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This zesty baked Lemon Salmon is such a light, fresh meal. Try our creamy tzatziki sauce with Greek yogurt as an optional topping to the salmon. It really puts it over the top!
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This Baked Salmon with Lemon is, HANDS DOWN the best salmon I have ever made, or had. Cooking salmon in the oven is easy and the fish comes out super tender and filled with flavor. The lemon bakes right into the salmon, so the dish is permeated with just the right amount of citrus.
Any type of salmon works great for this recipe, and kids love it too! This baked salmon takes less than 30 minutes to make, but you would never know it but how flavorful it is. Serve with some rice and veggies and you have a healthy, delicious meal on the table in no time.
Ingredients in Lemon Salmon
If your kids are anything like mine, they will eat just about anything you can dip into some sort of sauce. Simple salmon fillets are paired with the most scrumptious sauce. Here’s what you need:
For the Salmon
- Salmon filets – four 6-ounce wild salmon fillets or any type of salmon you like.
- Olive oil – two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil or canola oil
- Zest of 1 lemon – you can also use fresh lemon slices along with some fresh parsley as a garnish.
- Lemon juice – fresh lemon juice tastes delicious on this salmon, but you can use a couple of teaspoons of bottled lemon juice.
- Salt and pepper – to taste
For the Tzatziki Sauce
- Greek yogurt – use one cup of plain yogurt
- Sour cream – a quarter cup of sour cream
- Lemon juice – one tablespoon, or juice of half a lemon
- Rice vinegar – half a tablespoon.
- Olive oil – one teaspoon
- Garlic – one teaspoon or one clove, minced. For extra garlic flavor you can add some garlic powder.
- fresh dill – one tablespoon, chopped. Find fresh dill in the produce section of the grocery store.
- Montreal seasoning – half a teaspoon
- Salt and pepper – to taste
Salmon – A Kid Friendly Fish
As most moms probably know, unless it is in stick form, kids don’t particularly love fish. And I can’t wholly blame them. If it isn’t cooked properly, salmon can be tough and flavorless. Imagine my delight when I made this for my family and it disappeared off the table. There was not a single flake of leftovers.
Tzatziki Sauce
I never would have thought to put Tzatziki sauce on salmon, but it complements it so well! The recipe I used for the baked salmon tzatziki comes from our Chicken Gyro recipe (also a very tasty dish, you HAVE to try it). The only change I made was that I didn’t add the cucumbers. If you have leftover sauce, you can use it as a dip for vegetables, like carrots or broccoli, and it also makes a very good dressing for salads or wraps. It is very important that you use fresh dill. You can find it in the produce section of most grocery stores. Using the fresh stuff just gives it so much more flavor, you won’t regret it.
What Makes Salmon So Healthy?
You have likely heard that baked salmon is really good for you. The good news is, you’ve heard correctly! Baked salmon is a superfood with so many incredible benefits. It’s full of protein (about 22 grams in a 4 oz boneless filet), but there’s more benefits than just the protein.
One of the most important reasons to eat baked salmon is that it is full of Omega-3 fatty acids. These acids are essential to healthy brain and heart function. Just having baked salmon twice a week will give you enough Omega-3 (but if you make it more often than that, we won’t tell!).
Plus, baked salmon is also filled with high-quality nutrients such as potassium, selenium, and B12. A 3.5-oz serving of salmon gives you 51% of your daily B12 needs. If you struggle with autoimmune issues or chronic inflammation, baked salmon has been shown to reduce inflammatory markers in studies.
In short? Baked salmon is awesome and incredibly healthy.
Tips for Baking Lemon Salmon
- Make sure to grease your baking sheet, or use parchment paper on a sheet pan for easy clean-up.
- Use an instant read thermometer to check the internal temperature. Salmon should be between 120-125 degrees.
- For a sweet crust on top of your salmon, drizzle some honey on top and then broil for just a minute or two until golden.
Reviews of this Baked Salmon Recipe
See a common thread? Our readers absolutely LOVE this baked salmon recipe – and you will too!
