The Best Grilled Salmon
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You, too, can make the absolute BEST Grilled Salmon in foil on the grill. This salmon has a slightly sweet and smoky flavor and is grilled to perfection in just around 15 minutes!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Ingredient Notes
- Brown sugar | Adds a touch of sweetness that balances the tangy and savory elements while helping to create a caramelized finish on the grill.
- Lemon juice | Brightens the marinade with a burst of citrus, enhancing the flavor of the salmon, even making it taste less “fishy”.
- Salt and black pepper | Simple overall flavor enhancers! You won’t need much salt because soy sauce is salty!
- Soy sauce | Brings a savory, umami punch, adding depth to the marinade.
- Olive oil | Keeps the salmon moist and helps the marinade cling to the filets.
- Garlic | This bold aromatic complements the sweet and savory notes in the marinade.
- Salmon filets | Rich, flaky fish that pairs perfectly with the sweet, tangy, and savory marinade.
How to Make the Best Grilled Salmon
Cooking dinner on the grill gets everyone involved in preparing the meal at our house. We love being outdoors and grill as often as the weather cooperates — sometimes even three or four times a week.
STEP 1 | Marinade the salmon
Combine the grilled salmon marinade ingredients in a single gallon-size zip lock bag (no need to dirty up a bowl). Add the salmon, and refrigerate for at least an hour to allow the flavors to penetrate the fish.
STEP 2 | Make aluminum foil boats
After soaking up all that flavorful marinade, the salmon fillets are grilled in little aluminum foil “boats”. I use heavy duty non-stick aluminum foil and just fold up the sides a couple of times to make a lip.
STEP 3 | Grill the fish
Place the filets on the foil skin side down, then pour some of the marinade over the top. The best part is that after grilling, you just toss the foil!
The salmon is perfectly cooked after just 15-18 minutes on the grill with the lid down. Be careful that you avoid overcooking or the salmon will become too dry. The salmon should lift away from the skin easily with a flat spatula.
Favorite Grilling Accessories
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Frequently Asked Questions
Fish is done when it flakes easily with a fork in the thickest part of the filet. The color should change from red to pink, but may still look a little translucent.
Always start cooking with the skin side down (for any recipe) as the fish will be easier to flip. Otherwise, the fish may stick to the grill grates and flake away.
Yes, you absolutely can eat the skin. With this recipe, however, I usually serve the salmon without the skin because it does not get crispy with this particular cooking method and I eating the skin if it has been pan-fried.
It’s always a good idea to rinse any meat under cool running water and dry with paper towels before cooking. Always remember to sanitize your sink and counter tops after this process, though, to avoid any splattered bacteria.
What to Serve with Grilled Salmon
I like to serve this healthy grilled salmon with a baked sweet potato and my 20-minute oven roasted Brussels sprouts. Other options include:
- Pasta or rice pilaf
- Steamed broccoli
- Roasted asparagus
Looking for More Delicious Grilling Recipes?
Here are a few of our favorite grilling recipes — try them and let me know what you think! Grilled Sirloin Steak has a crispy coating and a tangy barbecue glaze, or go lighter with my Grilled Steak Salad with French Vinaigrette with juicy pears and blue cheese. Try this Chili-Orange Glazed Pork Tenderloin with roasted sweet potato wedges — so YUM!
Beyond the Recipe
Grilling is practically a year-round thing at our house. Early Spring until late Fall, you’ll find John flipping burgers, chops, steaks—well, just about anything, really—at least two or three times a week.
Lately, we’ve been adding this salmon recipe to our regular grilling rotation. What’s surprising about that is for the longest time John believed he didn’t even like salmon. Until we tried this delicious grilled salmon recipe!
That’s a big win for me because I love salmon. Now my hubby’s the one who suggests we pick up salmon for the grill. You know what they say, “happy wife, happy life”! We first made this recipe over two years ago and my family whole-heartedly agrees that this truly is the BEST salmon they’ve ever eaten.
I seriously can’t even count how many times we’ve used this recipe to grill salmon. The marinade is so flavorful, the salmon is tender and flaky, and clean up is a breeze.
