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The Best Grilled Salmon

Grilled salmon with crispy skin and tender, flaky flesh using a quick garlic-lemon Dijon marinade. This easy seafood dinner technique cooks skin-side down for grill marks and a clean flip.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
marinating 15 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: American
Calories: 560
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Salmon fillets (skin-on)
  • 4 salmon fillets (skin-on) 6 oz each
Marinade
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 0.25 tsp salt to taste
  • 0.25 tsp black pepper to taste
Serving
  • 0.25 fresh dill for serving
  • 0.25 lemon wedges for serving

Equipment

  • 1 grill

Method
 

Make the marinade
  1. In a bowl, mix olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper until evenly combined.
  2. Brush the salmon with the marinade, coating the top well.
Marinate the salmon
  1. Let the salmon sit for 15 minutes so the flavors soak in, uncovered on a plate in the fridge if needed.
Grill the salmon
  1. Preheat the grill to medium-high heat and oil the grates well to prevent sticking.
  2. Place the salmon skin-side down on the grill, arranging fillets so they don’t touch.
  3. Grill for 6-8 minutes skin-side down without moving until the skin is crisp and releases easily, with grill marks forming.
  4. Carefully flip and grill for 2-3 minutes until cooked to your desired doneness, keeping the flesh tender and flaky.
Serve
  1. Serve immediately with fresh dill and lemon wedges.

Notes

Pro tip: oil the grates right before cooking and resist moving the salmon while it grills skin-side down—this is what builds the crispy skin. Refrigerate leftover cooked salmon in a sealed container for up to 3 days; freeze cooked salmon for up to 2 months (thaw overnight in the fridge). For a dairy-free, keep as-is; for a lower-sodium option, use reduced-salt Dijon and season lightly with pepper.