One Pan Salmon Dinner

This One Pan Salmon Dinner is a family-approved weeknight meal with flaky salmon, crispy potatoes, and glazed green beans all baked on a single sheet pan. The post One Pan Salmon Dinner appeared first on Budget Bytes.

Apr 8, 2025 - 15:15

Buying the family value packs of frozen salmon seems to be the only budget-friendly way to eat fish aside from opening a can of tuna nowadays. Since I discovered this, my family enjoys salmon more than ever before! This easy One Pan Salmon Dinner recipe is handy because it’s a great way to minimize clean-up and still provide your family with a full meal. A popular starch, a green veggie, and a protein chock full of healthy fat…let’s go!

Overhead view of a one pan salmon dinner on a baking sheet.

Easy One Pan Salmon Dinner Recipe

Ever since I shared my one pan mushroom steak dinner here, I’ve been looking for more ways to work sheet pan meals into my weekly rotation. They’re just so practical! For this sheet pan salmon dinner, I make a quick glaze using soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, simple seasonings, and a little brown sugar, which I coat the salmon and green beans in before baking. I’ve also got the timing nailed down, so everything cooks together perfectly. My secret? I wrap the salmon in parchment paper while it bakes. It steams gently in all that flavorful glaze and stays so moist and tender.

Did you know that most of the fish you see “fresh” at the seafood counter has previously been frozen anyway? So, as I said in my budget-friendly fish soup recipe, don’t hesitate to buy it in a frozen family pack, thaw it out yourself, and save a few bucks!

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One Pan Salmon Dinner

This One Pan Salmon Dinner is a family-approved weeknight meal with flaky salmon, crispy potatoes, and glazed green beans all baked on a single sheet pan.

Course Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine American

Total Cost $9.82 recipe / $2.45 serving

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 25

Total Time 40

Servings servings

Calories 318kcal

Author Jess Rice

Equipment

2 Pieces of Parchment
Baking Sheet

Ingredients

1 lb. salmon (2 large filets)* $5.24
2 Yukon gold potatoes $1.04
1 tsp salt, divided $0.01
⅛ tsp freshly cracked black pepper $0.02
1 Tbsp olive oil $0.19
½ tsp ginger powder $0.12
1 tsp garlic powder $0.05
2 Tbsp brown sugar, packed $0.10
1 Tbsp soy sauce $0.03
1 tsp toasted sesame oil $0.13
½ a lemon $0.35
2 cups green beans** $2.47
½ tsp sesame seeds $0.07

Instructions

Gather ingredients. Thaw the salmon following the package directions (I thawed mine in the fridge overnight, but you can also thaw it in cold water), and preheat oven to 375℉.
Slice potatoes into 1/4-inch thick slices and sprinkle with ¼ tsp salt, pepper and oil.
Lay potatoes out flat on about 1/3 of a parchment-lined baking sheet. It’s ok if there’s some overlap. Bake the potatoes in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.
Mix ½ tsp salt, ginger powder, garlic powder, brown sugar, soy sauce, and toasted sesame oil in the same bowl used to toss the sliced potatoes.
Place salmon filets in the center of a large piece of clean parchment paper and brush the salmon with the sauce. Slice the lemon into rounds, and then top each salmon filet with a slice or two of fresh lemon.
Fold the parchment paper with the salmon shut. This will help steam the fish and keep it nice and moist on your sheet pan. Set aside.
Next, toss green beans in the same bowl as the salmon marinade, using up every drop of that yummy marinade! Sprinkle with remaining salt (1/4 tsp) and the sesame seeds.
When your timer for 15 minutes goes off, flip the potatoes, and add the salmon in the parchment paper and the green beans.
Bake everything together for 10-15 minutes more or until the fish is cooked to 145 degrees. (If your fish is cut thinner and seems to be cooking faster than the veggies, it’s handy to have it wrapped up so you can remove it from the pan when it reaches 145℉ while you give the veggies an extra 5 minutes in the oven, if needed. No need to remove paper to temp it— just insert the thermometer through the paper or the top of the fold.) Adjust seasonings as needed and enjoy!

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Notes

*To maximize my budget, I buy bags of frozen wild-caught salmon at the grocery store. The 2 lb. bag of salmon from Walmart usually has 4-5 big filets inside.

**Frozen green beans became mushy when I tested them with this recipe, but you can always substitute the fresh green beans for another tender fresh vegetable you may have on hand, like asparagus, small broccoli florets, or snow peas.

Nutrition

How to make One Pan Salmon Dinner step-by-step photos

The ingredients to make a one pan salmon dinner.

