Easy Baked Salmon in Foil

If cooking salmon at home is something you avoid doing, then I am so excited for you to try this easy baked salmon in foil! It is so simple to prepare, has only a few ingredients, the fish is ultra-tender and the clean-up is so easy!

Why This Recipe Works

If you have guests visiting, or you want a holiday meal that will be impressive looking, but you don’t want to risk making something too complicated, this Easy Baked Salmon in Foil is the recipe you’ve been searching for!

Tip of the Day: The key to baking salmon in the oven, is all about the foil packet! The reason the foil is so great is twofold (pun only slightly intended.)

• First, it helps seal in the moisture as the salmon bakes so that it stays moist and tender.
• Second, all you have to do is toss out the foil when you’re done. That’s it for clean-up! I’ll share below just how to make the foil packet and how long to bake the fish too!

Another reason this recipe is so easy is that you don’t even remove the skin from the salmon before baking it. So there is no extra step of removing the skin or slicing it into portions. I think serving a large piece for entertaining looks so festive.

Ingredient Notes For This Recipe

Salmon

I like to use my Seafood Watch App when I am buying salmon. It’s hard to keep track of which salmon is best for the environment, so having the app (which is constantly updated and will make recommendations for you in your specific buying area) is so useful.

For this recipe I call for 2 pounds of salmon with the skin. If possible, ask for “center cut” which means they will cut off the tail piece if it is attached. The tail is very thin, and can cook through more quickly, when you have a center cut portion, the fish will end up baking more evenly.

Because you’re essentially steaming the salmon in the foil packet, I found that fresh salmon is much better than previously frozen salmon. It has better texture and will not get as much (harmless but kind of ugly) white albumin proteins cooked on the outside of the fish. See more below in our FAQ section.

If the salmon comes with the “pin bones” still in the filet, make sure you ask for them to be removed, or you can do yourself with needle nose pliers.

Seasoning For The Salmon

To season this recipe, I relied on only three essential ingredients: butter, garlic and Fish Seasoning Blend and oh my does this combo adds so much to the salmon!

Look for Fish seasoning in the spice blends in the spice section of large supermarkets and natural food stores. Avoid those with added salt.

How To Make This Recipe

Step 1: To start preheat your oven. Next you will want to blend the melted butter and the garlic together. This will act like your glue to adhere the seasoning to the fish.

Step 2: Lay a sheet pan on the work surface. Overlap two large pieces of foil over the sheet pan. (They should be about 20-inches long.) Lay them side by side and overlapping about 1/3 of the width along the middle seam. Coat the center of the foil with cooking spray.

Step 3a: Brush the garlic and butter combo over the top of the fish.

Step 3b: Then all that’s left to do is sprinkle on the Fish Seasoning and some salt and pepper.

Step 4: First, I bring the two sides together, and crimp them down the length. I try not to seal it up too close to the salmon, so that it has a little room to steam up.

Then I roll up the top and bottom sides of the foil to make a long narrow packet.

Baking Tips

Bake the foil packet on the sheet pan. If you have a thick piece of salmon, err on the longer end of the cooking range, but if it is a thinner piece (like sockeye salmon) you’ll want to check on it on the shorter end of the cooking range.

Serving Tips

• Because it is so pretty and festive to cook salmon this way, I like to serve the salmon right on the foil. Just open the packet up, sprinkle on some parsley and add some lemon wedges for garnish.
• For a fancier presentation, you can also slide the fish filet off the foil onto a platter. It comes off easier than you think! You can slide the two pieces of foil apart under the salmon and let it come out the center! Just like the tablecloth trick! Then arrange lemon and parsley on top for garnish.
• You can cut the salmon into pieces or it’s so tender you can use a fish spatula to break the salmon into portions. When you break it off, just leave the salmon skin behind.

Serving Suggestions

• I love to serve fish with lemony flavors. My Greek Yogurt Hollandaise. I’d make a batch of it and serve it with the steamed broccolini. Folks could enjoy the hollandaise with both the fish and the veggie. Also on the side make these easy smashed potatoes.
• Or you can serve this salmon with a garden salad dressed with lemon dressing and Vegetarian Pilaf with Pumpkin.
•  French Lentils with Bacon is amazing with salmon.
• For side dishes try this Roasted Green Bean recipe or Grilled Asparagus.

Expert Tips and FAQs

More Salmon Recipes

• This Salmon with Sriracha and Marmalade has just a few ingredients but lots of flavor!
• This Salmon with Basil and Avocado is ready in just a few minutes.
• This Sheet Pan Salmon Dinner with green beans, cherry tomatoes and fennel is a one pan meal!
• This Sheet Pan Salmon with Moroccan Spice is a flavor explosion!
• This Salmon Nicoise Salad is what I ask for for Mother’s Day dinner. It is one of my favorite meals.
• This Grilled Salmon Puttanesca is a great summer meal with pasta.
• This Wasabi Glazed Salmon Meal Prep Salad recipe is great for lunches.
• Trust me when I say you will fall in love with this Maple Tahini Roasted Salmon. It is sublime!
• If you make salmon regularly, then you’ll want to save this recipe for Lemon Caper Salmon Cakes because it is a great way to use leftover salmon.

Thanks so much for reading. If you make this recipe, please come back and let me know how you liked it by leaving a star rating and review! I appreciate it so much!

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