20 Best Salmon Recipes For Hearty Winter Dinners (2024)

Salmon is an excellent go-to weeknight protein, because it cooks quickly no matter how you prepare it and works beautifully with a wide range of flavors. Our favorite salmon recipes are hearty, rich-tasting, and easy to make. When it comes to this versatile, user-friendly fish, it's worth refreshing the recipes you have in your repertoire.

Pick a new recipe (or two or three) and poach, pan-fry, or roast your way to a better dinner (now with less fishy smell!). Believe it or not, it will take you the same amount of time to make these salmon recipes as it would have taken to boil and drain pasta. And while we're on the topic, make some pasta too and eat it with leftover fish tomorrow for an easy, filling lunch.

Here are 20 salmon recipes we can't stop making:

1. Joanna Gaines' Salmon With Baby New Potatoes

Break out your trusty sheet pan to get Joanna's simple salmon and potatoes on the table in no time, flat.

2. Slow-Roasted Ginger Scallion Salmon

Slow-cook this aromatic salmon for ideal succulence, and serve with short-grain or jasmine rice for a simple meal that pops.

Slow-Roasted Ginger Scallion Salmon (Samin Nosrat's Recipe)

3. Crispy Coconut Kale With Roasted Salmon

Coconut and kale are a natural flavor match. Perch simple roasted salmon on this delightful bed, and taste the harmony.

4.

Nutty buckwheat noodles set the scene for delicately flavored poached salmon with classic Asian flavors to shine on the plate.

Miso and Ginger Poached Salmon with Warm Soba Noodles

5. Salmon Fillet with Snap Peas

Salmon and lemon are a well-established pair. Freshen up this friendship with tangy crème fraîche (a quick trick to enliven any simple supper).

6. Mike's Hot Honey Glazed Salmon

Hot honey is well-established on our list of "condiment trends we stand by 100%" Treat your salmon to its zingy, sweet goodness, but save some for...well, everything and anything else!

Mike's Hot Honey-Glazed Salmon

7. Perfect Roast Salmon

Roasting fish with the skin on helps ensure an extra-flavorful finished product that's more forgiving to the kind of accidental overcooking we've all experienced.

Perfect Roast Salmon

8.

Fish sauce, peanuts, lime, and cilantro pack a ton of savory-tangy flavor into this fantastic, quick-to-prepare dinner.

9. Salmon Moqueca

This warm, nourishing Brazilian fish stew works perfectly with salmon instead of white fish and sweet potatoes instead of the traditional yams (which can be hard to find).

Salmon Moqueca

10. Salmon In Sorrel Sauce

This verdant fish-friendly sauce comes together in ten minutes or less, and spinach seamlessly subs for sorrel.

11. Grilled Salmon Tacos

Salmon takes to fish tacos like a fish to...tacos! You'll be very happy with these avocado-sauced grilled salmon tacos, is what we're getting at.

Grilled Salmon Tacos with Avocado Sauce

12. Sally Schneider's Slow-Roasted Fish

Master the art of "carryover heat" with this slow-roasting technique that laser-targets the perfect internal temperature for flawlessly flaky salmon.

Sally Schneider's Slow-Roasted Salmon (or Other Fish)

13. Spicy Garlic Lime Baked Salmon

This genius technique for infusing salmon with fresh jalapeño color and flavor includes a fail-safe measure for keeping intense heat at bay.

A Spicy Perspective's Garlic Lime Oven-Baked Salmon

14. Salmon with Kale and Sweet Potato

Think of this recipe more as a roadmap. Got salmon, kale, and sweet potatoes? Here's how to bring them together for a fast, filling meal any day of the week.

Åsa’s Salmon with Kale and Sweet Potato

15. Salmon Burgers With Avocado Aioli

If you love the combination of salmon and avocado as much as we do —sushi, tacos, toast, you name it — this extra-savory salmon burger will become a regular in your sea-faring repertoire.

Salmon Burgers with Avocado Aioli

16. Crisp-Skinned Salmon With Creamy Leeks

Silky creamed leeks add color and richness to simple crispy-skinned salmon for a meal that's as rib-sticking as it is elegant.

Russ Parsons's Crisp-Skinned Salmon (Plus Creamy Leeks and Cabbage)

17. Salmon with a Thai Curry Sauce

Poach salmon in an aromatic Thai curry to keep this recipe quick, infuse the fish with flavor from the get-go, and ensure it's cooked exactly to your liking. This is one of those dishes that's even better the next day, so make a big batch!

Salmon with a Thai Curry Sauce

18. Sesame Encrusted Salmon

Drizzle this reader-favorite salmon with a rich red wine sauce for a show-stopping effect. That's right, red wine with fish. Go ahead and let it sink in (the Pinot reduction, that is).

Sesame Encrusted Salmon with Pinot Noir Reduction

19. Roasted Salmon with a Cheat's Vietnamese Caramel Sauce

Savory Vietnamese caramel gets its complex, funky essence from fish sauce. Reduced into a savory-sweet glaze, it's the perfect complement to simple roasted salmon.

Roasted Salmon with a Cheat's Vietnamese Caramel Sauce

20. Seared Salmon with Cinnamon and Chile Powder

Warm spices amplify salmon's umami flavor and contribute a complex mounting heat. If you have 10 minutes and a craving for extra-flavorful fish, this recipe is your one-way ticket.

