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Oh, irresistible bite-size Crispy Baked Salmon Nuggets 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 Baked Salmon Nuggets (Salmon Katsu, 鮭フライ) is a great alternative to my Crispy 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 Baked Salmon Nuggets
Oh, irresistible bite-size Crispy Baked Salmon Nuggets 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!
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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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!
- 1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
- 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ tsp garlic powder (3 clove garlic; minced)
- ½ tsp dried thyme (or any herb of your choice)
- 1 lb skinless salmon fillet (450 g)
- kosher/sea salt (I use Diamond Crystal; Use half for table salt)
- freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- 1 large egg (50 g w/o shell)
- Tartar sauce (See Notes for homemade recipe)
- Ketchup
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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.
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Cut the fillet of salmon into blocks of 2-inch width, then cut diagonally about ½ 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.
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Place the salmon pieces on the prepared baking sheet. Bake at 400°F (200°C) until the salmon is just cooked through, about 15-20 minutes (check at 15 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.
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 🙂
Salmon nuggets?! How clever! And I love that they’re baked, too!
Thank you Donna! 🙂
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! 🙂
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! 🙂
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! 🙂
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. 🙂
Hi, Nami.
I love both your recipes for this salmon nugget and your tartar sauce. However, I don’t think by baking rather than deep frying becomes a healthy option, if after all we savor this dish with tartar sauce that uses two eggs plus mayonnaise. What makes a more significance for me is that by baking instead of frying, the umami of the salmon is better preserved. Well, salmon itself is no doubt a healthy choice. I lick my spoon clean while hoping salmon will pay for those eggs and mayonnaise. LOL That’s my personal opinion anyway.
I have also tried your baked chicken katsu recipe a couple of times. Loved it, too. What I haven’t tried is freezing them. How would you suggest? Better get them half baked and then freeze, or freeze directly after coating with panko?
Once again, thank you for this salmon nugget recipe, because I am a fan of nuggets but don’t quite trust the nuggets out there. LOL
Regards,
Shuni
Hi Shuni! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! Haha. Tartar sauce is optional as many people who are health conscious will not like the mayonnaise in the sauce as you said. 😉 It’s delicious as it is, especially with just the right amount of salt sprinkle on the nuggets. 🙂
For freezing baked chicken katsu – I always recommend freezing after being cooked (baked) completely and cooled. You just need to reheat in the oven to make it warm and crisp again.
To preface this abit, i had 2.5 pounds of fresh salmon filet in the fridge. So i started looking for new ways to cook it here on the site. Every recipe i was two ingredients short – min. Until i found this nugget recipe. Honestly, i did not hold out a lot of hope for Salmon Nuggets. Boy ! was i wrong. Totally awesome. Will be making the next weekend when my kids come over. They will love it.
Hi Keith! Aww! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this! As a kid, I enjoyed eating this more than traditional Japanese grilled salmon dishes. 🙂 Hope your children will love this dish!
These were very good. But next time I will cook less time as I think I overcooked them a bit
Hi Melanie! Thank you for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback!
This is one of my favorite go-to recipes I make it every couple of weeks. Recently I bought an air fryer and tonight I tried the crispy baked salmon recipe in it. It turned out great! The salmon turned out nice and crispy, and with the air fryer I still think they are relatively guilt free. I will make these nuggets over and over.
Hi Kari! I’m so happy to hear that you like this recipe and air-fry works too! I haven’t purchased one for myself yet but it’s great to know that others can make it with their air fryer. Thank you so much for your kind feedback! 🙂
Made these today for football Sunday and dipped them in a curry mayo – YUM! These will definitely become a game day staple for us!!
Hi Karoline,
Thank you so much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback. We’re so glad to hear you enjoyed the dish.
A curry mayo sounds very yummy! 😋
Thank you for sharing your cooking experience with us!
WOW Nami these are SO GOOD for how simple the recipe is (I do feel the dried thyme is the best ingredient here to not skip, as it imparts delicious herb flavor). I have never had salmon breaded before as it does not seem to be a popular way to cook it here in the USA. This recipe was just amazing with your homemade tartar sauce recipe, and very easy to make. I am certain I’ll be making this again!
And yes, it really proves that there’s no need to fry. It is just as crispy and delightful as fried. It’s less oily and has a lighter texture due to that.
Hi Lion!
We are so glad to hear you enjoyed the Baked Salmon Nugget with homemade tartar sauce!
Thank you very much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback!☺️