Baked Lemon Garlic Salmon
A simple, stir-together lemon-garlic sauce seasoned with paprika and oregano contributes big flavor and color to this Lemon Garlic Salmon recipe. Baking a large salmon fillet wrapped in foil ensures tender, juicy, and perfectly flaky fish with lots of flavor, but very little hands-on time. Serve it with a big salad and perfectly fluffy Basmati rice to soak up the sauce. Yum!
Servings: 6
Ingredients
For the Salmon
- 2 pounds salmon fillet
- Kosher salt
- 1 large lemon
- Chopped parsley, for garnish
For the Lemon Garlic Sauce
- 2 large lemons
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 5 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Get ready. Position one oven rack in the center and one rack about 6 inches from the broiler. Preheat your oven to 375°F. Line a sheet pan longways with a large piece of foil, large enough to fold over the salmon. Brush the foil with extra virgin olive oil.
- Make the lemon-garlic sauce. Zest one of the lemons into a small bowl or measuring cup, then add the juice from both lemons. Add the extra virgin olive oil, garlic, oregano, paprika, and black pepper and whisk to combine.
- Prepare the salmon. Pat the salmon dry and season well on both sides with salt. Place it on the foil, skin side down. Carefully pour the lemon garlic sauce on top, bending the foil upwards around the fish to contain the liquid. Use a spoon or a pastry brush to spread the sauce evenly across the surface of the fish. Slice half of the remaining lemon into rounds and the other half into wedges, and place the rounds on top of the salmon.
- Wrap the salmon in foil. Fold the loose end of the foil up and over the salmon, tenting it high enough so there’s an air pocket between the foil and the lemons on top of the salmon. Crimp the foil closed at the top and sides to encase the fish and trap the steam. If you didn’t leave quite a long enough piece of foil, simply tear off another sheet and crimp the two together.
- Bake the salmon. Bake in the hot oven until the salmon is almost cooked through at the thickest part (see note),15 to 20 minutes.
- Broil the salmon. Carefully remove the pan from the oven and open the foil, folding it out to reveal the top of the salmon. Turn your broiler to high and place the salmon under the broiler briefly, until the top is lightly browned and the salmon is cooked through, about 3 minutes. Watch closely as it broils to make sure it doesn’t overcook and the lemons and garlic do not burn. Remove the salmon from the oven (see note).
- Serve. Sprinkle the salmon with the parsley and serve with the lemon wedges on the side.
Video
Notes
- Shop this recipe: Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients including the olive oil, oregano, and paprika used in this recipe.
- The cooking time will vary based on the thickness of your fish: If your salmon fillet is thinner, or from the tail end, check several minutes early to ensure it doesn’t overcook. If your piece is very thick, 1 1/2 or more inches, it may take a bit longer.
- How can you tell when salmon is cooked? When your fish is ready, it should flake at the touch of a fork. Poke the salmon with your fork at the thickest part and gently pull a piece of the flesh away; your fork should not meet any resistance. If you like, you can use an instant-read thermometer to check for doneness. The USDA recommends an internal temperature of 145°F, which should be measured at the thickest part of the fish fillet. Personally, I prefer salmon cooked to about 135°F.
- If your salmon is underdone: If it’s almost there you can just wrap the foil back over the top and let it rest on the counter for a few minutes to finish cooking through with residual heat from the sauce and the pan. If it needs more heat you can just return it to the oven. Even if the oven is off it will still have enough residual heat to continue cooking the fish. Don’t leave it too long! Salmon can easily go from under-cooked to over-cooked quickly.
Nutrition
Calories: 299.1kcal | Carbohydrates: 6.6g | Protein: 30.9g | Fat: 16.8g | Saturated Fat: 2.5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4.7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8.3g | Cholesterol: 83.2mg | Sodium: 68.6mg | Potassium: 843.7mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1.4g | Vitamin A: 249IU | Vitamin C: 29.4mg | Calcium: 48.9mg | Iron: 1.9mg
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