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Best Grilled Salmon
Ingredients
Marinade
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup lite soy sauce
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 4 6-oz. Salmon filets
Instructions
- Place all marinade ingredients into a gallon size zip lock bag and seal. Squeeze gently to combine ingredients, then add salmon fillets. Seal and refrigerate for 1 to 3 hours to allow flavors to penetrate the fish.
- Preheat grill to medium high heat. For each salmon fillet, take a piece of heavy duty aluminum foil and fold into a "dish" with sides. Place a salmon fillet into each dish skin side down. Add a little of the marinade on top and place the entire dish on the grill.
- Grill for 15-18 minutes with the lid closed. Flip the salmon onto the grill to sear the top, about 1-2 minutes. Carefully scrape off the skin (it should lift right off) and serve.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Life Love and Good Food does not claim to be a registered dietician or nutritionist. Nutritional information shared on this site is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
Thank you for this recipe. It is my go to for grilled salmon. I did a few changes, however. I omit the water as I see no point in watering down the amazing flavors. I also omit the salt and use regular soy sauce instead of low sodium. Lastly, I add fresh ginger, grated. Equal parts of ginger and garlic. I marinate for 4 hrs or longer. The salmon comes out amazing and is a family favorite!
It really is the best and so easy. I make this a lot! I hate cooking so love how simple this is. I have tried many salmon recipes and always come back to this one.
Best ever!!! Thank you!
One of our favorites! Has anyone cooked this on a pellet grill? Temp?
Love how it comes out on the grill
No grill here, live in a condo. Can it be baked in foil? Temp and length of time? Spouse would be happy to have new salmon recipe.
Try baking the salmon at 425 degrees for 12-13 minutes and very carefully turn on the broiler at the end of cooking to sear the top.
Can this marinade be for chicken thighs too? It was soooooo delicious !
I haven’t tried the marinade on chicken thighs, but I agree that sounds delicious!
Amazing platter. Just passed the recipe to my friend whose family loves salmon.
Looks delicious! I make salmon all the time–why don’t I ever grill it!
I have never eaten salmon before, but this makes me want to. it looks so delicious!
Question…..im preparing to make the Salmon today. When you flip the salmon, are you flipping it out of the “dish” and onto the grill grates or does it stay in the “dish” after you flip it?
Thanks…
Hi, Tracy. If you do flip for the grill marks, place the salmon directly on an oiled fish rack on the grill. Recently, we’ve skipped this step and the salmon is still great! Enjoy!
I’ve used this recipe several times and it’s absolutely delicious and favorite. We grill it and never fails!
Thanks for sharing.
Oh.my.goodness…I too am a salmon hater. My husband loves it and was stuck with only getting to have it when we ate out. I loved this recipe and him even more so. Thank you so much for sharing.
Salmon is just fabulous. Recipe easy to follow. Thanks. Made lots of times.
We loved this!! I added a little honey. My company said it was the best they had ever had!
Can you cook this in a skillet on the stove?
Pam, I wouldn’t recommend cooking this in a skillet on the stove. Instead, you may enjoy this salmon recipe for Honey Soy Salmon Sheet Pan Dinner that can be prepared indoors.
I cooked this a few days ago and loved it. I took it out of the aluminum foil about 2 minutes before it was done and turned it upside down above the flames to sear it. The salmon was so tender it basically melted in my mouth. I will cook this again.
The best grilled salmon! I actually put/poured more marinade over the fish! My husband loved it and so did my almost 5 year old.
Thank you!
I made this salmon today for a birthday dinner. It was absolutely delicious and very easy. Everyone loved it. The marinade was not overpowering or too sweet. Thanks for the recipe. *****
It took me 45 minutes to make this dish for the first time.
My daughter really liked it.
This dish is delicious and good for health.
thank you.
Love this marinade…just one question. I see that is says to marinade 1-3 hours. I’m no expert chef by any means, but I had been told that marinating over 1 hour when using salt in any form starts to “cook” the fish. Is this true? I generally like to marinate my meats on the longer side, so I’d love to do the 3 hours, but not at risk of ruining the fish. Thanks!
Zachary, I’ve used this particular marinade for that amount of time with good results. Truthfully, though, I think the salmon tastes just as good by marinating for only one hour.
Very delicious and nutritious recipe. My parents enjoyed it.
This is a very easy delicious recipe. I made it for my in-laws and they couldn’t stop talking about it. Even my very fussy 2 year old loved it.
