A quick and easy recipe for baked salmon with homemade pesto. This is a small batch recipe that makes two servings, but can easily be multiplied as needed.
Baked salmon is an incredibly underrated “recipe”. However, I have a trick to make your baked salmon even better: I actually broil my salmon to keep it from overcooking. This method cooks the exterior of the salmon while keeping the interior tender and flavorful, and it’s a secret I learned during catering food prep last year! There’s a few secrets and tips packed into this blog post, so I do recommend reading through it.
This is a small batch recipe that makes two servings of baked pesto salmon, but it can easily be doubled (or tripled) if needed. It takes about 20 minutes to make, including making your own fresh pesto (which I highly recommend!) I have a recipe for the fresh pesto and the baked pesto salmon, so let’s get after it.
Ingredients for Baked Pesto Salmon:
- 2 fresh Salmon Filets (about 4 oz. each)
- 1 tbsp. Olive Oil
- salt
- ¼ – ⅓ cup Basil Pesto (preferably homemade; see recipe below)
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan Cheese
- 4 Lemon Wedges (optional)
Ingredients for Homemade Pesto:
- 1 cup Fresh Basil Leaves (tightly packed)
- 2 tbsp. Toasted Pepitas* (see note below!)
- 1 clove Garlic (smashed)
- 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (the best you can find)
- 1/2 tsp. Fresh Lemon Juice
- 1/4 tsp. Sea Salt
- 1/4 cup Finely Grated Parmesan Cheese
*NOTE: Traditional pesto uses pine nuts, but I used toasted pepitas for my pesto in these photos. You can use either one! Pine nuts are expensive, and while delicious, they can easily be substituted with another nut for this recipe. I also recommend toasted walnuts or almonds!
I’m quite serious when I say that homemade basil pesto is a delicious way to make this recipe the absolute best it can be. Salmon isn’t exactly cheap, so don’t short yourself on flavor when you prepare it. If you’re short on time or ingredients, jarred pesto from the store will work!
Because this recipe has so few ingredients, the quality of each ingredient matters. We already established the importance of the pesto quality, but the quality of the salmon is equally important. Here’s a quick rundown of the most common varieties of salmon:
Favorite Types of Salmon:
Atlantic Salmon – Nearly all Atlantic salmon is farm raised, with the least flavor when compared to other salmon varieties, but it’s easy to find, affordable, and I personally do love it!
King Salmon – King Salmon is kind of like the best you can buy. It has the highest fat and omega-3 levels, arguably the best flavor and texture, and easily considered the best money can buy.
Sockeye Salmon – Sockeye salmon is wild caught, affordable, and a leaner fish than Coho and King salmon. However, it tends to have the most intense salmon flavor, and a denser texture which makes it feel meatier than other salmon varieties.
Coho Salmon – Coho salmon has a delicate, subtle flavor, but it is still very rich in omega-3 fats. It’s a great option for people who don’t want an overly salmon flavor.
Salmon is a phenomenal ingredient to use if you’re looking to increase your healthy fats intake, and is one of my favorite proteins to use when creating a healthy meal with rich flavors (and not much work!).
The salmon I use most often is Atlantic Salmon. (It’s also the salmon that is used in these pictures.) I find it to be way more affordable than the others, and with grocery prices consistently increasing, affordable is usually my go-to choice. Atlantic salmon may not have as much flavor as the others, but that’s fine with me! I think the Atlantic salmon is a great companion to sauces, such as this pesto, and it’s very easy to find at the store!
How to Make Baked Pesto Salmon
As I mentioned earlier, we are going to bake (broil) the salmon until it’s about halfway cooked, then top it with fresh pesto and parmesan cheese before cooking it to your preferred temperature. I love to throw a couple of lemon wedges on the size to roast them before squeezing over the pesto salmon, too!
- For the Small Batch Basil Pesto: If you’re making your own pesto, do that before anything else. Add basil, toasted pepitas, garlic, and a pinch of salt to a mini food processor (like this one). Pulse until coarsely chopped, about a minute. With the food processor running on low, slowly drizzle olive oil until totally combined. Add lemon juice and Parmesan cheese, and pulse until just combined.
- For the Baked Pesto Salmon: Remove the salmon filets from the packaging and pat them completely dry. Place them directly onto a small rimmed baking sheet (like these – I use them for a ton of small batch recipes) or into a small baking dish. Drizzle the salmon with olive oil and sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt. Let the salmon rest at room temperature for about 10 minutes.
- Set turn the oven to low broil. Once the broiler is hot, place the baking sheet of salmon on the top rack and broil for 3-4 minutes until the exterior of the salmon is opaque.
- Remove the salmon from the oven and top with 2-3 tablespoons of pesto, then grate parmesan cheese over the pesto.
- Set the oven broiler to high. Broil the salmon for a minute or two until the cheese starts to bubble and turn brown.
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