This baked Garlic Butter Salmon is not only totally easy, but the depth of flavor and of this tender, juicy and delicious fish is amazing.
I love salmon and I’ve made it many different ways – seared and oven finished, grilled and finished with sauces. But I think for total and ease and richness, this Garlic Butter Salmon is the best salmon recipe that you can make for an easy weeknight dinner.
It packs a huge punch of flavor with butter, garlic, spices, lemon and herbs. The result is healthy, tender, juicy salmon fillets that easily bakes in 20 minutes.
Ingredients for Garlic Butter Salmon
- Salmon fillets: The Star of the Show
- Lemon: For tang
- Garlic: For health and richness
- Butter: For flavor and richness
- Salt: Just a touch
- Pepper: For spiciness
- Dill: Dill and salmon were made for each other
- Smoked paprika: For a touch of smokiness
How to Make Garlic Butter Salmon
Begin by preheating the oven to 375 degrees F
When I said this dish was easy, I wasn’t kidding. There really are only four steps in making this recipe.
First, spray a baking dish with olive oil spray and lay the salmon skin side down.
Next, in a small bowl mix freshly squeezed lemon juice, garlic, melted butter, salt, pepper, dill and smoked paprika. (To make this even easier I saved time and just added Ghee, clarified butter, which you can find at Trader Joe’s).
Then spoon the mixture evenly over the salmon fillets.
Finally bake it in the oven for 20 minutes.
Notes on the Ingredients
If you have fresh dill, you can certainly substitute the dried version I used, just add twice as much. My only problem with fresh dill is that it’s feathery leaves are so tender, that they begin to clump and won’t spread as easily as the dried version.
There are a lot of salmon varieties to choose from when you make this recipe. I’ve tried this recipe with wild-caught king, sockeye and coho salmon. And with Ora King Salmon. This farmed fish is actually raised at sea. You can find out more about it in my New Zealand Ora Salmon recipe post.
If you decide to use the fabulously rich Ora King Salmon, the fillets are a little thicker – normally an inch or more so increase your cooking time 4-5 minutes.
Garlic Butter Salmon
Ingredients
- 2 4 oz Salmon fillets
- 1/2 Large Lemon
- 2 Cloves Garlic Minced
- 1 Tbsp Butter Melted
- 1/2 Tsp Sea salt Prefer Himalayan Pink
- 1/4 Tsp Pepper
- 1/4 Tsp Dill dried
- 1/4 Tsp Smoked paprika
- 1/2 Tsp Parsley Minced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
- Spray baking dish with oil and lay salmon fillets skin side down.
- In a small bowl mix lemon juice, garlic, butter, salt, pepper, dill and smoked paprika.
- Spoon garlic butter mixture evenly over top of salmon.
- Add dish to oven and bake 18-20 minutes.
Nutrition
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