Discover how to cook salmon fillets from frozen so that they come out moist, tender, and delicious every time! You’ll never have to worry about remembering to defrost again!
I used to think I was such a dummy when it happened, even though I know it happens to all of us every once in a while. What am I talking about? Forgetting to defrost something in time for dinner!
But I don’t worry about that any more. Why? Because I’ve learned that many things I have stashed in my freezer can be cooked from frozen. Chicken can be cooked from frozen. Shrimp can be cooked from frozen. Even steak can be cooked from frozen. And today, I’m going to share how to cook one of my favorite types of seafood—salmon—from frozen.
From Freezer to Oven
I originally learned this method from Alaska Seafood—they have a lot of great information about buying, storing, and cooking seafood on their website.
Basically, all you have to do is give your frozen salmon a quick rinse to get rid of any ice crystals, then pop it in a hot oven for 12-17 minutes. So simple, right?
But don’t stop at salmon. This method works for any kind of fish fillet (here’s a post about that).
In other words, you also don’t have to worry about defrosting cod, halibut, tuna, swordfish—all your favorites. As long as the pieces are no more than about 1 inch thick, this method will work.
And THAT means you can stock up on your favorites whenever they’re in season, stash them in your freezer, then cook them whenever you want—no foresight required!
Seasoning Your Salmon
When your salmon goes into the oven, you can add any spices and seasonings that you want to. If they include any type of sugar, though—for example, a spice rub with brown sugar—bake the salmon loosely covered with foil so the sugar won’t burn.
And if you have any sauces you’d like to add—for example, teriyaki sauce or barbecue sauce—just add them after 4-5 minutes cooking time. If your sauce is getting more browned than you’d like it to, again just cover the salmon loosely with foil.
The way I figure it, we’ve all got enough to worry about. Isn’t it nice that defrosting no longer has to be one of them?
Podcast Episode: Cooking Salmon From Frozen
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this salmon, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
Print
How to Cook Salmon from Frozen
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 14 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Entree
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
Discover how to cook salmon fillets from frozen so that they come out moist, tender, and delicious every time! You’ll never have to worry about remembering to defrost again!
Ingredients
- 4 (4-6 oz.) salmon fillets
- 2 tsp. olive oil or vegetable oil
- Salt, pepper, and/or other seasonings or sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F.
- Remove the frozen fish from all packaging and rinse under cold running water to remove any ice crystals.
- Arrange the salmon in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Brush lightly with oil on all sides and sprinkle with salt, pepper, or any other seasonings.
- Bake for 4-5 minutes. Remove from the oven and add any sauce.
- Continue to bake until the salmon is hot and flaky in the center, 8-12 more minutes. (If your sauce is getting too brown, cover the salmon loosely with foil.) Thicker fillets may need a few extra minutes to cook through.
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Hi Christine
Can you please advise me as I haven’t been able to find the answer elsewhere.
I have some cooked and frozen salmon and I wanted to use it to make fishcakes with. Can I refreeze the fishcakes once I’ve made them?
Thank you
Sue
Hi Sue, So, if I understand correctly, you have salmon that was cooked and then frozen. You want to know if you can use it to make fishcakes and then refreeze the fishcakes. I haven’t done it, but I think yes. Here are my thoughts. Technically, it is safe to refreeze cooked meat and fish that was already frozen. If the salmon was in good condition when it was cooked and it was refrigerated after cooking, and then frozen within a day or so of cooking it, and if it has been in the freezer for less than 2 months, it will be safe to freeze the fish cakes. Having said that, fish and meat that has been cooked, frozen, thawed, and recooked tends to end up dry, and also, it has a texture change because of ice crystals frozen within it which damage it. But, having said that (lol!) since you’re going to mash it up into the fishcakes, that texture change won’t matter as much. And there will be other ingredients in there for flavor and to combat the dryness too. So, yes, I think it will work out!
This is amazing! How have I never known you can cook salmon from frozen. Thank you!
Rachel, You’re welcome. And I know, right? It super-convenient and works really well. Enjoy!
Woohoi
Glad you enjoyed, Je!
Cooked perfectly, even without any sauce! Seasoned with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. This will be my go-to Salmon recipe!
Thanks so much, Victoria! I’m so glad to hear it.
