Easy Sour Cream Baked Salmon Recipe
How to make moist and tender baked salmon topped with a creamy sour cream crust in less than 30 minutes. Jump to the Sour Cream Baked Salmon recipe or read on to see our tips for making it.
This recipe is simple and delicious. We spread a mixture of sour cream, whole ground mustard and parmesan cheese on top of salmon. Then, we slide them into the oven for about 15 minutes. The recipe is easy, plus that sour cream crust is so good!
This Easy Baked Salmon recipe with lemon and dill. The inspiration comes from my mother, who made this all the time. It’s her go-to dish — especially when entertaining.
How to Bake Salmon Topped with Sour Cream
We love this salmon recipe! It’s flavorful, tender and takes less than 30 minutes, which makes it perfect for busy nights.
It’s also perfect for special occasions. Think about serving the salmon with a light salad, mashed potatoes, our mashed cauliflower or your favorite side.
How Not to Overcook Baked Salmon
We’ve done it plenty of times in the past. It’s a complete letdown, but don’t worry we’ve got a couple of tricks to help us all out.
Here’s the first trick. You only want to cook salmon until it’s barely done in the center – you can tell when it’s ready by using a knife and peeking into the middle of the salmon. If it’s firm, but still has a small amount of uncooked salmon in the center take it out of the oven then loosely cover with aluminum foil. Then, let it rest for 10 minutes. During this time, the center will cook just enough to be perfect.
See our Brown Sugar Baked Salmon with Green Beans — everything happens on one pan.
Another trick is to use a thermometer. We take our salmon out when the center reaches 125 degrees F (51 degrees C). Then, remove, cover with foil and rest.
Finally, (and, yes we realize that this one is coming from a recipe website) – Don’t trust the recipe cooking time.
Let us explain. Ovens vary, it stinks, but it’s true. So, while our filets of salmon might take 10 minutes to bake, yours may take longer.
So, be mindful of how your salmon is cooking. It’s completely fine to check the salmon a little earlier than the recipe states. You’ll usually find us checking twice. To test for doneness, remove the salmon from the oven, close the oven door (to keep the heat in) then check the fish the same way we mentioned above. If the salmon needs more time, slide it back into the oven. If not, pat yourself on the back, you just prevented overcooked salmon.
For another baked salmon recipe, try our Baked Salmon with Garlic Caper Butter Sauce. It’s incredible.
Recipe updated, originally posted February 2013. Since posting this in 2013, we have tweaked the recipe to be more clear. – Adam and Joanne
Easy Sour Cream Baked Salmon Recipe
- PREP
This easy baked salmon recipe is perfect for a weekday, but could also fill in for a special occasion. The fish is smothered with a mixture of sour cream, mustard, and parmesan cheese. When baking the fish, be careful not to overcook. (There are lots of tricks above in the article for how not to overcook salmon). For moist salmon, bake until the salmon is barely done at the thickest part then remove from the oven cover with foil and let rest.
Makes 4 Servings
You Will Need
4 (6-ounce) salmon filets
1/2 cup whole fat sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons whole grain mustard
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
Salt and fresh ground pepper
Directions
Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly oil a rimmed baking sheet or baking dish. (Instead of oiling the pan, you could also line with parchment paper).
In a small bowl, combine sour cream, mustard, and the cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Place salmon onto a baking sheet then spread two tablespoons of sour cream mixture on top of each salmon filet.
Bake 10 to 15 minutes until barely done in the center at the thickest part of the salmon. The center should be firm, but with a small amount of uncooked salmon in the very center. Depending on how thick the salmon is, it may need a few minutes longer. (The internal temperature should be around 125 degrees F).
Remove from oven then cover lightly with aluminum foil and let rest 5 to 10 minutes. During this time, the salmon will continue to cook.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- 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. 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.
- Nutrition Facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA Supertracker recipe calculator to calculate approximate values.
If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #inspiredtaste — We love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook! Find us: @inspiredtaste
Nutrition Per Serving: Serving Size 1 (6-ounce) fillet / Calories 328 / Protein 40 g / Carbohydrate 1 g / Dietary Fiber 0 g / Total Sugars 1 g / Total Fat 17 g / Saturated Fat 6 g / Cholesterol 111 mg
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When I don’t have the energy to cook, this is my go-to recipe instead of takeaways. So easy and so tasty. Absolutely love it!
