This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.

This Coconut Curry Salmon with Garlic Butter is full of Thai flavors and so simple. Made with flavorful Thai curry paste, creamy coconut milk, and a quick homemade curry powder. The salmon is seasoned, broiled until crispy, and then served in a creamy curry sauce with spicy chili garlic butter. A side of rice soaks up all that yummy coconut curry sauce, so delicious.

Coconut Curry Salmon with Garlic Butter | halfbakedharvest.com

Looking back at all the years of recipes, there is so much variety, flavor, and color. When I started HBH just after turning 19, I had no idea what I was doing, or really how to cook for that matter. I truly was learning by doing and having a lot of fun experimenting with new flavors.

When I look back at the first year of recipes, I cringe at the photos, but you know what’s kind of funny? While the recipes are written poorly for sure, the ideas are honestly pretty solid and so creative.

My mind must have been so full of brand new ideas back then. I wasn’t afraid to try anything!

The other week I was reminded about an old Thai salmon burger that I had made. The flavors sounded so interesting and really delicious. I decided then that I wanted to do some kind of Thai curry with salmon.

Originally, this recipe looked a little different. But as I was cooking, I just kind of did what I often do, I winged it.

Somehow I ended up with caramelized curried salmon in the creamiest red curry sauce. The chili garlic butter was an afterthought, but it ended up MAKING the curry. Everything together is so delicious and flavorful.

Coconut Curry Salmon with Garlic Butter | halfbakedharvest.com

Details – the salmon

Since I wanted to customize the flavors, I made my own curry powder for the salmon. I added lots of cumin and ginger with a touch of paprika, cayenne, and cinnamon. I think it’s the perfect blend.

I shared the recipe in the notes. Of course, you can also just use store-bought curry powder.

Once the salmon fillet is seasoned up on a pan, drizzle over the honey, then broil until crispy. This is my favorite easy, mess free, way to get salmon crispy on top.

Coconut Curry Salmon with Garlic Butter | halfbakedharvest.com

The sauce

I kept the sauce really simple, butter, ginger, and lots of Thai red curry paste. Coconut milk keeps it creamy, and soy sauce adds a little salty flavor.

Finish cooking the salmon in the curry sauce so it stays really tender and flavorful.

Coconut Curry Salmon with Garlic Butter | halfbakedharvest.com

Finish it up

Honestly, this chili garlic butter completes the dish. Is it needed, no, but it makes this salmon recipe really, really delicious.

Simply brown butter, golden garlic, and chili flakes and drizzle over the salmon just before serving. It really makes every bite melt in your mouth. A squeeze of lime juice is also delicious!

Add jasmine rice to complete the thai salmon curry…it’s essential for soaking up all that yummy curry sauce.

This is such a simple, wholesome, and Pinterest worthy meal. The perfect (non-boring) recipe to really keep things fun during the week. Oh and lastly, while it’s not traditional to Thai cooking, a side of fresh warm naan is especially delicious with this creamy curry sauce. Just an idea!

Coconut Curry Salmon with Garlic Butter | halfbakedharvest.com

Looking for other dinner recipes? Here are my favorites: 

Thai Black Pepper Chicken and Garlic Noodles

One Pot Stove-Top Mac and Cheese

Honey Garlic Salmon Soba Noodle Bowls

Coconut Milk Braised Black Pepper Chicken

Lastly, if you make this Coconut Curry Salmon with Garlic Butter, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

@halfbakedharvest

coconut curry salmon #coconut #curry #salmon #garlic #easyrecipe #rice #weeknightdinner #foodtok #howto

♬ say – Official Sound Studio

Coconut Curry Salmon with Garlic Butter

Author: Tieghan Gerard
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings: 4
Calories Per Serving: 791 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

SavePrintEmail

Watch the How-To Reel

Ingredients

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

  • 1. Preheat the broiler.
    2. Place the salmon on a baking sheet and rub with olive oil, curry powder, and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle the honey over the salmon. Broil until crisping on top, 3-5 minutes, watch closely.
    3. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt together 1 tablespoon butter, the curry paste, and ginger. Cook, 2-3 minutes until very fragrant. Add the broccoli, coconut milk, tamari or soy sauce, and fish sauce. Slide the salmon into the sauce and simmer for 3-5 minutes, or until cooked to your liking.
    4. Meanwhile, melt together 5 tablespoons butter, the garlic, and a pinch of chili flakes. Cook until the butter is browning and the garlic crisps.
    5. Serve the salmon and sauce over bowls of rice. Drizzle the butter over the salmon and top with basil or cilantro.

Notes

Spicy Curry Powder:
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2-1 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
kosher salt and black pepper
Mix everything to combine. Makes 2-3 tablespoons. 
View Recipe Comments
Coconut Curry Salmon with Garlic Butter | halfbakedharvest.com
This post was originally published on February 2, 2022
4.65 from 643 votes (422 ratings without comment)

Add a Comment

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  2. 5 stars
    Just made this tonight – used the recipe as a guide and improvised a little … instead of broiling and using an extra baking tray – just seared the fish in the pan – and took it out before making the curry and putting it back in. Didn’t really measure anything properly either – just eyeballed – but still came out great! …. Imagine this would be great with chicken too! Used the same proportion of sauce but for 2 salmon filets and saved the extra sauce for some tilapia later on in the week.

