Instant Pot Salmon Teriyaki Recipe

The Instant Pot has easily become one of my favorite cooking appliances this year. I just can’t get over how much time I save in the kitchen with the simplicity of throwing all of my ingredients into one pot and then not having so much to clean up afterward. I’ve posted some great recipes recently using the Instant Pot, and this salmon teriyaki recipe is a fantastic addition to the collection. Salmon cooks perfectly until flaky in the Instant Pot, and the delicious teriyaki sauce complements the fish flawlessly. This salmon teriyaki dish is a light and healthy dinner that will be ready in minutes and is best served with fresh vegetables for a complete and nutritious meal. 

Salmon is a great protein for any time in the year, and I particularly love serving it in the summer with a seasonal salad or corn on the cob on the side. With this sauce, you can easily trick your family into eating this healthy meal, thanks to its delicious caramelized, sweet and savory taste. If you are looking to serve a heartier meal, you could even consider cooking rice at the same time in the pot. Alternatively, steam various seasonal vegetables for the perfect healthy side dish during the fall and winter months.

The great thing about the Instant Pot is that you have a simple one-pot meal, and your kitchen won’t become a complete mess in the process! It’s so frustrating having a stack of dishes piled up at the sink waiting for me when dinner is done, and it’s impossible to get anyone else to help! I do love cooking for my family, but the washing up part, not so much!

I’m so relieved when I can sit down for dinner with my family and just relax and enjoy our meal. This dish literally involves only a couple of bowls and some aluminum foil, and apart from that, no other equipment is required. So your kitchen area will stay nice and clean without having multiple pots on the stove.

Cooking salmon and some of my other favorite fish dishes always takes me back to vacations by the ocean. Some of my favorite vacation memories include waking up to the sound of the ocean and watching the fishermen go out in the morning from my balcony, knowing they are catching my dinner for the evening. Freshly caught fish is just the best, and I always love ending a day at the beach with a delicious seafood dinner.

I don’t know about you, but salmon has been one of my favorite types of fish since I was a teenager. It’s an excellent source of high-quality protein and contains vitamins, minerals, and omega-3 fatty acids. I’ve always tried to encourage the younger members of my family to eat fish, but I know that it can be quite a challenge sometimes! That’s why I love experimenting with new ways to serve salmon and fish and disguising it with various sauces that are more familiar to youngsters.

After using the Instant Pot for some time now, I still can’t believe how quickly it prepares delicious dinners. Like any of my Instant Pot recipes, the best thing about this salmon teriyaki dish is that you will have a complete dinner ready to serve from start to finish in just fifteen minutes. So when kids are starving after a busy day of school and activities, or you are in a rush after work, it’s the perfect way to prepare a healthy dinner without spending an hour or so on your feet in the kitchen.

The salmon will take five minutes to prep and then just ten minutes to cook. While the salmon is cooking, you can set the table, tidy the kitchen from earlier in the day, or get caught up on other household chores you’d been putting off until later.

To cook this salmon dish, we will create aluminum boats for the fish and then raise it up on a trivet. This allows the fish to cook perfectly and in no time at all.

The teriyaki sauce is one of my favorite ways to enhance the flavor of the fish and combines soy sauce, oil, garlic, and ginger. It’s so simple to create yet effortlessly enhances this dish. Teriyaki sauce is commonly found in Asian cooking and is one of my favorite sauces to use in stir-fries and chicken dishes. This recipe could easily be adapted to cook chicken instead, and the sauce would go perfectly on top of a succulent chicken breast.

I like to garnish the dish with spring onions and sesame seeds for that perfectly plated presentation. Spring onions are one of my favorite additions to any form of Asian-inspired cooking, and I love that you don’t have to cook or do anything with them before serving!

Our Instant Pot Salmon Teriyaki recipe is so easy to create, and you can serve it any night of the week. This fool-proof recipe serves 2-3 people, so simply increase the quantities for a larger group.

Instant Pot Salmon Teriyaki (serves 2-3)

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes (including natural release)

Total time: 15 minutes

Instant Pot Salmon Teriyaki Ingredients:

• ½ cup of soy sauce
• ½ cup of water
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp oil, vegetable or canola
• 1 tbsp garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp ginger, paste
• 16 oz salmon, cut into 5 fillets 
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• Black pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds, optional garnish 
• 4 green onions, optional garnish

Instant Pot Salmon Teriyaki Step-By-Step Instructions:

1. In a medium-size bowl, mix together your soy sauce, water, brown sugar, oil, garlic, and ginger.

2. Place your salmon on a sheet of aluminum foil. Fold up the sides of the aluminum foil to create a bowl shape. Pour 1/3 of the soy sauce liquid mixture over the salmon and set aside.

3. Take another piece of aluminum foil and cover the top of the salmon. Pinch together the aluminum foil to seal in all of the sides, so there are no gaps.

4. Add one and a half cups of water to the bottom of your Instant Pot. Place the trivet inside of the device, and place your salmon on top of the trivet.

5. Close the lid of the Instant Pot and then close your ceiling valve.

6. Set your Instant Pot to the high-pressure setting for four minutes. Once it is finished cooking, allow it to naturally release for 10 minutes. Once the 10 minutes are over, perform a manual release by opening the sealing valve.

7. Remove the salmon and your trivet from your Instant Pot. Pour out the water that is in the pot and place the pot back into the Instant Pot. Choose the cancel setting and then switch to sauté mode.

8. Mix together your corn starch and water in a small bowl.

9. Once your Instant Pot heats up on sauté mode, add in the cornstarch mixture, as well as the remaining soy sauce liquid. Mix well and reduce your sauce until it reaches your desired consistency.

10. Pour the sauce over your cooked salmon. To serve, add additional optional garnishes such as sesame seeds and green onions. Enjoy!

In just fifteen minutes, you will have your delicious salmon teriyaki ready to serve. With simply ten steps and minimal ingredients to create a delicious dish, this is such an easy recipe that I’ve been coming back to over and over again this year. It brings back wonderful memories of the ocean, with an exotic twist thanks to the teriyaki sauce.

Next time you are at the grocery store, pick up a few salmon fillets, and give this recipe a try. It’s another Instant Pot hit that you’ll want to add to your regular weekday dinner recipe list!