This garlic butter salmon is a quick and easy recipe that gets done in just 20 minutes, using just six ingredients. Flavored with aromatic garlic, butter, and dill this is perfect with potatoes, rice, side dish, or salad.
Tuna and salmon are family favorites. Whether it's raw in a poke bowl, sautéed in honey garlic salmon, or balsamic glaze. My kids will enjoy every last piece.
Table of Content
About this recipe
This recipe is quick and easy with almost everything you probably already have in your pantry.
And I like that the garlic and butter, while not much, do a great job of adding flavor. Today, I am using dill, which is another flavor that is just perfect with salmon. But, if you don't like dill go ahead and use parsley or cilantro.
My kids love to eat this with rice pilaf or turmeric rice with a side of roasted carrots or squash. And my personal favorite is a cherry tomato or avocado salad or cauliflower rice.
Ingredients and substitutes
- Salmon - Always make sure to buy your fish from a trusted shop. I recommend Alaskan or Pacific salmon. You want the flesh to be moist, shiny, and bright in color. And the skin will usually be silvery bright. It should not have a fish smell. A fishy smell is a good indication that it has been sitting out for a long time.
Also, leave the skin on when you pan sear it like this, as the skin prevents it from falling apart. - Butter - Adds a nice buttery flavor as well as a wonderfully nutty flavor when browned. Therefore, I highly recommend you add the butter.
- Garlic - Adds a wonderful flavor. And yet, a little bit goes a long way. So, don't put too much.
- Dill - Is a great combination with salmon but you can also use parsley or cilantro.
Step by step instructions
- In a skillet, add the oil, and place the salmon skin-side down. Season with salt and pepper.
- Cook for 3 minutes. Then, flip the salmon and cook for 3 minutes on the second side.
- Next, add the butter and garlic to one side of the pan and sauté for a minute until fragrant.
- Then, add the lemon juice, stock, and chopped fresh dill. Coat the salmon in the sauce and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more or until cooked through.
- Remove and serve immediately.
Tips for cooking salmon
- Ask the fishmonger/ butcher to clean the fish for you. Make sure he removes the pin bones. If not, use a pair of tweezers to remove them before you cook it. These small pin bones can be very unpleasant when swallowed.
- Keep the skin on as it prevents the salmon from falling apart during cooking.
- Score a few lines on the skin before cooking. This will prevent it from shrinking during cooking.
- Pat dry the fish well before you season it. The seasoning will stick better and the water won't create a big messy splatter as soon as it hits the oil.
- Heat the oil /butter in the pan well before you add the salmon or the skin will stick to the pan. I always prefer using a non-stick Frying pan for cooking fish
- Always start by cooking the fish skin side down. This will give you crispy skin, keeps the fish moist, and also prevent you from overcooking it when you flip it
- Use high heat at the beginning when cooking the skin. This will give crispy skin and prevent it from sticking. But, lower the heat a minute later so the fish does not dry out.
- Use a flexible spatula to hold the fish down when you just add it to the pan. This will prevent the skin from shrinking too much
- Do not make haste to flip the fish fillet as it will cause the skin to separate from the skin.
- The fish will take a lot less time to cook on the other side. This is before most of the cooking happens when it is on the skin side down.
- The recommended temperature for cooking salmon is about 145° F/ 62°C.
- Note that the salmon will continue to cook even after it has been taken out of the pan
Frequently asked questions
This cooked garlic butter salmon will keep in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. You can reheat it in the microwave at 30-second intervals until warm for serving again.
There are a few things you can do.
1. Soak the fish in milk for 20 minutes.
2. Give the fish a squeeze of lemon which can give a fish a lemon flavor. You can omit lemon in the recipe of course.
Personally, I prefer the fish method.
You can remove the salmon skin but you run the risk of it falling apart. The skin helps to keep the fish in place. So, even if you don't plan to eat the skin at least cook it with the skin on. To remove the skin, just peel it off or lift the fish off. It does peel off very easily.
It is recommended that salmon be fully cooked at an internal temperature of about 145 F (measure at the thickest part of the fish). Having said that, a good quality salmon can be eaten at medium-rare, which is what I do. Because I like to serve my salmon at 135 F.
What can you serve along with salmon?
You can even try a side of simple salad such as celery, carrots, cabbage, etc. or a side dish such as:
- Skinny Mashed Potatoes,
- Oven-Baked Potato Wedges or Potato Chips
- Garlic Parmesan Asparagus or sesame green beans
- Easy Swiss Chard Patties or spinach potato patties
- Roasted Lemon Dill Potatoes - or garlic roasted potatoes
You may also like
- Breadcrumb baked fish fillets
- Cilantro baked fish or cilantro fish cakes
- Tuna fish patties or tuna potato patties
- Moroccan fish in spicy tomato sauce
Recipe
Garlic Butter Salmon
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Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Oil
- 2 (340 g) Salmon fillets
- ¼ tsp Salt
- ¼ tsp Pepper
- 1 tbsp Butter
- 1 tbsp Lemon juice
- ¼ cup Stock chicken, fish
- 4 tbsp Dill Fresh, chopped finely
Instructions
- In a skillet add the oil, and place the salmon skin-side down. Season with salt and pepper.
- Cook for 3 minutes then flip the salmon and cook for 3 minutes on the second side.
- Add the butter and garlic to one side of the pan and saute a minute until fragrant
- Add the lemon juice, stock, and chopped fresh dill. Coat the salmon in the sauce and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more or until cooked through.
- Remove and serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
- Ask the fishmonger/ butcher to clean the fish for you. Make sure he removes the pin bones. If not, use a pair of tweezers to remove them before you cook it. These small pin bones can be very unpleasant when swallowed.
- Keep the skin on as it prevents the salmon from falling apart during cooking.
- Score a few lines on the skin before cooking. This will prevent it from shrinking during cooking.
- Pat dry the fish well before you season it. The seasoning will stick better and the water won't create a big messy splatter as soon as it hits the oil.
- Heat the oil /butter in the pan well before you add the salmon or the skin will stick to the pan. I always prefer using a non-stick frying pan for cooking fish
- Always start by cooking the fish skin side down. This will give you crispy skin, keeps the fish moist, and also prevent you from overcooking it when you flip it
- Use high heat at the beginning when cooking the skin. This will prevent it from sticking. But, lower the heat a minute later so the fish does not dry out.
- Use a flexible spatula to hold the fish down when you just add it to the pan. This will prevent the skin from shrinking too much
- Do not make haste to flip the fish fillet as it will cause the skin to separate from the skin.
- The fish will take a lot less time to cook on the other side. This is before most of the cooking happens when it is on the skin side down.
- The recommended temperature for cooking salmon is about 145° F/ 62°C.
- Note that the salmon will continue to cook even after it has been taken out of the pan
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
Sue
You've paired my 3 favorite things in LIFE! Can't wait to try this out on the family tonight 🙂
Lauren Vavala
We eat a lot of salmon and this recipe is so easy and delicious. It's perfect for any night of the week and the whole family loves it!
Beth
My daughter and I are going to just love this recipe! Looks so yummy and full of flavor! I can't wait to give this a try!
Toni
This is so tasty!! It quickly became a favorite at my house!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Toni. I am so happy to hear that. It really is an easy recipe
Gina
We enjoy wild salmon at least once a week so I'm always on the hunt for new ways to prepare it, this one is so easy yet absolutely delicious!
Veena Azmanov
Thanks, Gina