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.
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.
- 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 |
PHOTOS
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!
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
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.
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.
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!
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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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??
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.
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!
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.
Nathz that’s why they tell you to read the complete recipe before you start cooking the recipe.
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!
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.
Just made this last night and even my 11 year old loved it and asked for seconds. Easy and incredible flavor!
Made this for lunch on Sunday, ridiculously good! This will be a regular on our menu!
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?
I haven’t tested this recipe with a 3 quart IP, but I would use the same amount of water.
The sauce is amazing! The whole family loved it.
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.
Really, really good! I made this from frozen salmon filets and they were done in 7 minutes.
I accidentally just used the manual setting instead of the steam setting but it still came out perfect! So flaky and tender!!
This looks so delicious! If I use a slab of salmon instead of fillet, would it still work? Would the cooking time change?
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.
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!
Fast, easy meal that tastes great. Had a friend over for dinner and she raved about the dish. Thanks!
Hi! If I am making twice the amount of fish … should I use twice the amount of water? Thanks!
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.
Really good! The Chili-Lime sauce is pretty amazing. Thanks for sharing.
First thing I prepared in my brand new instant pot! So fast and easy and tasty.
It was very delicious, thanks.