Fresh salmon is seared to crispy perfection and engulfed in a creamy pesto sauce. Enjoy this creamy pesto salmon with your choice of side dishes for a complete meal.
After making my Salmon Pesto Pasta recipe, I went into hyper-fixation mode and have been craving pesto salmon ever since. While I adore that salmon pasta, I also wanted to make an easy weeknight meal featuring a creamy pesto sauce.
So that’s what we’re diving into here!
This easy creamy pesto salmon recipe requires only a handful of very basic ingredients: salmon, pesto sauce, full-fat coconut milk (or heavy cream), onion powder, salt and pepper!
A huge return on investment given how flavorful the main dish is relative to the time and effort needed to prepare it!
Perfectly cooked crispy, tender and flaky salmon in flavorful sauce is kind of my thing for any or all busy weeknights. I’m all about getting plenty of protein, a big dose of omega 3 fatty acids, and I always pair it up with roasted vegetable or stir fry vegetables and brown rice.
The pesto cream sauce transforms already delicious fish into a dreamscape for a delicious way to enjoy your favorite fish.
If you prefer just pesto and salmon together without sauce, make my Baked Pesto Salmon Recipe.
Let’s chat about the simple ingredients for creamy crispy pesto salmon.
Ingredients for Creamy Pesto Salmon:
Fresh Salmon Filets: pick your favorite kind of salmon! I recommend using a fatty cut of salmon like wild-caught King salmon or Atlantic salmon.
I use wild-caught salmon. Sockeye salmon works too but pay close attention to its internal temperature because it is very easy to overcook sockeye.
Onion Powder, Salt, and Black Pepper: Season the salmon to your personal taste with onion powder, salt, and pepper.
Avocado Oil: we need a quality cooking oil to sear the salmon. Avocado oil has a high smoke point, making it ideal for searing at high temperatures.
I don’t recommend using olive oil in this application because it burns at relatively low temperatures.
Full-Fat Canned Coconut Milk: the creamy sauce is brought to you by canned full-fat coconut milk. The pesto sauce is so flavorful that you can’t taste the coconut milk.
I keep the recipe light in dairy (there’s Parmesan cheese in pesto sauce), because my body doesn’t love large amounts of fresh dairy. If you do well with dairy, you can replace the coconut milk with 1 cup of heavy cream.
Pesto Sauce: pesto sauce adds garlic, fresh basil, nutty Parmesan flavors that turns everything into a dreamboat. Pick your favorite homemade pesto sauce or store-bought pesto sauce.
I love that pesto sauce brings fresh flavor for a foolproof recipe that is flavor packed and delicious.
Recipe Customizations:
- Add sun-dried tomatoes, Kalamata olives, fresh lemon zest (or lemon juice), artichoke hearts, and/or capers for even more added flavor.
- Use a different kind of fish. Cod, tilapia, halibut, and trout are all great options. Just note that leaner fish requires a little more care to cook because they become dry when overcooked. Other kinds of fish require different cooking times.
- Now that we’ve covered the simple ingredients for this crispy salmon recipe, let’s make this healthy dinner recipe!
- Toss in some fresh vegetables such as cherry tomatoes, baby spinach, green beans, broccoli, or zucchini.
- While I use basil pesto for this recipe, you can use any kind of pesto you like. Kale Pesto, Low-FODMAP Pesto, and Roasted Beet Pesto are all great options.
- If you want a ton of sauce, use one full can of coconut milk and 3/4 cup of pesto sauce. If you go this route, you will have plenty of sauce to serve over cooked pasta for pasta night.
- Sprinkle pine nuts on top of the salmon for a little crunch.
- Add 1/4 cup of dry white wine if you love the flavor of wine in home cooked meals.
How to Make Creamy Pesto Salmon:
Remove the salmon from its packaging and place them on a plate lined with a long paper towel.
Use the paper towels to pat the salmon to remove any excess moisture. Season salmon fillets with garlic powder, sea salt, and black pepper.
Heat the avocado oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Allow the skillet to heat up for a few minutes so that the surface is sizzling hot.
Place the salmon fillets on the hot skillet skin-side up. Cook salmon for 4-6 minutes. Flip the salmon and cook on the skin side for 4-6 minutes for a perfect sear.
Note: thinner salmon filets require less time 4 minutes per side, whereas a large piece of salmon need 6 minutes per side. I recommend cooking thin sockeye salmon filets for 1-2 minutes per side, as they cook relatively quickly.
