Lemon Dill Salmon Recipe

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5 from 6 votes

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 15

Total Time 20

Yield 4 servings

Category Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine American

Description

This quick and easy Lemon Dill Salmon recipe is perfect for when you’ve got a fillet of salmon and no plan. Made with a handful of pantry ingredients and fresh dill, this dinner can be on the table in 20 minutes flat. It’s easy, flavorful, forgiving and totally versatile. Use this recipe as a basic formula to be riffed upon time and time again.

Ingredients

▢ 4 (6-ounce) skin-on salmon fillets (or one large 1 ¼ pound skin-on salmon fillet)
▢ ¼ cup olive oil mayonnaise
▢ 2 tablespoons fresh dill
▢ 2 tablespoons minced shallot
▢ 1 lemon
▢ Kosher salt and black pepper
▢ Toasted breadcrumbs, optional

Instructions

Heat oven to 350ºF (176ºC) with rack set in middle position.
Meanwhile, zest lemon then cut lemon into wedges. In a small bowl, combine ¼ cup mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons chopped dill, 2 tablespoons minced shallot, ½ teaspoon lemon zest, ½ teaspoon pepper, and ¼ teaspoon kosher salt.
Coat baking sheet with nonstick spray. Arrange salmon, skin-side down, on sheet; pat dry with paper towels. Season salmon with ½ teaspoon each kosher salt and pepper.
Spread mayonnaise mixture evenly over salmon fillet(s).
Roast salmon until it easily flakes with a fork and a thermometer inserted in the center registers 125ºF, 15–20 minutes. (Or 7–10 minutes for thin, wild-caught fillet.)
Top with toasted breadcrumbs, optional. Serve with lemon wedges.

Equipment

mixing bowl

sheet pan

Notes

This recipe is dairy-free.

Adequately preheat your oven before baking the salmon! Even if your oven says it’s preheated, it likely isn’t up to temperature yet. Give it an extra 5 minutes before adding your salmon and cooking.

Thickness of fillets and cook time: Thickness matters when it comes to bake time. Look for fillets that have a thickness of at least 1 inch. If you have thinner fillets, keep an eye on them as they cook. Every ½-inch of thickness equals 5 minutes baking time.

Individual fillets vs one large fillet of salmon: For this recipe you can go one of two ways—make 4 separate fillets of salmon or bake one large fillet. Either works well, though we tend to enjoy using individual, thick fillets. If you go the whole fillet route, we recommend using a farm-raised fillet of salmon since those tend to be thicker.

If you’re using wild-caught, the salmon will cook much faster, so keep an eye on it and start checking on it after about 7 minutes (it shouldn't take longer than 10 minutes).

When in doubt, start temping the salmon earlier than you think. The best way to gauge doneness is to get an accurate read of the internal temperature on your thermometer. You can also continue cooking, but you can’t take away cooking!

Ingredient substitutions: If you can’t have shallots or find them too strong, you can substitute the two tablespoons of minced shallot with an equal amount of minced scallions or chives.

Make this with a trio of fresh herbs for even more flavor. Use a tablespoon each of dill, parsley and basil. Tarragon and cilantro are also great options.

Avocado oil mayonnaise works just as well as regular or olive oil mayonnaise.

Fresh dill is best, but in a pinch you can used dried dill. It won't be as flavorful but it will still be good! Use 1 tablespoon dried instead of 2 tablespoons fresh.

Nutrition

Serving: 6 ounce salmon fillet with sauceCalories: 325kcalProtein: 33gFat: 21gSaturated Fat: 2.5gCholesterol: 80mgSodium: 451mg

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