Oven-baked salmon in foil is my go-to weekday dinner! So easy to make and ready in under 30 minutes. This recipe is Keto and Low Carb friendly, and did I mention DELICIOUS!
If you haven't tried baking salmon in foil before, now is the time! Do you want to enjoy a healthy dinner but don't have the time? Contemplating a Grubhub delivery but not overly joyed about it. Here enters my delicious oven-baked salmon in foil.
The CHEF TIP for making salmon great is to have compound butter on hand. Compound what you ask? A room temperature but flavored with whatever you like. We add in lemon, garlic, parsley, and chipotle for a lovely kick.
Make a large batch of compound butter, roll them into logs, and freeze. Craving salmon, shrimp, or steak? Top with a thick slice of butter for an amazing sauce.
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why this oven baked salmon in foil is so good
- Chipotle spice - ½ teaspoon of chipotle powder add a bit of kick. Lemon and butter pair perfectly with a bit of heat.
- Compound Butter - a great way to flavor butter for a quick sauce. In this recipe, we use parsley, lemon, garlic, chipotle, salt, and pepper.
- Foil Boats - making a foil boat allows you to bake the salmon and asparagus together, collecting the sauce.
oven baked salmon ingredients
To make this recipe you'll need:
- salmon
- garlic
- grass-feed butter
- lemon juice
- asparagus
- parsley
- salt and pepper
- chipotle powder
how to make this recipe
Making oven-baked salmon in foil is so easy! Here's how to make it:
- Let the butter come to room temperature. Place in a bowl with lemon juice, salt, chipotle powder, parsley, and black pepper. Mix until well combined
- Place butter on a piece of parchment paper and shape it into a log.
- Transfer log of butter to a large piece of plastic wrap. Roll the butter log in plastic wrap and twist the ends of plastic in opposite directions to tighten. Place into the freezer for 1 hour.
- Using a 12 x 14-inch sheet of aluminum foil, make foil boats. Fold in each side of the foil until you have a square with four raised sides. This will contain the butter when it melts.
- Prep the asparagus by removing the woody ends. Cutaway 2 inches from the bottom of the asparagus.
- Cut salmon into four 5-ounce fillets. You can purchase a side of salmon and do it yourself or ask your local butcher to do this for you.
- Remove compound butter from the freezer and slice into ½ - 1-inch slices.
- Place salmon, asparagus, and compound butter in foil boats. Bake at 425 degrees for 10-12 minutes.
Substitutions For Oven Baked Salmon
- Salmon: Any fish will work in this recipe. Some of my favorites are Halibut, Cod, Artic Char, or Dover Sole.
- Butter: You can make compound butter with Ghee. Let soften slightly and mix all ingredients. Place on a sheet of parchment paper and shape into a log. Place into the refrigerator or freezer until ready to use.
- Asparagus: Broccoli, green beans, baby potatoes, and brussels sprouts are great options.
- Parsley: Cilantro, chives, and tarragon all pair well with salmon.
- Foil: Parchment paper is a great way to cook fish. Take a large sheet of parchment paper and wrap salmon and veggies into a enclosed packet. In France, they call this En Papillote, click this link for detailed instructions.
- Whole 30: Omit butter and use Ghee.
Variations
- Add more veggies: Throw in sliced cherry tomatoes and fresh herbs to increase your veggie intake.
- Pesto Sauce: Try adding 2 tablespoons of fresh pesto to the softened butter. Omit chipotle and parsley.
- Scallops: Replace salmon with scallops. Garlic, parsley, and lemon go well with any type of seafood.
Storage
Cooked salmon will last 3-4 days in the refrigerator. Store in a shallow air-tight container.
Compound Butter - I like to make multiple logs and keep them in the freezer. Make multiple logs with different flavors. Top chicken, fish, or beef with compound butter to elevate the flavor!
Pro Tips
- Use a fatty piece of salmon for the best flavor. I like to use Atlantic king salmon for this recipe. Wild-caught coho salmon is very lean and dries out quickly.
- Grass-fed butter is WORTH it! I remember the day I switched to using Kerrygold butter. It was amazing how much flavor this butter had.
- Remove butter from the refrigerator and let sit out at room temperature for at least 1 hour.
- Use parchment paper to roll the butter into a log. Position butter in the center of the paper. Fold the edge closest to you over the butter and shape, with your hands form a nice uniform log.
- Store log in plastic wrap for the best results. Transfer the log to plastic wrap and twist both ends of the plastic in OPPOSITE directions to tighten and secure the butter. Freeze until ready to use.
- Place a butter slice on the asparagus too. The compound butter is meant to flavor the salmon and veggies.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on a few factors. The temperature of the oven and the thickness of the fillet come into play. A center-cut salmon fillet will bake in 10-12 minutes in a 425-degree oven.
You don't need foil to bake salmon. Place salmon on a parchment-lined baking tray and cook for 10-12 minutes. You could make a parchment packet to cook the fish in as well. To do this place fish, veggies, and butter on the paper and wrap around the fish, creating a packet and bake.
Flavored kinds of butter add a new dimension to the fish. In this recipe, we make herb-lemon butter. Feel free to add anchovies, sundried tomatoes, herbs, garlic, shallots, etc.
You might like these too...
- Sloppy Joe Stuffed Sweet Potato
- Citrus Harvest Chicken Salad
- Sweet Potato Souffle
- Healthy Pantry Essentials
📖 Recipe
Oven Baked Salmon In Foil
Ingredients
- Salmon Foil Packets
- 4 -5 ounce salmon fillets
- 1 bunch of asparagus
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Lemon-Herb Butter
- ½ cup butter room temperature
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon chipotle powder
- 2 tablespoon chopped parsley
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Lemon-Herb Butter
- Let the butter come to room temperature. Place in a bowl with lemon juice, salt, chipotle powder, parsley, and black pepper. Mix until well combined
- Place butter on a piece of parchment paper and shape it into a log. Transfer log of butter to a large piece of plastic wrap. Roll the butter log in plastic wrap and twist the ends of plastic in opposite directions to tighten.
- Place butter into the freezer for 1 hour.
- Salmon
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Using a 12 x 14-inch sheet of aluminum foil, make foil boats. Fold in each side of foil until you have a square with 4 raised sides. This will contain the butter when it melts.
- Portion salmon into 4 5-ounce fillets. Place salmon into individual boats rested against the left side of the foil boat.
- Prep asparagus - grab a bundle of asparagus and cut off the woody ends. Place the asparagus next to the salmon.
- Remove butter from the freezer. Cut into ½ - 1-inch thick slices and remove plastic wrap. Top salmon and asparagus with butter.
- Bake salmon in a 425-degree oven for 10-12 minutes. The internal temperature should be at least 145 degrees.
- Place salmon and asparagus on a dinner place and drizzle the melted butter onto the fish.
