Easiest Baked Salmon Recipe

Hey guys, today I’m going to show you how to make the easiest baked salmon recipe. This recipe really is foolproof. It takes less than 20 minutes to make and it gives you an incredibly moist, flaky, and flavorful salmon. This is hands-down the salmon recipe that I make most often in my house and it just makes for an easy healthy dinner recipe that you can serve with a variety of sides. For another comforting main dish, try this easy homemade baked ziti recipe. So let me show you how to make it.

On Pinterest I asked you if you wanted to see this salmon recipe with individual filets or one large half a salmon and individual filets one. So that’s what I’m using today. But just know that you can use this same recipe on one large piece of salmon as well.

Ingredients

• Salmon filets (individual or one large half a salmon)
• two tablespoons of butter
• half a tablespoon or so of lemon juice
• three garlic cloves
• salt
• cracked black pepper
• extra lemon slices
• about a teaspoon of parsley
• about a teaspoon of dill

Preparation and Cooking Instructions

Take the salmon out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature for about 15 minutes before cooking. For the same reason that we do this for chicken or steak, it just helps to ensure that the salmon will cook evenly. I always cook salmon with the skin on as it’s much easier to remove it after the salmon has cooked.

And today I’m using these gorgeous and thick King salmon filets. King salmon is known for being thick, super moist, and having a buttery smooth texture. And that’s because it has a higher fat content. It’s the most expensive variety of salmon and definitely a splurge, but it’s oh so good. Of course this recipe works just as great with coho and sockeye salmon. So just grab what’s in season, what’s in your budget, or what you have access to. And lastly for the individual filets, try to keep them about the same size so again they’re more apt to cook evenly in the oven.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and then get a baking dish or rimmed baking sheet out. I like to lay down parchment papers so that the salmon removes easily, but to be honest because we’re cooking the salmon at a gentle temperature it rarely sticks either way. Some recipes say to cook salmon at a high temperature like 425 degrees Fahrenheit, but I prefer 375 for extremely moist and succulent salmon that’s less likely to overcook and dry out. So place the filets in your baking dish and once that’s done set them aside.

Melt two tablespoons of butter and I just do this in the microwave for about 20 seconds. You want it melted but not hot and certainly not spattering or exploding in your microwave, so 10 to 20 seconds usually does the trick.

Then to that you’ll add half a tablespoon or so of lemon juice. I don’t usually measure this, I just squirt the juice from a quarter slice of a lemon straight into the bowl and catch any seeds in my hands. The measurement usually ends up close enough.

Stir the lemon butter mixture together and then brush it generously all over the salmon. And if you don’t have a brush you could just spoon it over the top as well.

Next, mince or finely chop three garlic cloves and then sprinkle them all over the top of the salmon. I suppose you could also stir this in with the butter mixture if you don’t want garlicky hands, but I’ve always just sprinkled it on top so that it’s evenly spread out. And if you are worried about garlicky hands there’s a few really simple tricks to removing that garlic smell. Like rubbing salt and baking soda between your hands, rubbing coffee grounds between them, or rubbing your hands on something stainless steel like a pot or utensil. Even rubbing your hands on a stainless steel sink works if you happen to have one.

But once your garlic is nicely dappled all over the salmon, sprinkle the top with salt and cracked black pepper. You can lay those extra lemon slices all around the salmon. I don’t have a lot of extra room today as my salmon pieces are so big, but once these lemon slices have baked, they’re soft and juicy and great for squirting on top of the salmon.

Baking and Finishing Touches

Bake the salmon for 12 to 15 minutes depending on the thickness of your salmon. And always, always set a timer so that you don’t accidentally forget about it because you don’t want it overcooked.

While the salmon is baking I’ll quickly chop up some fresh herbs. Now if you’re wondering why I didn’t add them to the salmon before going in the oven, it’s because fresh herbs can burn quickly. Parsley is a little bit more durable, but dill will singe pretty fast and then you’ll have burned dill bits on top and that’s not very tasty. So it’s best to just sprinkle the fresh herbs on top of the salmon when it comes out of the oven for the freshest flavor. And I’m chopping up about a teaspoon each of parsley and dill.

When the salmon comes out of the oven it should look juicy and moist and the color will be a soft orangey pink. You might also notice some white bits coming out of the salmon. Many people think that this is fat, but it’s not. It’s called albumin and it’s actually protein that sort of pushes out of the salmon as it’s heated up and cooks. Different varieties of salmon and different cooking methods will affect how much albumin you see, but a more gentle oven temperature like what we’re using today helps to reduce it and keep the salmon more moist. Long story short it’s totally normal and safe, but you can always scrape it off the sides before serving as well.

Now is the time to put the finishing touch on the baked salmon and sprinkle those fresh herbs. The simple combination of garlic, butter, lemon and herbs is a classic and it pairs so well with a variety of different sides. For another cozy and delicious side dish, consider making this easy creamy broccoli cheese soup recipe.

Today I’m serving it up with creamy mashed potatoes and green beans.

If you like this recipe, try also any of my chicken recipes…

You’ll know the salmon is perfectly cooked when it flakes easily with a fork and it’s still moist on the inside. King salmon is great because even if you slightly overcook it, it stays so darn juicy and tender. It really is full-proof. Oh, and don’t forget to squirt a little bit of lemon juice on top, which I almost forgot, and then dig into this healthy dinner. I hope you enjoyed this recipe and if you did, make sure to give it a thumbs up, share it with your family and friends, and I will see you again in the next post on crispybake’s kitchen.

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