Sheet Pan Balsamic Salmon with Cherry Tomatoes and Zucchini

Here’s the thing about sheet pan dinners: The best ones have a moment when I look at the pan and think: It’s much better than I expected. The whole point of this kind of meal is that the end result should feel greater than the sum of its parts – and that’s certainly the case with this extreme summery balsamic salmon.

Why does this balsamic salmon always work?

Here’s how it goes: You first roast the cherry tomatoes, zucchini, garlic and shallots – about 15 minutes at 400 degrees – until everything is soft and the tomatoes are beginning to burst and get jammy at the edges. Then you crank up the broiler, add the salmon straight to the vegetables, and finish cooking the entire pan over high heat. After a few minutes, brush the salmon with a quick mixture of balsamic vinegar and honey, let it caramelize under the broiler for a few more minutes, and that’s it. The glaze colors everything so it’s sweet-tart and a little sticky at the edges – and when you open the oven the smell will bring everyone to the kitchen, asking when dinner will be ready.

This is the one I keep In constant rotation, not only because it’s delicious, but also because Because it’s a quick dinner (30 minutes, which means I can make it at the end of a busy day without feeling stressed). Plus, I love that it’s all in one pan, and somehow it still feels like something you’d order dinner at a restaurant (with hardly any more clean-up, even if you made it all at home).

Vegetables That Make This Salmon Taste Like Summer

The vegetables are what create the heat and provide a lot of flavor to the dish. Regular or baby zucchini – if you can find them at the farmer’s market, grab them – they are halved lengthwise so the cut side caramelizes against the pan, and the cherry tomatoes burst and basically become their own little sauce pools around the salmon. Saute the garlic and onions until they are soft and sweet, almost jam-like, then glaze with lemon and fresh parsley.

2-Ingredient Balsamic Glaze

The glaze is made with just two ingredients: 3 parts balsamic and 1 part honey. Simply mix it up in a small bowl while the vegetables are on their first round in the oven. The resulting flavor is much more complex—the balsamic gives that punch of acidity, rounded out by the honey, and under the broiler, it thickens and becomes a glaze for the salmon.

How to Use Your Broiler (Without Overdoing It)

A broiler lesson I learned the hard way (too many times to count): It works fast. Three minutes before glazing, then two or three more minutes to finish. The heat coming directly from above caramelizes the glaze and gives you a golden-brown crust, and the salmon stays soft because it’s only at high heat for a few minutes total. You want the salmon to be fully cooked, yet still slightly translucent in the middle, if that’s your preference.

The final touch that brings everything together

When your balsamic salmon comes out of the oven, I highly recommend squeezing a few slices of roasted lemon over everything, then sprinkling fresh basil over it to amp up its richness. This makes the entire pan look incredibly gorgeous if you’re serving it family style on the table.

This is the kind of dinner I want to eat all summer long. It’s light enough to dine on the patio in the sun, and satisfying enough that no one will be rummaging through the pantry an hour later—a Mediterranean diet recipe that sounds delightful.

If you’re looking for an easy salmon recipe that holds its own in the weeknight rotation, this is the one. Find the full recipe below, and let me know in the comments if you try it!

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