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Instant Pot Salmon With Chili-Lime Sauce

Updated Apr 8, 2020Published Mar 8, 2017 By Julia 31 CommentsThis post may contain affiliate links.

Summary:
This is a versatile and fuss-free method of cooking salmon in the Instant Pot, whether you’re using fresh or frozen, skin on or off. This simple recipe yields tender and flaky salmon, paired with a flavorful chili-lime sauce. Great seafood dinner option for keto, low carb, and paleo diets.
flaky tender salmon on a plate

Instant Pot Salmon Recipe

4.9 from 14 votes
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Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 3 mins
Pressurize: 5 mins
Yield: 2 servings

INGREDIENTS

Salmon:

  • 2 (5- to 7-ounce) salmon fillets (Notes 1-3)
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/4 teaspoon table salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • optional nonstick oil spray

Chili Lime Sauce:

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon sriracha
  • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro (Note 4)
  • 2 teaspoons hot water
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Make Sauce: Stir all sauce ingredients together with spoon in small bowl until well-mixed. Set aside at room temperature to let flavors develop while you prepare salmon.
  • Prepare Salmon: Pour water into pressure cooker pot and place steam rack within (Note 5). Optionally, spray rack with nonstick oil spray (Note 6). Place salmon fillets side-by-side on top of rack; if skin-on, place them skin side facing down. Evenly season tops of fillets with salt and pepper.
  • Cook Salmon (Note 7): Secure and seal lid to pressure cooker. Select steam mode at high pressure. For fresh salmon, set cooking time to 3 minutes. For frozen salmon, set cooking time to 8 minutes. After pressure cooking (as soon as timer beeps), perform quick pressure release to avoid overcooking fish.
  • Serve (Note 8): Uncover pot, and use spatula and/or tongs to carefully transfer salmon to serving plates. Give chili lime sauce a quick stir, and spoon over salmon fillets. Serve immediately.

NUTRITION

Makes 2 Servings
Amount Per Serving (1 fillet with sauce):
Calories 310  
Total Fat 18g 28%
   Saturated Fat 4g 22%
Cholesterol 78mg 26%
Sodium 490mg 21%
Net Carb 2.5g  
Total Carb 3g 1%
   Dietary Fiber 0.5g 1%
   Sugars 1.5g  
Protein 28g  
Vitamin A 6% · Vitamin C 9% · Calcium 1% · Iron 4%

PHOTOS

flaky tender salmon on a plate
raw fresh salmon fillets on a cutting board
salmon fillets in instant pot trivet
spooning chili lime sauce over cooked salmon

NOTES & TIPS

(1) Fresh Or Frozen Salmon. Either works. I personally prefer salmon cooked from fresh rather than from frozen; it yields a better texture and tenderness. If you have the time, I recommend defrosting your frozen salmon overnight in the refrigerator, rather than cooking directly from frozen.
(2) Salmon Cut & Thickness. Select salmon cut from the center rather than from the tail. This is important because you’ll have more evenly sized fillets, which will cook uniformly. Also, the pressure cooking time listed in the recipe is designed for center-cut fillets, which are about 1 inch thick in the thickest part, whereas the tail is much thinner. If you use a tail piece, you may have trouble fitting both fillets on the trivet without overlapping each other.
(3) Salmon Skin. You can use skin on or off. If yours has skin attached, keep it on because it will make it easier to transfer the cooked salmon from the Instant Pot onto serving plates; the skin helps hold the flaky salmon together. It will also make the salmon less likely to stick to the trivet. Don’t worry about removing the skin later — once cooked, the skin falls off effortlessly.
(4) Cilantro. Can be substituted with parsley.
(5) Pressure Cooker Equipment. I use a 6-quart Instant Pot. For the steam rack, I use the trivet that came with my Instant Pot, positioning it with handles resting on the sides of the pot.
(6) Nonstick Oil Spray. If you are using skin-off salmon, spray the trivet with a nonstick oil spray to help release the salmon after cooking. This is usually not necessary for skin-on salmon which releases easily.
(7) Pressure Cooking. Before cooking, remember to seal the pressure cooker by turning the pressure knob from “venting” to “sealing.” After cooking, to perform a quick pressure release, turn the knob back to “venting” and wait for the pressure pin to drop before uncovering. If you scale the ingredients up or down to accommodate a different number of servings, the pressure cooking time remains the same.
(8) Serving. Handle cooked salmon carefully because it’s soft and flaky, and may fall apart or stick to the trivet if you’re not careful. Serve promptly because salmon will cool down quickly. You can serve with side dishes like oven roasted vegetables or creamed spinach.

