Baked Salmon with Garlic butter, made quickly and easily on a sheet pan might be the only fish recipe you need this season! Garlic Butter Salmon is a favorite at my family table, and I love making it too. You’ll love the savory flavor and the clean up is a breeze.
If you haven’t tried making dinner on a sheet pan, I’m not sure what you’re waiting for. There’s something very pleasing to me about a whole dinner that includes potatoes and veggies that only requires me to wash one pan. It’s like a vacation from dishes!
This really is the best recipe for salmon that you can make on a busy weeknight. It’s flavorful, perfectly cooked, and simple to put together. Add a simple salad or some dinner rolls, but only if you want to – this baked salmon recipe is a meal all on its own.
Why You’ll Love This Salmon Recipe
- One Pan Magic. I love sheet pan meals! They are simple, only make one pan for me to wash, and include all the food groups.
- Simple Ingredients. Salmon might be a special buy for you, but I bet you have the rest of these items handy in your kitchen.
- Savory and Flavorful. The garlic butter sauce on this baked salmon and vegetables is so good! It’s a classic combination of flavors that works with so many things.
Ingredients
A savory butter, garlic, and herb sauce is so simple to make!
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
- Salmon: I use a 1 – 1 ½ pound (500-600g) salmon filet with the skin on and bones removed. I find that a full piece of salmon rather than cut portions cooks better with this method.
Tip!
Cook this baked salmon recipe with the skin on to give it more flavor!
- Baby Potatoes: You can use white, yellow, or red baby potatoes. Cut them in half or in quarters if they are large. The smaller you cut them, the faster they will cook.
- Green Beans: Fresh green beans, trimmed and washed are so delicious when roasted with salmon.
- Butter: This is where the magic comes from! Melted butter adds flavor and brings in all of the other delicious flavors with it.
- Garlic: I used two cloves. Add more if you want to. To make mincing garlic super easy, use a garlic press.
- Dried Herbs: Use any combination you like, up to 1 teaspoon total. Here I used oregano, basil, dill and parsley in equal amounts.
- Lemon: All fish recipes need lemon in them. It’s just a requirement in my book!
- Salt and Pepper: Seasoning the fish well while it cooks is important. Or try my favorite salmon seasoning, it’s delicious!
How to Make This Easy Salmon Recipe
Baked salmon with garlic butter is cooked all on one sheet pan for easy cleanup.
- Cook Potatoes: To a sheet pan, add the potatoes, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Arrange them cut side down and bake in the preheated oven until fork-tender (15 minutes or so). Alternatively, you can parboil the potatoes for 10-15 minutes, and then add them to the sheet pan.
- Make the Sauce: In a small bowl, combine butter, garlic, herbs, lemon juice, and salt and pepper and give them a whisk.
- Add Salmon and beans: Remove the sheet pan with the potatoes from the oven, move the potatoes to one side, place the salmon in the middle, skin side down, and arrange the green beans around the salmon.
- Drizzle: Pour the garlic butter sauce over the salmon and green beans. A little bit on the potatoes is fine too!
- Finish: Cook the potatoes, green beans, and salmon in the oven for 15 more minutes. The salmon is done when the internal temperature reaches 145°F/62°C.
Baked Salmon Cooking Tips
I don’t have too much more to say about this easy salmon recipe – it’s so simple, it’s hard to mess up!
- Preheat. When roasting it’s important to let the oven pre-heat fully. If you will be boiling the potatoes instead of roasting them in the beginning, you can preheat the sheet pan as well, so that it’s nice and hot when you add the ingredients. This will help everything to brown up perfectly.
- Use Foil. To really minimize clean up you can line your sheet pan with aluminum foil before adding the ingredients. I prefer not to do, as I find that things brown up better when they have direct contact to the pan. I use this same method to make my delicious Honey Mustard Salmon recipe.
- Cook the Potatoes Just Right. The trick to a perfect sheet pan meal is making it so the potatoes are done at the same time as the other items. Here we cook the potatoes alone until they are done, and then add the fish and veggies. Using par-boiled potatoes or potatoes that were cooked previously will help this process along.
- Saute it Instead. Use this recipe for Honey Garlic Salmon or Tuscan Salmon to see how I make a similar dish on the stovetop.
