Pan Seared Salmon with Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce is a quick salmon recipe prepared in one skillet and ready in 20 minutes! Served with an incredible lemon garlic cream sauce, this is one seriously good salmon dinner idea.
Looking for more pan seared salmon recipes? Try this creamy pan seared salmon with tomatoes!
CRISPY PAN SEARED SALMON FILLETS
Crispy salmon fillets swimming in a creamy, lemony, garlicky sauce… can I get an AMEN?!
Okay, a high-five will do. 😀
This is definitely a cross between my Pan-Seared Salmon with Tomatoes and Spinach AND my Creamy Lemon Chicken with Asparagus. YUM!
I have to tell you that this Lemon Cream Sauce Salmon is one recipe that we go back to again and again. To be honest, pan-seared salmon with any type of lemon sauce is possibly our favorite way to enjoy fish. Pan-seared is also my favorite way to cook it, especially when I’m pressed for time.
Easy fish recipes, that come together fast are perfect for a weeknight dinner. This simple salmon recipe has few ingredients, but tastes absolutely delicious!
Searing salmon fillets in a skillet gives the fish a slightly charred exterior and also helps make the skin extra crispy.
HOW TO MAKE THIS PAN SEARED SALMON RECIPE:
-
Season salmon fillets and cook, skin-side down, first; flip and continue to cook until done.
- In the meantime, prepare the sauce by whisking together the half & half, flour, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic and seasonings.
- Remove fillets from skillet; return skillet to heat and add butter; whisk in the prepared sauce and return salmon fillets to the skillet.
- Cook for a couple more minutes, remove from heat, and serve.
This particular pan seared salmon recipe is a restaurant worthy dish, and you can make it at home in just 20-ish minutes. Perfectly cooked fish, moist and flaky with silky, creamy lemon and GARLIC sauce. Need I say more? Just make it for dinner tonight and let me know what you think, m’kay?
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE THESE SALMON RECIPES:
- Brown Sugar Glazed Salmon Recipe
- Creamy Garlic Dijon Salmon
- Panko-Crusted Salmon with Tuscan Tomato Sauce
- Salmon Tacos with Mango Avocado Salsa
- Ginger Glazed Salmon with Asparagus and Brussels Sprouts
ENJOY!
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TOOLS AND INGREDIENTS USED IN THIS RECIPE
WATCH HOW TO MAKE PAN SEARED SALMON WITH LEMON GARLIC CREAM SAUCE
Pan Seared Salmon with Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce
Ingredients
FOR THE SALMON
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 (4-ounces each) skin-on salmon fillets, room temperature
- salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
FOR THE LEMON GARLIC CREAM SAUCE
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup fat free half & half (you can also use low fat evaporated milk)
- 1/2 tablespoon all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- zest and juice from 1 whole lemon
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
- lemon slices for garnish
- fresh chopped parsley for garnish
Instructions
FOR THE SALMON
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Season salmon fillets with salt and pepper and transfer to the skillet, skin-side down, cooking 3 fillets at a time.
- Cook for 6 minutes, or until cooked about three quarters of the way through. Do not move the fish around; just let it cook.
- Using a spatula, flip the salmon fillets over and cook for 2 more minutes; remove from skillet and set aside.
- Repeat with the rest of the fillets and set all aside.
FOR THE LEMON GARLIC CREAM SAUCE
- In the meantime, combine half & half, flour, cheese, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, dill, thyme, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl; whisk until thoroughly incorporated.
- Add butter to skillet and melt over medium heat.
- Add the prepared sauce to the skillet and bring to a boil; lower heat to a simmer.
- Place previously prepared salmon fillets back in the skillet.
- Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until salmon is heated through.
- Remove skillet from heat.
- Spoon sauce over salmon.
- Garnish with lemon slices and parsley.
- Serve.
Notes
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
Slow Cooker
Freezer Friendly
Instant Pot
Gluten Free
Keto
Chicken
Beef
I added capers to mine and used some feta cheese instead of parmesan because that’s what I had. Ate it with some homemade garlic bread: DELICIOUS! Love this recipe
That’s great! I’m very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Has anyone tried this with any other kind of fish? I have some frozen fish, Perch and Mahi-mahi in the freezer and I would like to try it. Does the skin really matter that much? Will Perch fall apart?
used heavy whipping cream because it’s all we had- turned out fine. used 3/4 cup!