Transfer the salmon to a plate and set aside.
Place the skillet back onto the hot stove top and allow it to cool off for a few minutes. Heat the skillet over medium heat and add the canned coconut milk and pesto sauce. Stir and bring the mixture to a gentle bubble, allowing the coconut milk to fully melt.
As an alternative, heat the coconut milk and basil in a separate saucepan while the salmon is searing to speed up the process.
Transfer the salmon fillets back to the skillet with the sauce. Spoon the sauce over the salmon filets.
Cook, spooning sauce over salmon, until the salmon has cooked through. The FDA considers salmon to be fully cooked at 145 degrees Fahrenheit.
Insert a digital thermometer into the thickest part of each fillet to check its internal temperature.
For thick salmon filets, you may need to cover the skillet with a lid to get the salmon to fully cook. Be careful to continue spot checking the internal temperature to avoid overcooking the salmon.
If you enjoy rare salmon, cook it to 125-130 degrees F but understand there is a risk of illness with undercooked fish.
Serve pesto salmon immediately with your choice of side dishes. I recommend rice, cauliflower rice, mashed potatoes, or pasta noodles and roasted vegetables or a side salad for a well balanced meal. If you love a glass of wine, a dry white wine such as sauvignon blanc is a great pairing.
Store leftover salmon in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
The next time you’re craving a sultry salmon dinner, whip up this quick and easy recipe!
Simple enough to whip up on any easy weeknight dinner, yet fancy enough to enjoy for a special occasion, this attractive pesto salmon checks all the boxes!
This pesto pasta recipe is one of those easy dinner ideas that is perfect for dinner parties or casual evenings alike.
If you’re a salmon lover, try my other popular salmon recipes!
More Salmon Recipes:
- Crispy Bang Bang Salmon Bites Bowls
- Crispy Salmon with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
- Mediterranean Salmon in Parchment Paper
- Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Salmon
- Crispy Skillet Salmon with Lemon Dill Caper Sauce
- 4-Ingredient Mediterranean Stuffed Salmon
- Blackened Salmon with Cajun Garlicky Kale
Enjoy this delicious dinner for a high protein meal and a burst of freshness!
Creamy Pesto Salmon Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 lbs salmon cut into individual filets
- 1/2 tsp sea salt to taste
- 1/2 tsp onion powder to taste
- 1/4 tsp black pepper to taste
- 1 cup full-fat canned coconut milk
- ½ cup pesto sauce
Instructions
- Remove the salmon from its packaging and place them on a plate lined with a long paper towel. Use the paper towels to pat the salmon to remove any excess moisture. Season salmon fillets with garlic powder, sea salt, and black pepper.
- Heat the avocado oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Allow the skillet to heat up for a few minutes so that the surface is sizzling hot.
- Place the salmon fillets on the hot skillet skin-side up. For large salmon filets, cook salmon for 4-6 minutes per side, until both sides have a great sear. For very thin filets such as sockeye salmon, cook for 1-2 minutes per side.
- Place the skillet back onto the hot stove top and allow it to cool off for a few minutes. Heat the skillet over medium heat and add the canned coconut milk and pesto sauce. Stir and bring the mixture to a gentle bubble, allowing the coconut milk to fully melt.
- Transfer the salmon fillets back to the skillet with the sauce. Spoon the sauce over the salmon filets.
- Cook, spooning sauce over salmon, until the salmon has cooked through. The FDA considers salmon to be fully cooked at 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Insert a digital thermometer into the thickest part of each fillet to check its internal temperature.
- For thick salmon filets, you may need to cover the skillet with a lid to get the salmon to fully cook. Be careful to continue spot checking the internal temperature to avoid overcooking the salmon. If you enjoy rare salmon, cook it to 125-130 degrees F but understand there is a risk of illness with undercooked fish.
- Serve pesto salmon immediately with your choice of side dishes. I recommend rice, cauliflower rice, mashed potatoes, or pasta noodles and roasted vegetables or a side salad for a well balanced meal.
Nutrition
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Made this and did it again with rockfish/red snapper. It kept the fish moist inside and so full of flavor. We had it with broccoli one evening and cauliflower another.
Ooh, I like the idea of using a different kind of fish! I’m happy to hear it turned out well for you, Elana! Thank you for sharing!
I cook a lot of fish. l like this idea a lot, full of flavor!
I’m happy to hear you like the idea of it! I just adore salmon and pesto sauce together…what a great combo!