Delicious baked salmon with crispy potatoes, broccoli, and the most amazing life-changing lemon sauce smothered on top of it all. This is restaurant bistro-style eating!
Baked Salmon with Amazing Lemon Sauce
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This might be the best thing I have ever cooked at home. DELICIOUS. Definitely going in the recipe rotation.
Anna
Creamy Lemon Sauce On Salmon = SO GOOD
Crispy golden brown roasted potatoes: HELLO yes.
Tender baby broccoli with a little crunchy char: check check.
Baked salmon, simply salted, peppered, brushed with olive oil, and baked to flaky perfection: absolutely.
And enter -> the herby, creamy, lemony lemon sauce. Yes, yes, and y-e-s. Everything else is delicious, but if we’re being honest, it really just serves in the supporting role for this sauce.
This lemon sauce is a showstopper. It’s creamy and rich and light all at the same time. It starts with shallots and gets infused with a few sprigs of fresh thyme and finished with a little sizzle of lemon juice, and it feels like there should be more to explain but really, that is the beauty of it. It’s simple and it’s got really beautiful, gentle, universally delicious flavor and just MWAH.
This is me raising my glass to you as we eat salmon smothered in lemon sauce with bites of crispy potato and broccoli in our home kitchens / pretend fancy restaurants together. It’s just such a treat and I hope you love it. Enjoy!
Why This Is The Best Beginner Salmon Recipe
Even if you’ve never made salmon before, YOU CAN MAKE this baked salmon for dinner. I know you can.
Baking salmon, to me, feels like the best intro into cooking salmon. It’s simple and hands-off, and all you need to do is check the temperature at the end of the cook time to make sure it’s good to go, and you’ve got salmon for dinner.
If you’re looking to take it a step further and try cooking it in different ways, check out our how-to guide for how to cook salmon.
How To Make This Creamy Lemon Sauce For Salmon
1
Bake Everything on a Sheet Pan.
Bake your potatoes, broccoli, and salmon on a sheet pan. They each have separate cooking times so we’ll just add them at various intervals.
2
Make the Lemon Sauce.
Ideally when things are roasting since you’ll have a little time on your hands, get out a pan and make a quick but AMAZING lemon sauce. The herbs, the shallots, the creaminess with the zip of lemon. UGH I could cry. Try not to eat spoonfuls of it while waiting for your salmon. Or just give in. It’s so good.
3
Plate The Salmon with The Sauce
Pile your roasted goodness onto a plate or shallow bowl and liberally cover with sauce. Notice I did not say drizzle. I said cover. Words matter. The lemon sauce is intended for the salmon, mostly, but let me tell you: potatoes and broccoli straight up dunked in leftover sauce is next-level.
How To Make This Lemon Sauce Salmon (Video)
Baked Salmon with Amazing Lemon Sauce
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 3–4 servings (depends on how much salmon you use) 1x
Description
Delicious baked salmon with crispy potatoes, broccoli, and the most amazing life-changing lemon sauce smothered on top of it all. This is restaurant bistro-style eating!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
For the Sheet Pan:
- 1 lb. small gold potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
- olive oil + garlic powder, salt, and pepper
- 2–3 cups of broccoli florets (I’m using baby broccoli in the photos)
- 1–2 lbs. salmon (cut into 2-4 filets)
Lemon Herb Sauce:
- 6–8 tablespoons salted butter
- 1–2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 shallot, minced
- 2–3 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or basil
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Roast the Potatoes: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Add the potatoes to the pan and toss with a little bit of olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Roast for 25 minutes until lightly browned and delicious.
- Make the Life-Changingly Delicious Sauce: While the potatoes are roasting, make your sauce. Melt the butter over medium low heat (I usually start with 6 tablespoons and add the last two if needed once the sauce is cooked). Add the garlic, shallot, and thyme sprigs; sauté for 3-5 minutes until soft and fragrant. Add broth and cream; bring to a low simmer. Let the sauce hang out over low heat until it starts to thicken enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove the thyme sprigs. Whisk in the lemon juice, stir in the herbs, and season with salt and pepper. Give it a taste. Yes, you’re in heaven now.
- Bake the Salmon and Broccoli: Add the broccoli and the salmon to the potato pan (keeping the potatoes on there). Toss or brush with a little more oil, salt, and pepper. Bake for another 10-15 minutes, until the salmon is fully cooked – I like it to be *just* past the point of translucent where it flakes apart very easily but isn’t dried out.
- You’re Done: Serve salmon, potatoes, and broccoli with big spoonfuls of sauce, more herbs, and more lemon wedges. This is living. ♡
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Roast
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: baked salmon, lemon sauce, salmon recipe
Baked Salmon with Amazing Lemon Sauce: FAQs
I’m new to making salmon. Do I eat the skin?
