5-Ingredient Grilled Salmon Recipe

We love a good 5-ingredient recipe around here. That's just enough ingredients to lend a dish a little complexity while still ensuring that it's really easy to make. That's definitely the case with recipe developer Deniz Vergara's honey-mustard grilled salmon. She tells us the dish is "Quick, easy, [and] healthy," and likes the fact that the necessary ingredients are all basic pantry staples. Apart from the salmon, everything called for is relatively long-lasting or shelf-stable, so if you've got salmon fillets in the freezer, there may be no need to go shopping before you throw this together.

Vergara says of this 5-ingredient grilled salmon, "It is one of my go-to recipes when I don't have a lot of time or when I want a quick protein to top a salad or a rice bowl." In addition to being rich in protein, salmon is also full of heart-healthy omega-3 acids. The garlic and olive oil used in this recipe have health benefits, too, making for a dish that's as nutritious as it is delicious.

Once you've got your salmon, check your — wherever you keep your garlic — for a few cloves of the stuff. Got it? Good. Now look in the pantry for olive oil, honey, and salt and the refrigerator for dijon mustard. Oops, did we just count 6 ingredients? Shoosh. Let's just say that the salt doesn't really count, shall we? After all, you can always leave it out if you're looking to reduce your sodium intake.

Mix the garlic with the honey and mustard (and also that secret 6^th ingredient, salt). Take the mixture and rub it all over the top and the sides of the salmon — the pink, fleshy parts, not the skin (although you may wish to eat salmon skin, as well).

Heat a nice heavy frying pan (cast iron works well) over medium-high, then add the oil and the salmon fillets. The latter should be flesh-side down, and you should cook them for 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium-low, then turn the salmon over and cook it for another 3 to 4 minutes.

Once the salmon is done, you can garnish it with lemon wedges if you like, squeezing the juice over the fish before you eat it. As Vergara tells us, "I find that the acidity from the lemon is a nice complement to the salmon," but she suggests that lime juice would make a nice alternative and says that herbs such as parsley or cilantro would also go well with this fish.

As for what to pair with the salmon, Vergara says it's great with salad, rice, or baked sweet potatoes. She does say, though, "You can really pair this with any side you like because of the versatile flavor." As for any leftover salmon, that can be reheated in the air fryer, microwave, or toaster oven, or you can just keep it cold and use it to top a salad.