When you want juicy, flaky salmon without a lot of babysitting, this method delivers. Foil Packet Salmon steams in its own juices while soaking up the buttery lemon flavor and seasoning. No grill marks, no sticking to grates. Just clean, consistent results every time.

Grilled Foil Packet Salmon

You can switch up the seasonings based on what you’re serving the salmon with. Cajun, garlic herb, lemon pepper, or plain salt and pepper all work really well. The fish stays moist, cooks evenly, and takes on the flavors around it without falling apart.

It’s fast enough for a weeknight but works well for a casual dinner party too. You can prep everything ahead and toss the foil packets on the grill when you’re ready.

If you end up with leftovers, then be sure to use it up quickly with a delicious salmon sandwich.

Choosing The Right Salmon Is Important

The most important part of ensuring you have a good end result is to make sure you start with a quality piece of fish. This doesn’t necessarily have to mean fresh salmon. You can actually find decent frozen cuts of salmon that will work too. The real key is to find WILD caught salmon and not farmed salmon. The difference in taste is HUGE.

If you do go with fresh, look for it to be shiny and oily looking. If there is a dullness to it or any discoloration, leave it at the store.

Knowing what type of salmon you are buying helps too.

Chinook (aka King) is fatty and is delicious for almost any dish you want to make.
Coho (aka Silver) salmon is smaller than Chinook/King salmon, but just as delicious. We eat a lot of Coho and King salmon in this house!
Sockeye is more flavorful but less fatty and works well too.
Chum is not great for anything other than cat food, don’t spend your money on it.

Why You’ll Love This Dish

Fool-Proof Method: Seals in flavor and moisture, and keeps the fish from drying out.
Quick And Easy: Just season, wrap, grill, and serve.
Customizable: Swap seasonings or add extras like garlic or herbs.
Minimal Cleanup: Everything cooks in foil, so cleanup is fast.
Works With Any Grill: Gas, pellet, charcoal, or even a campfire.

Hawaiian Salmon Poke

Recipe Shopping List

Wondering if you have to hit the store? Here’s the list of items you’ll need to make this recipe. For specific amounts, please refer to the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.

Salmon Filet: Cut into individual portions for even cooking and easier serving.
Lemon Slices: Adds brightness and cuts through the richness of the fish and butter.
Fin & Feather Seasoning: A savory blend perfect for fish and poultry. You can substitute lemon pepper, garlic herb, or your favorite seafood rub.
Butter: Adds richness and helps keep the fish juicy inside the foil.
Heavy-Duty Foil: Prevents tearing and holds up well on the grill. Non-stick foil or cooking spray helps keep cleanup even easier.

Spicy Salmon Rolls

How To Make This Recipe

This is just the overview so you can see what you’re actually getting into here. When you are cooking, you’ll want to use the full recipe at the bottom of the page.

Preheat The Grill – Set your grill to 350 to 375°F. Use indirect heat for even cooking without burning the bottom of the foil.
Prep The Foil Packets – Tear four large sheets of heavy-duty foil, each about three times the size of your salmon portions. Spray the center lightly with cooking spray or use non-stick foil to prevent sticking.
Assemble The Salmon Packs – Place a salmon portion in the center of each foil piece. Sprinkle with Fin & Feather seasoning, place a pat of butter on top, and add a lemon slice.
Seal The Foil – Fold the foil up and over the salmon. Pinch and fold the edges together tightly to seal the packets, keeping the steam and juices inside.
Grill And Serve – Place foil packets on the grill over indirect heat. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until the salmon reaches your desired internal temperature. For medium-rare, pull at 120°F. For medium to medium-well, go to 130°F. If you want it fully cooked and flaky, go to 145°F. Let rest for a few minutes before serving.

Salmon Nigiri Recipe

Recipe Tips

Don’t Overcook The Salmon – Even though you are cooking with steam, you still want to avoid overcooking the salmon. Medium rare is best for fresh salmon. Cooking it past that point just dries it out and makes the texture far less appetizing.

If you are cooking one inch thick bone-in fillets, then you can expect it to be done in 15 to 20 minutes at about 350 to 375°F. If you are doing a thin slice of the tail end, a half-inch or less thick, then it will be about half that.

Salmon cooks quickly. The one thing about foil tenting it – you can’t see or test easily for doneness. So you have to trust in time and temperature to do the job.

When it is getting close you CAN temp it through the foil, but that’ll poke a hole and let some of the steam escape.

Use The Liquid Inside The Packet – The melted butter, salmon fats, seasonings, and lemon that come out of these packets at the end of the cook time are liquid gold. If you are not eating these right out of the foil, then make sure to pour your lemon sauce over the fish.

All too often, people pour that out or forget about it. It is a ready made sauce that is perfect for you salmon. Plus it is great on a piece of bread or a scoop of rice too.

How To Make A Perfect Foil Packet – When cooking salmon in foil, you want a nice sealed foil tent. Use enough foil so you can make a nice solid seal, but leave plenty of space.

The salmon should not be wrapped tightly because you want to create a sealed “tent” around the salmon. All that room around the fish permits the steam to cook the salmon evenly.

So, make sure to use enough foil per piece. Lay the salmon in the middle, then lift the sides and bring them together over the piece of salmon. It will look like the salmon is safe and secure in a pup tent.

Roll the edge of the foil where they come together. You want that seal tight. The tighter the better. Keeping all the steam inside is a win.

Traeger Sheet Pan Salmon

FAQ

What kind of seasoning works well on foil packet salmon?

Salmon is great because it is so versatile. You can do a really simple salt & pepper with lemon slices, you can toss in some garlic-heavy seasoning with butter, you can even pour teriyaki sauce on it before you seal it up. There are very few wrong answers when it comes to seasoning salmon. For this, we used our OWYD Fish Rub.

Do I have to cook this on the grill?

Nope! Because this dish is wrapped in foil, it really isn’t going to have any additional flavor added from the grill. The benefit of cooking this outside is to not have to turn on your oven, to be able to cook when the power goes out (if you use a gas grill or charcoal), or on the go when you are camping.
That means, cooking it in an oven, or even a single-serving in something like an air fryer is totally acceptable. I’ve even heard of people doing these in the Instant Pot.

Spicy Salmon Crispy Rice

Eat More Salmon

Salmon is perfect for foil wrapping, but it goes works well in so many other ways too. Here are a few of my favorite salmon recipes, and for the complete list, check out the link below.

More Salmon Recipes!

Serve This With…

Yield: 4 servings

Grilled Salmon in Foil

Easy Grilled Salmon in Foil is a fool-proof way to have tender, perfectly-cooked salmon filets every time.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 large salmon filet (cut into four single-serving pieces)
4 slices lemon
1 tablespoon Fin & Feather seasoning (see notes for substitutions)
4 teaspoons butter

Instructions

Preheat your grill 350-375°.
Lay out 4 pieces of heavy-duty foil that are 3x's as wide and 3x's as long as your salmon. Lightly spray the inside of your foil with cooking spray, or use non-stick foil.
Place the salmon fillets in the middle of the foil packets and sprinkle with seasoning. Place a pat of butter on top and a lemon slice.
Fold the foil up and around the salmon, and seal down the middle and at the ends.
Place the packet on the grill over indirect heat. Grill for 15-20 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the salmon reaches 120° for medium-rare, or 130° for medium to medium-well. If you like your salmon fully cooked and flaky all the way through, you can go up to 145°. Just remember the fish will continue to cook while it rests, so pull it at about 5° under what you'd like it to end up at.

Foil Packet Salmon