we put frozen Alaska salmon fillets on a baking sheet, top it with a quick honey-soy sauce and bake. If you like things a little spicy, then using hot honey in the sauce gives this Alaska salmon a pleasant but not overpowering kick. If you don’t have any or want to keep things mild, just use regular honey.

To go with the baked wild Alaska salmon, slightly charred scallions require almost no prep and provide a nice texture in contrast to the luscious salmon. Black sesame seeds add flavor and look great, too, but you can use regular sesame seeds or leave them out if you don’t have any. Some steamed rice—cooked while the salmon is in the oven—would also round out the meal nicely.

Honey-Soy Alaska Salmon with Charred Scallions and Black Sesame Seeds

Yield: 4 servings
Active time: 10 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon hot honey (or regular honey)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
1 teaspoon black sesame seeds, plus more for serving
4 (4- to 6-ounce) Alaska salmon fillets, frozen
1 bunch scallions (3 1/2 to 5 ounces, or at least 8 scallions), trimmed
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Whisk together soy sauce, olive oil, honey, brown sugar, garlic, and black sesame seeds in small bowl. Run frozen salmon fillets under cold water to remove any ice glaze and pat dry with a paper towel. Then, place them (skin-side down if using skin-on fillets) on a 7-x-11-inch foil-lined baking sheet and pour honey-soy mixture over the top. Cover with foil.

2. Toss scallions with sesame oil and salt to fully coat and arrange in an even layer on a separate baking sheet.

3. Put salmon and scallions in the oven and bake for 8 minutes. Remove foil from salmon and flip scallions. Return to oven and bake for 6 more minutes. Remove scallions, which should be crispy and charred at the edges. Flip salmon and bake for another 2 to 4 minutes, depending on thickness of your fillets. It should be opaque and flake easily with a fork when done.

4. Serve salmon over a bed of scallions. Garnish with additional black sesame seeds.

Want more ways to cook your Alaska salmon from frozen? Try our 20-Minute Alaska Salmon with Pistachio-Parsley Pesto, Instant Pot Alaska Salmon and Farro Bowl with Pickled Cucumbers and Kimchi, and Grilled Alaska Salmon with Crispy Garlicky Chickpeas.