Steamed Salmon with Garlic, Herbs and Lemon is quite possibly the easiest way to cook salmon EVER, even easier than my broiled salmon. End of story.
Table of Contents
Why I Love This Recipe
- there's basically no clean up due to the parchment paper... a major win there.
- you don't risk your kitchen smelling fishy because there's no opportunity for the salmon to splatter all over your counter when you sear it.
- it's a one-pot dish and we all LOVE that.
If there's one cookbook that's stayed in the front of my mind recently (besides my own) it's 100% Istanbul from Cookbook Club #10! There's a steamed salmon recipe in the book that drives me WILD. And I'm convinced it's 100% the best way to cook fish.
All of that boils down to a recipe for success! I've been making this for dinner parties for ages. Add to that the fact that Poppy LOVES it! I'll serve it up with some steamed white rice that I've tossed with plenty of mint for extra flavor. And then a veggie, like roasted broccolli or avocado kale caesar, on the side. It's simple, incredibly flavorful, and I am 10000% positive you guys will be obsessed!!
Ingredients & Substitutions
For the Salmon:
- Skin on Salmon cut into 4 equal sized pieces
- Yellow Onion thinly sliced
- Garlic Cloves thinly sliced
- Parsley roughly chopped
- Dill roughly chopped
- Kosher Salt
- Black Pepper freshly cracked
- Olive Oil
- Lemons sliced as thin as possible
- Dry White Wine
For the Green Yogurt Sauce:
- Shallot roughly chopped
- Basil Leaves stems removed
- Garlic
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Olive Oil
- Red Wine Vinegar
- Kosher Salt
- Greek Yogurt or Labneh full fat
*For a full list of ingredients and instructions please see recipe card below
How to Make Steamed Salmon
Step 1: Put the fish, onion, garlic, herbs, salt and pepper in a medium bowl and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Toss to combine.
Step 2: Cut a 2 foot length of parchment paper and center it in a 10-inch heavy bottom skillet that has a lid. Transfer all of the fish and combined ingredients to the lined skillet with the fish skin side down.
Step 3: Arrange the lemon sliced in a single layer over the fish and drizzle with the remaining olive oil and wine. Fold the paper over to cover the fish and crimp the edges together to seal.
Step 4: Cover the pan with the lid. Cook over medium high heat for 5 minutes. DO NOT OPEN THE PAN. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook for another 8-10 minutes depending on if you want your fish medium to well done. Remove the pan from the heat and let rest for 5 minutes
Step 5: Blend everything together in a blender until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Step 6: Remove the lid, carefully open the paper and serve directly from the skillet so you can get all the juices at the bottom. Serve alongside a bowl of steamed white rice with mint
How to Store Steamed Salmon
While I recommend eating it fresh, steamed salmon can be stored in the fridge for a couple days. To re-heat, use the microwave or warm it on the stovetop.
How to Freeze Steamed Salmon
Like I said, prefer to eat it fresh, but if you must, you can freeze steamed salmon once completely cooled, in freezer bags. Make sure you date them and eat them within 3 months. Thaw it in the fridge overnight when its time to eat, and warm it through on the stovetop or oven. It might be better to use previously-frozen salmon in a spread or to make salmon cakes than to eat on its own.
Tips & Tricks
This recipe is perfectly PERFECT and you could serve it on it's own but... I also included a really delish herby yogurt sauce for drizzling on top if you want to add even more flavor. It also make an appearance in these Loaded Steak Salad Bowls which I can't get enough of!
FAQs
Can I take the skin off for steamed salmon?
Yes, you absolutely can!
How do I tell if the salmon is done?
A medium to well done salmon should be opaque outside and still a bit translucent in the center. It should also flake easily when pressed down gently without completely crumbling down or being very dry.
Similar Recipes
If you tried this recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting today!
Steamed Salmon with Garlic, Herbs and Lemon
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs skin on salmon cut into 4 equal sized pieces
- 1 yellow onion thinly sliced
- 6 garlic cloves thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup roughly chopped parsley
- ⅓ cup roughly chopped dill
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 lemons sliced as thin as possible
- ⅓ cup dry white wine
Optional Green Yogurt Sauce
- 1 shallot, roughly chopped
- 2 cups tightly packed basil leaves, stems removed
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ cup full fat greek yogurt or labneh
Instructions
- Cut a 2 foot length of parchment paper and center it in a 10-inch heavy bottom skillet that has a lid (Le Creuset or something of the sort)
- Put the fish, onion, garlic, herbs, salt and pepper in a medium bowl and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Toss to combine. Transfer all of it to the lined skillet with the fish skin side down. Arrange the lemon sliced in a single layer over the fish and drizzle with the remaining olive oil and wine. Fold the paper over to cover the fish and crimp the edges together to seal. Cover the pan with the lid. Cook over medium high heat for 5 minutes. DO NOT OPEN THE PAN. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook for another 8-10 minutes depending on if you want your fish medium to well done. Remove the pan from the heat and let rest for 5 minutes.
- Remove the lid, carefully open the paper and serve directly from the skillet so you can get all the juices at the bottom. Serve alongside a bowl of steamed white rice with mint
To make the Sauce
- Blend everything together in a blender until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste
Blown away by how delicious this was! I did take the skin off first. Hardy any mess making it a a clear favourite to add to our weekly meals.
Easy and delicious! I found the cook time to be off but attribute this to my cut of fish being rather thick. I ended up having to add 7 more minutes. I also think the sauce is mandatory! It’s what really takes this dish to the next level. Will be adding to my frequent rotation for sure.
Make this immediately!! Sooo easy, light and fresh and hardly any clean up. Perfect for a summer dinner party!
Most of the time, the salmon skin still have thdir scales. Do you descale before cooking?
yes - always take them off before cooking!
Absolutely delicious and super fast! I had full dinner on the table in 15 mins!! Lifesaver of a recipe!
Made this for dinner tonight for the family, my mother normally hates fish, but she enjoyed this one.
By my reckoning this means the dish is an absolute winner.
Lovely recipe, and very easy to follow, thank you.
5/5 stars.
It doesn’t say when to add the white wine initially. The first mention of it is only when it says to add the remainder?
Step 2 is where you'll see the wine added
Making this tonight! Quick question: is the nutrition info listed inclusive or exclusive of the yoghurt sauce?
Inclusive
Love this salmon recipe! Thank you Gabby! I made it 3 times already. Love the green yogurt sauce with it and its a must for the dish in my opinion. This recipe is super easy and the salmon tastes so light & fresh. Not fishy at all. Highly recommend.
Best salmon I have ever made!! Highly recommend for taste and easy to cook and clean!
So flavorful and easy!
I think this has great potential but for me the onions didn’t cook enough; I think next time I would sautée them first; wondering if anyone else had this issue? I also see from the picture that I should have chopped the parsley more. I look forward to trying it again with some adjustments.
This was so good! I subbed the onion for fennel which was just delicious! Thanks Gaby.
Got a Dutch oven for Christmas and broke it in with this recipe. It was such a breeze to make and SO tasty! Easy cleanup was a cherry on top.