Scrambled Eggs, Cheese, and Avocado Tortilla Bowl Recipe
September 16, 2025
Baked Parmesan Crusted Salmon with Lemon Cream Sauce Recipe
This Baked Parmesan Crusted Salmon is a surprising present stopper that’s very simple to make. The parmesan crust is insanely scrumptious and the Lemon Cream Sauce for the salmon is the important crowning glory. A spectacular salmon for Christmas dinner or different particular events, and but so quick you possibly can make it midweek. Plus you possibly can put together every thing ahead- even the sauce!
Meals that tastes like 1,000,000 {dollars} and but is easy to make and made with day by day substances. That’s the absolute essence of the meals I like and share right here on RecipeTin Eats.
This Parmesan Crusted Salmon is just about me on a plate. Properly, on a platter. A big platter. As a result of one of the best form of meals is meals that’s shared with household and pals! 🙂
Yearly, I do a Thanksgiving and Christmas menu (see under recipe for record with hyperlinks). It’s my mission to make you the preferred individual at gatherings with finger meals your pals will go mad over, and to make vacation feasting stress free with simple to make, principally put together forward recipes. And insanely scrumptious in fact. Style at the beginning!
For this 12 months, the centrepiece of my Christmas Menu is that this Baked Parmesan Crusted Salmon, served with a heavenly Lemon Cream Sauce.
Please don’t skip the sauce! I do know many individuals make comparable recipes with out a sauce. I actually, actually, actually suppose that the Lemon Cream Sauce is important as a result of this salmon isn’t marinated or glazed. Complete salmon fillets are fairly thick and meaty so until it’s marinated or has plenty of yummy glaze to make use of because the sauce, it lacks flavour inside.
Don’t get me mistaken, the flavour of plain salmon is beautiful. However the sauce simply places this excessive from tasty to distinctive. 🙂
Plus, look how the sauce clings onto that crunchy parmesan topping. Swoon….
I promised you this Baked Parmesan Crusted Salmon is straightforward to make and listed below are some prep photographs to show it! It begins with a quite simple panko and parmesan topping. With one little trick. I like my crumb to be superbly golden throughout moderately than splotches of burnt bits right here and there which is what occurs should you bake moderately than fry crumbed issues.
So my little trick that actually makes all of the distinction so your salmon comes out of the oven with a phenomenal deep golden brown topping (with out overcooking the salmon!) is to evenly toast the breadcrumbs on a baking tray. You’ll be able to see a comparability of toasting vs not toasting the panko breadcrumbs in my Simple Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu. 🙂
Psst That is a lot simpler, much less effort and extra even browning than toasting in a skillet. Plus much less cleansing up as a result of I exploit the identical tray for the salmon. 🙌
My subsequent trick – getting that lovely parmesan topping to stay to the salmon. Simple repair – simply unfold Dijon mustard on the salmon such as you’re buttering toast. Mustard is the right glue as a result of it’s received a little bit of tang (excellent match for wealthy salmon) plus flavour.
Bake it for 20 minutes in a reasonably sizzling oven and that is what you get…..
So lovely and tastes unbelievable, particularly served with a easy Lemon Cream sauce. Sure the sauce has cream in it however I promise it doesn’t make this too wealthy! In actual fact, that’s a selected level my style testers made. You hear the phrase “cream sauce” and assume it is vitally wealthy. However truly, this sauce is kind of tangy from the lemon. It provides moisture to this dish in addition to the zing reducing by means of the richness of the salmon.
And earlier than I overlook – sure I put my Christmas Menu up for critique by style testers! Because it so occurs, all my pals have actual life jobs and aren’t simply hanging round on standby for style testing classes. 🤷🏻♀️Fortunately, my mom has a bunch of prepared pals who pop over to the native golf course for a spherical earlier than dropping by for a style testing session. 🙂
I like how sincere they’re with their suggestions – belief me, they don’t maintain again and I’ve truly held off posting a handful of recipes till I enhance them additional!!
This Baked Parmesan Crusted Salmon acquired excessive reward. Woo hoo! – Johnsat x
Extra fish recipes!
Ingredients
- 1 (1 – 1.4 kg / 2 – 2.8 lb) side of salmon (Note 1)
- 3- 4 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs (50g) (Note 2)
- Oil spray
- 50g / 3 tbsp butter , melted
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan , store bought (1/2 cup fresh grated) (Note 3)
- 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Pepper
- 30g / 2tbsp butter
- 1 eschallot / finely chopped (Note 4)
- 1 1/4 cups dry white wine (Note 5)
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream / thickened cream
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 1/2 tbsp lemon juice (plus more to taste)
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- Salt and pepper
- Watercress
- Lemon wedges
- Fresh dill
Instructions
- Take salmon out of the fridge to bring to room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 200°C / 390°F (180°C fan).
