How to Cook Crockpot Salmon

Easy Crockpot salmon is a great way to slow cook it to flaky perfection every time. Add potatoes or carrots or enjoy as is with lemon or teriyaki sauce. If you love our baked salmon with dry rub but don’t want to heat up your house with the oven this is great.

Easy Slow Cooker Salmon Recipe

If you have never thought about this idea, let me tell you how well fish slow cooked turns out! Longer than how long to cook salmon at 350, but it is a set it and forget it meal with a 10 minute prep time.

Instead I’ll use my larger version for this and make another crock full of slow cooker collard greens. BAM, oh yes I did. Best Southern duo ever. Super healthy and low and slow works great for both of these babies. I will share a few other duos we love to make together below too, but you get the idea right?

How Long to Cook Salmon in Slow Cooker

Of course the cook time always will vary just a bit depending on how large your pieces are, the size of your pot, and the thickness BUT 2 hours is usually just about right all the way around. You’ll want to cut your whole salmon fillet in half so it will fit. Maybe into thirds if it just won’t sit quite right.

Alternatively you can slice into individual servings from the get go so there is no slicing when it is time to serve this baby up. I like doing that personally if I think of it ahead of time.

Now the thing to remember with this method of how to cook sockeye salmon or wild caught is that it is going to be SUPER tender, without any crisp on the outside. Personally I love it either way but some days I have more of a preference of one way or the other.

Can you slow cook frozen salmon?

You can and the timing doesn’t change much, neither does the texture. Here we used fresh but discuss here how to cook frozen salmon in case you didn’t have time to defrost ahead of time.

Ingredients

• 1-2 lbs salmon fillet
• 2 lemons, sliced for flavor
• Chicken broth will allow it to steam with flavor
• Salt and pepper are basic seasonings

Variations

Now here we are using just a simple lemon and seasonings. You could use our salmon dry rub on top for bolder flavors too. If you like sweet, savory and WOW, go for that.

If you want to add a bit of heat to the top I would wait until the end to add and adjust that. Red pepper flakes could be sprinkled at the beginning but the heat will intensify it. We like adding some hot honey to make Hot Honey Salmon with a drizzle on top when done.

Slow Cooker Salmon Teriyaki

Talking about seasonings you could use a flavorful sauce over the top too if you would rather. I’d leave off the lemon in this case. Veri Veri is a great bottled brand we love, or this is how to make homemade teriyaki sauce with brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame seeds, garlic and ginger.

How to Cook Fish in a Slow Cooker

• Line slow cooker with parchment paper.
• Lay a few lemon slices on the bottom of the slow cooker with the salmon filets on top of those with the skin side down.
• Pour chicken or vegetable broth inside and then season the top with salt and pepper, garlic powder etc.
• Place additional lemon slices on top of the fillets if desired.
• Cover with the lid and cook on low for 2 hours or until the thickest part reaches the “doneness” you desire. It should be flaky and no longer translucent in the middle.
• Lift out with a slotted spoon and serve with diced green onions

Can you add vegetables?

If you did want to slow cook some veggies you could. They would have to cook at the same rate, in 2 hours on low so keep that in mind. You don’t want to cover the fish either so 1 cup is about the max. Zucchini dials would work, slow cooker baby carrots, or cauliflower florets.

Another option is to throw Salmon in Toaster Oven for just a few minutes to crisp the top just a tad. Printable recipe is below to follow and keep handy if you want to as well. These instructions and timing are for defrosted or fresh pieces.