Salmon with Sweet Cherry BBQ Sauce

Our showstopping Salmon with Sweet Cherry BBQ Sauce makes the most of the summer season with a jammy homemade barbeque sauce featuring the garnet-colored fruit.

All you need to do is simmer a couple cups of washed, pitted sweet cherries and in a saucepan with some molasses, apple cider vinegar, and a pinch of sea salt. Once a jam-like texture is achieved, add some tomato sauce and just a kick of cayenne pepper. Let the flavors cook together a bit longer then blend the sauce up with an immersion blender.

Once this tasty homemade barbeque sauce is finished, just smear it over the salmon and bake. If you’d like, garnish the fish with some extra halved cherries and a sprinkling of green herbs.

This sauce would be great on grilled chicken breasts, shrimp, brisket, or pork too!

Why You’ll Love This BBQ Salmon

This homemade barbeque sauce is so much more delicious than the store-bought stuff!
A great way to highlight the sweet-tart flavor of cherries – especially when they’re in season.
Delicious cherry barbecue sauce is great on lots of other grilled or roasted fish and meat.

BBQ Salmon Recipe Ingredients

Here’s how this easy salmon recipe comes together. Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and swaps) below.

Ingredients for salmon with sweet cherry bbq sauce sit in a variety of bowls and plates on a light grey surface.

For the barbeque sauce:

Cherries – 2 cups of fresh pitted cherries are the star of this homemade barbeque sauce
Molasses – you’ll need 2 tablespoons of molasses
Vinegar – we call for 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
Salt – 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt seasons this sauce
Tomato sauce – you’ll use 8 ounces of your favorite tomato sauce
Cayenne pepper – 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper adds just the right amount of heat!

For the salmon:

Salmon – we call for a large salmon filet that’s been deboned
Cherries – you’ll use an additional cup of pitted cherries to top the fish
Salt – 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt seasons the fish
Black pepper – a few grinds of fresh black pepper add subtle heat
Parsley – garnish the fish with a sprinkle of chopped fresh parsley

A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

Recipe Variations and Modifications

Here’s how to make this recipe your own:

Fruit – Fresh, in-season cherries are a delicious pairing with salmon. But you could play around with substituting other fruits like blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, or figs.
Protein – This homemade BBQ sauce recipe is also great on grilled or roasted chicken, shrimp, brisket, or pork

How to Make BBQ Salmon

Follow along to see how this easy recipe comes together!

Molasses is poured over pitted cherries in a stainless steel saucepan on a light grey surface.

Tomato sauce is poured over cooked pitted cherries in a stainless steel saucepan on a light grey surface.

Step 1: Place the cherries, molasses, vinegar, and salt together in a small sauce pan. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes on low, or until the cherries have popped or softened in texture.

Step 2: Add the tomato sauce and simmer for an additional 10 minutes.

An immersion blender makes a cherry sauce in a stainless steel saucepan on a light grey surface.

Cayenne pepper is tossed into a cherry sauce in a stainless steel saucepan on a light grey surface.

Step 3: Using an immersion blender (or by pouring the sauce in a regular blender), blend the sauce until you reach a desired consistency.

Step 4: Season with the cayenne pepper.

Cherry sauce is spooned over salmon sitting on a lined rimmed baking tray on a light grey surface.

Salmon coated in a cherry sauce sits on a lined rimmed baking tray on a light grey surface.

Step 5:

Season the salmon with the sea salt and pepper, then place on the baking sheet.

Spoon about half of the BBQ sauce over the salmon.

Step 6: Bake at 350 F for 14 – 16 minutes. Garnish with the fresh cherries and parsley.

Recipe Tips

Choose your cooking method – Cherries are in season at the height of summer – AKA grilling season. So if you’d rather not heat up your kitchen by turning the oven on, you can opt to grill the salmon until it reaches 145 degrees instead.
Sauce consistency – you’ll know your homemade BBQ sauce is cooked perfectly when it reaches a jammy texture that coats the back of a spoon.

How to Serve

Serve the salmon while it’s warm, topped with the sauce and garnished with parsley and extra cherries.

How to Store and Reheat

Store any leftover fish in an airtight container. Reheat in the oven until just heated through.

Extra BBQ sauce will keep stored in your refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are cherries healthy?

Sweet cherries are rich in anthocyanin, an important flavonoid that has been known to have a pain-relieving impact on the body similar to that of ibuprofen (minus the gut-damaging effects of an NSAID). In the rich cherry flesh, you can also find the antioxidant ellagic acid. Ellagic acid has been observed to slow the growth of cancer cells.

Additionally, for fruit with this amount of natural sweet flavor, cherries actually rank pretty low on the glycemic index (meaning that the sugars release slowly). If you have a hankering for a sweet treat, but want to avoid a big sugar spike, fresh cherries are a great option.

What’s the best way to store cherries?

Sweet cherry season is relatively short in the US, peaking in July and August. If you have more fresh cherries at home than you can enjoy right away, here are 3 ideas for preserving them:

FREEZE: this is the easiest method. Just wash, pit, and slice cherries in half. Then, spread them out on a plate or sheet pan so that they can freeze solid. From here, transfer to a large bag. Freezing them on a tray first helps keep the frozen fruit from sticking together. You can use these cherries for everything from smoothies to savory dishes (like today’s BBQ sauce), and fruit salads or green salads.

DEHYDRATE: simply wash, pit, and slice those cherries in half. Then, spread them out on your dehydrator trays so that you can enjoy the dried cherries for months to come. Then toss them in trail mix, cookies, or a cherry-studded coffee cake.

CAN: Simply wash and pit the cherries, then cook them down with a little lemon juice, a pinch of sea salt, and just a touch of honey. The resulting “jam” is incredibly delicious, and super versatile! Try it on morning gluten-free toast, in pies, or slathered over baked brie for an unforgettable party appetizer.

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