The Best Blackened Salmon, For All Your Summer Get-Togethers
Actually, this slightly spicy blackened salmon is a great dinner any time of the year! Baked in the oven and topped with a vibrant mango salsa, our easy blackened salmon recipe will win raves whether you serve it as part of an elaborate menu at your next dinner party or completely without fanfare on a busy Tuesday night. Loaded with heart-healthy fats, salmon is always a healthy choice, but it can occasionally be hard to convince the whole family that it’s an exciting one. However, when you coat it generously in blackened seasoning and pair it with plenty of (also super healthy) avocado and fresh mango salsa, it becomes an easy favorite for just about anyone!
Cajun Blackened Seasoning Ingredients
Blackening traditionally comes from a combination of a spice rub and pan-frying in a cast iron skillet. However, baking salmon in the oven is a whole lot less messy, and most of the flavor comes from the blackened seasoning mixture anyway. So that’s the way we’re going with this super simple, healthy salmon recipe. Blackened seasoning is something that you can mix up way ahead of time—and in big batches, if you plan to make blackened fish often—so that whipping up this recipe takes almost no time at all. Here’s what’s in our classic blackened seasoning:
Brown sugar
Paprika
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Dried oregano
Dried thyme
Ground ginger
Sea salt
Cayenne pepper
How to Cook our Blackened Salmon Recipe
One of the terrific things about this rather fancy (if we do say so ourselves) meal is that you can do a lot of the prep work ahead of time. If you’ve made your blackened seasoning and your mango salsa already, this recipe is seriously a 15 minute recipe. It takes only as long as salmon takes to cook—which is to say, not long at all. Here’s how to cook blackened salmon in the oven:
Mix together all the spices for the blackening seasoning. You can do this months ahead of time, if you’d like!
Whip up the mango salsa. You can do this up to a week ahead of time, if need be.
Prep the salmon. Rub it all over with oil, then the blackened seasoning. Get it really nice and coated!
Bake the salmon!
Eat the salmon!
Our Best Tips for Buying Salmon
Buying fish can be intimidating and even if you feel like you kinda know what you want—for example, in this case you know you want salmon—it can still feel weirdly tricky. There’s not just one kind of salmon—there are quite a few! And they often have different price points. The easiest, no-brainer way to be certain that you’re buying the best salmon you can is simply to visit the best fishmonger in your area, and buy whatever kind of salmon filet they recommend! One and done. But here, we’ll tackle a few of the most common salmon buying issues so that you can feel a little smarter at the fish counter:
Why is salmon so expensive? Wild salmon can be a bit pricey, though usually not as expensive as say, halibut. Salmon is extremely popular and overfishing means that some salmon populations are becoming endangered, so the supply of wild salmon struggles to meet the demand. When that’s the case, prices go up. However, there are deals to be found!
Is it better to buy fresh or frozen salmon? Wild or farmed? In general, wild salmon tastes better than farmed. However, it is more expensive and it is not always necessarily more sustainable! Like we said, this stuff can be genuinely confusing. If sustainability is your primary concern, look for certifications like those given out by the Marine Stewardship Council, or check the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s excellent “Seafood Watch” site for more detailed info about what you see in the fish case.
What to Serve With Blackened Salmon
In terms of sides, this salmon goes with so many things! You could pair it with your favorite salad and keep things really light and healthy. Or if you’ve got hungrier hoards to feed, maybe think about a starchy side! Here are a few different ideas for what to serve with this blackened salmon recipe:
Tools You’ll Need
More Salmon Recipes to Try
Blackened Seasoning—Not Just For Salmon!
This delicious, spicy, herby blackened seasoning mixture is not only for salmon. Blackened seasoning is wonderful on most any kind of fish that you love (or that’s on sale!). And, like many other DIY spice blends, it makes a nice gift! If you’re looking for a budget-friendly DIY gift, whip up a big batch of this blackened seasoning, pour it into cute jars, and viola! You’ve got yourself a nice little holiday gift. When you make this recipe, we hope you love it (of course) and we hope you snap a photo and send it our way! Share a photo and tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper so that we can see your stuff! Happy eating!
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