Sheet Pan Salmon and Broccoli with Miso Butter

This one-pan dinner is ready in a flash! Broccoli takes on a sweetness in the oven, and the salmon, topped with miso butter, becomes flavorful and moist. This one is sure to become a favorite!

Sheet Pan Salmon with Broccoli - Ready to Eat
Sally Vargas

If you like salmon, you are going to love these miso butter-topped fillets.

This is an easy one-dish meal, baked on a sheet pan with broccoli. The miso butter is salty and rich, and it complements the sweet, slightly charred broccoli to a tee. If you like, serve them with baked or roasted potatoes.

Which Salmon To Buy

When you are buying salmon, ask for center-cut pieces of the fillet that are 6 to 7 ounces each. The center cut pieces are of a fairly even in thickness, so they will also cook evenly.

Don’t ask to have the skin removed, since it serves as a little extra insulation from the heat of the pan when you are cooking the salmon.

How To Remove the Pin Bones From Salmon

Depending on the fish market, your salmon may have pin bones (some fish purveyors will remove them for you). To facilitate locating them, try this trick:

  1. Lay the salmon on top of an upside-down bowl so the fish is convex.
  2. Run your fingers along the fish to feel where the bones are.
  3. Firmly grasp the bones with tweezers or needle-nose pliers to pull them out.
Sheet Pan Salmon Recipe
Sally Vargas
Sheet Pan Salmon with Broccoli - After baking
Sally Vargas

Preventing Dry Salmon

The most common mistake people make when cooking salmon is overcooking it to the point of dryness. If you cook it until the center is opaque, your fish is already overcooked!

The best way to test doneness is to use a thermometer, which when inserted into the center of the fish should register between 130oF and 135oF.

If you don’t have a thermometer, insert a paring knife into the thickest part of the fish and peek. The center should look pale pink and translucent while the outside should look opaque. As the fillets rest, they continue to cook.

Once the salmon is out of the oven, let it rest. The interior may be slightly undercooked but the exterior is hotter. After a few minutes, the inside and outside temperatures come into balance and homeostasis occurs, so that the fish is cooked evenly all the way through. The texture will be silky and delicious!

What Is Miso Butter?

Miso butter is a bare bones combination of unsalted butter and any kind of miso—red, yellow or white, take your pick! The darker the miso, the stronger the flavor—choose whatever you like best, or use whatever you have on hand.

It has a fantastic creamy-umami-salty-savory-amazing flavor. Here, it melts partially into the fish and forms a golden crust on the outside.

I like it so much I try to make extra for spreading over hot vegetables or other fish recipes. It keeps for at least 2 weeks, covered in the refrigerator.

Sheet Pan Miso Salmon roast the broccoli
Sally Vargas

Don't Throw Away Your Broccoli Stems!

Lying on the couch when you are under the weather has its advantages. Years ago, during a binge-watch session of Jacques Pepin’s old cooking episodes, I spied Jacques (the man!) peeling broccoli stems.

He pointed out, and I wholeheartedly agree, that the stems are the sweetest part of the vegetable. I described his technique in the recipe below. It’s so fun and satisfying to pull the tough skin away from the sweet underlying stalk (so nerdy, right?).

I decided that broccoli crowns are for sissies, and henceforth only buy whole broccoli. I cannot peel the stems without thinking of my hero.

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Sheet Pan Salmon and Broccoli with Miso Butter

Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 25 mins
Total Time 35 mins
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

  • 2 tablespoons red, white or yellow miso

  • 1 1/2 pounds whole broccoli heads or crowns, with stems

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  • 4 (6 ounce) center-cut salmon fillets, 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick

  • 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, to garnish

  • 2 scallions, thinly sliced, to garnish

Method

  1. Preheat the oven:

    Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 450°F.

  2. Make the miso butter:

    In a small bowl, stir the butter and miso until smooth.

  3. Prepare the broccoli:

    With a paring knife, cut a sliver off the tough end of the broccoli stalk. Separate the stalk from the head—where the stalk starts to branch. Peel the stalk with a vegetable peeler and slice it into 3- to 4-inch sticks. Cut the crown lengthwise into 3 to 4 pieces.

    Sheet Pan Miso Salmon roast the broccoli
    Sally Vargas
  4. Roast the broccoli:

    Mound the broccoli in the center of the baking sheet. Sprinkle with the oil, salt, and pepper and use your hands to massage the oil over the broccoli.

    Spread the oiled broccoli on the baking sheet in one layer. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes, stirring and flipping the veggies halfway through. Remove the broccoli from the oven and turn the temperature down to 425°F.

  5. Roast the salmon:

    Make space on the baking sheet for the salmon, and place the salmon on the sheet with the skin side down. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Use a butter knife to spread the miso butter over the fillets.

    Roast the salmon and broccoli together for 10 minutes longer, or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the salmon registers 135°F. Remove from the oven.

    Miso Salmon with Broccoli roast the salmon
    Sally Vargas
  6. Finish under the broiler:

    Move an oven rack close (3- to 4-inches) to the broiler and turn on the broiler. If necessary, spread the now-softened miso butter evenly over the fillets, and broil for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the fillets are charred at the edges.

    Remove and let the salmon rest for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and chopped scallions and serve with baked potatoes, if you like.

    Sheet Pan Salmon with Broccoli - After baking
    Sally Vargas
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
975 Calories
63g Fat
15g Carbs
84g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 975
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 63g 81%
Saturated Fat 17g 84%
Cholesterol 255mg 85%
Sodium 767mg 33%
Total Carbohydrate 15g 6%
Dietary Fiber 6g 23%
Total Sugars 3g
Protein 84g
Vitamin C 127mg 637%
Calcium 138mg 11%
Iron 3mg 16%
Potassium 1920mg 41%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.