Christmas Baked Salmon: Easy & Make-ahead Recipe

Your Christmas major dish for this 12 months has simply landed!! Have you ever ever seen a Baked Salmon look so festive?? And it’s so EASY! First printed in December 2020, this Christmas recipe was an immediate hit with readers. That includes a honey butter-glazed facet of salmon baked in foil, slathered with creamy dill sauce and eventually topped with a Vacation “Tapenade”, this pays extraordinarily excessive dividends for minimal effort.

For all my finest Christmas recipes, browse the brand new Christmas recipe index!

Yearly I attempt to provide you with one nice centrepiece Christmas major dish that’s you may make-ahead and is tremendous easy, however nonetheless has that additional wow issue that can make YOU the star at Christmas Dinner….

That is what I’ve provide you with this 12 months: A festive Baked Salmon!

It’s:

• Baked with a Honey Garlic Butter Glaze in foil;

• Slathered with a Creamy Dill Sauce;

• Topped with a Vacation “Tapenade” of dried cranberries, almonds and parsley; and

• Completed with pomegranate for a bathe of festive color and a beneficiant dousing of contemporary lemon juice.

The flavour and textural mixture is stellar! It’s principally savoury with hints of candy, and that creamy dill sauce is a pure pairing with salmon. Lastly the Vacation Tapenade topping simply sings of festivities!

Have I emphasised sufficient but how simple that is to make?? Learn on!

1. Simmer 3-ingredient Honey Glaze for two minutes;

2. Pour over salmon then bake wrapped in foil (simple clear up!);

3. Unfold cooked salmon with 4-ingredient Lemon Dill Sauce, 4-ingredient “Tapenade” (topping combine);

4. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds, drizzle with lemon juice;

5. Serve heat or at room temperature. Now sit again and delight in reward!

Right here’s what you want for this festive Baked Salmon.

1. Facet of salmon

• That is one facet of a complete salmon. It shouldn’t be flavoured or pre-marinated in any method. If frozen, thaw completely in a single day within the fridge coated, after which pat dry very properly (frozen fish will get watery);

• Pores and skin on – for simpler dealing with. As soon as cooked, the pores and skin will maintain the salmon collectively. With out it, there’s a better change the flesh flakes open when transferring to the tray. Curiously, I’ve by no means seen a facet of salmon bought with out pores and skin – this might be the explanation; and

• Bones eliminated – Your fishmonger ought to have already achieved this, however simply double examine. Run your fingers throughout the floor, particularly alongside the mid-line (the place the backbone was) the place pin bone culprits generally disguise. Test the stomach part rigorously too. If there are bones, use fish boning tweezers or simply private grooming tweezers to tug them out (pinch and yank with conviction!). Clear small pliers additionally work.

2. Honey Glaze for salmon

That is used to bake the salmon so it will get infused with unbelievable sweet-buttery-garlicky flavour whereas it bakes. Right here’s what you want:

To make the Honey Glaze, all you do is plonk all the things in a saucepan and simmer for a few minutes to thicken barely and produce all of the flavours collectively.

3. Baking the salmon

The salmon is baked in foil which is helpful for minimal clear up, however truly the primary purpose is as a result of it holds the glaze across the salmon higher whereas it bakes!

Right here’s how the salmon is cooked:

1. Line a tray with foil. (Really useful: A double layer of foil for leakage safety.) Then baking/parchment paper. Place the salmon on high.

2. Fold the foil sides up a bit to cup them just a little so the glaze received’t spill onto the tray. Pour the glaze over (it’s high quality that the glaze remains to be scorching);

3. Prime with one other sheet of paper after which foil. Seal edges to type a parcel. No have to make it tightly sealed, simply principally sealed is okay;

4. Bake for quarter-hour coated;

5. Uncover, then change oven to broiler/grill. Grill for 10 minutes to get some tasty caramelisation on the sides and a bit on the floor. IMPORTANT: Hold salmon on the center shelf within the oven when broiling/grilling, don’t transfer it nearer to the warmth supply – danger of paper burning!

It smells SO GOOD when it’s within the oven…. and right here’s what the Baked Salmon appears to be like like when it comes out!

Instantly switch to serving platter utilizing the paper overhang (in any other case the salmon will preserve cooking on the tray), both lifting or sliding it off. And right here’s tips on how to take away the foil and paper from beneath the salmon – simply tear and slide!

The best way to take away foil and paper from beneath the baked salmon

At this stage, the salmon must be left to chill for no less than 10 minutes in any other case the Lemon Dill Sauce actually melts straight off. Additionally this salmon dish is supposed to be eaten heat quite than scorching, and even at room temperature. That is extra-handy as a result of there’s no have to stress over actual prepare dinner occasions in an effort to serve it piping scorching!