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Filed Under: Instant Pot, Low Carb, Mains: Seafood, Per Serving: Under 5g Net Carbs Tagged With: 0-30min, cilantro, cumin, featured, garlic, gluten free, instant pot, lime, more10ingredients, paleo, paprika, salmon, sriracha, whole30

About Julia

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Julia is a recipe developer and the founder of Savory Tooth. Since 2015, she has been sharing simple recipes for tasty dishes, mostly low carb and gluten free. Learn more.

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newest oldest most voted
Katjess

I made this tonight for my fiancé. It was so good. We were both blown away at how buttery the salmon tasted. And the sauce was so delicious. An absolute winner. We paired it with rice and spinach. It was perfect! Thank you so much!

Vote Up5Vote Down  Reply
3 years ago
Cindy

I made this with salmon – skin on, weighing just over 1lb in the Instant Pot at high for 3 mins, but had to cook for 2 more mins til done at 145 degrees. I was out of fresh garlic so used garlic powder 3/4 teaspoon instead. It came out delicious!

Moist and broke apart easily with fork. The sauce is so tasty especially with cilantro. I was so impressed, I dropped off a small plate to my neighbor friend and she texted me: “Delicious! You are chef extraordinaire!” Lol…I must say it is the only thing I’ve ever made that tasted restaurant quality. Love my Instant Pot and thank you for the great recipe!

~Cindy

Vote Up2Vote Down  Reply
2 years ago
Kristin

We tried the recipe last night and I really enjoyed the chili lime sauce. The salmon, on the other hand, turned out soggy and without much flavor. I did use a salmon fillet with skin left on – placed on trivet. I usually cook salmon in a stainless pan, skin side down. I do prefer this method because the texture and rich flavors remain. I feel like the IP zaps the flavor and texture. Maybe this method of cooking salmon should be used by those who rarely eat fish and cook it less often. Cooking salmon and other fish properly can be tricky and does take some trial and error. Thanks for sharing your recipe with us.

Vote Up1Vote Down  Reply
4 years ago
Julia

I also find that pan-seared salmon is more flavorful. The Instant Pot produces steamed food, which is usually not as flavorful as pan-seared food. I see it as a tradeoff between convenience and taste.

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
4 years ago
Lisa

This was absolutely delicious, thank you for such a great recipe! The Chile lime sauce was so good my husband asked me to triple it next time!! One tweak I made was that after taking the salmon out of the instant pot, I poured the chile lime sauce over it and then put them under the broiler for a few minutes. Yummy! Also, I used two frozen salmon fillets from Costco and steamed for 5 minutes and then left in the pot five minutes (because I forgot to QR) and they were perfect!

Vote Up1Vote Down  Reply
4 years ago
Lynn

Would love to make this, but in the ingredients for the sauce the second item and last two items have amount to use but the ingredient is now missing.
Thanks for your help!

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1 year ago
Julia

Do you have an ad blocker turned on? Those ingredients have Amazon links attached, and it’s possible that you have a browser extension that is blocking them from your view. You’ll need to temporarily disable them and refresh the page.

Vote Up1Vote Down  Reply
1 year ago
Stephanie Riggle

Can you make this recipe with any fish other than salmon? This recipe looks amazing but I am currently on the blood type elimination diet and am not allowed to have salmon. Wondering if the chilli sauce would pair well with anything else??