Salmon skin is technically edible, but I personally don’t eat it. I like to just slide the skins off the filets before plating it, since they come off very easily after baking.
How do I prevent sad, dry salmon?
Overcooking your salmon will cause it to dry out! And, sad news: it doesn’t taste good. You can use a meat thermometer if you want to get very precise with your temperature – but I usually don’t use one and I just go off of how it looks and feels. I’ll often flake apart one piece to check for a moist, opaque center before deciding if it’s done or if it needs another minute or two in the oven, even though it messes up the presentation slightly. I find that regardless of size of filets or oven variations, somewhere between 10-15 minutes is usually the right amount of time for the doneness that I like.
I have some extra sauce. Can I save it as leftovers?
The sauce might thicken and/or separate as you let it rest, so I think it is best served fresh; however, it is still delicious the next day if you just reheat and whisk it back together, maybe adding a little water as needed. Works great on leftover potatoes with an egg for breakfast!
Can I use half-and-half instead of heavy cream?
To get the right thickness and texture, I highly recommend using heavy whipping cream for this recipe. If you only have half-and-half, you could also add a small amount of cornstarch slurry at the end to thicken things up.
More Salmon Sauce Recipes I Love
- Coconut Curry Salmon (salmon has never been this good!)
- BBQ Salmon Bowls with Mango Avocado Salsa (bring your self-control with this salsa because it’s gooooood)
- Spicy Salmon Burgers (a delicious, SOS-friendly dinner on your table in a jif)
- Perfect Baked Salmon with Lentils and Lemon Herb Sauce (just toss it all on a pan and bake it – super easy!)
- 5-Minute Magic Green Sauce (a super quick sauce to add YUM to everything!)
One More Thing!
This recipe is part of our completely delicious broccoli recipes page. Check it out!
Filed Under: All Recipes Broccoli Dinner Fish and Seafood Gluten-Free Healthy Lemon Main Dishes Recipes Salmon Sheet Pan
June 28, 2021
Nice to meet you!
I’m Lindsay and I ♡ FOOD. I used to be a teacher, and now making food and writing about it online is my full-time job. I love talking with people about food, and I'm so glad you're here.
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Any suggested substitutions for the heavy cream to make the recipe dairy free?
I was wondering this as well! I was thinking maybe full fat coconut milk.. or just leaving it out. Thoughts?
Could I use milk? Or half & half?
Yes, you could use either, but the sauce may not thicken as well!
I just made the lemon butter sauce and oh my goodness! Unbelievably delicious. Legit just sent it to a friend because it was too good not to share.
Instead of heavy cream use Silk’s Dairy Free Heavy Whipping Cream Alternative. It works very well as a dairy free heavy cream substitute and it doesn’t taste like coconut milk!
Good to know, Rochelle! I’ve been wondering how well the Silk version works as a heavy cream substitute!
I was wondering the same. I’ve subbed Nutpods in for cream before but I’m not sure it would thicken up in this case. Idk
There’s a thing by Silk called “dairy free heavy whipping cream” that I may try….I’ve used it to make whipped cream before and it was pretty great. Not the cleanest in terms of ingredients as I recall, but a good sub without the heavy coconut flavor 😊
You could try coconut cream or milk. I’ve also seen a dairy free (coconut-based) heavy cream made by Silk that would work well!
Just came back to say that I made this last night using coconut milk (from a jar, not the refrigerated kind) and the sauce was delicious!! I do think the sauce separated a little after I added the lemon juice. My salmon wasn’t done when I pulled it out so I had to put it back in the oven for an additional 5 minutes (my oven temperature lies 😂), and I had already added the lemon juice. Next time I’ll wait until the very last second to add it in!
So glad it worked out with coconut milk! Thanks so much for coming back to share!
This was delicious. I lighteden it up by using evaporated skim milk and added a teaspoon of cornstarch to thicken it. I also added 2 lemons and wouldn’t change a thing. I love all your recipes. Even my university daughters now use your sos suggestions.
I’m going to make this tonight.
I’m wondering how it would be with the extra creamy oat milk? I just recently started buying that and OMG, it tasters just like regular whole milk to me. It’s just delicious. I’m gluten & dairy intolerant & so happy I found it!
We think that’d be a great dairy free substitute! Let us know how it goes!
Thanks for this amazing recipe. I made it using hot smoked salmon and our guests (and we!) absolutely loved it. The broccoli didn’t work so well, I think I overdid it, but I’ll definitely be making the rest again. Best wishes from Yorkshire, UK.
Do you think this sauce would work for halibut?
thanks!
Absolutely!
I have the same question about a substitute for heavy cream. Thanks!!
Looking forward to making this recipe. I do think that Bjork should have made the recipe for the video though. 🙂
We hope you enjoy the salmon, Stephen!