4. Lemon Dill Sauce for salmon

This bitter cream-based sauce gives a component of creamy richness to the baked salmon in addition to appearing because the “glue” for the Vacation “Tapenade” we pile excessive. Not together with dill was by no means an choice – it’s, in spite of everything, finest pals with salmon!

Right here’s what you want – simply combine them collectively to make the sauce:

Observe: we solely use the zest within the bitter cream sauce as a result of we intentionally wish to preserve it very thick and “paste-like” so we are able to slather it on thickly. The remaining is used to liberally douse the completed dish for some welcome tang. It’s a necessary step!

4. Vacation “Tapenade“

This jumble of goodies (which I name a “Vacation Tapenade”) is a terrific mixture for each flavours and textures with the Honey Glazed salmon and Creamy Dill Sauce. The candy, barely tart cranberries and the nutty almonds distinction fantastically with the cooling Creamy Dill Sauce and the wealthy, Honey Glazed flesh of the salmon.

Right here’s what you want for the Vacation Tapenade:

• Pomegranate – That is what we use to sprinkle throughout the completed dish for his or her jewel-like festive color, and naturally for excellent pops of tart juiciness!

• Dried cranberries – Within the spirit of holidays and in addition for the tart/candy profile quite than simply plain sweetness that different dried fruits have. Options (so as of suggestion): Dried bitter cherries, golden raisins, regular raisins or sultanas;

• Orange juice – That is used to soak the cranberries in an effort to reconstitute them and plump them up. In any other case, they’re quite shrivelled and chewy. As a result of that is, in spite of everything, for an important day why not yet one more step to make the cranberries additional particular! As talked about, it’s primarily for the cranberries, however the orange juice additionally provides a contact of additional sweetness and citrusy flavour – very on-theme for holidays! Substitute with any fruit juice you would like. Apple would particularly be nice – in any other case simply use water with a dollop of honey or maple syrup;

• Slivered almonds – Bought already minimize into slivers (else sliver blanched almonds your self), it is a beautiful form that you should use as-is. We additionally give them a fast toasting to spice up the nuttiness and bronze them. Options: Almonds (ideally blanched), pistachios, hazelnuts, pecans, macadamias, walnuts;

• Parsley for freshness and the inexperienced color for Christmas!

• Olive oil so as to add only a little bit of richness and produce all of it collectively.

Make forward choice: Make the Tapenade as much as 2 days forward however go away the almonds out till simply earlier than serving. Almonds could be toasted forward, simply retailer them within the pantry till required.

5. Assembling

And right here’s how the Christmas Baked Salmon is assembled:

1. Smother the salmon generously with the Creamy Dill Sauce. Beneficiant is the operative phrase right here! It’s the primary sauce for this dish, and it’s additionally the “glue” for the Tapenade;

2. Sprinkle the Tapenade throughout the floor. Actually pile it on, use all of it!;

3. Then sprinkle over the pomegranate subsequent, and eventually the lemon juice (the Tapenade will catch it); and

4. Voila! Presentation! Applause! Compliments! Bows!

Current the salmon complete on a platter, like pictured above, so everybody can admire how fairly it appears to be like.

Then you may both minimize it into parts – actually simply use a knife to chop it – or let everybody assist themselves. I discover it best to make use of a cake server for truly lifting slices to serve simply, so that you would possibly wish to additionally present one thing like this if you happen to’re permitting friends to serve themselves.

I really feel like this has been a very lengthy publish for one thing that I said is a very easy recipe. And I nonetheless promise it’s!

It’s simply {that a} facet of salmon will not be low cost, and is the kind of factor we splurge on for particular events. So I wish to arm you with sufficient info and particulars to make sure you really feel the boldness of realizing that you’ll nail this dish – even if you happen to’re not that skilled within the kitchen.

Hand on coronary heart, there may be little or no that may go incorrect with this recipe. The one actual pitfall will likely be if you happen to overcook the salmon. Nevertheless salmon is a forgiving meat as a result of it’s an oily fish, so it’s actually not the top of the world even if you happen to do take it too far. However if you happen to actually wish to make sure you’ve bought it proper, you may at all times use a meat thermometer (see recipe notes for inner temperatures).

I hope by now I’ve satisfied you to place this in your Christmas menu because the (or a) centrepiece! It appears to be like like Christmas, it tastes like Christmas and the truth that it’s so simple will stay our little secret….. 😉 – Johnsat x

This recipe options in my debut cookbook Dinner. The guide is usually new recipes, however it is a reader favorite included by widespread demand!

This recipe options in my debut cookbook Dinner. The guide is usually new recipes, however it is a reader favorite included by widespread demand!