    Reply

      1. 4 stars
        I have a lot of your recipes on regular rotation and I love them. But for me this sauce ended up being very watery – I’m not sure if I did it wrong if it was the quality of the coconut milk, or maybe it would be better if the coconut milk was substituted for coconut cream?

        Reply

        1. Hi Vivienne,
          Thanks for giving the recipe a try! The sauce should definitely be liquidy, not watery:) But you can view the consistency in the video posted above if that helps. Let me know!! xTieghan

          Reply

        2. Hey Vivian – just in my opinion the sauce didn’t seem watery … you might need to simmer the sauce longer in the pan to reduce it more?? I used light coconut milk from the can.

          Reply

  3. O M G
    Third recipe trial from all your deliciousness and this one was a hit too !!!
    I’m becoming the one who cooks and my husband loves having a break ahah
    Thank you

    Reply

    1. Hey Delphine,
      Happy Wednesday!! So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan

      Reply

    2. Hi Abby,
      Your salmon should only have skin on the one side:) You can follow the recipe as is. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan

      Reply

      1. Would you recommend using skin-on salmon in this recipe? I usually prefer skin-on because it adds more flavor and nutrients. But if using skin-on, would you recommend broiling skin-side up so the skin gets crispy? Thank you!

        Reply

        1. Hey Julie,
          I used skin on salmon for this recipe, you can follow the instructions as is. Please let me know if you give the dish a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan

          Reply

  5. 5 stars
    Thanks Tieghan! I made this recipe for our Valentine’s Day dinner with our Alaska salmon and even my two year old said it was delicious!

    Reply

  7. 5 stars
    Hi, Tieghan! I was kind of skeptical about making the curry powder but it ended up amazing! Reading the word “coconut” I knew the recipe was gonna be creamy and it was! It’s exactly how I expected it. Thanks for sharing this!

    Reply

    1. Hey Dakota,
      Wonderful!! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed!! ?xTieghan

      Reply

  8. 5 stars
    A friend made this for dinner 2 weeks ago and it was so good that I had to make it at home for my family tonight. We absolutely loved it! The broccoli took longer to cook than the recipe stated, but I just waited a bit longer to add the salmon.
    The flavors were amazing! We will definitely be making this again.

    Reply

  9. 5 stars
    This was over the top delicious. Live in a rural community and can’t get these amazing flavors! Totally satisfied my big city craving!

    Reply

    2. Umm this recipe was amazing. I typically make a lot of your soups and baked goods, but we decided to try this for dinner tonight and LOVED it. Definitely will be making this more! Thanks for the recipe Tieghan!

      Reply

  10. My husband usually does not like when I cook salmon a “new” way. He likes the same old salt & pepper on the BBQ method. He LOVED this! It was delicious and easy!!! Love your recipes.

    Reply

  11. 5 stars
    My first time EVER making salmon and we ALL loved it!!! I added an unnecessary step, I liked the idea of roasting broccoli and brussel sprouts. And it tasted good but I slightly overcooked the vegetables. So next time I’ll add to the pan as the recipe states. This came together quickly after work and I’ll definitely make it again!

    Reply

  13. 5 stars
    I discovered Half-Baked Harvest last year and cook multiple recipes from your site every week. I have a big family and am committed to serving them beautiful, healthy, nutritionally dense food every night. Since Covid/”stay at home” started, I decided to make mealtime a comforting highlight of our day and make something new every single night. The HBH archives has been the biggest resource for me. I make something from HBH at least 5 nights a week. This salmon recipe is one of my absolute favorites. The flavor/texture combination, the creaminess of the coconut milk and the perfect level of heat to cut it, the finish of garlic-chili butter and cilantro . . . it’s gorgeous! I have never reviewed a recipe on any site, EVER, but this dish was amazing, totally unique, and one of the best things I’ve put in my mouth this year. Thank you!

    Reply

    1. Hi Emily,
      Awesome!! Love hearing that this recipe was a winner, thanks a lot for giving it a go! Thanks so much for your kind message and trying so many recipes. Have the best weekend:) xTieghan

      Reply

  14. 5 stars
    This is so delicious! I made it with wild caught king salmon and I can’t believe how good all of the flavors were. Definitely going to make again!

    Reply

    1. Hey Sarah,
      Awesome!! Love hearing that this recipe was a winner, thanks a lot for giving it a go! Have the best weekend:) xTieghan

      Reply

  15. 5 stars
    This was amazing! I love Thai food and this dish was one of the best I have ever had. I was sure I was going to ruin it (not the most amazing cook) but I was shocked to find it was really simple and absolutely delicious. My tastebuds are so thankful for you!

    Reply