Easy Microwave Salmon Recipe (2024)

Making a showstopping salmon for dinner doesn’t need to take endless hours and multiple cooking tricks. Did you know you can microwave salmon and get dinner on the table in a flash? If you need something new in your rotation, you’ve got to give this a try!

FEEDING A CROWD? TRY COOKING A WHOLE SALMON IN THE OVEN!

Healthy microwave salmon

Why might healthy microwave salmon be a good choice for your family? With just a small amount of butter, or even spray oil, you can create a dish with countless health benefits that tastes great.

With butter adding only 1 – 2 Weight Watchers points per serving and spray oil 0 points, microwave poached salmon fits into any diet.

There really isn’t any part of your body that doesn’t benefit from some regular salmon – from your head to your toes. The precious omega-3 fatty acids in salmon support heart health, reduce inflammation, boost your eyesight, and make your skin happy.

Omega 3’s have also become part of successful cancer prevention and treatment plans for several different types of cancer. Finally, salmon’s B vitamins support the brain, nervous, hormone, and metabolic symptoms.

So, yeah, you should be eating some salmon. We have salmon once a week, from Baked Salmon Asparagus Packets, to this amazing Glazed Salmon Recipe. But microwave salmon is by far the easiest of them all.

Is it safe to cook fish in the microwave?

Yes! It is perfectly safe to cook fish in the microwave. While it might seem unusual at first, the microwave is a great place to cook fish, especially when poaching.

Take the guesswork out of microwave cooking by using a meat thermometer to be certain your fish is cooked through. When done, the microwave salmon should be between 130°F – 140°F.

How long do you have to microwave salmon?

So, now you’re hooked, you might be wondering, how long do you have to microwave salmon? You’ll be happy to learn it cooks in a flash – just a few minutes from start to finish.

I try to keep individually wrapped fillets in the freezer at all times. Then, I defrost them in cold water for about 30 minutes before cooking. Generally, I can fit three fillets in my dish, and I cook them for about 3 minutes. Three minutes! Now that’s a seriously quick meal.

How to microwave salmon

The instructions below explain step-by-step how to microwave salmon.

• First, take the salmon fillets out of the freezer. Thaw in the refrigerator for 4 – 5 hours or defrost in cold water for 30 minutes.
• Take fillets out of the packaging and gently dry with a paper towel.
• Divide the butter evenly between the fillets and gently spread on each piece of fish.
• Sprinkle each fillet with lemon pepper seasoning.
• You can cook fillets individually or in one larger microwave safe dish, so long as they lay in a single layer.
• Microwave for three minutes. Check for doneness and microwave for another 30 – 45 seconds if fish is not flaky and well done.
• Serve immediately with some easy sides like three-bean salad and rice.

Lately I’ve been swapping out the rice for cauliflower rice to keep dinner low carb and low on points. Cauliflower also offers numerous health benefits and goes fantastic with the salmon!

DOES MICROWAVE SALMON SMELL?

I know there are several of you out there who might skip over this recipe asking – what about the smell?

I’ll admit, there have been times when my kitchen has been infused with a fishy, salmon smell. But I find that microwaving salmon (this is cooking raw salmon, not reheating cooked salmon) actually smells less than any other cooking method!

Three things can prevent any residual fishy odor – first, microwaving the salmon thawed, rather than frozen. Cooking raw salmon in the microwave makes it much less likely the odor will be released from the fat in the fish.

Second, make sure your salmon is fresh. Salmon should have a mild smell. If it smells fishy, it’s not fresh enough and is likely to make your kitchen smell.

Lastly, microwave salmon only needs a few minutes to cook. If you’re doing one salmon fillet instead of three, you need even less time! But overcooking the salmon renders out all the fat and dries the salmon out. That will definitely leave you with a fishy smell.

If you accidentally overcook your microwave salmon, simply deodorize the microwave after dinner with water and lemon juice. Soon your kitchen will be back to normal.

Have your tried this simple but scrumptious recipe? Made any changes? Let us know in the comments below!

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