This was such a light and sweet dish, it has quickly become a family favorite recipe! Delicious!
Sarah
I’m always looking for easy ways to prepare fish and this fits the bill!
Krissy
I couldn’t believe how easy this was to make! It also has amazing flavor!
Suzy
Questions
Before cooking, you can soak the fish in a little salt water for about 10 minutes. The salt breaks down some of the muscle fibers on the outer side of the fish so the outer muscles tighten less and the fillets won’t curl up when baking. In this recipe, we simply salt the fish and let it sit for 10 minutes instead of soaking it in salt water.
Season salmon fillets with thyme, lemon pepper, dill, parsley, tarragon or rosemary.
In this easy salmon recipe, we use the juice of the lemon and the lemon zest as a marinade on the salmon and then bake it without any lemon slices on top.
Baked salmon is versatile! Roasted potatoes with black pepper and fresh herbs, such as parsley and dill, would be delicious, as would roasted asparagus. You could squeeze some fresh lemon juice on the roasted asparagus for a fresh flavor. Pasta with lemon and a little melted butter sounds great too!
Read More:35+ Quick and Easy To Follow Dinner Ideas Your Family Will Surely Love
More Seafood Recipes
If you are a seafood fan, welcome to the family! We love seafood. Here are a few more of our favorite seafood you’ve got to try.
How to Make Lemon Salmon
Lemon Salmon
Video
Equipment
- 9×13 inch pan
Ingredients
- 4 6 ounce salmon filets
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- salt and pepper to taste
For the Tzatziki sauce
- 1 cup Greek yogurt plain
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon Montreal seasoning
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400. Place salmon filets in a well-greased 9×13 pan.
- In a small bowl, mix olive oil, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Drizzle over fillets.
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Let sit for 10 minutes.
- Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until salmon is cooked through (it depends on the thickness of your fillets).
- While the salmon is cooking, mix together the Greek yogurt, sour cream, lemon juice, rice vinegar, and olive oil until smooth.
- Add garlic, fresh dill, Montreal seasoning, and salt and pepper. Mix well. Let sit at room temperature until the salmon is cooked.
- Once the salmon is done, spoon some tzatziki sauce over the top and serve.
Notes
- Serve with roasted potatoes, roasted asparagus, or even fresh pasta!
- Make sure to grease your baking sheet, or use parchment paper on a sheet pan for easy clean-up.
- Use an instant read thermometer to check the internal temperature. Salmon should be between 120-125 degrees.
- For a sweet crust on top of your salmon, drizzle some honey on top and then broil for just a minute or two until golden.
since I don’t eat meat, I would definitely choose the lemon salmon or your previous posted pecan salmon along with roasted asparagus. End it with your lemon bars and key lime pie!
Love Love the Baked Salmon with Lemon.
Hubby & family enjoyed this dish immensely!!
It is so good! I am making this on Easter as well. I have some fresh caught salmon in my freezer that my Dad brought back from Alaska. I can’t wait to make it. Thank you!
The salmon with taziki is incredible! We are trying to eat more fish and this is a keeper.
Such a delicious and easy way to cook delicious salmon.
So excited this was lemon salmon when I saw the recipe and even more excited its a CREAMY lemon salmon and that I have all the ingredients to try!
I couldn’t believe how easy this was to make! It also has amazing flavor!
This was such a light and sweet dish, it has quickly become a family favorite recipe! Delicious!
I’m always looking for easy ways to prepare fish and this fits the bill!
Sorry, you say that Montreal seasoning is in the spice section of most grocery stores, but when one lives in Australia and stores here don’t stock this seasoning what can one use in replacement?
You can buy it on Amazon.
Combine 2 tablespoons paprika, 2 tablespoons crushed black pepper, 2 tablespoons kosher salt, 1 tablespoon granulated garlic, 1 tablespoon granulated onion, 1 tablespoon crushed coriander, 1 tablespoon dill, and 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes, and mix well.
What is Montreal seasoning?
It’s mixed spices, you can find it in the spice section of most grocery stores.
Of course she’d go there to look for it. IVe also never heard of it.