Baked salmon with dill sauce is always a great choice for an easy one-pan weeknight meal. Just slice up some fillets, bake them all together, and serve. The delicious dill sauce pairs well with flaky, perfectly cooked salmon.
I love making baked fish when having guests over because you can cook everything together. No fiddling with different pans to make sure everyone gets their hot food when its read AND at the same time. If you don’t like whole baked fish, then dressed fillets are the way to go!
Salmon is quite an economical fish if you buy an entire side and prepare it yourself. At least in my market, whole fish is about 40% cheaper than prepackaged fresh fillets. So I always tend to buy a whole or half fish when making baked fish recipes for guests.
How To Make A Baked Salmon With Dill Sauce
The first thing you need to do is to de-bone your fish. I am baking this salmon with the skin on, but if you prefer you can take that off as well. The rest of the ingredients are all for the deliciously tangy and herby dill sauce which pairs so well with this fatty fish. If you buy a whole fish then don’t throw out the head or spine. You can use it for a delicious base for a classy salmon cream soup!
Before baking the salmon, I let the roughly 6oz fillets bathe in some salt water for about 15 minutes. I find this prevents the fish from drying out when you bake it.
Place your salmon fillets on a foil lined sheet pan and brush the skins with some oil so they don’t stick. Then give a light sprinkle of salt and pop the tray in an oven at 175C or 350F for 15 minutes. While the fish is baking you can make the dill sauce.
The dill sauce is one of my favorite salmon finishing sauces, and it is super easy to make. Plus you can easily adjust the levels of ingredients to better suit your tastes!
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp Sour Cream – I used smetana which is a high fat Eastern European sour cream, but you can use whatever brand you prefer.
- 1 tbsp Mayonnaise – either store bought or homemade. I feel mayo helps emulsify the final sauce and prevents any splitting.
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 2 tbsp Fresh Dill – roughly chopped
- 1 Shallot – grated
- 1/2 Lemon – juice of
- Salt – to taste
In a bowl add all the ingredients and combine with a whisk or a fork. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasonings as you see fit. You can add things like cracked black pepper, oregano, paprika, or any other seasoning you think will benefit this dill sauce.
After the salmon is done baking, remove the fillet from the foil and plate. Spoon over your desired amount of dill sauce and enjoy!
If you have any leftover salmon there are plenty of recipes you can make so nothing goes to waste. My salmon cakes are a popular fish cake recipe, and if you want something a bit healthier you can make a salmon salad with miso dressing for an Asian inspired dish.
Baked Salmon With Dill Sauce
Equipment
- 1 Baking Tray
- Foil | optional, but makes cleanup a breeze
Ingredients
- 4 6oz Salmon Fillets
- 3 tbsp Sour Cream
- 1 tbsp Mayonnaise
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 Shallot grated
- 2 tbsp Fresh Dill roughly chopped
- 1/2 Lemon juice of
- Salt to taste
- Olive Oil optional, if you are leaving the skin on the salmon
Instructions
- Debone and cut your salmon into personal sized portions. If you bought them already butchered then you can skip this step.
- Place the salmon fillets in a bowl of salted water for 15 minutes.
- Line a baking tray with foil and drizzle some oil. Place your salmon fillets skin side down and sprinkle a little salt over the tops of the fish. Place in the oven at 175C or 350F to bake for 15 minutes.
- While the salmon is baking make the dill sauce.
- Combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl with a whisk or a fork. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
- Remove the salmon from the oven, plate, and dress with the sauce. Enjoy!
