Pan Seared Salmon in Lemon Cream Sauce
Perfectly spiced and pan seared salmon in a decadent lemon cream sauce. This delicious and healthy recipe comes together in under 30 minutes! Serve over cauliflower rice the perfect Whole30 and Low Carb meal.
Originally published 03/2021
This is a go-to dish for our family. It is so flavorful and feels fancy even though it is so easy to make. I love to serve it over cauliflower rice to help soak up that beautiful sauce. If you are not doing a round of Whole30, white rice and pasta are delicious with this salmon as well.
I use wild caught salmon that I get from ButcherBox. It is such good quality and I always have some in my freezer for meals like this. I place my frozen fish in the fridge the night before so it has time to thaw out in a safe manner. If I am in a rush, I will put the fish (still in it’s vacuum packaging) in cold water.
Tips for the Salmon:
- Use a non-stick skillet or your best well seasoned cast iron pan
- Make sure the pan is nice and hot before adding the salmon
- Use avocado oil or Ghee, they have a higher smoke point
- Don’t force the fish to flip, it should release a little from the pan when it is ready
- Use a fish spatula to flip the salmon
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Photography by Loren Runion of SweetRusticBakes.com
Pan Seared Salmon in Lemon Cream Sauce
Ingredients
Salmon
- 2 Tbls Avocado Oil or ghee
- 4 Salmon Filets
- 1.5 tsp Sea Salt
- 1.5 tsp Paprika
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/4 tsp Pepper
Lemon Cream Sauce
- 1 Tbls Ghee
- 2 Tbls Shallots or yellow onion, finely diced
- 3 cloves Garlic minced
- 1 can Coconut Milk full fat (14.5oz)
- 1/4 cup Chicken Broth
- 1/4 tsp Pepper Flakes
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
- 1 Lemon
- 2 Tbls Parsley fresh
Instructions
Salmon
- Mix the spices in a small bowl to combinePat the salmon dry with a paper towel and season both sides with spice mixtureHeat avocado oil of medium high heat in a large cast iron (or non-stick) skillet Once the skillet is hot, sear the salmon for 2-3 minutes a side and remove from the pan (2 minutes for thiner filets)
Lemon Cream Sauce
- Carefully wipe out the pan and turn to medium heat, add in the gheeThen add in the shallots and garlic, let saute for 2-3 minutesAdd in the chicken broth, coconut milk, pepper flakes and sea salt. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmerLet it simmer until it starts to reduce and thicken up (7-10 minutes) Stir in the juice of half a lemon and parsley then taste for salt Place the seared salmon filets in the sauce and let simmer for 2 minutes to warm up Use the other half of the lemon to cut into wedges to serve with dinnerServe over cauliflower rice, white rice, or pasta and enjoy!
Notes
Tips for Fish:
- Use a non-stick skillet or your best well seasoned cast iron pan
- Make sure the pan is nice and hot before adding the salmon
- Use avocado oil or Ghee, they have a higher smoke point
- Don’t force the fish to flip, it should release a little from the pan when it is ready
- Use a fish spatula to flip the salmon
Nutrition
Does it add any coconut flavor? I’m looking for a dairy alternative for savory that doesn’t impart it’s own flavor to my dish.
Yes, you can taste the coconut in this dish. Nutpods is a good dairy free option, it does have some coconut in it but has a very mild flavor
This recipe is so good. I don’t eat poultry so I made this tonight for my Thanksgiving main dish while others had Turkey. It was awesome and there were jealous Turkey eaters around the table. Will definitely make again!
This is such an amazing comment, thank you for sharing. So happy you enjoyed the recipe.
I never leave comments but omg. Had to. This recipe is amazing and so simple. Everyone loved it. I didn’t have chicken broth so I just used salt water. Added some fresh dill and zest from the lemon. Definitely will be making again.
Girl, this is so good! Dont feel so guilty with the healthy ingredients. Thank you for a great staple dish!!
The best salmon recipe! We’ve been having this dish every week for fish Friday’s. My kids love it!
I made this two times already. Could make again and again. 2nd time I used cod fillets, butter instead of ghee, and heavy whipping cream instead of coconut milk. So delicious! Didn’t last long on my plate! Thank you for the scrumptious recipe!
This is one of the best salmon dishes I have ever had. I make it regularly! I don’t add paprika because I don’t really like it, but otherwise perfection!
Wonderful! Fast, and easy enough for a weeknight dinner 🙂
This was simply AMAZING!!! The flavors felt so rich and clean. One of the best meals I have had in a long time.
This was simply AMAZING!!! The flavors felt so rich and clean. One of the best meals I have had in a long time.