Baked Blackened Salmon

5 from 1 vote

😋🍍🙌🏻🥭 Rich, buttery salmon is baked with a homemade blackening season for restaurant-worthy salmon! It’s perfectly smoky, a little bit spicy, and a little bit sweet. This salmon is tender, so EASY, bursting with flavor, and ready in just 15 minutes! Serve it with a fruit salsa for even more juicy flavor!

Prep Time5

Cook Time10

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Keyword: baked salmon, blackened salmon

Servings:

Calories: 316cal

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil divided
4 skin-on salmon filets about 6 ounces each (see the Notes below for salmon recommendations)
1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon kosher salt or more to taste if desired
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon light brown sugar packed
½ teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper or to taste (I use 1/2 teaspoon)
Fresh herbs optional for serving such as cilantro, parsley, etc.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425F and drizzle 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over a baking sheet. Tip - To protect your baking sheet and make for easier cleanup, I always line with foil or parchment paper and THEN drizzle the olive oil but do as you see fit.
Pat the salmon dry with paper towels, place it on the baking sheet evenly spaced, and either drizzle or brush the remaining 1 tablespoon oil over the top, distributed evenly. Set aside momentarily.
Combine all the dry spices in a small bowl, and mix with a little spoon. Seasoning Tips - The ratios of the ingredients in the spice blend are very flexible. I always add extra salt (2 tsp rather than 1) and extra cayenne powder (at least 1/2 tsp if not more) because that's how we like it. If you don't have one or two of the spices, or want to add something else like onion powder, dried thyme, etc. it'll likely be just fine. This is a very flexible dry rub.
Evenly spoon the mixture over the top of each salmon filet, pressing it in and patting it in with your fingers to help it adhere if necessary.
Bake for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until the salmon is done. Baking Tips - Because this is quite a hot oven, the salmon filets are thin, and salmon cooks quickly in general, it will bake very quickly. Salmon is done when it's lightly crisped on top, flakes easily with a fork, and is done to your liking in the center. The technical correct safe temperature to cook salmon is to 145F, however in my experience, you'll have no trouble quickly reaching that temp and overcooking is more of an issue rather than undercooking. Rotate your pan once during baking if desired for more even cooking.
Optionally make a fruit salsa while the salmon bakes. See Notes below for my two favorite quick and easy fruit salsas.
Optionally garnish the baked salmon with fresh herbs and serve.
Storage - Leftovers will keep airtight for up to 4-5 days in the fridge, or for up to 2-3 months in the freezer. However, fish in general is always best when freshly made and enjoyed. You can reheat leftover salmon in your microwave for 20-30 seconds or as needed, or just let it come to room temp for about 30 minutes before you plan to eat the leftovers.

Notes

Salmon - For this recipe I used 4 salmon filets, which are the center cut of the salmon, and about 6 ounces each, uncooked weight. However, this is the most expensive way to purchase salmon because you’re purchasing convenience as well as the thickest, meatiest portion.

For a cheaper option, consider buying a large piece of salmon (a whole salmon filet) that’s about 1.5 pounds like I use in many of the salmon recipes below the recipe card (with photos) such as my super viral Garlic Butter Salmon or Honey Lemon Salmon. It will take longer to bake since it’s one large piece rather than 4 smaller pieces, but 20ish minutes, depending on the cut is about right.

You can use frozen and thawed (cheaper), or fresh salmon that you buy from your grocer’s seafood counter, which is what I do.

You can use skin-on or skinless salmon. The skin side (or what was the skin side) should be down, resting on the baking sheet.

Fruit Salsa - I like serving the salmon with my Pineapple Salsa or my Peach Mango Salsa. The sweetness of the fruit is a nice balance to the smoky spice of the blackening seasoning but they're optional.

Nutrition