Oh, irresistible bite-size crispy salmon coated with panko breadcrumbs and baked until golden! No mess & freezer-friendly. Enjoy with tartar sauce or ketchup with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. And perfect for lunch boxes too!
Crispy Salmon (Salmon Katsu, 鮭フライ) is a great alternative to my Cripsy Baked Chicken (aka Chicken Katsu) if you love seafood. My mom used to make this often growing up but she deep fried it. With the trend of eating healthier meals and simpler cooking methods, I made the baked version of my mom’s recipe.
Watch How to Make Crispy Salmon 鮭フライの作り方
Baked tender and moist salmon wrapped with a layer of crispy panko shell, dip in tartar sauce or ketchup to enjoy.
I was really surprised how well received the baked chicken katsu recipe was on JOC. Many readers let me know because it doesn’t require deep frying and tastes just as good, both they and their families loved it. This crispy salmon recipe is also baked so there is no mess in the kitchen. After baking, the panko skin stays crunchy and the salmon moist, it tastes almost just like deep fried.
The salmon is cut into bite sizes piece so they make a great snack for children. Make extra so you can pack in lunch box or freeze for later! Dip crispy salmon bites into homemade tartar sauce or ketchup and enjoy!!
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- 1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- ½ tsp garlic powder (½ tsp = 3 clove garlic) (minced)
- ½ tsp dried thyme (or any herb of your choice)
- 1 lb skinless salmon fillet (1 lb = 450 g)
- salt (kosher or sea salt; use half if using table salt)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 large egg
- Tartar sauce (See Notes for homemade recipe)
- Ketchup
Gather all the ingredients.
- Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine the panko, olive oil, garlic powder, and dried thyme in a frying pan and toast over medium heat until golden brown. Transfer panko into a shallow dish and allow to cool.
- Cut the fillet of salmon into blocks of 2 inch width, then cut diagonally about 1/2 inch slices. Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of the salmon.
- In a shallow dish, add flour and in another shallow dish, whisk the egg. Dredge each salmon piece in the flour to coat completely, pat off the excess flour. Then dip into the egg and finally coat with the toasted panko. Press on the panko flakes to make sure they adhere to the salmon.
- Place the salmon pieces on the prepared baking sheet. Bake at 400°F (200°C) until the salmon is just cooked through, about 20-25 minutes. Serve with ketchup or homemade tartar sauce.
Tartar sauce: Homemade recipe, click here.
Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you'd like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.
この美味しい鮭フライのレシピを是非試したいと思います。。。なみさんは本当に賢いですね。昨日の食べ物を今日の食欲に化することは素晴らしい才能です。
I am into simpler cooking methods so since these are baked, it sounds like a worthy bookmark! 🙂
Looks soo yum, gonna try this as soon as I get some panko!
Hi Khadija! For the best result, try Japanese brand panko like this brand (https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry/panko/). It is available at Japanese or sometimes Asian markets . Hope you enjoy this recipe! 🙂
great, thanks for the suggestion! Good thing there are a lot of Asian supermarkets here 🙂
I don’t know why I’ve never thought of doing this with salmon. I’ll have to remember the next time I’ve got some in the house.
Great dish! Such an easy and healthy way to serve salmon. Love this — thanks.
A friend just gave me a beautiful salmon steak from his Alaskan fishing trip. This looks like the perfect recipe for it. Great timing! Love this recipe and the salmon looks so very crispy.
Salmon nuggets?! How clever! And I love that they’re baked, too!
Thank you Donna! 🙂
Want them! I will have to remember this recipe!
Crispy but don’t need to deep fry, I love this recipe very much, going to try out soon. Thanks Nami!
Oh my goodness I absolutely love crispy salmon. I like even more the tartar sauce that goes with it. I can’t wait to make this one. Thanks for sharing the recipe and helpful video, Nami. And many thanks for the blog-visit inspite of your busy schedule!
