Coconut Orange Poached Salmon
This coconut poached salmon tastes incredible and will melt in your mouth. Fillets of salmon are gently poached in a creamy and flavorful Thai-inspired orange coconut sauce. It's easy to make and it's ready in just 22 minutes!
If you like salmon cooked in creamy coconut milk, you'll love our cashew coconut salmon curry!

Table of contents
There are endless ways to prepare salmon, but this salmon poached in coconut milk tops our list. It's easy to make, creamy, and flavorful. The fish is so tender it will melt in your mouth. If this is your first time poaching fish, you're in for a treat!
To make it, we start by simmering a poaching liquid made from coconut milk, orange (slices, zest, and juice), soy sauce, ginger, garlic, fish sauce, and lime juice. Then we add the salmon fillets and very gently simmer them at a low temperature until they turn opaque.
We love to serve this coconut poached salmon over a bed of jasmine rice with a generous amount of sauce. It's a low-fuss weeknight meal that feels fancy enough that you could make it for date night.

Coconut poached salmon ingredients
With a few simple ingredients, you can make this flavorful coconut poached salmon at home. Here's everything you need to make it:
- Oranges – in most places you can find oranges year-round, but we love to make this recipe in the winter when citrus is abundant. We use two large navel oranges.
- Coconut milk – this will be the base for the creamy poaching liquid.
- Soy sauce – for seasoning and a bit of saltiness. You can also use coconut aminos (a soy sauce alternative), or gluten-free soy sauce.
- Ginger + garlic – ginger and garlic add lots of flavor and a bit of kick.
- Fish sauce – fish sauce amplifies the savory flavor and adds depth to the broth.
- Lime juice – for a bit of acidity which brings brightness and balances out the creaminess.
- Salmon fillets – we use steelhead salmon (sometimes called steelhead trout) in this recipe. If you can find it, it's a wonderfully fatty fish that won't dry out, but any type of salmon will work for this recipe.
- Orange slices, cilantro, and chili flakes – for garnish.
How to make coconut poached salmon
Making poached salmon in coconut milk is a wonderfully gentle way of preparing fish, and it's surprisingly easy to do! Here's how we make it in a few simple steps:
- Slice one orange into rounds, and zest and juice the other. Place the oranges slices, zest, and juice in a pan with the coconut milk, soy sauce, ginger, fish sauce, garlic, and lime juice. Bring it to a boil, then lower it to a simmer.
- Add the salmon fillets and gently simmer until the salmon is opaque.
- Serve the salmon on a bed of rice with orange slices, cilantro, and a sprinkle of chili flakes.
Full recipe instructions are in the recipe card below.

Tips for making the best poached salmon
Poaching salmon in coconut milk is simple, but there are a couple of tricks to making sure it stays tender. Here are two things to keep in mind:
- Use steelhead salmon (sometimes called steelhead trout). It's naturally a fattier fish which means it's more tender and less likely to dry out.
- Think low and slow! Simmer the fish at a very low temperature. You want the poaching liquid to barely be simmering. If there are several bubbles at one time, it's probably too high.
- If you want to learn more about poaching fish, read our guide Perfect Poached Fish for even more tips and tricks.
FAQS
Store leftovers with any remaining sauce in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat it on the stove at a low temperature, adding a splash of coconut milk or water to thin the sauce if needed.
We've only made this recipe with salmon, but you could certainly try it with any other firm flesh fish like cod, halibut, grouper, or rockfish.
What to serve with poached salmon
Turn this orange poached salmon into a deliciously simple meal with some rice, or try cauliflower rice for a low-carb alternative. It also goes well with most vegetable sides like roasted broccoli, sautéed green beans, or sautéed bok choy.

