Easy Baked Salmon Lemon Butter Cream Sauce is a quick and easy dinner recipe! The sauce is so good, you’ll be drinking the sauce straight out of the pan.
The kind of recipe perfect for busy weeknights when you don’t have time to cook. This baked salmon with an incredible lemon butter cream sauce comes together so easily, you’ll be shocked it was made at home!
EASY SALMON RECIPE
If you’ve had our Easy Salmon Piccata or our Easy Honey Garlic Salmon, you’d know how much we love an easy salmon recipe. Well, this easy baked salmon is no different!
A truly effortless 15 minute recipe, this salmon is baked first with garlic, lemon and optional white wine, then drizzled with a crazy good sauce straight into the pan. The natural pan juices released from the fish while baking, mix through the cream sauce to create one hell of a salmon dish!
Using minimal ingredients that you likely already have in your kitchen, you’ll have the most tender salmon fillets drowning in a creamy, lemon butter sauce on a plate in minutes.
OVEN BAKED SALMON
When salmon is cooked in the oven, it doesn’t get that sexy, brightly seared orange colour with crispy edges. What you do get, is tender salmon just about falling apart with each forkful. The only thing salmon needs is a good amount of flavour rubbed all over it before baking and of course, a magic sauce to drizzle over it when it’s done.
That’s where our easy baked salmon recipe comes in. You’ll love the generous amount of creamy sauce that you’ll simply have to mop up with a couple of slices of our Artisan Bread, Soft Dinner Rolls or Cheesy Garlic Bread. Pour over plain rice or Creamy Mashed Potato!
What you need:
- Salmon fillets – middle pieces roughly the same size and thickness are the best for even cooking.
- White wine – can be omitted or subbed for dijon mustard. Wine adds that restaurant flavour.
- Garlic – just because.
- Cream – use heavy cream (or thickened cream) if you can. You can also use half and half (an American product using half milk and half cream).
- Butter – more flavour!
- Lemon – is salmon’s best friend.
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WHAT TEMP TO BAKE SALMON
Bake your salmon, uncovered, at 425°F (220°C) on the middle shelf of your oven.
HOW LONG TO BAKE SALMON
Roast for 4 – 6 minutes per ½-inch (1 cm) thickness of fillet. Baking time depends on the thickness of your salmon fillets.
- MEDIUM: 4 minutes per ½-inch.
- WELL DONE: 6 minutes per ½-inch.
The salmon fillets pictured needed 11 minutes. Be careful not to over bake as salmon can become dry and unpleasant to eat when over-cooked.
spoon pouring thick, lemon butter sauce ob
HOW TO TELL WHEN SALMON IS BAKED
Check the thickest part of your salmon fillets with a fork. Once the flesh easily flakes and softly falls apart, it’s ready!
You can also use an instant read thermometer to check for doneness. The USDA recommends a minimum internal temperature of 145°F (61°C). For an accurate reading, insert thermometer into the thickest part of the salmon.
LEFTOVERS
Refrigerate for up to three days in an airtight container. Gently reheat in the microwave.
MORE BAKED SALMON RECIPES
Crispy Garlic Parmesan Salmon
Honey Garlic Butter Salmon In Foil
Lemon Baked Salmon with Asparagus
Easy Salmon Recipe Lemon Butter Sauce
Ingredients
EASY SALMON:
- 4 skinless salmon fillets
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice freshly squeezed, divided
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons dry white wine optional - can sub with 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon salt to season
- ¼ teaspoon cracked pepper to season
CREAM SAUCE:
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons dry white wine can sub with 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ cup cream heavy, whipping or thickened
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped, divided
Instructions
- Heat oven to 425°F (220°C). Lightly grease a baking dish.
- Pat the salmon dry with a paper towel. Combine lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and wine together in a small bowl. Rub salmon with the mixture and arrange in baking dish. Season with a good pinch of salt and pepper.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until salmon is opaque throughout.
- While salmon is baking, melt butter in a small pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant (30 seconds).
- Pour in the wine and let cook for 2-3 minutes until just starting to reduce. Add in cream and cook until sauce thickens slightly.
- Take off the heat and stir through lemon juice and parsley.
- Pour the sauce over the cooked salmon in the dish to mix through the natural pan juices released from the salmon while baking.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
HOW LONG TO BAKE SALMON
Bake for 4 - 6 minutes per ½-inch (1 cm) thickness of fillet. Baking time depends on the thickness of your salmon fillets.- MEDIUM: 4 minutes PER ½-inch.
- WELL DONE: 6 minutes per ½-inch.
Flor S says
So delicious!!!! I made this and followed the recipe. I just added salt and pepper to my sauce and made pita bread sandwich style and it was so yummy
Carla @ Foodie Digital says
This recipe proves that fancy restaurant calibre sauces don’t have to be difficult! I happened to have some whipping cream in the fridge so decided to make this for dinner and the results were incredible. I didn’t have white wine opened so opted for the dijon mustard and it was super.
Deb says
Loved the sauce !!! I pan fried our salmon to get the crispy skin, but added the pan juices to sauce. Super easy, Super tasty !!! Loved it !!! 💖
Wayne Broadley says
5* from me and my wife. I used less garlic than recommended and I’ll use even less garlic next time as I’m not a lover of it, but the wife thought it was perfect.
Will be making it again.
Thank you for the delicious recipe
Blitzo says
Wow! really amazing I love it.
Shecky Calrissian says
Good recipe, but why does all this info have to be presented in such an embarrassingly flaky manner? Cripes, fewer screwy adjectives and dispense with the exclamation marks PLEASE,