Perfect!!! Thank You for All of these Fantastic Recioe ideas and Tips!!
You’re welcome, CJ! I’m so glad you’re enjoying them.
I’m getting ready to use it; haven’t yet, but it seems to be a good way to preserve moisture in your salmon.
I’ll let you know how it goes.
Thanks, Chuck!
Will this work for a 1 pound piece of salmon?
Kathy, I haven’t tried it but here’s what I think. If the piece of salmon is frozen flat in a single layer, it will likely work, it will just need more time to get to a safe temperature in the very middle. I’m a bit concerned though that it will be dry at the edges by then.
If it was me, I’d probably thaw the salmon first. If it’s frozen fairly flat and not overlapping itself, you can thaw it quickly in hot tap water like this: https://cookthestory.com/how-to-defrost-meat-quickly/ If it is overlapping itself in place, you probably want to use cold water.
Perfect !
Thanks so much, Maddy!
Thank you, very helpful!
I’m so glad, Sarah! There’s more great salmon recipes at my other site, https://thecookful.com/category/ingredient/fish/salmon/
No I don’t mean the skin i mean the scales on the skin. The frozen salmon i have has scales on the skin, and previously when i thawed the salmon to pan fry it, i had to descale the fillet with a knife. But it was mushy and gross when i thawed which is why i wanted to cook it from frozen but i like the skin on salmon i just don’t like eating scales. but i’ll probably just do what you said and pick the skin off once it’s cooked so thanks
Cassidy, I understand now. And yes, I think that’s all that you can do. I hope it works out. Come back and let me know either way. I’m really curious!
Wondering if you can answer a question for me, I haven’t found a single recipe online that addresses this, how do you oven cook a frozen salmon fillet that has scales on it? Am I just forced to thaw it since it has scales or is there a way to descale it and still cook it frozen. thanks
Cassidy, I’m guessing that you mean the skin. Have a look over here to see if what I’m calling skin is what you’re calling scales: https://cookthestory.com/crispy-skin-salmon/
You can cook frozen salmon with the skin on in exactly the same way as without the skin. Once the salmon is cooked, you’ll be able to slide the flesh off of the skin, you just might have to loosen it a bit with a knife. Note that the skin is edible, but is only good if it’s crispy. It is unlikely to get crispy enough when cooked from frozen, so just discard it. I hope that helps!
Great frozen cooking tips 👍😀
Thanks, George!
20+ year vegetarian here. Been toying with the idea of incorporating a healthy and easy meat protein into my diet. Step one, I already have the frozen salmon from Costco in my fridge. Looking over this recipe guide and unsure, if I don’t have a sauce to add, do I need to flip or do anything to the salmon at the 5 minute mark? Or do I just leave it be in the oven for the 4-5 and 8-12 minutes for a total of 12-17 minutes?
Tina, yes, if you don’t have a sauce, you’ll just cook it for the full time, no need to flip it or do anything. I would recommend adding something to it though. Perhaps a bit of seasoning, butter melted on right before serving, or a drizzle of salad dressing even. Good luck! I look forward to hearing how your protein adventure goes!
This was simple, quick, and delicious. Thank you so much!
You’re welcome, Meredith!
Would you bake panko breaded salmon the same? The panko crumbs were browned before breading the salmon and then frozen.
Karen, If the panko was already browned, I’d be concerned that it could end up overcooked here. My best advice would be to, yes, cook it the same as in the instructions, but keep your eye on it. If the breading starts to get dark, put some foil loosely over it. That will possibly make it less crunchy in the end, but I’m not positive it would be crunchy anyhow since the breading has been against damp fish for awhile and is going to dampen further as it’s baking (the fish is going to give off some steam). I hope that helps!
Nailed it!! Thanks for the guidelines Christine thank you!
You’re welcome, KC!
I made pink salmon from frozen with melted butter and it came out perfect!
I will be cooking all my frozen fish this way from now on!
That’s wonderful, Donna! Thanks so much for letting me know.
Super quick and easy shortcut. After 15 minutes in the oven, my frozen fish was cooked to perfection!
That’s wonderful, Jennifer!
Perfect!
Wonderful! Thanks, Anna!
Heated some frozen costco salmon using this as a guide and it came out perfect
That’s wonderful, Natalie!