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.
Table of Contents
“Supremely simple and delicious! I made this last night and must admit that the ingredients and cooking technique seemed ‘too simple.’ I went ahead and followed Jenn’s recipe exactly, and it was delicious! Don’t doubt it, just make it.”
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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Best salmon we ever had per my husband and son. The crispy crust was superb. No more frozen fish sticks for us. I followed your recipe exactly.
My wife said that this is the best salmon she has ever eaten. “Don’t ever make it any other way.”
Fabulous recipe! Delicious and easy! I use it all the time!
I fixed these salmon filets and they were delicious! Usually, I broil them in the oven, which takes a little longer and are tasty, but not as good as these. I used a very small amount of garlic salt due to my husband’s ckd, pepper and a salt free seasoning with an Asian flare . My olive oil has a toasted sesame flavor which enhanced the taste. It did smoke on me a little in the beginning since it’s meant for medium heat. I was very pleased with the end results and didn’t move the fish around like you suggested. Thanks for an easy, delicious recipe I plan to use a lot. Kept my kitchen cooler too! Nadene Davis
I appreciate the information, but the number and position of pop-up ads made it almost impossible for me to look at your cooking suggestions
Thanks for your feedback and I’m sorry you’re seeing too many ads! I know how frustrating it can be. If you’d like, you can install an adblocker on whatever browser you use. You still see some unobtrusive ads, but it’s a much better experience. It will also eliminate annoying ads on all websites you visit — not just mine. The only downside is that it blocks the videos too, and unfortunately, there is no way around that.
Another option is to view the recipe as if you were going to print it. That will remove all the ads. So, you’d go through the process of preparing to print a recipe and just view it that way. Hope those options help!
Tried this method using a seasoning/rub instead of salt and pepper. It turned out perfectly and it was so easy. Didn’t heat up the kitchen, either.
Why do people only use salt and pepper? The seasoning aisle at the store is huge! Yall should try it
Hi Jenn,
Thank you for sharing this recipe! I followed your directions to a T and I absolutely loved the texture of the salmon. I also put a decent amount of salt on the salmon because, as you said, people tend to under season their food, me being one of them!
Well, I think I over salted the salmon. It was a little on the salty side for my taste. But, lesson learned for me.
Lol omg people only use salt? Guys get some culture in your life and SEASON your food. Salt and pepper lmao
Awesome. Salmon Fillets turned out awesome. Thank you!
Served with roast vegetables.
Luv the pan sear. 1st time I tried this. In my opinion salmon tastes best this way!
Absolutely delicious!
My first time cooking salmon and probably wouldn’t have ever cooked salmon but when I came across your recipe Jenn, I knew I just had to try it.
I did use a little more olive oil some dill, & lemon zest.
Your recipes never disappoint. Thank you!
One of the best and easiest recipes for Salmon. It came out very moist. Out of personal preference I added a pinch of dill. Thanks
I bought some salmon today and, looking for inspiration, stumbled upon your website. Now, I’m not one for complicated recipes and thought, ‘what the heck, give it a go’. Also, I read some negative reviews. The recipe is easy to understand, but I couldn’t quite grasp how to control the medium heat and frying pan ‘composition’ issue. I opted for a steel pan, preheated with the knob on my Bosch gas hob set to 7.30 pm and placed the fish on (salted for 20 minutes). The first thing I quickly discovered is to move the fish a bit back and not let it stick onto the frying pan. I guess a non-stick pan wouldn’t require that. I followed your instructions to the letter, and you can see the side of the fish getting whiter as it cooks up. For me, it was 7 minutes on one side and the scaly bit for 6 minutes (as I kept on checking), and it has come out exactly as in your pictures. I’m a ‘can’t cook’ type, and for me, this is a massive Eureka moment. THANK YOU FOR THE RECIPE – I am now going to check out some more easy-to-cook recipes. Thumbs up from the family.