Gather your ingredients: Thaw 1 lb. of salmon (2 large filets) following the package instructions. I like to thaw mine overnight in the fridge, but you can also place the filets (in their vacuum-sealed packs) into a bowl of cold water. Change the water every 30 minutes or so until the fish is thawed. Now, preheat your oven to 375℉.

Sliced yukon gold potatoes in a bowl with seasonings.

Prep the potatoes: Cut 2 Yukon gold potatoes into ¼-inch thick slices and add them to a bowl. Sprinkle the potato slices with ¼ tsp salt, ⅛ tsp black pepper, and 1 Tbsp olive oil. Mix to coat the potatoes with the seasonings and oil.

Sliced and seasoned yukon gold potatoes on a sheet pan.

Bake the potatoes: Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper. Lay the potato slices out flat over 1/3 of the baking sheet, as shown here. It’s okay if there’s some overlap. Bake the potatoes in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.

Salt, ginger powder, brown sugar, soy sauce, and toasted sesame seed oil in a mixing bowl.

Make the glaze: Meanwhile, add ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp ginger powder, 1 tsp garlic powder, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, and 1 tsp toasted sesame oil to the same bowl you seasoned the potatoes in (no need to wash it first!). Mix to combine.

A brush glazing two salmon filets with a toasted sesame oil glaze. One filet is topped with two lemon slices.

Glaze the salmon: Place a piece of parchment paper onto your work surface and add the two salmon filets, skin side down, to the center. Brush the salmon with some of the soy sauce glaze (you won’t use it all here). Slice ½ a lemon into rounds and top each filet with 1-2 slices of fresh lemon.

Glazed salmon filets wrapped in a parchment paper parcel for baking.

Wrap the salmon: Fold the parchment paper over the salmon and then fold the sides shut to create a parcel. I like to do this as the fish will steam and stay nice and moist rather than dry out on the sheet pan. Set the salmon parcel to one side for now.

Green beans added to the bowl of sesame oil glaze.

Coat the green beans: Now add 2 cups green beans to the remaining salmon marinade. Sprinkle with ¼ tsp salt and ½ tsp sesame seeds.

Sliced potatoes, green beans, and parchment paper wrapped salmon filets on a baking sheet.

Bake: Once your timer for the potatoes goes off after 15 minutes, remove the baking sheet from the oven and flip the potatoes. Now, add the salmon parcel and the marinaded green beans to the baking sheet.

Sliced potatoes, green beans, and parchment paper wrapped salmon filets on a baking sheet, with a instant read thermometer checking the internal temperature of the salmon.

Bake everything together for 10-15 minutes more or until the salmon is cooked to 145℉ (I use an instant read thermometer to check the internal temperature of my fish. No need to remove the paper to check it—just insert the thermometer through the paper or the top of the fold!). If your fish is cut thinner or is cooking faster than the veggies, remove the salmon parcel from the baking sheet when it reaches 145℉ and give the veggies an extra 5 minutes in the oven, if needed.

Finished one pan salmon dinner on a baking sheet.

Serve: Adjust the seasonings as needed. Serve, and enjoy your salmon sheet pan dinner!

Overhead view of a one pan salmon dinner plated.

Thaw the salmon fully before cooking. I usually thaw mine overnight in the fridge, but a cold water bath works in a pinch. Just make sure it’s not frozen in the center before you bake!
Slice the potatoes thin and even. I go for about ¼-inch thick slices, so they cook through in time. If they’re too thick, they’ll take longer to bake and may throw off the whole timing of this one pan baked salmon recipe.
Wrap the salmon in parchment paper. This is the move. It gently steams the fish, keeping it moist, tender, and full of flavor. Plus, it buys you a little extra time if your veggies need more roasting because it makes it super easy to remove the fish from the baking sheet.
Your salmon is fully cooked once it reaches 145°F in the thickest part of the fillet. You can use an instant-read thermometer to check for doneness. If you don’t have a thermometer, the flesh should be opaque and flake easily with a fork.
Try a different glaze. You really can’t go wrong with a sesame oil, soy sauce, and brown sugar glaze. However, I think a honey mustard glaze, some sweet chili sauce, or even just salt, black pepper, and vegetable oil (like I use in my grilled salmon recipe) would be delicious, too.

Storage & Reheating

If you happen to have leftovers, you can store them in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. You can keep the salmon in a separate airtight container if you want to avoid the veggies from tasting fishy! Use the microwave, oven, or stovetop to reheat your potatoes and green beans. Just keep in mind the microwave will likely make them much softer.

As for the one pan salmon, it’s best to reheat it low and slow to avoid it completely drying out. I’d drizzle a little oil over the fish, wrap it in foil, and heat it in a low oven (about 275°F) until reheated throughout. Baked salmon is also delicious cold, so you could always toss it onto a salad and call it a day!