I love anything dipped in panko. How yummy this looks. It looks very crispy and crunchy and like there’s heaps of flavour xx
You got my stomach rumbling, I’ll have to try these soon. And thanks for the healthy version, I try to save deep-frying to special occasions/week-ends.
These look like the best fried fish bites, without the grease and heaviness from frying! I bake chicken with panko but I’ve still yet to try it with salmon. Since my son adores salmon, I need to give this a try. Thank you for sharing your recipe. It looks really perfect.
Mmmm…looks delicious!
I love salmon…
I d love to test this recipe!
Even if the salmon is very rare in our country, I can bring it from my mother s country:Finland.
Have a nice week!
Thank you Helena! Hope you get to try it one day. Have a nice week too! 🙂
What a simple and delicious dish!!! I love salmon as well and I think we have all the ingredients must try and make this for dinner tomorrow night 🙂
Hope you’ve arrived home safely and settling back in! xx
This is exactly the recipe I need to get Miss A to eat her salmon! I know the rest of us will enjoy it too. I can’t wait to try this one. I had never thought of breading and baking salmon before. I really love this idea. Have a great week Nami!
These look so good Nami – love the bite-size pieces and that it’s baked not fried.
I’m drooling as i’ve typing this 😀
Nami, I have a feeling your Salmon Katsu will become as popular as your Chicken Katsu! I like how you toasted the panko & spices beforehand, too — good & crunchy. Thanks for this great recipe!
This salmon sounds so easy and delicious! Definitely the perfect thing to try if you’re scared of cooking fish (why *are* so many people afraid to cook fish, anyway?). I bet this would be amazing with a spicy mustard sauce too!
i make chicken fingers all the time like this – never thought of salmon. thanks for sharing this.
Nami, what a delicious looking salmon! It would make such a great appetizer at any party! Perfectly crusted and with the homemade dipping sauce – what’s not to like? Yum! Pinned!
It does look very crispy, golden and delicious 🙂
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
My mum loved and still loves deep frying but I’m scared of it. I often bake things too because you save so many calories that way! This looks like a healthy but delicious recipe Nami 🙂 P.S. I love that you got to meet Daisy!
I use panko for all things breaded – best crispy, crunchy ever! Love that these are baked, Nami. You make the most perfect gyoza, your videos are so impressive 🙂
beautiful recipe Nami. such a simple, yet flavorful recipe and let’s not forget that they are baked. So excited to try these- i love salmon and crunch! thanks for posting.
Oh yum! The crispy salmon looks really really good. And believe it’s healthier too considering it’s being baked and not fried. Hehe, bookmarking this recipe.
I adore this appetizer! So unique and good for you – with the Omega fatty acids. Smile. This is a must make! Hope you are doign well Nami!
For some reason, I’ve never thought of turning salmon fillets into finger food. Ah, why! I’ll definitely give this a go now because we absolutely adore salmon!
These bites look so delicious, I love the panko coating!
Hi Nami, after watching your video, I can see how easy this is to make, will this pinned for future reference…great simple recipe!
I love salmon and these little bites are right up my alley!
Mouthwatering! A great party dish.
Cheers,
Rosa
These look fantastic! I love salmon and baking them with the crispy panko crumbs sounds amazing! I can’t wait to to give this a try – such a great recipe, pinning thanks for sharing Nami 🙂
Nami-san, I love your idea to cut them up smaller and then put them in the bento boxes the next day. Do you re-bake them in the am before putting them in the bento boxes or just keep them cold straight from the refrigerator. I thought of you last night as my youngest asked for me start making bento boxes again. I was making maki rolls at 11pm last night. I wonder how long I will be saying yes to this? LOL
Hi Bam! I usually use the toaster oven to make it crispy again, and then let it cool completely before I pack into bento box (so no condensation will be made in the box). You are making maki sushi at 11pm? What a great mom you are! 😀
Yeah! Never thought to crisp up salmon this way! I always use other white based fish but this is excellent and a much healthier fish to eat even if you are going to fry it! LOVE IT!