Popular salmon recipes

Coconut Orange Poached Salmon
If you love this recipe as much as we do, let us know with a 5-star rating!
Ingredients
- 2 large oranges, divided
- 1 cup canned coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce, gluten-free if needed
- 2 tablespoons finely minced ginger
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- Juice of ½ lime
- 4 fillets salmon
- Orange slices, cilantro, and chili flakes, to serve
Instructions
- Slice one orange. Zest and juice the other orange and place both in a large skillet. Add the coconut milk, coco aminos, ginger, fish sauce, garlic, and lime juice to the skillet. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer for 5 minutes.1 cup canned coconut milk, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons finely minced ginger, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 3 cloves garlic, Juice of ½ lime, 2 large oranges
- Reduce the heat to low and add the salmon. Simmer very gently (see notes) for about 6-7 minutes, or until the salmon is opaque. At the first hint of white forming on top of the salmon, remove it from the heat.4 fillets salmon
- Serve the orange coconut poached salmon with some orange slices, cilantro, and if you'd like some heat, some chili flakes.Orange slices, cilantro, and chili flakes
I love salmon! This was a new way to prepare it and it was sooo delicious. Thank you for this recipe!
Really delicious, loved the citrus and coconut combination which really compliments the salmon. I think it was quite rich with salmon (not that it takes away from the deliciousness of the dish) so I might make it with white fish one time to experiment.
Love the flavors of this! Definitely a way to spice up the same old boring fish!
So easy and delicious. Moist, full of flavor without being overwhelming.my husband does not like lemon on fish, this was beautifully mild. My lime went bad so I squeezed a touch of lemongrass, and instead of zesting used orange extract. Will definitely be using this again. Thanks
Great recipe! So easy and super flavorful. My family loved the salmon this way, and I’ll be making the recipe again.
We never would have thought of this amazing combo of orange and coconut! Loved it!
I would love to try this recipe as salmon is my favourite meal!
When poaching salmon does it matter if it has skin on it or not?
I would suggest removing the skin first. It won’t be very nice to eat when poached and really hard to remove (unlike baked salmon). If you have a sharp knife, it’s pretty easy to do. We’ve got a pictures showing exactly what to do in this post: https://www.theendlessmeal.com/lemony-salmon-burgers/
My husband does not like salmon, can I use Basa or cod instead.
I think cod would work well!
just made this tonight for mother’s day. it was amazing. everyone LOVED it. THANK YOU! will definitely be making this again.
I’m so happy to hear it was a hit!
I am new to Whole30 and cooking with coconut milk. This may be a silly question…but…For this recipe, do you only use the liquid in the coconut can and not the harder “milk” on top?
Not silly at all! For this recipe, you want to use the entire can of milk. Pour the whole can in, or scoop it out if it is too hard. It will turn to liquid once it warms. 🙂
I have salmon steaks in the freezer and need to cook them up…could I do the steaks instead of the fillets? Would you adjust the cooking/poaching time? I’ve never poached fish before but would love to try this recipe!
You absolutely can! Make sure they’re thawed first. Depending on how thick they are, they’ll need to be cooked a little longer. As soon as they flake easily, they’re done cooking. 🙂
I have several vacuum sealed, frozen salmon fillets. Do you think it is safe to thaw in refrigerator for a day or two prior to making a dish that calls for fresh?
Absolutely it’s safe! If you take them out of your freezer in the morning and put them in your fridge they will be thawed and ready to use by dinner. 🙂
I tried this a couple of nights ago and it was a hit! I didn’t have fish sauce so just left it out. It was delicious anyway, and my whole family loved it. Thanks for an easy, healthy, delicious salmon recipe.
I’m so happy you like the recipe! It really is my fav way to cook salmon. 🙂
my mouth is watering. I’ve been buying ALL the salmon, and am constantly on the hunt for new ways to prepare. i’ll definitely be giving this a try.
Salmon is so good, isn’t it? This is my fav way to make it. I hope you enjoy it, too!
Okay so I’m in day 15 of Whole30 (halfway mark, YAY!) so I totally feel you right now! But wow this salmon recipe though, Whole30 complaint and totally drool-worthy! Need dis in my life!
Welcome to the club! I’m starting to count down the days now lol. I’m sharing a few everyday Whole30 recipes over on Instagram, too. If you make something you’d love to share, tag #Whole30groupies. I love the inspiration!