20 Minute Salmon Recipes | Healthy + Simple Dinner Ideas

Hey lovelies! So all month long I'm sharing easy weeknight dinner ideas because, hey, I know as well as you guys do how hard it can be to get dinner on the table after a long day at work. And when it comes to easy weeknight dinner ideas, salmon should definitely not be overlooked. Not only is it of course incredibly nutritious and loaded with healthy fats, but it also cooks up in a flash. So it's perfect if you are sort of scurrying around the kitchen trying to figure out what's for dinner. Today I'm going to show you three delicious ways to prepare your salmon starting with this incredible baked lemon garlic salmon. When it comes to cooking salmon, honestly guys, sometimes simple is best and that is definitely the case with this amazing lemon garlic salmon. I'm doing this with a side of salmon. You could do it with portions as well, but I think it's so nice to cook the entire side at once. Now just to get started I have got a baking sheet here with some foil. I've left a nice overhang because we're going to create essentially a nice little pocket for our salmon to sort of steam in. So I'm just going to arrange my lemon slices on my baking sheet and then I'm going to transfer my side of salmon on top. What this is going to do is add a lot of moisture and of course infuse the salmon with great lemon flavor. Once my salmon is on top I'm going to top it with some melted butter and some chopped garlic. I am using two cloves of minced garlic here, but you can use as little or as much as you like. It's really just a matter of personal preference. You know, I'm never shy when it comes to garlic in this kitchen. For the final step we'll hit this with a little bit of salt and then we can start folding this up. We essentially want to create a nice steamed pouch. So what I like to do is bring the two edges together like so and then I will just fold them down and then of course we can't forget to do the same with the sides. You don't want any of that steam escaping until your salmon is fully cooked. And then I'll get this into the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for between 10 and 15 minutes. It really just depends on how large your salmon piece is. And when it's ready your salmon is beautiful, light pink, nice and flaky and ready to be enjoyed. You can eat it just as it is or you can flake it over a beautiful salad. It's really really wonderful for dinner but it also makes excellent leftovers for the next day. Come on guys, lemon, butter, garlic, is there anything these three ingredients can't do? Now for my next recipe I am whipping up some amazingly flavorful salmon cakes. Now this recipe may have a few more ingredients than our first recipe but it is just as simple thanks to the use of my amazing food processor. The food processor is going to actually be doing almost all of the work for us today. So not surprisingly our first ingredient in these salmon cakes is some salmon. I'm using fresh salmon in this recipe. I just cut it into cubes and I'm going to transfer that into the bowl of my food processor. Next I'm going to add some bread crumbs to this. The bread crumbs are really going to help bind these salmon cakes so it's important to use them. I'm using panko bread crumbs but if you only have traditional on hand that's fine as well. Then for some flavor I've got some shallot, some red bell pepper, and some celery headed into my food processor. I'm also going to be adding some mayonnaise to this, a little bit of Dijon mustard, and then for some additional flavor I've got some Old Bay seasoning headed in here. If you're not familiar with Old Bay it is like the world's most classic seafood seasoning. It's so delicious. And finally I'm going to add my favorite ingredient when it comes to fish, capers. I'm going to hit this with a little salt and a little pepper and then we will just pulse it maybe 10 to 15 times just until you get a texture like this. Something that you can easily press into your salmon cakes. Then it's time to just form our salmon cakes. I have transferred my mixture to a bowl and I'm actually going to use an ice cream scoop to make sure I get nice even salmon cakes. This is going to help make sure that they cook really evenly as well. This recipe will make eight salmon cakes in total. I find if you flatten them out a little bit they cook a little more quickly and a little more evenly. I have got a non-stick skillet happening here. This is actually one of my favorites. It's my crepe pan but it's perfect for doing this kind of cooking. I've got a little bit of oil heated up and I'm going to cook these up on medium heat because I want to make sure they cook fully through before they get too golden on the exterior. When it comes to something like salmon cakes I always like to ensure that they are fully cooked by using a meat thermometer. It needs to reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit so that you know it's safe to eat. Guys this is really one of those amazing cases where effortless does not mean flavorless. I like to serve them up simply with some fresh salad and a little dill dip and oh my gosh your whole family is going to love these. I recommend making a double batch and eating the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Finally lovelies we are whipping up some sesame crusted salmon. Sounds pretty sophisticated but honestly you won't believe how simple this recipe is to prepare. I am starting in this case with some lovely salmon fillets. I'm going to drizzle them lightly with just a little bit of oil and then I'm going to season them with some salt and some red pepper flakes. Now if you're not into the heat you can leave the red pepper flakes out but I really think the heat works well in this recipe. Next I am going to create a sesame crust and to do this I've got a combination of white sesame seeds and black sesame seeds. I basically am going to be pressing my salmon into them to create a really nice sesame crust. So I'm just going to combine them like this before I get my salmon in here. Once I've got them all prepared I'm just going to heat a little bit of oil up in a non-stick skillet. I really like non-stick for a recipe like this. Trust me on this one it's going to save you a lot of time and energy. And once the oil is nice and hot I'm going to get these into the pan skin side down for about five minutes or so. You want to let them cook up until the salmon is almost fully cooked through. Then I am going to flip these beauties over and let them cook for an additional say two to three minutes. It's important not to overcook them because those sesame seeds do tend to burn really easily but if you get it just right you'll end up just toasting the sesame seeds and have perfectly cooked salmon to enjoy. These are delicious all on their own but if you want to make them really amazing I recommend serving them up with this incredible sauce I'm going to show you now. It all starts with some tamari. In my bowl you could use soy sauce here as well. Tamari is just basically gluten-free soy sauce. And I'm going to add a little rice vinegar to that for some acidity. I've got some honey for sweetness, some ginger, and the zest and juice of a lime. What you end up with is this nice citrusy sweet and savory sauce that is perfect for either drizzling over your salmon or for dipping into. Guys this is guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser. Says who? Sesame. Guys I hope you'll give all three of these incredible recipes a try and if you do be sure to tweet me, instagram me, or facebook me a photo because you guys know how much I love seeing your kitchen creations. For all of the recipes you can find them in the description box below so take a look for them there. And finally if you haven't already be sure to subscribe because there is lots more deliciousness where this came from.