Baking salmon from frozen is an easy way to prepare a fillet without having to plan ahead when cooking.
This cooking method works best for recipes in which salmon fillets are cooked with a sauce or glaze. Cooking salmon from frozen will cook the exterior of the fillets quicker than the center, so a sauce or glaze helps the fillet to stay moist and flaky throughout.
While baking salmon from frozen requires very little prep, it’s not the quickest way to cook salmon from frozen. A thinner, tail cut of salmon can go from freezer to plate in approximately 35 minutes (including time for your oven to preheat), while thicker, center-cut fillets require a few more minutes than that.
Pro tip: Instead of baking from frozen, if you have some time to spare, you may prefer to quick-thaw salmon. A defrosted fillet will bake more evenly and can allow you to achieve a rarer level of doneness than cooking from frozen. When quick-thawing salmon, thinner fillets can defrost in under an hour and only take about 10 minutes to bake. Check out our guide on how to bake salmon for tips, cook temperature, and timing.
Simple Tips for Baking Salmon from Frozen
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Choose a thinner fillet of salmon to cook from frozen for more even cooking.
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Steam first to thaw fillet, then bake to cook through.
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Baking with a sauce or glaze helps to retain moisture.
How to Bake Salmon from Frozen
Gather your materials and ingredients: Your fillet(s), olive oil, salt and pepper, lemon, baking sheet or dish, aluminum foil, sauce or glaze
Preheat your oven to 425F. Remove frozen salmon from packaging, choosing thinner fillets if possible (as opposed to center cuts), and place skin side down on baking sheet.
Arrange lemon slices over the tops of fillets, then cover dish with a tight-fitting lid or aluminum foil so that salmon will steam. Bake for 15 minutes, without any seasonings or sauces.
Use knife tip to check thickest part of fillet when timer goes off. If still frozen solid, allow to steam for a few more minutes. Otherwise, remove lid/foil and season with salt & pepper, drizzle with olive oil, then add any sauce. Bake uncovered for 8 to 12 minutes, depending on thickness of fillet. Salmon is medium-well done when thickest part registers at 140F with an instant-read thermometer.
Enjoy, with extra sauce on the side. Once you’ve mastered how to bake salmon from frozen, try cooking salmon from frozen by adapting this recipe for Honey Sriracha Salmon.
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*Consuming raw or undercooked meats, poultry, seafood, shellfish, or eggs may increase your risk of food-borne illness, especially if you have a certain medical condition. The FDA recommends an internal temperature of 145°F for cooked fish.