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This Lemon Butter Baked Salmon recipe is an easy seafood main dish. It features fresh salmon filets coated in my homemade cajun seasoning. Then, I bake the salmon in the oven to perfection in my 10-minute lemon garlic butter sauce. Enjoy this with cauliflower rice pilaf, roasted air fryer broccoli, or air fryer squash to make a quick meal.
Why Make Baked Salmon
There are so many reasons to love this easy baked salmon recipe. Here are my top few:
- Easy Salmon Recipe: this easy recipe features just three simple ingredients, making it no-fuss. Plus, the garlicky lemon butter sauce adds so much flavor.
- Great for busy weeknights: Since this dish takes less than 30 minutes from prep to finish, it is perfect to make as a quick healthy dinner for busy weeknights or for meal plans for a few days.
- Salmon in Lemon Garlic Butter: you can make salmon in the oven in so many ways, but one of the easiest ways to get a light & fresh flavor is to bake it in my lemon garlic butter sauce. This will give you a delicious lemon garlic salmon dish that the whole family will enjoy. Be sure to squeeze a fresh slice of lemon over your salmon before eating!
Ingredients Needed
- Salmon Filets: I used center cut Atlantic Salmon and kept the skin on.
- Cajun seasoning: this easy homemade recipe (which includes black pepper and garlic powder) is my go-to way to add flavor to a variety of dishes, including my air fryer pork chops, cajun shrimp Alfredo and more!
- Lemon garlic butter sauce: this homemade recipe takes just one pot and less than 10 minutes. It works perfectly in this dish as well as my baked shrimp.
How to Make Baked Salmon
- Dry your salmon with a paper towel.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Add the salmon to a broiler safe dish like a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle the seasoning over the fish (including the top of the salmon and the entire side of salmon).
- Pour the lemon garlic butter sauce over the salmon.
- Bake uncovered for 10 minutes.
- Turn the broiler on “low” and broil the fish for 5 minutes to brown the top of the fish, allowing it to easily flake with a fork.
Top Tips & FAQs
- Broil for color: You can certainly cook your salmon through at 400 degrees for 15-18 minutes. However, since we eat with our eyes first, I broil the salmon on low for the last few minutes of baking to help the salmon brown a bit on the top.
- Swap the seasonings or adjust to taste: this recipe work wells with just about any seasoning. I’ve used lemon pepper, Old Bay or other seafood seasonings. Feel free to use a little before baking and add more to taste after the fish has cooked through. And if you want, you could also use a little Italian seasoning too.
- Check for bones: before cooking the fish be sure to run your hand across it gently to check for bones.
Lemon Butter Sauce Variations
- Get extra lemon flavor: If you’re a fan of lemon, add a little lemon zest to your dish before serving. Also, prepare a few lemon slices to squeeze fresh lemon juice on your salmon before eating.
- Add Capers: If you crave even more bursts of flavor in your sauce, add some capers (to your preference) to give you lemon caper butter sauce.
Adjust the Cook Time Depending on Salmon Used
I’m using a thick cut of Atlantic salmon.
So, if you’re cooking salmon variations like pink salmon, wild salmon or wild-caught salmon (coho salmon, chinook salmon, etc.), you’ll have to adjust the cooking time based on the thickness of your salmon.
For example, sockeye salmon cooks in less time because there isn’t a lot of fish meat.
How to Store Leftover Baked Lemon Butter Salmon
If you have leftovers of this baked garlic butter salmon recipe, the best way to store them is in an airtight container for next time (up to 5 days). You can also wrap them up tight in aluminum foil.
I personally bake my salmon at 400 degrees because it cooks the fish quickly and also helps it to get some color on the top.
I bake my salmon at 400 degrees, but you can also bake it at 350 degrees. The main difference is that you will need to adjust the cook time. Baking fish at 350 degrees will take longer.
Salmon takes about 15 minutes to cook in the oven.
Recipes to Enjoy This With
More Oven Baked Salmon Recipes
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Lemon Garlic Butter Baked Salmon
Use DRDAVINAHS at checkout to save on some equipment & ingredients!
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb Salmon, I used center cut Atlantic Salmon filets with the skin on
- 1 tsp Cajun seasoning, click for the recipe
- 1/2 lemon garlic butter sauce, click for the recipe, I used 1/2 the recipe and saved the other half for baked shrimp. You can also use a full recipe and use the extra sauce for topping vegetables, noodles, or another side dish.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Add the salmon to a broiler safe dish.
- Sprinkle the seasoning over the fish.
- Pour the lemon garlic butter sauce over the salmon.
- Bake uncovered for 10 minutes.
- Turn the broiler to “low” and broil the fish for 5 minutes to brown the top of the fish and allow the fish to easily flake with a fork.
Recipe Notes
- Broil for color: You can certainly cook your salmon through at 400 degrees for 15-18 minutes. However, since we eat with our eyes first, I broil the salmon on low for the last few minutes of baking to help the salmon brown a bit on the top.
- Swap the seasonings or adjust to taste: this recipe work wells with just about any seasoning. I’ve used lemon pepper, Old Bay or other seafood seasonings. Feel free to use a little before baking and add more to taste after the fish has cooked through.
- Check for bones: before cooking the fish be sure to run your hand across it gently to check for bones.
Nutrition Details
The nutrition facts come from entering the recipe ingredients into Spoonacular API, a database of food ingredients. They may vary for any recipe based on the exact product used. The keto sweeteners I use have 0g net carbs & are not included because sugar alcohols do not impact most people. This is provided as a courtesy, but you can do your own calculations if you wish!
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