- Spread panko on baking tray, spray generously with oil then bake for 3 to 5 minutes until light golden brown. (Note 6) Scrape into bowl immediately.
- Add butter and stir, then add remaining Parmesan Crumb ingredients.
- Line same tray with foil. Place salmon on foil.
- Spread Dijon on salmon using a butter knife. Just a thin coating – like buttering toast.
- Sprinkle Crumb all over.
- Bake for 20 minutes for just cooked juicy perfection, or to taste. (Note 7)
- Remove from oven. Loosen salmon from foil using egg flip or butter knife – skin will hopefully be stuck to foil.
- Plate watercress on serving platter.
- Use foil to lift salmon onto watercress on serving plate, then slide out the foil from under it (see video under recipe). Serve with Lemon Cream Sauce and lemon wedges on the side.
- Melt butter in a saucepan over medium high heat. Add eschalots and cook for 2 minutes. Add wine and bring to boil. Leave to boil rapidly for 5 minutes or until reduced by 3/4 or so.
- Turn heat down to medium. Add cream, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir, then add lemon juice and mustard. Stir again. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes or until thickened (see video). Adjust salt, pepper and lemon to taste. Be generous with the salt – remember the salmon is not marinated, the only salt is in the topping.
- Optional: strain. I don’t bother.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes or so. It will thicken as it cools. It can be served warm or at room temperature.
Notes
1. Skin on or off is fine, and ask your fish monger to remove the bones.
2. Panko breadcrumbs are chunkier than normal ones so they make a better crust.
3. Store bought is denser than freshly grated so if you are grating your own, use more.
4. Eschalots are mini onions. They are slightly sweeter. This can be substituted with spring onions / shallots / scallions (white part) or even normal onion. You need 2 tbsp. Or use 1 1/2 tsp minced garlic.
5. Or fish stock/broth or chicken broth.
6. This step is key to ensuring your salmon comes out with a beautiful evenly golden crust, rather than with splotches of burnt bits / overcooking your salmon to get the breadcrumb to go golden.
If your oven doesn’t cook evenly, you may wish to shake the tray once.
7. My salmon was 1.2 kg / 2.4 lb and 2.5cm / 1″ thick at the thickest part and it was at room temperature. 20 minutes yielded a perfectly “just cooked” salmon that is very moist. Use a knife to take a peek if you want – you can cover it back up with crumbs, no one will ever know!
If your salmon is fridge cold, add 3 minute to the cook time.
8. MAKE AHEAD at home: Prepare the crumb and place in an airtight container in the fridge until required – up to 2 days ahead. Make the sauce, cool then refrigerate. On the day of, prepare the salmon according to recipe directions. Reheat sauce in microwave – 40 seconds or so. Do not put crumb on salmon then refrigerate – it will draw moisture out of the salmon and into the crumb mixture = soggy crumb. 🙁
TO TAKE SOMEWHERE with no oven: In Australia, many people have a Christmas Day lunch at parks and beaches. So a reader asked me how one might prepare this for a picnic. I think this will work great to take components separately and just assemble: bake salmon with just a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Cool then wrap. Toast panko crumbing (with butter, parmesan etc) for 8 min or so, shaking tray a few times so it toasts evenly, until deep golden like in the photos. Transfer immediately to container (it keeps toasting on hot tray), allow to cool then seal. Mix together mayo + mustard (equal amounts) – juicier than plain mustard which will be better with cool salmon. Make sauce and allow to cool. Thin out sauce with a bit of water so it’s pourable at the temp you expect to serve it. Then on the day of, assemble the salmon just prior to serving. Salmon and sauce is best served at room temperature rather than cold. Voila! Crunchy topping!
9. I like to allow for 180 – 200 g / 6 -7 oz of fish per serving or if it is part of a larger feast. If being extra cautious / large appetites, I do 250g / 8 oz per head.
10. Lemon Cream Sauce – I know 1 1/2 cups of cream sounds like a lot, and it is! But this serves 8 people so it’s about 2 tbsp of cream per person which is not very much. Also the sauce is not rich, it is tangy from the lemon and mustard and cuts through the richness of the salmon. Perfect pairing!
11. Nutrition assuming 8 servings and that all the sauce is consumed.
Did You Make This Recipe?
How you went with my recipes? Tag me on Instagram at @PenciDesign.
