Oven-Baked Salmon Recipe

This oven-baked salmon recipe is easy, takes 30 minutes, and cooks you a wholesome, delicious meal.

Is Baked Salmon Healthy?

Salmon is a relatively healthy fish with good proteins and fats, and baking is a good way to cook it compared to grilling or deep-frying. When baked and served alongside nutrient-dense vegetables like in today’s recipe, it all adds up to a very healthy meal.

Complied with our guidelines, each serving of our baked salmon recipe contains:

• 494 calories
• 6.2 g saturated fats
• 546.3 mg sodium

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If you’re into salmon, we have a range of healthy recipes you can try:

• Cedar plank salmon recipe: when cooked on the right piece of wood, salmon absorbs its aromas, fusing them with its own to create a unique experience.
• Honey mustard salmon recipe: one of our favorite creations. The sweet, pungent sauce complements the tender fish nicely.
• Salmon coulibiac recipe or Salmon en croute: basically, salmon versions of a beef wellington.

Ingredients You'll Need

For this oven-baked salmon recipe, you’ll need salmon, olive oil, butter, potatoes, asparagus, and some basic seasonings.

1. Salmon

We used salmon with skin for its gorgeous texture and delectable flavors, but skinned salmon should do just as fine.

It doesn’t have to be the expensive ‘sushi-grade’ salmon either. For this recipe, regular salmon sold in plastic wrap in the frozen section is good enough.

As portioning is so important to healthy eating, we recommend that you take the weight of each fish fillet seriously. Each serving requires an 8.5-ounce fillet, so try to either find something similar in weight and do some trimmings or divide a very large fillet into small ones.

2. Vegetables

Besides asparagus, our all-time favorite veg to serve with salmon, we also picked something more fulfilling, in this case, potatoes. Their fluffy, tender texture makes them an ultimate side for any meat or fish.

We precooked the vegetables so we could later bake them along with the salmon. First, we microwaved the potatoes for 5 minutes, then added the asparagus and seasonings and microwave for another 3 minutes. You can also steam or boil them instead, for the same amount of time.

The veg was pre-cooked so we could later bake them along with the salmon.

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3. Seasonings

Right off the bat, we seasoned the vegetables with butter and oregano.

Salt and pepper were sprinkled onto the fillets, and for a spicy kick we added a combination of Cajun and paprika powders.

Salmon also goes great with garlic, so we added some garlic powder, but not so much that it overpowers the flavor.

Coming next is a variety of herbs for a complex mix of aromas. We’re using Italian seasoning and some additional fresh thyme. Feel free to use your own favorite herbs instead, but it’s best not to leave them out.

Finally, we gently rubbed some olive oil into the fish to help things cook evenly, and some lemon juice to rid the seafood aroma.

How to Tell if Baked Salmon Is Done

A cold (but not frozen) fillet an inch thick and however big in size should turn out moist, soft, and done in 15 minutes at 400°F. For any extra inch in thickness, add 2 minutes to the cooking time.

The above time and temperature apply to cooking with the oven only, not with an air fryer. It circulates heat faster and cooks food more quickly, so your fish will dry out instead of being perfectly cooked.

To cook fish fillets from frozen, you need to let them soften first using these methods.

Can You Freeze It?

Physically, you can do so and reheat it, but seeing how its texture turns dry and rubbery, that’s not something we would recommend. When working with salmon, you want to freeze it fresh, then defrost it properly before you cook it.

How to Reheat

If you have leftovers, wrap them carefully and refrigerate within 4 days. Reheat it as you would cook it, but in just 5 minutes.

As for the veg, they will survive for up to 5 days in the fridge and reheat the same way as the fish. We don’t recommend freezing roasted vegetables.

What to Serve With

Although we have already included potatoes and asparagus in our recipe, it doesn’t hurt to have a crisp, fresh salad on the side. We went for a Greek salad; simple and easy to throw together.

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To round off the meal, we made some celery cucumber juice and served it with ice.

Of course, these are just a few of our suggestions. If you’re into shaping your own meal plan, have a look at our guidelines then scroll through our website for recipes with precise nutritional profiles.

Oven-Baked Salmon

5 from 2 votes

Our oven-baked salmon recipe is one of the easiest ways to turn salmon and veg into a wholesome meal. It works every single time.

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• cook TIME 23 mins
• prep TIME 7 mins
• total TIME 30 mins

• COURSE Main Course
• CUISINE Global
• SERVINGS
  4

  servings
• CALORIES 494 kcal

INGREDIENTS

1x2x3x

• 26 oz boneless salmon (skin-on)
• 24 oz potatoes (cut into chunks)
• 12 oz asparagus (tough, woody ends trimmed)
• 1/2 tbsp Italian seasoning
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter (about 1 oz)
• 1 tsp fresh thyme
• 1 tsp Cajun seasoning
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tbsp parsley (chopped)

INSTRUCTIONS

Image instructions

1

Place 24 oz potatoes into a large bowl that will also fit 12 oz asparagus (we’ll place them into the bowl later) and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on medium for 5 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2

Meanwhile, mix the dry seasonings together: 1/2 tbsp Italian seasoning, 1 tsp thyme, 1 tsp Cajun seasoning, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper.

3

Gently rub 26 oz salmon with the seasoning mix, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp lemon juice. Set aside.

4

When the potatoes are done, gently uncover the wrap, add 12 oz asparagus, 1 tsp dried oregano, and 2 tbsp unsalted butter, and cover it again. Microwave on medium for 3 more minutes.

5

Meanwhile, line a baking tray with parchment and arrange the salmon in the middle.

6

When the veggies are done, remove the wrap carefully, give it all a toss, and place them around the salmon like so. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. You can prepare the sides in the meantime — scroll past this recipe card to reveal their recipes.

7

Garnish with 2 tbsp parsley on top and serve.

NUTRITION

Nutrition Facts

Oven-Baked Salmon

Amount Per Serving (1 serving)

Calories 494Calories from Fat 198

% Daily Value*

Fat 22g

34%

Saturated Fat 6g

38%

Polyunsaturated Fat 3g

Monounsaturated Fat 9g

Cholesterol 110mg

37%

Sodium 546mg

24%

Potassium 1585mg

45%

Carbohydrate 32g

11%

Fiber 7g

29%

Sugar 4g

4%

Protein 46g

92%

Vitamin A 1291IU

26%

Vitamin C 24mg

29%

Calcium 79mg

8%

Iron 4mg

22%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.