Definitely trying to eat better esp emerging from winter hibernation – going to have to try this!
Such a healty and lovely salmon nugget, lovin it even more because it’s baked….
you know, this is actually my signature dish for my nieces and nephews
These crispy salmon nuggets are such a brilliant idea! I love salmon but never have thought of making them into panko coated nuggets! Thanks you for the idea!
Anything which doesn’t need to be deep fried and be cooked in the oven is a WIN for me 🙂
I seriously enjoy your videos, I’m happy that you took that step 🙂 … I pinned your pic and will soon try the recipe!
How come I have never heard about salmon katsu? It sounds like something my husband would go crazy for (I prefer other fish), so I must remember to surprise him one day. Thank you for one more fantastic idea.
Wow!
So going to try this for my daughter. Will keep you posted. Last time I tried your shrimp tempura and my daughter couldn’t stop eating it. Salmon is her favorite and mine too and once I am back after my NYC trip, will make it. Looks fabulous like all of your food!
These look perfect for kids to nibble upon! I’m adding them on the list to cook the next time I’ll be babysitting my niece and nephew 🙂
Nami, this salmon looks amazing. I really liked how you toasted the panko seasoning in the pan first. This is a great quick and simple recipe 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Welcome back Nami, this is a wonderful healthy recipe do you think it will work with Tilapia too? My kids love fried tilapia and I am need healthy alternatives to frying. BTW I love your short videos right to the point :).
What a marvelous idea, Nami! I make baked chicken nuggets ALL the time and I never thought of using salmon instead! Must make these ASAP!
This looks so good! I adore salmon and I love that it’s baked.
I don’t think I need to say further on this; I absolutely would love this lots and lots. Salmon is good and much more this is baked! And also I love panko!
So what did the kids have to say about your mother’s crispy salmon cooked the smart way? These look great!
The crumb on that salmon looks so good! Love the sound of this.
Baked crispy salmon….and so healthy too!! Yummm!! Love how clean your kitchen looks. Mine looks like a tornado when I cook 🙁
Baked is always better than fried. Your tutorial looks wonderful. I could down all that fish in one go 😛
Oh my Nami! The panko here looks so unique! I wouldn’t have guessed that it was salmon inside! This looks really great! Would love to give this recipe a try! I’m sure my friends would be super impressed! 🙂
I always had the white fish with this dish but never tried fried salmon before. It looks great and I especially like the idea to bake it instead of deep fry. Definitely prefer the tartar sauce for this one! 🙂
I love crispy fish of any kind. So yummy Nami. Its been a long since I came here but so so good- the new site & the videos – keep up the great work!
Oh, YUMMY! I love this one, Nami. Pinning and trying soon 🙂
Happy that this stays crispy. That has been the biggest challenge for me with baking and oven frying. The Mr. is going to love this!
Great recipe!
Love that you baked the recipe, so much healthier for sure! Your recipe sounds and looks fabulous! Hugs, Terra
I don’t know how come I have never thought in using salmon…this is such a great idea, maybe this way I get my husband to eat salmon…great tutorial.
Hope you are having a great week Nami 😀
I just made this last night and loved it! super tasty and simple to make 🙂 thanks for sharing this, Nami!
Hi Ling! Thanks for trying this recipe and I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it! Thank you!! 🙂
Made this last night – it was a hit! I am not even a huge fan of fish, and I was not sure about the thyme, but I followed the recipe, and am so glad I did. Everyone loved it. Thank you!!!
Hi Saskia! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! I’m so glad to hear everyone liked it. Thanks for letting me know! 🙂
More and more people are avoiding deep fried food for better health. What a wonderful way to enjoy salmon with crispy coating! And it is so simple to make!