Seared Salmon with Cinnamon and Chile Powder

What's your favorite way to make salmon—on a weeknight or for a special occasion? (Or both?) Share a mini-recipe in the comments.

20 Best Salmon Recipes For Hearty Winter Dinners (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to best salmon? ›

A dry brine gives you firmer, juicier fish fillets with kettle-chip-crisp skin. Credit... Gentl and Hyers for The New York Times.

What to have with salmon for dinner? ›

Potato Side Dishes for Salmon
  • 1 / 10. Parmesan Potatoes. ...
  • 2 / 10. Garlic Butter Smashed Potatoes. ...
  • 3 / 10. Crispy Skillet-Fried Potatoes. ...
  • 4 / 10. French-Inspired Potato Salad. ...
  • 5 / 10. Butter-Roasted Sweet Potatoes. ...
  • 6 / 10. Roasted Baby Potatoes. ...
  • 7 / 10. Ukrainian Dill Potatoes. ...
  • 8 / 10. Mashed Sweet Potatoes.
Jan 8, 2024

What is the most flavorful way to cook salmon? ›

Wrap your salmon in a parchment packet with aromatics, citrus, veggies, and a drizzle of olive oil. The steam trapped in the packet will infuse the fish with flavor and cook it gently, making it tender and juicy. Bonus: The parchment packets only take about 15 minutes at 425°F and the cleanup is minimal.

What can I put on salmon to make it taste better? ›

Here are some spices you may have that could be good as part of a homemade salmon seasoning.
  1. Paprika.
  2. Chile/Chili powder.
  3. Garlic powder/salt.
  4. Ground cumin.
  5. Onion powder.
  6. Ground ginger.

How to cook salmon Bobby Flay? ›

Instructions. Preheat the oven to 250°F. Brush each salmon filet on all sides with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the salmon in a small baking dish, add the garlic cloves, and slowly cook until buttery and soft, about 30 minutes.

What seasonings go well with salmon? ›

Ingredients for Salmon Seasoning
  • Brown sugar. This is going to add a much desired layer of sweetness to your fish, and a nice texture to your final product.
  • Black pepper. I highly recommend cracking some fresh pepper when it's time to blend your seasoning.
  • Sea salt. ...
  • Dried basil. ...
  • Garlic powder. ...
  • Smoked paprika. ...
  • Lime zest.
Jan 4, 2024

What is the best vegetable to eat with salmon? ›

The next time you make salmon, pair it with one of these delicious veggie side dishes. Veggies like zucchini, broccoli, cucumber and spinach are perfect sides for summer. Plus, these healthy sides are easy to make, only taking 30 minutes or less to prepare.

What is the best vegetable to serve with salmon? ›

What are some good side dishes to serve with grilled salmon fillets? Sugar snap peas, green beans, broccoli,cheesy parmesan broccoli, grilled zucchini, asparagus. Mushroom rice pilaf, roasted garlic potatoes, mash potatoes, risotto, lemon butter pasta!

Should salmon be soaked in milk before cooking? ›

Before cooking, soak the fish in milk for 20 minutes

What's left behind is sweet-smelling, brighter flesh with clean flavor. (Just make sure you pour that milk down the drain.

Is it better to cook salmon with butter or oil? ›

Yes, yes, and yes again! Butter is a wonderful substitute for oil when it comes to cooking salmon because it adds a beautifully rich flavor to the fish. Just try this lemon butter salmon recipe if you need proof!

What is the secret of cooking salmon? ›

So, you want skin that is super crisp and flavorful, just as you would want with chicken. Starting your salmon skin-side down, and cooking it until it is well rendered, lightly browned, and crisp, and then turning the salmon to finish the cooking, will make for a terrific dining experience.

What do you soak salmon in before cooking? ›

Before cooking salmon, you can soak it in a marinade or a brine to enhance its flavor and texture. Here are a few common options: Citrus Marinade: Combine lemon or lime juice with olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and herbs like dill or parsley. Allow the salmon to marinate in this mixture for 30 minutes to an hour.

What not to do when cooking salmon? ›

5 Common Mistakes That We All Make When Cooking Salmon
  1. Not removing pin bones. Fact: Most salmon fillets have pin bones in them. ...
  2. Mistreating the skin. ...
  3. Using the wrong pan. ...
  4. Overcooking your fish. ...
  5. Reheating leftover salmon.
May 17, 2021

Why do you soak salmon in milk? ›

Apparently, the proteins present in milk can bind to the fatty acids that have been exposed to air and give salmon its fishy odor or taste and mitigate them to be more neutral. (Fishiness is caused by the oxidation of fatty acids.)

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Margart Wisoky

Last Updated:

Views: 5873

Rating: 4.8 / 5 (78 voted)

Reviews: 93% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Margart Wisoky

Birthday: 1993-05-13

Address: 2113 Abernathy Knoll, New Tamerafurt, CT 66893-2169

Phone: +25815234346805

Job: Central Developer

Hobby: Machining, Pottery, Rafting, Cosplaying, Jogging, Taekwondo, Scouting

Introduction: My name is Margart Wisoky, I am a gorgeous, shiny, successful, beautiful, adventurous, excited, pleasant person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.