Ingredients
- 1 (1 – 1.4 kg / 2 – 2.8 lb) side of salmon (Note 1)
- 3- 4 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs (50g) (Note 2)
- Oil spray
- 50g / 3 tbsp butter , melted
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan , store bought (1/2 cup fresh grated) (Note 3)
- 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Pepper
- 30g / 2tbsp butter
- 1 eschallot / finely chopped (Note 4)
- 1 1/4 cups dry white wine (Note 5)
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream / thickened cream
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 1/2 tbsp lemon juice (plus more to taste)
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- Salt and pepper
- Watercress
- Lemon wedges
- Fresh dill
Instructions
- Take salmon out of the fridge to bring to room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 200°C / 390°F (180°C fan).
- Spread panko on baking tray, spray generously with oil then bake for 3 to 5 minutes until light golden brown. (Note 6) Scrape into bowl immediately.
- Add butter and stir, then add remaining Parmesan Crumb ingredients.
- Line same tray with foil. Place salmon on foil.
- Spread Dijon on salmon using a butter knife. Just a thin coating – like buttering toast.
- Sprinkle Crumb all over.
- Bake for 20 minutes for just cooked juicy perfection, or to taste. (Note 7)
- Remove from oven. Loosen salmon from foil using egg flip or butter knife – skin will hopefully be stuck to foil.
- Plate watercress on serving platter.
- Use foil to lift salmon onto watercress on serving plate, then slide out the foil from under it (see video under recipe). Serve with Lemon Cream Sauce and lemon wedges on the side.
- Melt butter in a saucepan over medium high heat. Add eschalots and cook for 2 minutes. Add wine and bring to boil. Leave to boil rapidly for 5 minutes or until reduced by 3/4 or so.
- Turn heat down to medium. Add cream, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir, then add lemon juice and mustard. Stir again. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes or until thickened (see video). Adjust salt, pepper and lemon to taste. Be generous with the salt – remember the salmon is not marinated, the only salt is in the topping.
- Optional: strain. I don’t bother.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes or so. It will thicken as it cools. It can be served warm or at room temperature.
Notes
1. Skin on or off is fine, and ask your fish monger to remove the bones.
2. Panko breadcrumbs are chunkier than normal ones so they make a better crust.
3. Store bought is denser than freshly grated so if you are grating your own, use more.
4. Eschalots are mini onions. They are slightly sweeter. This can be substituted with spring onions / shallots / scallions (white part) or even normal onion. You need 2 tbsp. Or use 1 1/2 tsp minced garlic.
5. Or fish stock/broth or chicken broth.
6. This step is key to ensuring your salmon comes out with a beautiful evenly golden crust, rather than with splotches of burnt bits / overcooking your salmon to get the breadcrumb to go golden.
If your oven doesn’t cook evenly, you may wish to shake the tray once.
7. My salmon was 1.2 kg / 2.4 lb and 2.5cm / 1″ thick at the thickest part and it was at room temperature. 20 minutes yielded a perfectly “just cooked” salmon that is very moist. Use a knife to take a peek if you want – you can cover it back up with crumbs, no one will ever know!
If your salmon is fridge cold, add 3 minute to the cook time.
8. MAKE AHEAD at home: Prepare the crumb and place in an airtight container in the fridge until required – up to 2 days ahead. Make the sauce, cool then refrigerate. On the day of, prepare the salmon according to recipe directions. Reheat sauce in microwave – 40 seconds or so. Do not put crumb on salmon then refrigerate – it will draw moisture out of the salmon and into the crumb mixture = soggy crumb. 🙁
TO TAKE SOMEWHERE with no oven: In Australia, many people have a Christmas Day lunch at parks and beaches. So a reader asked me how one might prepare this for a picnic. I think this will work great to take components separately and just assemble: bake salmon with just a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Cool then wrap. Toast panko crumbing (with butter, parmesan etc) for 8 min or so, shaking tray a few times so it toasts evenly, until deep golden like in the photos. Transfer immediately to container (it keeps toasting on hot tray), allow to cool then seal. Mix together mayo + mustard (equal amounts) – juicier than plain mustard which will be better with cool salmon. Make sauce and allow to cool. Thin out sauce with a bit of water so it’s pourable at the temp you expect to serve it. Then on the day of, assemble the salmon just prior to serving. Salmon and sauce is best served at room temperature rather than cold. Voila! Crunchy topping!
9. I like to allow for 180 – 200 g / 6 -7 oz of fish per serving or if it is part of a larger feast. If being extra cautious / large appetites, I do 250g / 8 oz per head.
10. Lemon Cream Sauce – I know 1 1/2 cups of cream sounds like a lot, and it is! But this serves 8 people so it’s about 2 tbsp of cream per person which is not very much. Also the sauce is not rich, it is tangy from the lemon and mustard and cuts through the richness of the salmon. Perfect pairing!
11. Nutrition assuming 8 servings and that all the sauce is consumed.
Did You Make This Recipe?
How you went with my recipes? Tag me on Instagram at @PenciDesign.
