Baking Frozen Salmon: 7 Tips & Tricks

During the coronavirus pandemic, most of us are working hard at social distancing. We’re shopping less and planning more. We’re using up leftovers and wasting less. We’re digging through our freezers to reveal convenience meals as well as frozen entrees we can whip up without leaving the home for food. Baking frozen salmon is something I haven’t had to do much.

Until recently, I’d always buy a pound and a half of fresh salmon from the seafood counter at my favorite grocery stores. Now, though, I’d much rather try my luck at baking frozen salmon than braving the stores or doing without.

I find that frozen salmon is thinner and a bit different than fresh salmon in general. Given the choice, I’d always choose fresh. But, desperate times call for desperate measures, and my entire family loves salmon, so cooking frozen salmon it is. Try these tips to make baking frozen salmon easier than ever!

Best Practices for Cooking Frozen Salmon

1. When possible, let it thaw first. For best results, let the fish thaw in the fridge and bake as per usual. Of course, I know this isn’t always possible. Luckily, salmon is still super easy to cook from frozen.
2. If cooking from frozen, increase the sauce or butter. This helps to prevent the fish from drying out. You can safely and swiftly whip up a healthy meal by baking frozen salmon in your oven.
3. Experiment with different flavors. Baking frozen salmon in a few cut pieces lets you experiment and share as a family in sampling the results. You can’t go wrong with lemon and butter, but we also tried mango salmon.
4. Make extra vegetables and starches to stretch the meal. I find that baking frozen salmon generally produces a smaller volume of food than you’d expect from a fresh salmon fillet. It helps to add a few accompaniments to bulk up the meal.
5. Don’t shy away from spices! You can throw your frozen salmon in the oven with a burst of flavor to kick it up a notch. Try bourbon salmon, garlic butter, honey Dijon, and lemon, to name a few.
6. Take note of the skin. When baking frozen salmon yesterday, I noticed the manufacturer left the skin on the salmon fillets. I made a mental note and told my family when serving the lemon butter salmon and mango salmon.
7. Cover and cook at 425 degrees. Baking frozen salmon covered under foil puts your dinner on the table in about 25 minutes. (In fact, your sides actually may take longer!) Bake frozen salmon covered under foil for 15 minutes and then remove the cover and bake for another 8 – 10 minutes.

Baking Frozen Salmon: Mango Salmon Recipe

We almost always make a lemon-butter salmon, especially when we grill or pan sear it. Baking frozen salmon left me a little stumped at first. I thought it would be fun to get a little creative, so we did. Here’s my off-the-cuff mango salmon recipe. Feel free to adlib to your heart’s content! (I simply roasted it in a Pyrex!)

Mango Salmon Ingredients:

Frozen Salmon Fillets

Diced Mango with juices (I used Del Monte fruit cups of diced mangoes.)

Diced celery, avocado, or another green veggie

Mango Salmon Instructions:

1. Place salmon fillets in glass pan, skin side down if applicable.
2. Dice celery, avocado, or other vegetable.
3. Dice a mango or open a container of diced mangoes with juice.
4. Combine fruit and veggies, mix together, and pour over the salmon.
5. Cover with foil and bake at 425 degrees for about 20 – 22 minutes. (Remove foil after 15 minutes if desired.)

Baking frozen salmon may become the new norm for a while. Quarantine and stay at home orders make it less feasible and the raging coronavirus makes it less safe to shop often. Instead, work on perfecting your recipes in cooking frozen salmon at home in your oven or on your stove top.

If you need some more easy meal ideas, be sure to check our 50+ Meals Kids Will Eat!

Please share any tips or your own personal frozen salmon recipe links below!