Deep fry makes food taste so good, but yes, we are adding some fat into it, and to be honest, that is what makes that food good. But the alternative to have it baked instead of fried, and with really good taste and “crunchy” is the better option. I love it Nami, you are wonderful
Baked and crunchy! Very nice. GREG
Your salmon looks perfect! I can’t believe it isn’t fried, I hope mine looks as good as yours when I try your recipe.;)
Now this is my kind of nugget… a crispy salmon nugget! They look amazing. 🙂
Your crispy salmon dipped in mayo sauce looks divine!
Would you believe I had some crispy salmon just two days ago? It wasn’t breaded though, but salted and fried until crisp. So good, but I couldn’t taste a thing because I had a really bad cold then. Still got a sore throat but at least I can taste things again so I wish I could have it (or better yet: this!) again now!
I made this meal tonight for my family with the soba noodles. It was a big hit! Thank you so much! You make cooking so easy and the results are amazing.
Hi Nida! So happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for your kind feedback! 🙂
This looks so good! I think I could eat the whole plate!
Crispy Salmon looks so yum! we have something similar in our cuisine, that is called Fish Fry. I will definitely try your version.
Nami, now that I have also had a chace to watch the video (my favorite part is where you so expertly cut the slices of salmon with that very sharp knife), I am so wanting oven-fried slamon with homemade tartar sauce for lunch today. There is no doubt that I will try out this very wonderful looking recipe – do you usually serve a salad as a side dish to this? The extar would be great for a lunckbox next day too – one of your lovely bento boxes, of course! Amazing recipe, dear friend!
Hi Andrea! Yes, I usually serve some kind of veggie dishes or salad to every meal including this. 🙂 This is very easy and quick dish to make on a busy weeknight, perfect for us moms. 🙂
Did anyone say “salmon”? I had to be here. Salmon is like the bacon of the ocean, my favorite food after chocolate. Now I have to try this.
Wow, this looks absolutely divine! Crispy salmon sounds amazing- the panko coating looks super delish!
JUST made this! So tasty and crispy! Thank you!
Hi Dominique! So happy you tried this recipe and enjoyed it. Thank you for your feedback! 🙂
Looks wonderful, I love friend salmon with panko!! Did you see my post today, Hot Fudge Cake!! 🙂
Michael
http://michaelswoodcraft.wordpress.com/2014/03/17/hot-fudge-sauce-chocolate-cake-and-ice-cream/
I would easily drop my chicken nuggets for this one. You make me hungry always Nami.
I`m drooling just thinking about how delicious these would be! I think I would just eat the whole batch myself. 😛 I love salmon and anything coated in panko crumbs. Hehe~
Loving how you took some salmon and made it crispy! This would be a winner for dinner!
I love fish, but I hate the smell that lingers in the house every time I cook some. Cooking the salmon this way was not only delicious (the nuggets were very crispy and really tasty), but my house didn’t smell of fish after all. I’m sure I’ll make this a regular dish, and will try with other types of fish too. We dipped the salmon nuggets into sweet shôyu and it was perfect. Thank you Nami for all your great, easy and healthy ideas!
I love salmon fish. Your crispy salmon recipe is nice. It taste really awesome with tartar sauce. Can you please share the recipe to make tartar sauce?
Hi Julie! Here’s the recipe for tartar sauce:
https://www.justonecookbook.com/how-to/tartar-sauce-recipe/
Hope you enjoy this recipe! 🙂
Hi Nami,
I just subscribed to your site the other day. Today I made the Crispy Salmon and it was great! I seasoned my salmon differently I used old bay, garlic powder, and lemon pepper. I seasoned the panko flakes the way you suggested I just added pepper. My family enjoyed it very much and instead of dipping in ketchup or tartar sauce they chose a jack daniel’s sauce or sweet soy sauce. Anyway thank you for the recipe and this will definitely be part of my line up 🙂
Hi Lara! Thank you so much for subscribing to my site! I’m glad you tried this recipe and enjoyed it! Your seasonings sound fabulous!! Thanks for the kind feedback, Lara! 🙂
WOW! I don’t ever remember seeing a recipe for salmon prepared this way and I’ve never thought of doing this with salmon and I try to eat a lot of it. Can’t wait to try this.
