This Baked Lemon Pesto Salmon Recipe is delicious and EASY for busy weeknights. Use homemade or jarred pesto sauce with fresh lemon and cherry tomatoes to make an elegant, healthier, dinner for your family that’s low-carb and gluten-free.
This pesto salmon recipe is so simple and one of my good recipes that contains just a few ingredients. It’s as easy as my Roasted Tilapia and Broccoli Sheet Pan Dinner, that you can throw together quickly when you don’t have time to fuss with dinner.
With little prepping, you can make this fish dinner and serve it with green beans and you’re done! You could even put the green beans right on the pan and make it a sheet pan dinner!
This pesto salmon recipe is especially nice to make with fresh garden basil, if you have it and a little extra time to make homemade pesto.
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Easy Baked Lemon Pesto Salmon Recipe
Get the full, printable recipe in the recipe card.
I want you to know that using a homemade pesto sauce for this recipe will make it so much better, if you have the time.
Make a homemade fresh basil pesto sauce for this recipe or use your favorite jarred pesto sauce for a quick weeknight dinner. I always keep jarred pesto sauce in my pantry because it’s good to have on hand for a quick weeknight dinner when I run out of homemade from my freezer.
When I make pesto, I freeze some of it for later use. It not only freezes well, it’s easy to thaw and stir into pasta. I’ve even used it in the delicious filling of my Puff Pastry Pesto Chicken Bites Appetizer.
Basil Pesto
To make your own basil pesto you need:
- basil leaves
- olive oil
- pine nuts
- Parmesan cheese
- lemon zest or juice (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste
Also, you’ll need a food processor or a blender to chop up the ingredients.
Pine Nuts
If you’re concerned about the pine nuts for either the high cost or nut allergies, you can easily omit them and you’ll still have a great tasting pesto sauce.
Also, you can substitute walnuts for pine nuts if that’s more economical or if it’s what you have on hand.
Additionally, you can add toasted pin nuts to the recipe at the same time you’re adding the cherry tomatoes.
Baked Pesto Salmon Recipe
See the full printable, recipe in the recipe card below.
Ingredients
- 1 lb salmon or 4- 4 oz fillets
- 1/2 cup pesto sauce
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste
Salmon Filets
You can buy salmon fillets or buy one big fillet and cut it down into fillets which I do all of the time. I like to buy a big one at Costco and freeze half of it.
Atlantic Salmon
I use either Atlantic Salmon and Sockeye Salmon for this recipe. But, you can also use cod or flounder.
I season the salmon fillets with garlic powder, salt, pepper, lemon juice and lemon zest before spreading the pesto sauce on them. The lemon adds a nice bit of zesty flavor to this dish, which is perfect for the summer months to make with fresh basil from your garden.
Internal Temperature
Salmon should be cooked to 145F or 62.8C to kill harmful bacteria that may lead to foodborne illness. After you remove the salmon from your oven, stick a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the salmon fillet to get the best temperature.
Green Beans
Green beans are a good side dish choice to make with this pesto salmon. As a matter of fact, Air Fryer Parmesan Green Beans would go perfectly with this dish.
Also, you can make them steamed, as shown in the pictures or make it with Broccoli and Cheese with Bread Crumb Topping or Sauteed Rapini with Garlic and Lemon.
What’s more is that you can cook the green beans right on the sheet pan too.
Also, Mediterranean Orzo Pasta Salad or Lemon Orzo Pasta Salad would also be good accompaniments to this dish.
This is a healthier dinner recipe that’s quick and easy which is perfect for busy weeknights. It’s a wonderful 30 min meal that’s restaurant quality for your family.
You may also like:
Lemon Garlic Grilled Salmon Foil Packet with Broccolini
Honey Lemon Salmon with Asparagus
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I took this recipe to Weekend Potluck.
Easy Lemon Pesto Salmon Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh salmon
- 1/2 cup pesto sauce
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
Instructions
- First, preheat the oven to 375F.
- Meanwhile, oil spray a baking sheet and cut the salmon into four equal fillets and place them on the baking sheet.
- Then, sprinkle each fillet with garlic powder, salt and pepper followed by the lemon juice and zest.
- Next, spread 1/8 of a cup of pesto sauce onto the top of each fillet evenly as possible.
- Then, bake the salmon at 375F for 20 minutes or until the center of the salmon is no longer orange but, more pink.
- Meanwhile, cut quarter the cherry tomatoes and place them on top of the cooked salmon when it's done baking.
Notes
Nutrition
