Miso Salmon on Sautéed Spinach (Printable)

Flaky salmon with sweet miso glaze over garlicky sautéed spinach with fresh ginger.

# What You'll Need:

→ For the Miso Salmon

01 - 4 salmon fillets, 5.3 oz each, skin-on or skinless
02 - 2 tablespoons white miso paste
03 - 1 tablespoon mirin or dry sherry
04 - 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
05 - 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
06 - 1 teaspoon sesame oil
07 - 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

→ For the Sautéed Spinach

08 - 2 tablespoons olive oil or sesame oil
09 - 1 large shallot, thinly sliced
10 - 2 garlic cloves, minced
11 - 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, julienned
12 - 14 oz fresh baby spinach, washed and dried
13 - 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
14 - Freshly ground black pepper to taste
15 - Lemon wedges for serving

# How-To Steps:

01 - Preheat oven to 400°F and line a baking tray with parchment paper. In a small bowl, whisk together miso paste, mirin, soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, and grated ginger until well combined.
02 - Pat salmon fillets dry with paper towels. Place on prepared baking tray and brush generously with miso glaze on all sides. Bake for 10-12 minutes until cooked through and lightly caramelized on top.
03 - While salmon bakes, heat olive or sesame oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sliced shallot, minced garlic, and julienned ginger. Sauté for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
04 - Add spinach in batches to the skillet, stirring constantly until just wilted. Season with soy sauce and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
05 - Divide sautéed spinach among serving plates. Top each portion with a miso-glazed salmon fillet and serve with lemon wedges on the side.

# Expert Suggestions:

01 -
  • The miso glaze creates this impossible balance of salty, sweet, and umami that somehow tastes lighter than it should.
  • You can have a restaurant-quality meal on the table in under 30 minutes without any culinary degree required.
  • Omega-3s from the salmon paired with iron-rich spinach means your body actually thanks you for eating this.
02 -
  • Overcooked salmon seizes and dries out almost instantly at these temperatures, so trust the timer and pull it out slightly before you think it's done—it keeps cooking off heat.
  • The miso glaze will seem loose in the bowl but transforms into a glossy, clingy coating as the salmon's residual heat thickens it, so don't panic or add more thickener.
  • Baby spinach seems to triple in volume when wilted, which catches people off guard, so commit to adding it in batches or you'll end up wrestling greens instead of cooking them.
03 -
  • Line your baking tray with parchment paper even though it feels unnecessary, because cleanup becomes a 10-second rinse instead of scrubbing miso residue from hot pan surfaces.
  • Keep your miso paste in a small jar in the refrigerator rather than letting it live in the back of a cupboard, and it becomes a weeknight staple instead of something you forget you own.
  • Grate ginger directly into the glaze bowl using a microplane so you capture all the oils and juice that sink immediately into the paste.
Return