Salmon Stir Fry with Vegetables

This colorful Salmon Stir Fry is a delicious way to eat healthy. Chunks of perfectly cooked salmon and tons of vegetables combined in a spicy, savory sauce! 

Salmon is always welcome on our dinner table around here, whether it’s an every day Panko-Crusted Salmon Fillets recipe or a special occasion Salmon Wellington. You may not have considered stir-frying salmon before, but we’re here to tell you this is a delicious way to enjoy perfectly cooked salmon with tons of vegetables. 

Jump to:

• Why Make This Recipe
• 🥗 Ingredients
• 🥣 Step-by-Step Instructions
• 🧐 Recipe FAQs for Salmon Stir Fry
• 👩‍🍳Expert Tips
• Other Delicious Salmon Recipes
• 📖 Recipe
• More About Molly

Why Make This Recipe

• Cooks in 20 Minutes: Prep the ingredients in advance, and you can have dinner on the table in 20 minutes! Love a stir-fry for a quick meal. 
• Healthy: Less than 400 calories per serving and packed with nutrients and Omega-3s. A great gluten-free option as well!
• Budget-Stretcher: Just one pound of salmon in this recipe stretches into a meal for 4!

🥗 Ingredients

• Soy Sauce: For a gluten-free salmon stir-fry recipe, make sure you use tamari rather than traditional soy sauce. Just check the tamari sauce packaging to make sure it is entirely gluten-free.  
• Brown Sugar: Either light or dark brown sugar can be used. If you don’t have either, try replacing with honey, maple syrup, or agave nectar. 
• Crushed Red Pepper Flakes: I like my stir-fries with a little bit of spice but not a ton. If you like less, leave it out. If you like more, add more spice, or throw in a chopped jalapeño pepper. 

• Salmon: We try to buy the most sustainable salmon we can find. Usually that means wild-caught, but sometimes farmed as well. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch has a great guide to help you find the most sustainable seafood, and you can access it from your phone as well. 
• Mushrooms: Feel free to replace the button mushrooms with shiitake or cremini mushrooms. 
• Red Onion: You can replace this with a yellow or white onion or a shallot. Or use the white part of some scallions.
• Garlic and Ginger: If you don’t have fresh garlic or ginger, consider adding some ground garlic or ground ginger to the sauce instead.  

🥣 Step-by-Step Instructions

Whisk together ¼ cup soy sauce, 2 teaspoons sesame oil, 1 teaspoon rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon water, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, 1 teaspoon brown sugar, and ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper for the teriyaki sauce, and set aside.

Pat dry a 1-pound skinless salmon fillet, and cut into large chunks. Slice ½ of a red onion into half moons. Peel and mince 2 garlic cloves.

Peel and grate ginger until you have about one tablespoon. De-seed 2 bell peppers, then cut into bite-sized chunks.

Wipe any dirt off 8 ounces of mushrooms, then cut into quarters (or eighths if mushrooms are very large). 

Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet or wok over medium-high heat, then add salmon.

Let salmon cubes cook, without stirring, until bottoms are lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Flip pieces over carefully and cook until the opposite sides are lightly browned as well, about 3 minutes.

Salmon should be just barely cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside. 

Add mushrooms to the pan. Sauté until mushrooms begin to brown, about 3 minutes. Push the mushrooms to the sides of the pan and add ½ tablespoon oil to the middle of the pan. Then add the broccoli florets.

Stir together, then cover and cook for 2 minutes. Remove cover, stir, then clear a space in the middle of the pan. Add ½ tablespoon of oil, then add onions, garlic, ginger, and peppers to the pan.

Stir together and sauté for 5-7 more minutes, until vegetables are tender and starting to brown. Add salmon pieces back into the pan, and stir gently. Whisk the sauce again to make sure the cornstarch is well incorporated.

Make a well in the center of the pan, then pour in the sauce. Stir while sauce thickens and turns into a glaze, about 30 seconds, then serve. Garnish with sliced green onions, if desired.   

🧐 Recipe FAQs for Salmon Stir Fry

👩‍🍳Expert Tips

The trickiest part of this stir fry salmon recipe is making sure that the salmon and vegetables are each perfectly cooked. That is the reason for making the stir-fried salmon first, then removing it from the pan. And that is also the reason for cooking the mushrooms, then broccoli, before adding the rest of the vegetables.

If you try to save a step and sauté them all at once, you’ll either undercook the mushrooms or broccoli, or overcook the peppers. Also note that the size of your vegetables will also impact their cook time. I like my broccoli florets fairly small, so that they cook more quickly. Big pieces will take forever to cook. 

In addition, watch the heat on your pan. Depending on your stove and pan, you may need to turn the heat down to medium-high to make sure nothing burns. But keeping it at as high heat as possible will give you those nice browned edges that are so delicious in a salmon and vegetable stir-fry.

Take care to not stir the salmon around too much, either while you are browning it the first time or when you are stirring it back into the veggie stir fry. Salmon breaks apart super easily, so if you like those big chunks of salmon, handle it carefully! 

Our final tip is for the mushrooms. Are you wondering why we suggest wiping them off but not rinsing them? Mushrooms quickly absorb any liquid, even if you are just rinsing them off gently. All of that extra moisture will then come out as you cook them, which can lead to a soggy vegetable stir fry.

Now that you've got all the tips you need for a perfect stir fry, you should try some other ingredient combinations. Flank steak, carrots, and snow peas star in this flavorful Beef Stir Fry. Or try our Chicken and Shrimp Stir Fry, packed with vegetables and lean protein.

Other Delicious Salmon Recipes

If you liked this healthy salmon stir fry, you might want to check out some of my other favorite salmon recipes. This Teriyaki Glazed Salmon is easy and super flavorful, as are these Panko Crusted Salmon Fillets. Or check out one of these favorites:

If you try this Stir Fry Salmon recipe, I would love to hear from you! Please rate this recipe and leave a comment below—your feedback is invaluable to me.

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