Grilled salmon today for the first time using your recipe. My family loved it!! Thank you!
Great Grilled Salmon! The ingredients are simple and easy to process and taste great, which is my favorite thing in this recipe. Thanks for your recipe
Our favorite salmon recipe by far. And fun to make.
We just started eating salmon because of this recipe. I make it once a week. We love it!!!
That’s awesome to hear!! Glad you like this recipe as much as we do 🙂
Thanks for your recipe. I like salmon and love how it serves with sweet potato on your recipe., I’ll make this.
Can you make this with Salmon that does not have the skin?
Monica, I haven’t tried it this way, but if you do use skinless salmon I would spray the aluminum foil with nonstick spray first.
Wow… I have bookmarked your page and will try it on the weekend.
Thank for sharing!
This is my FAVORITE marinade for salmon! I’d rather stay home and make this than pay for salmon at a restaurant with this recipe. Bookmarked!
If using frozen salmon, can it “thaw out” in this marinade for the last couple of hours? Thanks so much!
Hi Debbie. I haven’t tried thawing the salmon in the marinade before, so I can’t be positive on what results you will get. That being said, it makes sense to me that this would work.
Me and my wife are in love with this salmon recipe. We can’t have it any other way now!
My daughter even loves it and she has never been that much of a salmon lover. Thanks for the recipe!
This salmon recipe is by far the best I’ve had! 5 stars for sure!
This was really good! We make salmon often and I’ve used a soy-maple marinade in the past, but really liked this combination of soy-brown sugar-lemon. Will use again. We grilled this time but we bake often. I used a dark soy sauce and didn’t add salt.
Could you leave the salmon to marinating all day while at work?
Brandi, with fish it’s not necessary to marinate all day. If time after work is an issue, it would be ok to reduce the marinating to just 30 minutes instead.
Thank you! I am going to fix this tomorrow evening! We love salmon and are always wanting to try new recipes!
Oh my! So good! Made extra marinade reduced it, and served it on the side! Wow!
Best grilled salmon I’ve ever had! Family loved it!!
We just tried this recipe. We subbed coconut aminos in place of soy. It came out perfect. Best i have done so far. Thank you for posting your recipe.
How does coconut aminos taste like? I’ve never heard of it but I’m trying to quit soy.
I just tried this recipe but instead I baked it for 13 mins and then grilled them on medium/high heat for 40-50 secs using a grill pan It was AWESOME!
That’s a great indoor solution! Thanks for sharing.
Delicious! We loved the salmon tonight!
Suzy, I am so glad you did!
When placing the salmon into the foil “dish” what side goes down? Skin side or the fish side?
Rose, it starts out with the skin side down. Enjoy!
Hi! My husband also loved this, thanks! I was hoping for it to turn out with more of a glaze on it… it was still great, but any advice to help achieve that? Thanks!
Hi, Kate. Because of this cooking method, I think it would be difficult to get a really thick glaze going on. You could try preparing a little extra marinade to use as a basting sauce. Brush it on just before you flip the salmon during the last step when you sear the fish. Let me know if you try that – thanks!
Could you bake the salmon and turn on the broiler at the end to “sear” the top? If so, what temperature would you bake it and how long?
Terri, I would try baking the salmon at 425 – 450 degrees for 12-15 minutes and very carefully turn on the broiler at the end of cooking, but personally I think grilling is best.
This is a restaurant quality dish and my fiancé loved it. I should have oiled the grill before flipping the fish onto it because the fish stuck a little to the grill. The flavors were perfect and I have tried many salmon marinades. Will be my “go to” recipe for grilled salmon.
delicious recipe!! We grilled the salmon on the BBQ. Thanks for sharing
So glad you loved the salmon!
Can you grill salmon without the skin? Would you just shorten the cooking time?
Thanks!
Hi, Paula. You can grill the salmon without the skin, but I think leaving it on helps to hold the fish together. Adjust cooking times, with or without the skin, depending on your preference for the fish temperature/doneness. I always test with a fork to make sure it flakes easily.
This marinade makes delicious grilled salmon. I grill the salmon pieces directly on the grill, skin side down for 18 minutes. Flip it. Pour marinade over it and grill it for 2 minutes more. Thank you for sharing your recipe.