This was delicious. We enjoyed it with asparagus and orzo. Yum!
That’s great! I’m very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
This meal is absolutely delicious! We love salmon and eat it at least once a week but this is our new favorite. I am making it for NYE and I just made it last week. The sauce is a perfect complement to the yummy, moist salmon. I sauteed the filets skin side down first but did remove the skin when I flipped it to the other side. My husband, teenage son and I don’t really enjoy the skin. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly, which is saying something since I tend to “doctor up” most recipes I use. Thank you for sharing!
This was AMAZING and I do not even like salmon!!! Well, I guess I like salmon now thanks to this recipe! I was looking for a recipe because I know that salmon has great health benefits and I needed to give it a chance. I seriously did not expect to like it. Thank you for sharing this recipe and amazing photos.
That’s great to hear! I am very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
My family loved it. I followed it to a tee. I may add capers next time.
I am very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Thank YOU! I am very glad you and your family enjoyed it! 🙂
This was seriously SO. GOOD. If you like salmon even a little bit – MAKE THIS!
We used dairy free half and half and nutritional yeast in place of grated parm and I will absolutely be making again!
Thank you!
This is delicious! adding it to my best of salmon list. i didn’t send the cooked salmon back into the sauce bc my non fish kid was having chicken; she loved it w the sauce. i didn’t have parmesan so made it without; it was a bit sharp (lemony) without it (my fault). other kid had it on crusty bread w/coleslaw mix & have to say this made a fantastic delicious meal (ate his leftovers). going forward i’m sticking to the recipe, serving it in sandwich form. Thanks so much!
I am very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
This was sooooo delicious! I try to stricktly follow the recipe so as not to rate my own but hubby and I are not fond of dill or thyme so I subsituted it with oregano and rosemary. I also added about 1/2 tsp. of nutmeg as I do with most cream sauces. This beautiful sauce screamed for something other than a side salad which I would normally would have served. Instead I smothered lobster and crab stuffed ravioli in it. Hubby said it was amazing. Thank you so much for this recipe! Looks like it will be chicken and veggies for the next week to make up for the zillion calories we just ate.
SO great to hear that! I am very glad you and your husband enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Could I use mozz cheese in place of grated Parmesan??
This was excellent! So much flavour. Even my husband who doesn’t like creamy white sauces loved it. Because my family isn’t big on fish I made it over chicken and pasta. Fabulous!! Thank you for the recipe.
That’s great! I am very glad you and your family enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
I tried this today, for Sunday lunch and it was a meal fit for royals accompanied by bulgur and a rocket salad.
I am very happy you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Delicious! Swapped in avocado oil, and heavy whipping cream. Garnished with fresh sprigs of dill, then placed the finished dish on to a bed of spinach and quartered tomatoes. Thank you so much for this recipe!
We love this recipe, it is absolutely delicious. The only thing we changed was the time on the stovetop: six minutes on the skin side and two on the other will absolutely kill the salmon.
If you are using a hot skillet, no more than three on the first side, and no more than two on the flesh side. The skin is crisp and delicious, and the flesh is moist and delicious. We prefer Medium fish, not well done.
This was delicious, super easy and quick to prepare, and everyone will think u r a pro chef that slaved away for hours in the kitchen! I made this as directed except I doubled the recipe and had to omit the dill (we just aren’t huge dill fans so i don’t keep it in the house). I also used half whole milk and half full fat cream instead of the fat free half and half, only because it’s what I had (next time I will use fat free half and half to save calories). But it turned out beautifully!
Not only was my husband in love, but even my 4 kids all gobbled it up (probably because the sauce was so reminiscent of Alfredo, but a lemony Alfredo, that they forgot they were eating fish!) so I think if I can please 4 picky kids under age 11, then this meal certainly has the potential to impress anyone! I made rice and asparagus as sides, but I think this is a very versatile sauce that would lend itself to chicken or pasta just as well! Thank u!
This was very good but I think next time I am going to melt the butter and cook the flour for a bit then add the half-and-half mixture. I just thought the sauce tasted like uncooked flour. But I will be making this again, was so easy and quick.
Looks yummy.
