Garlic Butter Baked Salmon (Printable version)
Tender salmon fillets baked in rich garlic butter sauce with fresh lemon and parsley
# What you need:
→ Fish
01 - 4 salmon fillets (about 6 oz each), skin-on or skinless
→ Garlic Butter Sauce
02 - 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
03 - 3 garlic cloves, minced
04 - 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
05 - 1 teaspoon lemon zest
06 - 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
07 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
08 - 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
→ Garnish (optional)
09 - Lemon slices
10 - Extra chopped parsley
# How to make it:
01 - Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease it.
02 - Arrange salmon fillets, skin-side down, on the prepared baking sheet.
03 - In a small bowl, mix melted butter, minced garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, parsley, salt, and pepper until well combined.
04 - Spoon garlic butter mixture evenly over each salmon fillet.
05 - Bake for 12-15 minutes until salmon is opaque and flakes easily with a fork (internal temperature reaches 145°F).
06 - Remove from oven, garnish with lemon slices and extra parsley if desired. Serve immediately with preferred sides.
# Expert tips:
01 -
- The garlic butter sauce creates this incredible caramelized edges situation that makes restaurant quality seem totally achievable at home
- Its practically foolproof even if you have zero confidence cooking fish, the salmon comes out tender and never dry
02 -
- Watch the salmon closely during those last few minutes of baking because overcooked salmon goes from tender to dry incredibly fast
- The residual heat keeps cooking the fish even after it leaves the oven, so pulling it out when it is slightly underdone is actually the smart move
03 -
- Pat your salmon fillets completely dry with paper towels before adding the butter sauce, which helps the sauce cling better and promotes more even cooking
- Room temperature salmon cooks more evenly than cold straight from the fridge, so let it sit out for about fifteen minutes before you start cooking