Christmas Baked Salmon: Easy & Make-ahead Recipe

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Serves: 12 Prep Time: 20 minutes Cooking Time: 30 minutes 30 minutes

Nutrition facts: 492 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

Ingredients

• 1.2 – 1.5 kg / 2.4 – 3lb salmon side (skin on, bones removed, Note 1)
• 2 1/4 tsp salt , cooking/kosher (Note 2)
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 150g / 5oz butter , unsalted
• 1/2 cup honey
• 3 garlic cloves , finely minced (garlic press or knife)
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream , full fat (low fat is too watery)
• 1/2 cup fresh dill , finely chopped (lightly packed cup)
• 1/2 eschallot (French onion) , finely grated
• 1 1/2 tbsp lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp salt , cooking/kosher (Note 2)
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 cup slivered almonds , toasted (Note 3)
• 1/3 cup parsley , roughly chopped
• 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pomegranate , only the seeds
• 1/4 cup parsley , roughly chopped
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 lemons, extra , cut in 6 pieces each (for serving, don't skip this)

Instructions

1. Mix ingredients in a bowl until smooth. Keep refrigerated until required.
2. Plump cranberries: Heat orange juice in a saucepan over high heat until hot. Turn stove off, add cranberries, cover. Stand 15 minutes, then drain in a colander (discard liquid). Cool.
3. Mix: Mix cranberries, toasted almonds (see Note 3), parsley, salt and olive oil in bowl. Use at room temp.
4. Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (all oven types).
5. Prepare salmon: Place a large sheet of foil on a tray (double layer for safety is recommended), then top with baking/parchment paper. Place salmon on paper, then fold up the foil sides a bit to cup them so glaze won't run onto tray.
6. Glaze: Place ingredients in a saucepan over medium high heat. Once it started foaming, turn down to medium, let it foam for 2 minutes then remove and pour straight over the salmon.
7. Season: Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper, putting most of the salt on the thicker part of the salmon.
8. Wrap: Cover salmon with a smaller piece of paper, then foil. Fold and seal up sides to enclose salmon in a parcel – it doesn't need to be 100% tightly sealed.
9. Bake 15 minutes. Remove salmon from oven.
10. Uncover / fold excess paper – Remove paper and foil and paper cover. Fold/scrunch paper and foil sides down to expose salmon surface. Tucking paper down also ensures it won't catch fire when broiling.
11. Grill/broil to brown: Switch oven to grill/broiler on high. Place salmon on middle shelf in the oven and broil 7 to 10 minutes until you get caramelisation mostly on the edges, a bit on top. Don't put it too close to the heat element otherwise paper might catch on fire! Check to ensure salmon is cooked – either pry open in middle to check or use a probe to check internal temperatures (Note 4).
12. Transfer to plate: Use foil overhang to transfer salmon onto serving platter straight away (otherwise it keeps cooking). Slide the foil then paper out from under the salmon (see video at 1 min 24s or step photos in post), allowing juices to pool on platter (it's gold stuff!).
13. Cool: Loosely cover with foil, then leave to cool for at least 15 minutes, up to 1 hour or longer (for room temp serving – Note 6 for serving notes).
14. Dollop then thickly spread with Creamy Dill Sauce (~0.8cm / 1/3" thick layer).
15. Pile over Holiday Tapenade, scatter generously with pomegranate seeds, and then remaining parsley. Squeeze over lemon juice.
16. Serving: Serve with extra lemon wedges so people can add more to taste. Cut into pieces – I use a cake cutter for serving. Encourage people to slop up some of the honey-butter sauce that will be mixed with semi melted Creamy Dill Sauce – it's so good! This dish is best served slightly warm, not piping hot, also excellent at room temp.