Hi Cindy! Salmon Fry (that’s how we call in Japan) is very common in Japan. I hope you enjoy this dish! 🙂
Wow !! Looks really really yummy !!
Hi ! I’m from Indonesia, really happy to meet this amazing page, bookmarked 🙂
But, what should I do If I want to keep the nuggets for future meal ?
And can I fry this ? if i choose to fry the nugget either baked it. ( sorrry for bad english ) Thanks so much !! 🙂
Hi Ing! Thank you so much for stopping by my blog! 🙂
You bake first (complete the cooking process till the end) and let them cool first. Then pack in air tight container and freeze it. When you’re ready to eat, you take out whatever you need, then bake again (I usually use a toaster oven) to re-heat. Do not use microwave because it only gets soggy. Hope this helps!
Hi Nami,
If I wish to prepare this dish in advanced/night before for lunch on next day, how should I store this? And then we can reheat it in oven? Tks, Michelle
Hi Michelle! You can store in the airtight container and reheat in the toaster oven or oven to make it crispy again. Hope this helps! 🙂
Hi Nami,
We made these tonight and everybody loved them, thanks so much for the great recipe! I was wondering, how would you proceed to freeze and then thaw and serve? Any tips? Thanks again for all the yummy food!
Hi, just saw the comment above 🙂 We’ll try doing this then!
Hi Jennifer! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Enjoy the leftover too! 🙂
Hi! I made this Crispy Salmon for my family on Saturday, along with your ginger rice recipe and daifuku mochi for dessert. Everyone loved it and there were no left overs. Your recipes are so healthy and easy to follow, I enjoy watching all of the youtube videos before hand and using the print-outs in the kitchen. Just wanted to say thank you!! I am looking forward to making another dish soon.
Hi Melissa! AWESOME! I’m so happy to hear your family enjoyed this dish! Thank you so much for testing out my recipes and I’m glad they all came out well. And thank you for watching the YouTube videos too. 🙂 Looking forward to hearing about your next dish when you try! xo
This is such a lovely and simple cooking! I like! 🙂 Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thank you for your kind words, Elaine! Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Hi Nami,
Toasting the panko was key for tasty crispy salmon bites. I now prefer eating the crispy salmon instead of chicken nuggets.
Hi Darlene! I’m glad to hear you liked this recipe! Thank you for your kind feedback! 🙂
I am currently an English teacher in Japan and I always look at your website when I cook Japanese food! I always thought Japanese food was really difficult to make, but it’s actually very simple. Thank you for posting clear and easy to follow recipes.
Hi Kat! Thank you for reading my blog! I’m happy to hear you enjoy my recipes. A lot of Japanese dishes are pretty simple. And you have all the ingredients that I use for my Japanese recipes! 😉 Thank you for your kind words. Hope you are enjoying your life in Japan!
I’m sending this recipe immediately to my daughter, whose children love salmon! My daughter also needs to learn the breading technique. This will be perfect practice. Also, loved your video! Even without what I’m sure is a lovely voice, the instructions were clear and easy to follow. I like to watch how you sliced the salmon filet.
Thank you Linda! I hope your grandchildren enjoy this dish! Thanks so much for your kind words about my video. 🙂
I was looking for a different way to cook salmon and used this recipe tonight. I usually bread and fry white fish but have never tried with salmon. These were so delicious! Followed the recipe exactly and they turned out tasty and crispy. Also loved how they were baked not fried. My 2 year old helped to make these with me and couldn’t eat enough of them! Thanks for the recipe, will be making regularly.
