Lemon Garlic Salmon is a favorite in my household that even my children love! Lemon Garlic Salmon is a very simple way to prepare your fish and turns out with a light lemon flavor with a hint of garlic.
I frequently cook this salmon when friends or family come over for dinner and it is always a huge hit that these guests request on their return visits. Lemon Garlic Salmon is a great recipe for beginner cooks or the more advanced. Sometimes, when we are in a garlic mood we will finely slice the garlic to make garlic “chips” on top. The photos show the garlic minced today. Cook up some fresh green beans and homemade mashed potatoes on the side and enjoy!
When shopping for salmon, pick a fish with vibrant color and we prefer a fresh, wild caught over a farm raised. Look for a Sockeye or Chinook, although they are both seasonal so it is not always an option. I was raised in the Northwest where we are a little snobby about our salmon and the Sockeye is always my first pick if available. Why wild caught? We eat a lot of salmon and there is a difference in taste but more importantly, farm raised can have chemicals, hormones and dyes in the fish. When choosing a farm raised salmon, eat sparingly for those reasons.
Lemon Garlic Salmon |
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- 1.5 pounds fresh wild caught salmon
- 3 lemons
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves
- salt
- pepper
- Gather ingredients, baking sheet, aluminum foil, garlic press, knife to cut lemons.
- Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cover the baking sheet with aluminum foil. Lay the salmon on the baking sheet with skin side down.
- Run your fingers over the top of the fish to feel for any bones the butcher may have missed and remove these bones if any are found.
- Using your hands, rub a tablespoon of olive oil over the entire fish making sure not to miss any spots.
- Wash hands.
- Salt and pepper salmon to desired amount.
- Mince the 2 cloves of garlic evenly on salmon. You can also very finely chopped the garlic into small garlic chips which I only recommend doing if you really LOVE garlic like me.
- Cut a lemon in half and squeeze half the lemon over top of salmon. You may squeeze the whole lemon if you want more lemon flavoring.
- Finely slice the other 2 lemons and cover the entire salmon evenly. Don't worry about covering the fish with foil on the top, the lemon will keep the salmon nice and moist through cooking.
- Put into oven for 20 minutes. If you bought a larger fish I would leave in the oven for 25 minutes. To check if salmon is done, put a fork in the middle and it should be slightly flakey.
- Salmon is ready to serve!
- Preparation time: 5 minutes
- Cook time: 20 minutes
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Your salmon looks a-ma-zing! I can only imagine the flavors: lemons, olive oil, garlic… Wow! 🙂
I haven’t had salmon in years! Seeing this, I’m reminded how delicious it can be!
In years? It’s our sons favorite meal so we have it all the time! Good thing it’s so delicious!