Notes

1. Salmon – Get a whole side of salmon in one piece. It should come with skin on (holds together better for moving once cooked) and bones removed (nobody wants pokey bones with a mouthful of Christmas Salmon!). Place salmon on diagonal of tray if it’s too large. A bit of overhang will be fine (on the thinner end). See Note 5 for fillets and trout alternatives.
2. Salt – Cooking/kosher salt is the standard for all my recipes. The grains are larger than fine table salt so it’s easier to pinch and sprinkle. If you only have table salt, you MUST reduce the salt quantities by 25% otherwise your food may be too salty (because table salt is so fine, 1 tsp table salt =~ 1 1/4 tsp cooking/kosher salt).
Cooking/kosher salt is sold labelled as such at the grocery stores – here’s a photo of cooking salt and here’s a photo of Diamond Crystal kosher salt, a leading brand used in the US(not easily found in Australia).
3. Toasting almonds – Preheat skillet over medium heat (no oil). Add nuts then stir for 2 minutes or until they smell amazing and are lightly browned. Keep them moving as they burn easily! Transfer to bowl straight away to cool.
4. Cooked salmon – you can just pry open flesh in middle to check. Otherwise, internal temperature of cooked salmon is 43°C / 110°F for rare, 49°C / 120°F for medium-rare, or 54°C/130°F for medium. Grill cooks fast so just leave in for longer if you want it cooked more, move down to lower shelf to reduce browning.
No grill/broiler? Just crank the oven up as high as it will go and put salmon in uncovered to brown and finish cooking.
5. Alternatives for ingredients (in order of recommendation where multiple given):
Salmon – Trout is an ideal direct sub (though typically smaller, so scale recipe down or use multiple);
Salmon fillets rather than whole side – bake in foil 10 minutes, then grill/broil 10 minutes). Would also be VERY pretty in individual portions so it looks like this.
Smaller salmon side – eg the middle or just the tail end. For anything around 600g / 1.2lb and larger, follow recipe as written in terms of cook times but scale quantities down by clicking Servings and sliding down until you hit the target salmon weight.
Butter – Best is ghee or clarified butter (store bought or homemade) for dairy free alternatives, followed by margarine.
Honey – Maple syrup, but simmer for an extra 1 minute to reduce a bit further
Sour Cream – The only suitable sub is spreadable (tub) cream cheese but that’s a bit thick so would need to be thinned with a touch of olive oil to make it in a soft spreadable paste as pictured in the video. If you use block cream cheese, you’d need even more oil for thinning. Yogurt is too watery.
Dill – Classic herb for salmon, but can sub with chives or finely chopped green onions.
Almonds (all should be roasted, unsalted) – Whole (preferably blanched) almonds roughly chopped yourself, pistachios, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, macadamias.
Nut allergy subs – Pepitas or sunflower seeds
Dried cranberries – Craisins, dried sour cherries (roughly chopped), golden raisins*, normal raisins* or sultanas*, any other dried fruit like apricots* chopped (items marked with * add 2 tbsp lemon juice into hot water for plumping, will add touch of tartness like cranberries have)
Orange juice – Apple juice, any other non-thick fruit juice, water + 2 tbsp honey
Parsley – Chives or green onions
Pomegranate – These add colour and juicy little pops to the dish. No fruit provides anything quite similar in terms of colour but for flavour, best is to use red (seedless) grapes. Cut into 1/6 or 1/8, about 3/4 cup. Cherries also work!
Dairy free version – give it a Middle Eastern spin by using hummus instead of sour cream (just be sure it’s a nice thick consistency you can slather on), and instead of parsley use fresh coriander/cilantro instead (roughly chopped) and increase to 1/2 cup. It’s really, really good, I made it with fillets. It’s a Christmasy version of Salmon Tarator, a traditional Middle Eastern dish from which this recipe was inspired.
6. Serving – Dish is best served warm or at room temp, not piping hot. If at room temp, make sure it is still warm enough so honey-butter-salmon juices are liquid not firmed up (if solidified, melt 10 sec in microwave or 2 min in very low 50°C/120°F oven is enough, can do this on serving platter).
Do not spread piping hot salmon with sour cream, it melts and slides off.
Skin is needed for easy handling of salmon while cooking but it’s not pleasant to eat because it’s not crisp in this recipe. People can either just avoid eating, or you can portion it without skin (it’s easy to slide cake serve between flesh and skin)
Be sure to serve with extra lemon wedges, this is a dish that loves fresh lemon!
7. Make ahead – Excellent for preparing most ahead with simple assembly on day.
Tapenade – 24 hrs in advance (fridge) but keep toasted almonds in pantry and stir in before serving (few hours ahead is fine), ensure it is at room temp when using.
Creamy Dill Sauce and Honey Glaze – 24 hours ahead, fridge (glaze will need to be reheated to make pourable).
Pomegranates – bash out the seeds the day before! See in post for how;
Salmon – best baked fresh on the day. Have it trimmed, on the tray, ready to slide straight into the oven. Still good if baked the day before but honestly, reheating is just as much effort as baking fresh if you ask me! 
8. Storage – Leftovers will keep for 3 – 4 days in the fridge. Allow to come naturally to room temperature. Do not microwave or oven reheat, the sour cream will melt.
9. Nutrition per serving, assuming 12 servings 1.5kg/3lb salmon. With all the toppings, this is almost a main course size serving. So if it’s part of a banquet with other mains, this will easily stretch to 16 – 20 people.

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Sarah Miller

Hi, I’m Sarah Millar!
I’m a food blogger who loves creating quick and easy recipes that bring big flavor without the fuss. Cooking doesn’t have to be complicated — and I’m here to share simple, fast food ideas that anyone can make at home. When I’m not in the kitchen, you’ll usually find me tasting new dishes, exploring cafés, or coming up with fresh food hacks to make everyday meals more fun.

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