I made the recipe and added the crushed pork rinds it was fast and delicious. My husband said it was flaky and really good. He is not a fan of fish and he ate the whole filet thank you!
I made this exactly as the recipes states but added one thing: I like a little crunch but don’t eat grains, so I crushed some chicarrones (pork rinds) on top and baked it that way. AMAZING!!! Thanks for a great (and easy) recipe! My fish were thick so they took about 15 min.
This topping is delicious and the salmon turned out perfectly cooked at 12 min. I’m going to use this topping for baked chicken and pork chops. Great easy recipes like this make the Keto diet a breeze!
I made your salmon recipe for dinner with a few changes. I put lemon zest on the salmon, then salt and pepper, made the paste and added dill weed. (. I like dill with salmon.) Apply the paste, sprinkle panco on top. Makes a nice crust. Cooked for 20 Minutes. Wonderful dinner.
I made this over the weekend and OH MY GOSH! This was so good! My husband rated it a “wow”. It was super easy to cook and would be a great dinner to have with guests, or just with your family (quick and easy)
Very tasty!! And easy!
I made the salmon this evening. Instead of sour cream, I used plain yogurt. It was moist and delicious. I will make this a go to recipe. It was so easy.
Do you mean freshly grated parmesan or dry grated parmesan? Thanks!
Hi Elle, You can use either, although we do prefer grating parmesan ourselves.
Thank you!
Absolutely wonderful!! Loved this and my husband, who is not big on fish, loved it as well.
Made this tonight…followed recipe but added some horseradish and parsley flakes…served with sticky rice and sugar snap peas….simply fabulous
LOVED this recipe! Easy to make and delicious! Thank you for sharing! 5 stars!
This recipe was awesome! Husband approved (by a husband that isn’t crazy about salmon). I had too much of the sour cream mixture so I put the rest in the mashed potatoes and that was delicious too. Thanks for sharing it!
Does this recipe reheat well? I always try to make enough to take to lunch the next day.
You could certainly reheat the salmon, just be aware that the salmon will be less moist/tender than when eaten straight away.
I just made this for a dinner party and received very good feedback. I did bake it on parchment paper, and I did add a nice squirt of lemon at the end. Also, once I coated the salmon, I added extra mustard in a long line down the salmon (I did full 1/2 salmon and cut it after baking). The only thing is that I have half of the sour cream mixture leftover. I think if I used any more it would have been overwhelming and too thick/rich. So next time I’ll cut the sour cream mixture in half (except the mustard) – it’s still plenty and will lighten the recipe up quite a bit.
I loved this. First time, I made it exactly as recipe . It seemed to need something. Second time, I squeezed some fresh lemon over the sour cream mixture. Perfect. Terrific recipe.
Very well written, thorough, and easy to understand. Sounds great! l’m going to try it!
Made turkey meatballs, turned out very well.
Enjoy your site
I make salmon most every night and was looking for a new recipe… Tried this and my husband commented multiple times about how good it was! Delicious recipe the way it is. I added more mustard seeds to make it look prettier and he didn’t seem to mind. Thank you! Adding it to my rotation
Excellent recipe, made many times from this site. It doesn’t need any changes but its flexible so I can if I want to
Excellent recipe, made many times from this site. There’s no need to change it, but its flexible so you can when you like. Thanks for sharing
Is there something I can substitute for the mustard? I don’t usually have that on hand.
Horseradish could work or any of your favorite dry spices blends … curry would be nice.
I used regular yellow mustard and it turned out well.
Had this last night – delicious! While it calls for whole fat sour cream, I had reduced fat on hand and it seemed to work fine. I’m sure non-fat would not work as well.
Great because it is so easy – nothing to chop! And because it is absolutely to die for. Would be terrific for a dinner party – it’s that good.
Great recipe! So easy, and was delicious.
So glad you enjoyed it.
It will probably be just as good and better for you if Greek Yogurt is substituted for the sour cream. Great recipe.
I’m gonna need to lie down.