Wow I just used this recipe for chicken and it’s delicious!!
WOW… loved this recipe… just made it for dinner and it is superb. Didn’t have to change a thing. Thank you.
I made this for a women’s retreat cooking demo. I had garlic French bread and asparagus ready before cooking. With two butane burners and ingredients measured ahead this took 10 minutes to create. The end result was good enough the women took pictures and wanted the recipe. I had printed recipes to hand out, with credit to your site. After the demo I made this as a lunch main for 32 women in 30 minutes. It was a hit! Thank you!
This is one of the best salmon recipes I have tried. I did add a hand full of baby spinach to the sauce as it simmered the last couple of minutes. My husband loves salmon and he was so impressed and thought it was amazing! Thanks again for sharing.
Have made this sauce several times … It’s great on scallops , chicken and I love it for orzo … Will try it on ravioli as K. Kelley did ! I tend to use fresh herbs tho …
It never says to cook on flesh side, yet the salmon in the picture definitely looks like the top has also been seared. I’m in the process of making it now. I may try to sear the top.
The directions do say to start skin side down:
Instructions
FOR THE SALMON
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Season salmon fillets with salt and pepper and transfer to the skillet, skin-side down, cooking 3 fillets at a time.
Just made this tonight and I absolutely love it. I used regular full fat half and half but otherwise followed the sauce recipe exactly as written. I think a good sauce makes a recipe and it was absolutely perfect. Thank you!!
I couldn’t agree with you more! The sauce definitely brings it all together. So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Delicious recipe! One thing I would add for terrible Cooks like me is to either use a new pan when adding the sauce or clean your pan because I dumped my sauce in the pan I had just cook my salmon in and it turned all Brown from the bits of fish and oil that were still in it. It still tasted delicious but I know it could have been better and it doesn’t look nearly as pretty as your pictures being Brown LOL
THANK YOU FOR THIS! Probably would’ve done the same lol… Making this now
I too was worried about this but If u have a nice clean new-ish pan this shouldn’t happen, I cooked my sauce in the same pan right after I cooked the salmon as instructed (with oil and crispy bits still in the pan) and it turned out exactly as in the photos.
However, If I had used one of my more “seasoned” pans, I may have had the same issue with the sauce getting ruddied. So just be careful in ur choice of pan and then u should be able to cook the sauce after the salmon with the oil and crispy bits included without it going brown on ya!
I love easy meals like this for busy weeknights!
Yummy! This made me drool. Cannot wait to try this. This recipe looks incredible! Thank you.
I want to try it immediately. I really like this recipe. It really impresses! An interesting mix of ingredients. Thank you!
Oh wow! Looks like a fabulous weeknight dinner, so creamy and yummy!
Yum!!! Can I have this for dinner tonight!
This salmon is absolutely amazing! Swooning over the sauce!
This salmon looks perfect with that cream sauce!
Made this for the first time today and I was impressed with a) how easy and quick it was to prepare, and b) how flavorful it was. My older tastebuds probably require a little more dill and thyme, but the lemony flavor along with the parmesan cheese made the sauce so delightful! I served it over some cheese-filled ravioli and some sautéed zucchini. This is going to be one of my standby recipes for when we have dinner guests because the prep process allows me to spend less time in the kitchen and more time with friends.
My wife and I tried it, mostly because she’s not a fan of salmon (while I am). It was good, just not great.
On the plus side, for my wife, it did cover the taste of the Chinook salmon we used. To me, the dill and garlic were too conflicting. If I try this recipe again, I will modify it to 2 cloves of garlic, 1/4 teaspoon of dill and add maybe add some capers in the last couple minutes.
Thank you for the recipe.
I’m so confused, this doesn’t even have the measurements so how is anyone to make this dish? Could you send me that information please?
Hi!
Just scroll down, past all the photos, and you will find a recipe box with all the measurements, ingredients, directions, notes, and nutritional analysis + WW points.
That is one gorgeous and tasty dish! Loving the sauce flavors!
I love salmon so much!
My husband would love this!!
I am drooling over this…especially that cream sauce! Love garlic!!
I love how bright and creamy that sauce looks! So perfect for salmon 🙂
OMG this looks incredible! I want this!
This is amazing! My husband called it a new favorite!! And it was super easy.