Hi Lena! Awww your comment made me very happy, especially about your 2 year old helping and eating! So glad your family enjoyed this recipe and thanks so much for writing your kind feedback. 🙂
This recipe is just amazing, I had people telling me this was the single best salmon ever
Thanks for your kind feedback Pierre! I’m glad to hear everyone likes this recipe! 🙂
But what temperature do you bake it at?
It’s preheated to 400°F (200°C) at Step 1. 🙂
Hi Nami, I’m Kenken from Jakarta, Indonesia.
Is it okay if i replace a salmon with dory fish ?
Hi Kenken! I’ve never used the dory fish before, but if it’s not too soft, you can use it. 🙂
Hello,
Great Recipe…. I am making this tonight…Just one Question… if i dont have Parchment Paper can it still be done on a Baking sheet without?
Thank you so much! I’m sorry for my late response. I’m afraid your salmon stuck on the baking sheet? If you greased the baking sheet, maybe it wasn’t too bad. Hope the panko shell didn’t come off. Parchment paper is non-stick, so it helps keep the shell on the salmon (or any ingredients). 🙂
Just tried these – delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
*These only took about 15 minutes in my oven.
Hi Rebecca! I’m so happy to hear you liked it! Thank you for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback. xo 🙂
Nami-san I need your advise, considering that Salmon price is quite high in my state, what if I use Silver Catfish or any other common fish like Mackerel Tuna?
Hi Tania! I think it’ll work just fine. 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU =]
Hi Jessica! You’re very welcome! Hope you enjoy(ed) the recipe! 🙂
I don’t have an oven, can I just follow this recipe and deep fried it instead of bake.?
Hi Angie! Sure, deep frying always makes it better result. 🙂 If you deep fry, skip Step 1 and 2. Just use regular Japanese panko at Step 4. 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
Looks great for a oarty! What do you serve it with- dips? Suggestions? Thanks!
Hi Irene! Japanese use all the panko crusted deep fried foods with either Tonkatsu sauce or Tartar sauce.
Tonkatsu Sauce recipe: https://www.justonecookbook.com/how_to/tonkatsu-sauce-recipe/
Tartar Sauce recipe: https://www.justonecookbook.com/ebi-fry-fried-shrimp/
Gosh I still deep fry. I would love to know how your mother made this recipe. This sounds good and I will try it tomorrow. Do you think I could make your recipe and then deep fry instead of baking?
Hi Patricia! Yes, it’s my mom’s recipe (deep fried version) and she made it often growing up. Hope you enjoy(ed) this recipe!
The crispy salmon is so easy to make and very healthy. I substituted flour with corn starch and used lemon herbs when mixing the panko. I used tonkatsu sauce. Oiishi!
I’m so happy to hear you liked this recipe! Thank you so much for your kind feedback. The lemon herbs sound really delicious!!
Hi -this recipe looks great thank you. how do you reheat the fish nuggets after freezing?
Hi Jen! I usually use a toaster oven to reheat the frozen fish nuggets. You can use an oven instead as well. 🙂
Thank you for this recipe! Just made it and it is yummy and crispy!
Hi Mydao! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for trying it and for your kind feedback. 🙂
very nice.
Thank you Kevin!
Have made this a number of times and was a hit – Would this work and cook it on skewers for visuals
Hi Rachel! Thanks so much for trying this recipe! Are you doing the baked method? Sure, you can do that. 🙂
This is so addicting and easy! Whenever I make them there’s almost never any leftovers. And my family couldn’t believe its fish!
Hi Claire! I’m so glad you enjoy this recipe! Hahahaha this is a great way to enjoy fish for your family. 🙂 I’m glad to hear your family enjoy this recipe. 🙂
I found this recipe via your katsu curry page. I was wondering if I’m using a white fish that’s thinner than the pieces you cut for salmon, if there’s any changes in cooking time?
Hi Tatiana! Hmm it should be roughly the same because my salmon is pretty thin if you look at the step 4 picture. 🙂