Garlic Butter Salmon

With simple ingredients like lemon, garlic and Dijon mustard, this EASY Garlic Butter Salmon can be on the table in less than 30 minutes for the perfect weeknight dinner solution.

 

Why You’ll Love This Baked Garlic Butter Salmon

A flaky, moist and flavorful salmon recipe that’s easy to prepare- what’s not to love!

• Easy to prepare – Salmon in the oven is one of the easiest ways to prepare it- it is fork tender and not overcooked, which is the trouble with most home cooks and salmon dishes.
• Less dishes – Wrapping your salmon fillets in aluminum foil means less dishes for you. Instead of roasting, it holds in the moisture and essentially steams the fish, keeping is moist and flavorful.
• Full of flavor – Even though the ingredient list is fairly short and simple, this salmon is still packed with flavor.

Garlic Butter Sauce

Who can deny a nice garlic butter sauce? Not me… I love butter. I love garlic. And I also love mustard and lemon.

This sauce has a butter base spiked with lemon zest, lemon juice, fresh garlic and Dijon mustard. And of course, parsley, cause I like to add a little bit of green.

I highly recommend using fresh lemon juice and zest for this garlic butter salmon recipe- bottled stuff is good for some stuff, but fresh has so much more citrus flavor. Same with fresh garlic versus bottled garlic that tastes more sweet than garlicky.

I used a coarse Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Omit salt if you are using a salted butter. And if using a fine salt, cut the volume in half.

Farm Raised Vs Wild Caught Salmon

Farm raised salmon is raised in a container and controlled environment while wild caught is caught out on the open sea.

Some feel that sustainable, farm raised salmon is the more responsible approach to eating seafood since it isn’t depleting the natural population. Salmon consumption has increased significantly within the past two decades after the extreme health benefits were revealed.

Experts claim that the health benefits between farm raised and wild caught salmon are the same, however farm raised aren’t nearly as active, as they kept in smaller aquariums and don’t get as much daily exercise. Size, genetics and breeding practices vary from farm to farm.

Farm raised salmon with be rosy-orange, while wild caught fresh salmon is a deeper pink or red. Some feel the flavor of wild caught is better and more flavorful. For those who don’t care for fish as much or are new to salmon, farm raised might be a good gradual step to eating fish.

Wild caught tends to be a little more expensive and might look a little rougher. You can use either you prefer when making this garlic butter salmon.

Ingredients

All of these ingredients are pretty commonly found at your local grocery store.

• Butter – I always prefer to use unsalted butter when cooking so that I am able to completely control the salt content in the recipe.
• Garlic – Freshly minced garlic cloves are always preferred. They pack more of a flavor punch than the pre-minced jar of garlic.
• Flat parsley – Fresh parsley not only adds a pop of color to this salmon recipe, but also flavor. You can use more as a garnish too.
• Dijon mustard – Something like Dijon mustard adds the perfect acidity and tang to this salmon.
• Salt and pepper – I like to use a blend of coarse Kosher salt and freshly cracker black pepper.
• Lemon – You will be using both the lemon juice and lemon zest, so fresh lemon is definitely needed.
• Salmon fillet – Make sure your salmon filets have no skin, or just be sure to remove the skin after cooking.

How to Make Baked Salmon

The process is easy and can be done ahead of time all the way until you want to pop the salmon fillet in the oven.

1. Prepare oven and baking sheet. Preheat the oven and prepare a large piece of aluminum foil on a rimmed baking sheet. I still like using a rimmed sheet in case any of the juices escape. Gather your ingredients.
2. Make garlic butter. In a small bowl, mash together the butter, garlic, parsley, mustard, salt, pepper, lemon juice and zest. This works best using a fork or small potato masher.
3. Add butter to salmon. Slather, best you can, all over salmon. Don’t worry about it being even, after it melts it will evenly distribute.
4. Wrap in foil and bake. Wrap salmon tightly and bake. The cooking time depends on the thickness of your salmon and also your desired degree of doneness.
5. Allow to rest. Remove salmon and pull back aluminum foil, just like other meats, allow it to rest for 5 minutes before digging in!

White Stuff in Salmon

The white stuff is called albumin and is harmless. In fact, it is a protein that is also found in eggs (the whites) and milk. It separates from the other molecules when heat is added to the food. It has nothing to do with the baked salmon recipe you are using and everything to do with the actual piece of salmon.

Every piece of salmon will have a different amount of the white stuff, but you can reduce how much comes out if it really bothers you. Simply cook your salmon less aggressively at a lower temperature for a longer amount of time.

Temperature of Salmon

Salmon can technically be served raw, like in sushi or poke bowls, but you’d need to be really certain that is was properly handling and stored from catching to your kitchen. Sushi grade tuna is hard to come by.

But even the salmon you buy at the store doesn’t need to be cooked into dry oblivion. I prefer mine to be cooked to 120°F, but fully cooked would be 145°. At 120°F the fibers are just starting to pull part and retain a good amount of moisture.

If you don’t have an instant read thermometer, you can eyeball it when fibers start to easily flake with a fork.

What to Serve with Garlic Butter Salmon

Salmon pairs with nearly anything from pasta to rice and certainly veggies. I’ve served it over my famous garlic linguine and also almond rice pilaf. Air fryer zucchini, broccoli, a side salad and hearts of palm cakes are also great options.

And come on, bread is always a good option. Cheddar biscuits and the ultimate cheesy garlic bread are my favorites. Or potatoes- you can never go wrong with any type of potato.

Storage & Freezing

How to Store Garlic Butter Salmon

Garlic Butter Salmon is best enjoyed after being freshly prepared. It can be reheated in the microwave, but I recommend doing so within 2 days of cooking. Oven, microwave or even pan fried are all great ways to reheat.

Can I Freeze Garlic Salmon?

Most salmon, even “fresh” salmon has been previously frozen and should not be refrozen. Cooked salmon that is frozen tends to defrost dry and gummy. I highly recommend eating this one fresh.

More Salmon Recipes

Salmon is one of my favorite proteins to make. You can pair it with so many flavor and prepare it so many ways. Here are a few of our favorite salmon recipes.