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1 year ago
Julia

I think the chili sauce would be a bit too strong if paired with something other than salmon. White fish is generally pretty plain in flavor, although if you use a fattier white fish like sea bass then the flavors might work together better.

Vote Up1Vote Down  Reply
1 year ago
Stephanie at Think Travel Eat

We really enjoyed this easy recipe. This is the first time I’ve used my Instant Pot steam function, and it worked without a hitch. For the sauce, I didn’t have any sriracha handy. So, I subbed with a lesser amount of sambal oelek. I also used dried cilantro. Still super delicious–even with these substitutes! It’s a keeper!

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
2 years ago
Nathz

We made this with the 3 minute method. Wish the recipe stated the thickness of the filet matters. Does say in the notes but that’s at the bottom and we didn’t see them. So our filets were still raw on the inside we had to microwave them to be done… trial and error. Great recipe otherwise.

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
2 years ago
Daniel Carman

Nathz that’s why they tell you to read the complete recipe before you start cooking the recipe.

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2 years ago
Jen

Just tried making this and I had a bit of confusion. I am an Instant Pot newbie. I have the Instant Pot Evo Plus and the Steam mode does not have the option for a “high pressure” setting. I got an error that said “PR SE” with beeping so I switched to “vent.” Are we supposed to select “Pressure” or “Steam” when cooking the fish. Sadly mine was overcooked, but live and learn!

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
2 years ago
Julia

I select “steam” on my Instant Pot, but selecting “pressure” should also work. I believe “PR SE” is displayed when there’s excess pressure — I’m not sure why you would get that error without knowing more information about what you did. If you give this another try using the “pressure” button, I’d love to hear how it works out for you.

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2 years ago
Linda

Just made this last night and even my 11 year old loved it and asked for seconds. Easy and incredible flavor!

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3 years ago
Mark

Made this for lunch on Sunday, ridiculously good! This will be a regular on our menu!

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3 years ago
Flora Conley

I just bought the 3 quart mini Instant Pot. Do I use the full cup of water, or should I decrease the amount of water in this recipe?

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
3 years ago
Julia

I haven’t tested this recipe with a 3 quart IP, but I would use the same amount of water.

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3 years ago
Elisha

The sauce is amazing! The whole family loved it.

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3 years ago
Simone Howard

I chose this to be my first ever pressure cooker recipe and was not disappointed. The salmon was flaky yet juicy and the zesty sauce was a perfect partner.

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3 years ago
Sheri

Really, really good! I made this from frozen salmon filets and they were done in 7 minutes.

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
3 years ago
Sue

I accidentally just used the manual setting instead of the steam setting but it still came out perfect! So flaky and tender!!

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
4 years ago
Sanja

This looks so delicious! If I use a slab of salmon instead of fillet, would it still work? Would the cooking time change?

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4 years ago
Julia

If you don’t use a fillet, or if you use a different amount than the weight listed in the recipe, then the cooking time will change. If you have a larger piece of salmon, you can cut it into small fillets, or add a few minutes to the cooking time.

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4 years ago
Rebecca

Made this last night and while I am not a fish eater myself, this morning my husband is STILL talking about how good it was! I use my IP all the time but rarely for fish so very happy to have this recipe – thanks!

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4 years ago
David

Fast, easy meal that tastes great. Had a friend over for dinner and she raved about the dish. Thanks!

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
4 years ago
Heather

Hi! If I am making twice the amount of fish … should I use twice the amount of water? Thanks!

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
5 years ago
Julia

Keep the amount of water the same and also keep the pressure cooking time the same. Don’t crowd the fish in the pot. Make sure that each fillet is the same size — see recipe for the weight of each fillet.

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
5 years ago
François

Really good! The Chili-Lime sauce is pretty amazing. Thanks for sharing.

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5 years ago
Rainbow

First thing I prepared in my brand new instant pot! So fast and easy and tasty.

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
5 years ago
Olga Spector

It was very delicious, thanks.

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
5 years ago

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