This Mediterranean salmon recipe is a scrumptious simple wholesome dinner prepared in half-hour! With tomatoes, olives, capers, and savory spices, it’s daring and weeknight-friendly.
Who wouldn’t love a recipe with vibes of coastal residing and sun-drenched tables? After touring all through the Mediterranean area the previous few years, I’m a little bit of a brilliant fan of this way of life (and the Mediterranean weight loss program)! With this recipe, I needed to create a simple wholesome salmon dinner with vibes of that area, and I believe I nailed it (I hope you’ll agree).
Tomatoes, olives, pink onion, and lemon slices roast beneath the fish and collapse right into a form of sauce after baking. The salmon is rubbed with smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and cumin, which make the savory notes pop. It’s a dinner that actually tastes such as you put in much more effort than you probably did!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Massive Mediterranean taste. Kalamata olives, capers, garlic, and lemon slices carry taste that makes you’re feeling such as you’re consuming with a view of blue water.
- Carried out in beneath half-hour. It’s weeknight-fast: about 10 minutes of prep, 15–20 minutes within the oven.
- Wholesome dinner that tastes satisfying. Salmon is filled with omega-3s and protein, and makes a full meal with a complete grain. Considered one of my favourite wholesome dinner concepts thus far!
Components You’ll Want
This recipe makes use of frequent Mediterranean components to make a scrumptious baked fish recipe. Whereas it’s not a conventional or genuine recipe, it jogs my memory loads of the kind of fish recipes I’ve eaten in Greece. Right here’s what you’ll want:
- Cherry tomatoes: I like utilizing a mixture of pink and yellow right here after I can discover them. They roast down right into a jammy form of sauce that mixes with the veggies.
- Olives: These add deep, briny taste. I like utilizing a mixture of Kalamata olives and Castelvetrano olives, my favourite gentle inexperienced selection.
- Capers: These add a punchy, pickled pop: a complete Mediterranean weight loss program energy transfer!
- Spices: For those who’ve made loads of my recipes, you’ll know this spice combo: garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, and cumin. The smoked paprika provides a vaguely smoky trace that ties all the things collectively.
- Lemon slices: Roasting all the things with lemon slices provides a pleasant pop of brightness.
- Recent parsley or dill: Don’t skip the contemporary herb on the finish: Mediterranean type cooking is all about contemporary herbs so as to add complexity and freshness.

The way to Make Mediterranean Baked Salmon
The tactic right here is straightforward sufficient to memorize after one or two tries:
- Whereas the oven heats, take your salmon out of the fridge. Letting it sit at room temperature for even 10 to fifteen minutes makes an actual distinction in how evenly it cooks. It’s also possible to brine the salmon, which helps to scale back albumin or the white stuff that typically seems on the floor after baking. See the Notes within the recipe beneath for a way I do this!
- Toss the veggies with a little bit of olive oil, a pinch of salt, and freshly floor black pepper straight within the baking dish.
- Pat the salmon dry, which is vital so the spice rub stays on. Rub the fillets with olive oil and salt, lay them on prime of the greens, then sprinkle with the seasonings. Scatter the capers excessive.
- Roast for 15 to twenty minutes relying on thickness. Cook dinner till the temperature is 130°F on the thickest half or flesh that flakes simply when pressed with a fork. End with a contemporary parsley or dill.
Suggestions for Completely Cooked Salmon
- Purchase skin-on fillets. The pores and skin acts as a buffer towards the warmth from the underside of the pan, retaining the fish moist.
- Use a meals thermometer. The temperature of 130°F is the candy spot! A $15 instant-read thermometer is price it. For extra, see my information of The way to Know When Salmon is Carried out.
- Don’t skip drying the fish. Patting it dry with paper towels earlier than seasoning helps the spices stick.
What to Serve Alongside
I like including a fast complete grain as a aspect for this tasty Mediterranean salmon! Right here’s how I like to decorate it:
- Complete grain like seasoned quinoa, farro, or lemon rice is an ideal pairing
- A fast pasta like Israeli couscous (pearl couscous) or my simple orzo recipe are tremendous quick and ideal for a fast meal
- Flip it right into a bowl like a Mediterranean rice bowl or a salad like Greek salmon salad
- Add a inexperienced salad like my easy arugula salad or crisp apple salad
- Easy crusty bread like artisan bread or sourdough bread
Storage and Leftovers
Leftover Mediterranean salmon shops hermetic within the fridge for as much as 3 days. I personally don’t love leftover salmon, however I’ve discovered as a result of this one has veggies alongside I used to be extra keen to eat it within the subsequent day (ha!).
Reheat gently in a coated skillet over low warmth with a small splash of water.
Dietary Notes
This Mediterranean salmon recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free, pescatarian, and Mediterranean weight loss program pleasant.
Mediterranean Salmon
This Mediterranean salmon recipe is a scrumptious simple dinner prepared in half-hour! With tomatoes, olives, capers, and savory spices, it’s daring and weeknight-friendly.
- Prep Time: quarter-hour
- Cook dinner Time: 15 to twenty minutes
- Complete Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 4 1x
- Class: Essential Dish
- Technique: Baked, Baking
- Delicacies: Mediterranean, Mediterranean Food regimen
- Food regimen: Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Mediterranean Food regimen, Pescatarian
Components
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced in half (yellow and pink if doable)
- ¼ cup olives, halved (Kalamata or a mixture of Kalamata and a gentle inexperienced olive like Castelvetrano)
- ½ pink onion, thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons drained capers
- 1 small lemon, thinly sliced into rings
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 kilos salmon fillets
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ tsp cumin
- Finely chopped contemporary parsley or dill, for garnish
- Recent floor black pepper
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Let the fish sit at room temperature whereas preheating (or brine it; see Notes).
- Place the chopped greens and lemon slices within the backside of a 9 x 13″ baking dish. Combine with 1 tablespoon olive oil, ¼ teaspoon salt, and contemporary floor black pepper.
- Pat the salmon dry. Rub it with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 teaspoon kosher salt (see Notes0 cut up between the filets. Place it on prime of the greens within the pan. Combine the smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and cumin collectively, then sprinkle the fillets with the seasonings. Sprinkle the capers excessive.
- Place the pan within the oven and bake for 15 to twenty minutes (relying on the thickness of the fish), till the fish is flaky and the interior temperature is 130 levels Fahrenheit when measured with a meals thermometer. Garnish with chopped parsley and take away the lemon slices when serving (or eat them in the event you like!).
Notes
- Brining the salmon may also help to keep away from the “white stuff” or albumin that rises to the floor. To take action, in a shallow dish, whisk collectively 4 cups room temperature water and three tablespoons kosher salt till it dissolves. Place the salmon within the water and anticipate quarter-hour. Then pat the salmon dry and season with ½ teaspoon salt as a substitute of 1 teaspoon.
