Looking for a weeknight baked salmon dinner that uses local and seasonal ingredients, doesn't require loads of time or know how? This oven-baked Sweet and Spicy Glazed Salmon Recipe is light, comes together quickly and with an elegant presentation is perfect for a gourmet weeknight dinner for two or a fantastic date night in option.

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Sweet and spicy jam glazed salmon with a mixed green salad with tomatoes and mint on a blue plate.

Pam's Recipe Notes

Glazed is one of my favorite ways to serve salmon. The sweet pepper jelly not only serves as a delightful glaze but also makes for a zesty salad dressing when paired with a splash of apple cider vinegar.

Pam Werley, founder of our table 4 2 standing in the kitchen leaning against counter.

Brushing the salmon with sweet pepper jelly on a super-heated baking sheet then roasting it at 275 degrees melts the jelly into a glistening glaze and keeps the salmon super moist.

While the salmon bakes, whisk together a tablespoon of sweet pepper jelly in the bottom of your salad bowl, along with some olive oil, apple cider vinegar, shallots and a pinch of salt and a fresh grind of pepper. Now you have an irresistible salad dressing ready to be tossed with mixed greens and salad add-ins. My favorite combination is mixed greens with cherry tomatoes, snap peas and bunch of mint - paring perfectly with glazed salmon.

Presto, you have a delightful, sweet and spicy glazed salmon paired with a mixed green salad tossed in a pepper vinaigrette.

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Pam's Recipe Notes
Glazed Salmon Notes
What you'll need
How to make glazed baked salmon
How to tell when baked salmon is done
Buying and Storing Fish
Skin on versus skin off
What to serve with glazed salmon
How to make sweet pepper jelly vinaigrette
Jam Glaze and Vinaigrette Variations
Tips to Make This Recipe
Related
Sweet and Spicy Glazed Salmon Recipe

Glazed Salmon Notes

Visiting a food cooperative in Salt Lake City, I found this local Pepperlane Sweet Heat Jalapeno Preserves . Then sampling Nora's Kitchen + Bar mixed green salad tossed in a pepper jam vinaigrette in Jackson, Wyoming inspiration struck. What if I make a glaze and a vinaigrette from this sweet and spicy jam?

Discover the ease to making a baked salmon glisten with a delicious glaze paired with a delightful zesty vinaigrette. So, the next time you stumble across a local jam, try your hand at making your own glaze and salad dressing combination. I so enjoy hearing from my readers - be sure to comment below and tell me about your own culinary creations!

If you need a bit more inspiration, try my Cherry Glazed Salmon Recipe - the balsamic cherry glaze is to die for and uses the same oven technique to bake the salmon.

Also, find salmon glaze variations using different fruit based jams in the section below turning it into both a glaze and salad dressing!

What you'll need

This recipe transforms a sweet heat pepper jelly into a delightful glaze for the salmon and a zesty dressing for a mixed green salad - a weeknight gourmet eating experience-in under 30 minutes.

Sweet and spicy glazed salmon recipe ingredients in a white bowl, jam bowl, salt box, ingredient bowl on marble counter.

Glazed salmon ingredients

Skin-on salmon fillet - I keep the skin on to cook resulting in super moist salmon but use my fish spatula to easily lift the baked salmon from the skin when I transfer to the plate.
sweet and spicy pepper jelly - look for a pepper jelly that combines multiple sweet and spicy peppers. I have used Pepperlane Sweet Heat Jalapeno Preserves and Tabasco Mild Jalapeno Pepper Jelly. Visit your local farmer's market, I am sure you will find an interesting jam to use as both a glaze and salad dressing.

Salad Fixin's:

extra-virgin olive oil
cider vinegar
shallot
table salt and freshly ground pepper
mixed greens - I like a spring mix of salad greens, but another options is an arugula bringing a peppery flavor to balance the sweet and spice of the dressing.
cayenne pepper
snap peas
fresh mint
cherry tomatoes
cheese - grated Manchego is a favorite of mine giving the salad a creamy and nutty flavor.
toasted or carnalized nuts - I opt for carnalized pecans, but toasting a handful of pecans, walnuts or even sunflower seeds and pepitas are great options too.

See recipe card for quantities.

How to make glazed baked salmon

All the cooking happens in the oven - no searing or broiling necessary, and using parchment paper on the sheet pan means easy clean up!

Preheat a rimmed baking sheet: Starting the salmon on a super-heated baking sheet renders some of its fat, which is a fancy way to say it causes the fat to dissolve or transform into a liquid. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean up. Place the baking sheet in the oven and heat oven to 500 degrees.

Small pairing knife scoring the skin of salmon.

Score the salmon skin: To help the salmon's fat render, cut several slits in the skin before cooking. Using a sharp or serrated knife, cut 4 to 5 shallow slashes, about 1 inch apart, through the skin of each fillet. Be careful not to cut into the flesh.

Pepper jam, cayne and salt whisked together in glass bowl.

Make the glaze. Whisk cayenne and pepper jelly and a pinch of salt together in bowl.

A hand holding a white paper towel patting salmon dry on a counter.

Season Salmon: Pat the salmon dry with paper towels. Sprinkle salmon with salt and a couple grinds of black pepper.

A rubber pastry brush painting on jelly to make the glazed salmon recipe.

Brush jelly mixture all over salmon.