- Try it with Chicken. The flavors of butter, garlic and herbs are also delicious with chicken. Similarly to my Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs and Greek Sheet Pan Chicken recipe, you can use chicken thighs here as well. If using chicken, cook the meat with the potatoes since it will need more time.
Baked Salmon Variations
This is, in my opinion, the best baked salmon recipe ever, but there is room to play around with things and make it more interesting.
Swap out Veggies: Green beans are great, but other sturdy vegetables, such as bell peppers, cauliflower, carrots, or sugar snap peas can be used too.
Make it Sweet: Skip the herbs and add a tablespoon or more of honey to the sauce instead to get a sweet and salty honey garlic salmon sauce that is just amazing.
Use another fish: Any type of firm, meaty fish can be used in this recipe. Try sea trout, mahi mahi, or tuna.
What to Serve with Garlic Butter Salmon
With a Delicious Sauce. This Cream Sauce for Salmon is my go-to whenever I make any type of Salmon, and I LOVE it with this recipe so you have to try it! Homemade Tartar Sauce will be delicious as well.
Extra Veggies. Sheet pan Salmon is a whole meal on one pan, but some extra veggies never hurt. Try making Air Fryer Cauliflower or Broccoli in the Instant Pot for a simple side dish.
With Soup. Enjoy soup as a first course while your baked salmon is cooking. Roasted Carrot Soup or Creamy Clam Chowder would both be delicious.
Make Dessert. Since dinner was so easy, you can put your energy into a delicious dessert for your family to enjoy. Oreo Tiramisu or Cherry Pie are both amazing.
FAQs
When you’re checking the salmon fillets, you’re aiming for 145°F/63°C internally. Overcooked salmon is dry and crumbly, so try to get that temp just right!
Anytime you want to cook with fish that has been frozen, it should be thawed first. Otherwise you risk having a raw center and dried out exterior. Large salmon filets can be thawed in the fridge overnight. Need it faster than that? Fill a large bowl or pan with cold water, place the salmon in a plastic bag, and submerge it. Thawing salmon in cold water only takes about an hour.
This recipe will be delicious with almost any type of firm fish. Suggested substitutes for Salmon include trout, mahi-mahi, arctic char, bluefish, and amberjack.
Enjoy your newfound freedom from scrubbing pots and pans! Sheet pan dinners are amazing, and I know you’re going to love this one.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Sheet Pan Garlic Butter Salmon
Recipe Video
Equipment
- sheet pan
Ingredients
- 1 – 1 ½ pounds salmon filet joint skin-on and boneless, 500-600g
- 1 pound baby potatoes 450g, cut in halves or quarters depending on their size (the smaller you cut them, the quicker they will cook)
- 12 ounces green beans 350g, trimmed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the garlic butter sauce:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ½ lemon juiced
- 1 teaspoon dried herbs I used oregano, basil, dill, and parsley
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
- To a sheet pan, add the potatoes, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Arrange them cut side down and bake in the oven until fork tender (about 15 minutes). Or you can parboil the potatoes for 10-15 minutes, drain them and add to the sheet pan.
- Meanwhile, make the garlic butter sauce. In a small bowl, combine all of the ingredients and give them a whisk.
- Remove the sheet pan from the oven, move the potatoes to one side, place the salmon in the middle and arrange the green beans around the salmon.
- Pour the garlic butter sauce over the salmon and green beans.
- Place the sheet pan in the oven and cook for 15 more minutes.
Notes:
- Swap the vegetables. You can use asparagus, broccoli or other sturdy vegetables, such as bell peppers, cauliflower, carrots, or sugar snap peas.
- The salmon is done when the internal temperature reaches 145°F/62°C.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
Joel says
I made this recipe the other night and it turned out awesome! This is the kind of recipe I like – easy to make, wholesome, and delicious. I made it with Sockeye Salmon, small red potatoes, and frozen green beans from my garden. It was easy and quick to make, and it was delicious! I don’t normally comment on recipes, but I felt this one deserved and excellent rating!
Joel says
I forgot to mention that I cooked the salmon to about 120 degrees before removing it from the oven. As the temp continues to rise after being removed from the heat, it was cooked perfectly.
Diana says
Thank you so much for the great review, Joel! I’m so glad that you loved the recipe and thought that it’s worth an excellent rating!