I tried this tonight using half and half insead of cream and it did NOT thicken. That said, it was still pretty delicious, just poured it over the fish. We had a LOT leftover, I could have made half for 2 lbs. of fish.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience, Lori!
I just made this the other night and the sauce was truly amazing; however, mine didn’t thicken either :-/ Next time (and there will be a next time!) I’m going to make a roux before adding in the broth and cream. I really like how simple and delicious this meal was.
I made this dish tonight and it was delicious! I especially liked that I could prep almost everything and so spend time with dinner guests. The only thing that got in the way was my efforts to thicken the.sauce. I used heavy cream and waited till the end to add the lemon juice but it really wasn’t thick. What did I do wrong?
I tried it with half and half and it never thickened, just separated, like there was too much butter. Sooo disappointing!
Really?? “Do I eat the skin?“
And the response: technically it’s edible.
How embarrassing.
What fish do you recommend for this dish other than salmon?
Thank you!
Great question, Ashley. Cod or halibut might be good options.
We made this tonight (subbed pure coconut milk instead of heavy cream), and wow it was amazing. Added extra fresh parsley. Thank you for being in our kitchen this evening! 🙂
So glad to hear it worked out well with coconut milk! Thanks so much for the comment!
It look so yummy but for me that is on a doctor’s control diet there is a lot of butten and heavy cream on it, can I use less butter and something else instead of cream? I love salmon and we grilled it all the time. Thanks for the yummy recipe.
It look so yummy but for me that is on a doctor’s control diet there is a lot of butten and heavy cream on it, can I use less butter and something else instead of cream? I love salmon and we grilled it all the time. Thanks for the yummy recipe. I can see a few readers have used coconut cream instead of cream , I never used that crean but I give it a go.
Yes, you can use less butter, and give coconut cream or coconut milk a try!
Can I make the sauce and serve it on the side? Some of my guest may not want it added to the salmon.
For sure!
Absolutely!
This might be the best thing I have ever cooked at home. DELICIOUS. Definitely going in the recipe rotation.
We love hearing this, Anna!
Hey Lindsay!
After going through the pictures. I can’t wait to make the baked salmon with lemon sauce. 😀
Thanks.
Looks so delicious. I’m going to cook it today with the salmon. It looks so good and the sauce sounds delish- I would like to make it for my vegetarian friends. Any suggestions on what to sub for the salmon? Chickpeas? Tofu?
Either would be great options! Tempeh would be good too!
Really good sauce. Used cream cheese instead of heavy cream and it worked really well.
Thank you! Made it tonight. So easy and delicious.
So glad it was a hit!
I was sure I’d botched this because I was soooo distracted watching my three young kids, who were being particularly mischievous tonight during dinner prep…even so, DELISH. Perfectly roasted potatoes, tender and flaky salmon, and that sauce! MMM.
So glad it worked out! Thanks for the comment, Brittany!
I’m making this for a group! I’m wondering if I put 8 salmon filets on the pan, how that would affect the cooking time?
Great question. I’d add 5 minutes to the cook time, check for doneness, and add more time if needed!
Recipe looks delicious & I am excited to try it but… salmon skin really is one of the best parts of the fish (like chicken skin), so if you like that fatty crispiness, give it a shot! It’s a person preference for sure, but lots of us enjoy it, so I’d hate for someone to miss out!
We appreciate the tip, Morgan!
I must have done something wrong, because I am definitely in the minority here. 6 out of 6 people in my family gave this sauce a huge thumbs down. The only thing missing was the thyme, since our plant died while we were on vacation last week.
Sorry to hear that! We’d love to help figure out what may have gone wrong. Thanks for the feedback!
Wow that lemon sauce looks to die for. I love how all the elements come together at the end for a complete meal. Salmon takes on the flavor you give it, so I’m glad you paired it with an amped up sauce.
Amped up perfectly defines this sauce!
Made this last night and it was FABULOUS! Definitely will be making it again. With just a couple of pans clean up was easy too!
Glad to hear it, Janet!
Sooooooooo good. This was a fancy restaurant-quality meal that WILL be on repeat every time I have fresh salmon. Which, thankfully, living in the Pacific Northwest is often!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
This sauce sounds delicious. I would like to read your next blog.
Thank you!
I’ve made this twice already, it’s so good! I subbed radishes for the potatoes to keep it low carb.
Love that substitute! Thanks so much for the review, Jessica!
Hi I am a pescatarian. Are there any substitutes for the chicken broth?
Hi Linda! Yes, vegetable broth will work just fine!
I made this for dinner tonight, IT WAS THE BOMB… I just had spinach rice as a side, and put some sauce on it… it was absolutely AMAZING. Thanks for making my life easier.
Absolutely, Diana! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!