Perfectly Baked Salmon with Lemon and Dill

Our easy baked salmon recipe takes less than 30 minutes and makes perfect, tender salmon. By gently baking salmon in a small amount of liquid, the fish stays moist and tender. It practically melts in your mouth. Jump to the Baked Salmon Recipe with Lemon and Dill

How to Cook Salmon in the Oven So That It’s Perfectly Moist

This quick and easy salmon recipe never fails! The inspiration comes from my mother, who made and continues to make this all the time. It’s her go-to dish — especially when entertaining. And you know what? Everyone loves it.

The trick for perfectly cooked salmon is to bake the fish in a little liquid — you can use wine, stock, and even water.

After adding the liquid, cover the fish with parchment paper or foil and bake until just cooked. The salmon basically poaches in the liquid. You could also call this recipe oven poached salmon. It’s practically no-fail.

Three Easy Steps For Perfect Salmon

1. Season the salmon with salt and fresh ground black pepper. I’m generous when it comes to the salt and make sure that I season both sides of the salmon fillets.
2. Layer sliced lemons and fresh herbs at the bottom of a baking dish. In our photos, we’ve used fresh dill, but almost any tender herb will work in its place. Think about parsley, cilantro, thyme or even mint.
3. Place the salmon fillets on top of the herbs and lemon then cover with foil or parchment paper. After about 20 minutes of baking in the oven, the salmon will be perfectly cooked, tender, and delicious.

How to Tell When Salmon is Cooked

Your best bet for checking if salmon is cooked is a thermometer — we cook salmon to 125 degrees F, which means it will be soft, tender, and slightly pink in the center. The texture at this temperature is much better than when cooked to a higher temperature.

For a visual cue, look for the flesh to be somewhat opaque. Also, when inserting a knife into the salmon, it should slide through easily.

Note that the USDA recommends cooking salmon to 145 degrees F. Interestingly enough, Cooks Illustrated suggests that the ideal internal temperature of salmon (especially wild varieties) is 120 degrees F. Everyone has an opinion on this one, but for now, we are sticking to 125 degrees F.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long to cook salmon and at what temperature?

The cook time for salmon depends on the type of salmon and thickness of salmon you are cooking. Use our tips for how to tell when salmon is done as your main guide. In general, salmon will take 12 to 30 minutes to bake in a 325° F oven. I like checking doneness around 10 minutes and then go from there.

How do I tell when salmon is done cooking?

Salmon is don cooking when the flesh looks somewhat opaque and when inserting a knife into the salmon, it slides through easily. An internal thermometer is also helpful. See our tips above for what temperatures you should look for.

What are some more ways to cook salmon?

While we love the ease of baking salmon in the oven as demonstrated by this recipe as well as our sour cream bakes salmon and baked salmon with green beans, you can also cook salmon on the stovetop, on an outdoor grill, and poached in gently simmering water. See our pan-seared salmon burgers and our grilled cedar plank salmon recipe for more ideas.

What should I serve with salmon?

Salmon works nicely when served with a variety of side dishes. Here are some of our favorites:

• Garlic Herb Cauliflower Rice
• Mashed Cauliflower
• Simple Garlic Asparagus
• Roasted Butternut Squash
• Roasted Broccoli
• Easy Green Bean Salad with Shallots
• Simple Potato Salad (creamy) or Herb Potato Salad (dairy-free)

More Easy Salmon Recipes

• For a different spin, try our Garlic Caper Butter Baked Salmon Recipe. We use the same method as this lemon herb salmon, but replace the stock with butter!
• For a different spin, try our Easy Sour Cream Baked Salmon. We slather a mixture of mustard, sour cream, and parmesan on top of salmon fillets and bake until done.
• Our Grilled Salmon is easy and is served on a bed of couscous and topped with grilled nectarines and crumbled goat cheese. Great for summer!
• Another favorite way to cook salmon is by grilling on a cedar plank. Try our Sweet Citrus Rubbed Cedar Plank Salmon.
• Adam loves these Pan-Seared Salmon Burgers. Thanks to a little agave, they brown nicely in the pan and taste amazing.

Recipe updated, originally posted August 2009. Since posting this in 2009, we have tweaked the recipe to be more clear. – Adam and Joanne