Bake the salmon. Reduce oven to 275 degrees and remove the baking sheet. Place salmon skin side down on parchment lined baking sheet. Now set a timer for 9 minutes and grab your instant read thermometer. When the thickest part of fillets registers 125 degrees, remove from oven. Using the fish spatula, slide it between the skin and meat and move to a serving platter. Enjoy!

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How to tell when baked salmon is done

Overcooking is a common cooking mistake. The trick to perfectly cooked salmon - salmon that is cooked all the way through, but not dried out and flavorless - is knowing when to remove it from the oven so that it is just slightly underdone, then allowing residual heat to finish the cooking.

The most accurate method is to use an instant-read thermometer. Salmon is best cooked to medium-rare registering at 125 degrees in the thickest part, with the center still translucent. It may look like it is underdone, but it keeps cooking after it is removed from the oven.

Buying and Storing Fish

What to look for: The most important factor when buying salmon is making sure the salmon you buy is fresh. The fish should be on ice or properly refrigerated. Look for fillets that are bright, shiny, and firm - not dull or mushy.

Fresh vs Farmed: In season, I prefer the more pronounced flavor of wild-caught salmon to farmed Atlantic salmon. High quality fresh salmon is best purchased from late spring through the end of summer.

What to ask for: It is best to have your fishmonger slice the fillet to order rather than buying the precut pieces, as these might have been sitting around longer. Be Picky! Ask for a center cut to ensure the fillet cooks evenly, avoiding the thinner or tail-end cuts that cook faster making it more difficult to avoid overcooking. Furthermore, buy the total amount you need in one piece and cut the individual fillets yourself.

Freezing Salmon: Because salmon is a firm fillet it is acceptable to freeze or buy frozen.

Defrosting Salmon: To defrost salmon in the refrigerator overnight, remove the fish from its packaging, place it in a single layer on a rimmed plate or dish to catch released water, and cover with plastic wrap.

Skin on versus skin off

For this recipe you will want to buy the salmon skin-on; recipes that call for skinless salmon, you can easily remove it yourself or ask your fish monger or the seafood counter to do it for you.

I find that leaving the skin on helps keep the fillet moist (one more measure to avoid overcooking).
After the salmon is baked, the skin comes away easily. You can either remove it from individual pieces before you serve them to avoid eating it after it's on your plate.

What to serve with glazed salmon

Make a simple greens salad, adding favorite salad ingredients that are in season and toss with an irresistible sweet pepper vinaigrette. The vinaigrette is a great use-up strategy for the left-over sweet pepper jelly and pairs perfectly with this glazed salmon.

Sweet and spicy baked glazed salmon filets on a blue plate next to a simple green salad tossed in pepper jelly vinaigrette.

Here are some other ideas for salads and sides that pair nicely with glazed salmon:

Kale, pear, and cheddar salad with sweet pepper vinaigrette. Switch out the mixed greens and make a kale salad. Making the sweet pepper vingairette and dressing the kale as your first step gives the hearty greens time to soften while we cook the salmon. Follow the same directions for whisking together the sweet pepper vinaigrette, dress the kale and then add pear and cheddar to the dressed kale right before serving.
Mashed potatoes. I love serving this recipe with mashed potatoes the glaze soaks into the potatoes making it super yummy.
Roasted Asparagus. Follow instruction in the Asparagus recipe swapping the pepper jam dressing for the cranberry vinaigrette.

How to make sweet pepper jelly vinaigrette

The sweet pepper jelly not only serves as a delightful glaze but also transforms into a zesty salad dressing when paired with a splash of apple cider vinegar.

My favorite trick for making salad dressing that cuts down on dishes is to make it right in the salad bowl.

Hand using metal whisk to combine pepper jam with oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.

Simply, place a tablespoon of sweet pepper jelly along with some olive oil, apple cider vinegar, shallots and a pinch of salt and a fresh grind of pepper in the bottom of the salad bowl.

Cherry tomatoes, shallots, snap peas and mint tossed in pepper jam vinaigrette in a white bowl to serve along side glazed salmon recipe.

Whisk together to have an irresistible salad dressing ready to be tossed with mixed greens and salad add-ins when you are ready to serve the salmon.

Jam Glaze and Vinaigrette Variations

Head to your local farmer's market, food cooperative or grocery store and peruse the jelly aisle. Following the technique for making the glaze and vinaigrette in the recipe card makes this easy to experiment. Get creative and have fun!

Still need inspiration or confidence to try something new? Here are a couple of flavor profiles to consider:

Apricot or a "hot" (spicy) apricot jam vinaigrette
Any flavor of Serious Jam
Blueberry vinaigrette with jam or mixed berry jam
Raspberry vinaigrette with jam by itself or add a pinch ground chipotle pepper for an extra kick of spice.

Tips to Make This Recipe

Want to know the secret to making the perfectly baked Salmon? Here are some of my best tips that I've learned making this recipe again and again.

Start cooking the salmon on a pre-heated baking sheet. A super-heated baking sheet renders some of its fat; roasting it at 275 degrees keeps the fish moist.
Have a timer and instant read thermometer. To avoid overcooking the salmon set your timer for 9 minutes. After 9 minutes, use an instant read thermometer to check if the salmon is medium-rare, the thickest part of the fillet registering 125 degrees. Remember the fish will continue to cook after removing it from the oven.

Looking for other fish and seafood recipes for two? Try these:

See more Fish/Seafood →

Sweet and Spicy Glazed Salmon