This Panko Crusted Salmon is super easy and can be on your table in less than 30 minutes. Topped with an easy homemade tartar sauce, this salmon can’t be beat!

If you love fish for dinner, make sure to check out all of our fish and seafood recipes!

Pieces of Panko Crusted Salmon on a cooling rack.

When it comes to getting dinner on the table quickly, I love to turn to fish recipes. It cooks up super fast, and I have actually come to realize that it’s easier to cook than most other proteins.

The fish that I make the most has got to be salmon. It’s easy to find, and is somewhat inexpensive, especially compared to some other fish. And it has so much flavor!

This Panko Crusted Salmon couldn’t be easier. It takes a few minutes to prep the fish, and a few minutes to make the homemade tartar sauce. Dinner will be on the table before you know it!

Baked Salmon Topped with Homemade Tartar Sauce

Ingredients

You really don’t need a lot of ingredients to make this panko crusted salmon!

For the Fish:

Salmon – I typically use salmon that has already been cut into filets. If you have a large piece of salmon, you ca just cut it into portions.
Salt and Pepper – Seasoning is always important!
Egg Whites – The egg whites act as the “glue” to hold the breadcrumbs to the fish.
Panko – You can usually find panko breadcrumbs at most grocery stores next to the regular breadcrumbs.
Parsley – The parsley adds flavor, color, and freshness.
Old Bay Seasoning – Old Bay seasoning and fish are meant for each other! This is a great spice mix to add, but you can always create your own spice mix, if desired.

For the Tartar Sauce:

I love making homemade tartar sauce because you know exactly what is going into it. Plus, you can make just enough for dinner, and you don’t have to worry about the rest of a jar of tartar sauce hanging out in your refrigerator. This is all you need to make it – you might already have everything on hand!

Mayonnaise – this is the base to the tartar sauce.
Pickles – I use dill pickles. If you want to bring a little sweetness, you can use bread and butter pickles, but I think dill is the best for this recipe.
Onion – I use a regular yellow onion, although a white onion or sweet onion would work. Chop it very fine, or you can even grate the onion. If you grate it, you’ll only need about half as much.
Lemon Juice – You need a bit of acidity and lemon juice brings the perfect amount of flavor.
Capers – I absolutely love capers and the saltiness they bring. If you don’t have them on hand, you can leave them out of this recipe, but I find that I always have a jar in the refrigerator.

Tips and Tricks

Baking the fish on a cooling rack ensures that the fish stays crispy on all sides. You can bake it without the rack, but the underside of the fish will most likely be a little soggy.

I love the crispiness you get from using Panko breadcrumbs. You could use regular breadcrumbs, but the end result wouldn’t be exactly the same.

While fish is fairly easy to bake, you don’t want to overcook it. The cook times below are just a guideline – depending on how thick your salmon filets are. I like to take it out when it’s just short of being done – it will continue to cook for another minute or so from the residual heat.

While I do like this recipe baked best, you can also pan fry the salmon. Or this Pan Fried Salmon is a great one if you want to cook on the stove top instead of baking.

I use a salmon without any skin for this recipe.