This baked salmon is so flavorful, easy to prepare, and makes a perfect weeknight dinner. So much flavor comes from the generous seasoning coat and it’s paired perfectly with avocado salsa. All together, this dish takes about 30 minutes to prepare.
BAKED SALMON
Salmon is my all-time favorite food. It’s a very mild flavored fish with a moderately dense, thick, and meaty texture. Salmon stands up great to just about any cooking method. Because salmon flavor is so mild, it goes well with a wide variety of seasonings and sauces, and it also goes well with any side dish. It’s also not overly “fishy,” especially if you get your hands on fresh salmon.
Salmon is so easy to work with so even if you’re new, it won’t give you much trouble. The main thing to remember is not to overcook it or it will be dry. For the best and juiciest salmon texture, I prefer to cook it to about medium-well.
This dish is one of the easiest ways of preparing salmon and so much flavor! All the ingredients are available any time of the year so I make this dish year-round. The seasoning that I used on salmon is one of my absolute favorites for a big flavor pop and minimal effort. I often pair this generously seasoned fish with cold avocado salsa on top to balance out the flavors.
This avocado salsa is best when prepared fresh for the salmon. Avocado tends to get dark fast so I don’t recommend make it ahead of time. But, you can cook fresh corn ahead of time, use leftover corn, or even use canned sweet corn. When you have cooked corn on hand, avocado salsa will come together in 5 minutes.
HOW TO MAKE BAKED SALMON
Prepare Salmon:
Preheat the oven to 425° and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean up. Mix all ingredients together for seasoning in a bowl.
Pat salmon dry with a paper towel and season generously with the seasoning mix. Spread some oil in the bottom of the baking sheet, place salmon on it, and bake for 20-24 minutes. Time will depend on the thickness and size of the salmon.
Prepare Avocado Salsa:
Note: You can cook corn on a cob right for the salmon by cooking it in salted boiling water for 7-8 minutes. You can also cook corn ahead of time and store it in the fridge, use leftover corn, or use canned corn.
While salmon is baking, combine all the ingredients for the salsa in a bowl and gently stir to mix.
How To Tell If Salmon Is Done?
Many seasoned cooks can check if salmon is done by touch but a method that always works no matter what is using a meat thermometer. It is recommended by USDA to cook salmon to 145° internal temperature, which is when salmon is considered fully done.
Personally, I prefer salmon at either medium or medium-well temperature, which is around 125°-130°.
CAN I REHEAT BAKED SALMON
Before I tell you what is the best way to reheat salmon, I do want to mention that leftover salmon doesn’t necessarily have to be reheated. I love using leftover cold salmon to create easy cold dishes. Try flaking some leftover salmon and topping avocado toast with it. Mix in leftover salmon into your salad for lunch or make salmon burger patties.
If you really want to reheat leftover salmon and eat it hot, the best way is to do it in the oven. Reheat it at lower temperature and just until it’s heated through.
Preheat oven to 275° and place salmon either on a rimmed baking sheet or oven-safe cooking pan. If you previously cooked salmon with some veggies, place veggies under salmon. Veggies will help with salmon retaining moisture. Cover salmon loosely with aluminum foil to help keep moisture inside.
If you didn’t cook salmon with veggies, don’t worry, just make sure to cover salmon with aluminum foil. Reheat it for 13-16 minutes, depending on the size of salmon pieces.
MORE RECIPES TO TRY:
Blackened Salmon with Cream Sauce
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Baked Salmon with Avocado Salsa
Baked salmon with so much flavor from the generous chili lime seasoning coat and it’s paired perfectly with avocado salsa.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs salmon with skin on whole salmon or cut into fillets
- 2 tbsp canola oil for cooking
Seasoning:
- 1 tsp salt more or less to taste
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp coriander
- 1 lime- zest only
Avocado Salsa:
- 2 ripe avocados
- 1 corn on the cob
- 1/2 small red onion
- 2 tbsp minced fresh cilantro
- 1 lime - juice only
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- salt
Instructions
Boil water for corn while preparing salmon. Add a salt and corn on the cob. Let it cook for 6-8 minutes and carefully take it out to cool.
Preheat the oven to 425° and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean up.
Mix all ingredients for the seasoning in a bowl.
Pat salmon dry with a paper towel and season generously with the seasoning mix. Pat it down gently.
Spread some oil in the bottom of the baking sheet, place salmon on it, and bake for 20-24 minutes. Time will depend on the thickness and size of the salmon.
Avocado Salsa:
When corn is cooled enough to handle, stand it up on a cutting board and cut the kernels off the cob.
Cut avocado in half, take out the seed, and take the meat out of the skin. Dice avocado meat and add it to a mixing bowl.
Add all other ingredients for avocado salsa to the mixing bowl and gently mix it all together.
Serve a generous amount of avocado salsa over the baked salmon.
Recipe Notes
All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe. Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have a slight variation.
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