Restaurant-Style Pan Seared Salmon
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Restaurant-quality pan seared salmon—crisp on top and just barely cooked in the center—is easy to make at home.
Golden and crisp on top and just barely cooked at the center, this pan seared salmon is one of my go-to recipes when I have to hit the kitchen running. Not only is it fast—15 minutes start to finish—it’s also elegant. In fact, it’s the way salmon is typically prepared in fine dining restaurants (the same method is often used for cooking steak and scallops). This is really more of a technique than a traditional recipe, and it’s simple to master at home.
The key to perfect pan-seared salmon lies in choosing the right size fillets, seasoning them well, and allowing them to cook undisturbed. This technique, especially leaving the salmon untouched in hot oil, ensures a beautiful, golden crust that elevates the dish to restaurant quality.
“Supremely simple and delicious!”
What You’ll Need To Make Pan Seared Salmon
The ingredients are simple: olive oil, salt, pepper, and salmon. I recommend using 6-ounce salmon fillets; these are often sold already portioned and ready to cook at the fish counter. This size will ensure that the salmon cooks fully on the interior without overcooking on the exterior.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by seasoning the salmon with salt and a few grinds of pepper. Don’t skimp on the salt—the biggest mistake most home cooks make is under-seasoning their food.
Heat the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot and shimmering. Cook the salmon, skin side up, until golden and crisp, about 4 minutes. Resist the urge to fiddle with the fillets as they cook. Letting the fish sear untouched in hot oil creates a lovely, flavorful, and golden crust.
Carefully flip the fillets and reduce the heat to medium. Continue cooking until done to your liking, 4 to 5 minutes more.
Transfer to a platter and serve. Enjoy!
Video Tutorial
More Salmon Recipes
Restaurant-Style Pan-Seared Salmon
Restaurant-quality pan seared salmon—crisp on top and just barely cooked in the center—is easy to make at home.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets, 1¼ in thick (I have my fish monger remove the skin, but it's fine to leave it on if you like)
Instructions
- Season the salmon with the salt and a few grinds of pepper. Heat the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot and shimmering. Cook the salmon, without moving, skin side up, until golden and crisp, about 4 minutes. Carefully flip the fillets and reduce the heat to medium. Continue cooking until done to your liking, 4 to 5 minutes more. Transfer to a platter and serve.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 384
- Fat: 26 g
- Saturated fat: 6 g
- Carbohydrates: 0 g
- Sugar: 0 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 35 g
- Sodium: 336 mg
- Cholesterol: 94 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I’ve always cooked salmon starting skin side down until crisp then flip and lightly on top. This is perhaps the first I’ve ever heard someone suggest the opposite. What’s particularly confusing is she says cook skin up until golden and crispy. If you start by cooking the flesh enough to be golden and crispy then flip skin side down and you certainly want to crisp the skin, it sounds like you’re going to end up with very overcooked salmon.
I love your recipes but please don’t use olive with high heat. I read one review said her oil smoked on her but than turned the heat down “to late”
Olive oil has a lower smoke point than some other oils. The smoke point is the point at which an oil literally begins to smoke. Olive oil’s smoke point is between 365° and 420°F. When you heat olive oil to its smoke point, the beneficial compounds in oil start to degrade, and potentially form health-harming compounds.
I am trying this to night with AVOCADO OIL
Great foolproof recipe for salmon.
Easy recipe, and very delicious, like all your other recipes that I have tried so far (and I tried a lot of them).
My family loves your recipes, Jenn!
Temperature, Chef?
The first side should be cooked over medium-high heat. Once you flip the salmon, reduce the heat to medium. Hope you enjoy!
Great way to burn your salmon everytime! Never disappoints!
Absolutely delicious! I’ve made it as is and then the second time I squeezed half an orange over the salmon just a couple of minutes before done, and I ended up with a great glaze.
I bought Whole Foods Altlantic Salmon already cut in proper portions, seasoned as noted but used avocado oil instead of olive oil in the pan. This recipe was absolutely delicious! The best salmon I’ve ever cooked at home. I definitely will use it again, and again, and again. It was better than any that I’ve had at a restaurant. Thank you!
Really wonderful recipe, easy to follow, easy to cook, and easy to enjoy. 5/5, would cook again.
Super simple, super delicious, super impressive (to guests who are afraid to cook fish, that is). Don’t tell them how easy it is, let them think you’re a cooking genius!