Name: Garlic Butter Baked Salmon
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened); 2 garlic cloves (minced); 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning; 1/2 teaspoon salt; ground black pepper (to taste); 1 1/2 pound salmon fillet (I use skin on); 1 lemon (sliced, for serving); fresh parsley (chopped, for serving)

black cast iron skillet with a piece of salmon

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Yield: servings

Ready In: 30 mins

Baking fish is one of my favorite ways to prepare it (so easy and so foolproof!). Here I'm using a whole piece of salmon fillet with the skin on and bake it in garlic butter for a juicy and succulent outcome. My husband taught me from his days as a chef to always brown the salmon skin-side down first for the best outcome.

If you only have skinless salmon fillets, this recipe still works well. Just place them in the hot garlic butter in the skillet and bake for 10-15 minutes – they tend to stick more to the skillet though, so make sure you use the same amount of butter as you would with one entire piece.

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Recommended Equipment:

Oven-Safe Skillet

Ingredients

4 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened)
2 garlic cloves (minced)
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
ground black pepper (to taste)
1 1/2 pound salmon fillet (I use skin on)
1 lemon (sliced, for serving)
fresh parsley (chopped, for serving)

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 20 mins

Ready In: 30 mins

Instructions

Prep: Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, combine butter, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
Brown fish: In a large oven-safe skillet, melt about half the butter mixture. Add fish, skin side down and brown over high heat for 3-4 minutes.
Bake: Place skillet in the hot oven and bake until fish is cooked through, 15-20 minutes.
Finish: Remove pan from oven (careful, hot!) and melt remaining butter on top of the salmon. Serve with the sauce, lemon slices and chopped parsley.

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Nora’s Tips

Ingredient Notes:

Salmon: I always use a whole piece of skin-on salmon. I like ti because it’s much harder to overcook vs single fillets. Feel free to use 4 cut fillets though, and bake them for 10-15 minutes instead.

Garlic: If you don’t have fresh garlic, you can use 1/2 – 1 teaspoon dried garlic powder (depending on how wild you are about garlic)

Italian seasoning: I love the flavor this adds, but feel free to leave it out or use a different dried herb (dill would be delicious – my kids don’t enjoy dill so I don’t use it very often).

Butter: Ghee/clarified butter works OK, too (for those of you who insist on putting yourselves through a Whole30 😉). You can also use browned butter. Coconut oil is a maybe here, it will add a much different taste vs the butter.

Cooking Tips:

Internal temperature: The safe minimum temperature for salmon (and seafood in general) as recommended by the USDA is 145°F. Make sure your fish reaches that temperature – I always test everything with a food thermometer (get one here on Amazon if you don’t have one, they’re not expensive and make cooking so much easier and safer!).

Nutrition

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Our favorite side dishes:

I enjoy this salmon with a side of my instant pot potatoes – they’re done so fast for a speedy dinner all around! We always add some vegetables, too, but which greatly depend on the season. Sometimes it’s just frozen peas, but sautéed green beans or a refreshing Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad go really well with this, too.