Simple Lemon Soy Salmon with Buttery Pan Sauce
This lemon soy salmon is browned in a skillet and finished with a rich, buttery pan sauce that clings to the fish and is perfect over rice. It’s my family’s new favorite way to eat salmon and comes together in just 15 minutes! Serve with or without the crispy skin.
If you follow my blog, you may know how often I refer to my grilled blackened salmon recipe. It’s because it’s our family’s go-to easy dinner, and we haven’t gone more than a week or two without making it for (shockingly!) over five years. Why mess with a good thing, right?
Well, recently I made dinner for a relative who loves salmon, but couldn’t have anything remotely spicy. I didn’t want to take any chances with the blackened seasoning, so I switched up the flavors. I cooked a lightly seasoned salmon fillet and topped it with grilled lemon slices and a simple sauce of soy sauce, butter, and fresh lemon juice.
It’s similar flavor-wise to my oven-baked foil packet salmon, which you can’t beat for simplicity and ease. However, this version is cooked on the stove, giving you a bit of color on top and the option of keeping the delicious, crispy skin underneath. It’s finished with a simple pan sauce that clings to the salmon instead of running right off.
I made this lemon soy salmon again the other night, making a few adjustments on the sauce technique. My husband and five year old both proclaimed it was the best salmon they’d ever had. Better than the one my daughter literally requests every time I ask her what she wants for dinner (“Salmon broccoli and rice!” she says, meaning blackened salmon and lemon broccoli salad).
With that vote of confidence, I’m sharing this recipe with you now. I hope you love it as much as we did!
Ingredients
How to make lemon soy salmon with buttery pan sauce
This one pan lemon soy salmon comes together in about 15 minutes with a delicious pan sauce you’ll want on everything!
Season and cook the salmon. Sprinkle salmon with spices (image 1) and cook with butter in a medium to medium-high pan for 4-5 minutes per side (images 2-3).
Cook the lemon slices. Add sliced lemon while the salmon is cooking on its second side. Flip over after about 2-3 minutes (image 4). If there's no room in your pan, you can do this after removing the salmon.
Deglaze the pan. Remove the salmon and lemon slices from the pan. Add soy sauce and fresh lemon juice to the pan and scrape up any brown bits to deglaze (image 5).
Whisk in cold butter. Remove the pan from heat and whisk in cold butter 1 tablespoon at a time until the sauce lightens in color and thickens slightly (this will not be a thick sauce) (image 6).
Serve and enjoy! Serve salmon topped with sauce, lemon slice, and a sprinkle of fresh parsley (images 7-9).
Tips & Tricks
- Skin or no skin? You may serve this lemon soy salmon with or without the salmon skin attached, but if serving with the skin, you may want to descale it if it hasn't already been done. The scales don't bother me if they're cooked at a high enough heat until super crispy, but you may prefer to remove them. Check out my post on how to descale salmon fillets here. If serving without the skin, it's easier to remove after cooking.
- Check for pin bones. If you feel any on the edges of your salmon fillets, grasp them with tweezers and pull them out before cooking.
- Cut before cooking. If you are starting with a larger piece of salmon, cutting into smaller fillets before cooking will leave you with cleaner edges. However, a large piece of salmon garnished with grilled lemons and parsley can make a beautiful centerpiece; just be aware that smaller servings will flake off rather than cutting cleanly with a sharp edge.
- Keep your butter cold. Leave it in the fridge until you're ready to whisk it into the sauce. Butter that's too warm or added over a higher heat will make a greasy sauce that runs off the fish. Adding cold butter thickens and lightens the sauce, making it cling to your salmon better.
- Make the most of your sauce. The soy lemon butter sauce is so good you'll want to drink it. Short of sipping it straight from the pan, it's also delicious over rice or vegetables like roasted cauliflower. If you'd like to use it on more than just the salmon, consider doubling the sauce portion of the recipe! You won't regret it.
What to serve with this salmon
I recommend serving this with a fresh veggie side like lemon broccoli salad, sautéed spinach and mushrooms, or sweet onion oven-roasted asparagus; and a side of white rice or rice cooker saffron rice.
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Simple Lemon Soy Salmon with Buttery Pan Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 4-6 oz. salmon fillets 1-1½ lbs total
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 lemons one for the juice, below, and one to slice
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice from 1 large lemon
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter cold, cut into cubes
Instructions
- Preheat a large skillet to medium or medium high heat. Season the fleshy side of the salmon with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
- Melt 1 tablespoon butter in the pan and add salmon, fleshy side down. Cook on each side for 4-5 minutes until salmon is cooked through and skin is crisp. Salmon should flake easily with a fork and have a hint of glossiness on the inside for medium, or be opaque for well done.
- While salmon is cooking on the skin side, add thin lemon slices (from one of the lemons) to the pan. Cook lemons for 2 minutes per side. Remove salmon and lemons to a plate. If serving salmon without the skin (I love the crispy skin!), you can remove the skin just before serving.
- Deglaze the pan with soy sauce and juice of the other lemon. Turn off the heat and whisk in cold, unsalted butter, a few cubes at a time, until sauce has lightened in color a bit and thickened slightly. You may want to remove the pan from the heat and return to the still-hot burner as needed — if the butter melts at too high a heat, it will become greasy and won't stick to the salmon. You may need to tilt the pan to collect all the sauce on one side in order to whisk in the butter more easily.
- To serve salmon, drizzle each fillet with sauce, top with a lemon slice, and sprinkle with fresh parsley. Serve with rice and veggies for a complete meal!
