This Baked Parmesan Crusted Salmon is a stunning show stopper that’s very easy to make. The parmesan crust is insanely delicious and the Lemon Cream Sauce for the salmon is the essential finishing touch. A spectacular salmon for Christmas dinner or other special occasions, and yet so fast you could make it midweek. Plus you can prepare everything ahead- even the sauce!
Food that tastes like a million dollars and yet is simple to make and made with every day ingredients. That is the absolute essence of the food I love and share here on RecipeTin Eats.
This Parmesan Crusted Salmon is pretty much me on a plate. Well, on a platter. A large platter. Because the best sort of food is food that is shared with family and friends! 🙂
Every year, I do a Thanksgiving and Christmas menu (see below recipe for list with links). It’s my mission to make you the most popular person at gatherings with finger food your friends will go mad over, and to make holiday feasting stress free with easy to make, mostly prepare ahead recipes. And insanely delicious of course. Taste first and foremost!
For this year, the centrepiece of my Christmas Menu is this Baked Parmesan Crusted Salmon, served with a heavenly Lemon Cream Sauce.
Please don’t skip the sauce! I know many people make similar recipes without a sauce. I really, really, really think that the Lemon Cream Sauce is necessary because this salmon is not marinated or glazed. Whole salmon fillets are quite thick and meaty so unless it is marinated or has lots of yummy glaze to use as the sauce, it lacks flavour inside.
Don’t get me wrong, the flavour of plain salmon is lovely. But the sauce just puts this over the top from tasty to exceptional. 🙂
Plus, look how the sauce clings onto that crunchy parmesan topping. Swoon….
I promised you this Baked Parmesan Crusted Salmon is easy to make and here are some prep photos to prove it! It starts with a very simple panko and parmesan topping. With one little trick. I like my crumb to be beautifully golden all over rather than splotches of burnt bits here and there which is what happens if you bake rather than fry crumbed things.
So my little trick that truly makes all the difference so your salmon comes out of the oven with a beautiful deep golden brown topping (without overcooking the salmon!) is to lightly toast the breadcrumbs on a baking tray. You can see a comparison of toasting vs not toasting the panko breadcrumbs in my Easy Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu. 🙂
Psst This is much easier, less effort and more even browning than toasting in a skillet. Plus less cleaning up because I use the same tray for the salmon. 🙌
My next trick – getting that beautiful parmesan topping to stick to the salmon. Easy fix – just spread Dijon mustard on the salmon like you’re buttering toast. Mustard is the perfect glue because it’s got a bit of tang (perfect match for rich salmon) plus flavour.
Bake it for 20 minutes in a fairly hot oven and this is what you get…..
So beautiful and tastes incredible, especially served with a simple Lemon Cream sauce. Yes the sauce has cream in it but I promise it doesn’t make this too rich! In fact, that’s a specific point my taste testers made. You hear the word “cream sauce” and assume it is very rich. But actually, this sauce is quite tangy from the lemon. It adds moisture to this dish as well as the zing cutting through the richness of the salmon.
And before I forget – yes I put my Christmas Menu up for critique by taste testers! As it so happens, all my friends have real life jobs and aren’t just hanging around on standby for taste testing sessions. 🤷🏻♀️Luckily, my mother has a group of willing friends who pop over to the local golf course for a round before dropping by for a taste testing session. 🙂
I love how honest they are with their feedback – trust me, they don’t hold back and I have actually held off posting a handful of recipes until I improve them further!!
This Baked Parmesan Crusted Salmon received high praise. Woo hoo! – Nagi x
More fish recipes!
PS Don’t forget to scroll down to see a) 2016 Christmas Menu Preview b) Dozer sulking through Christmas
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Baked Parmesan Crusted Salmon with Lemon Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 (1 – 1.4 kg / 2 – 2.8 lb) side of salmon (Note 1)
- 3- 4 tbsp Dijon mustard
Parmesan Crumb
- 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
Lemon Cream Sauce
- 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
Serving
- 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.
Lemon Cream Sauce
- 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.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Baked Parmesan Crusted Salmon recipe video!
LIFE OF DOZER
There’s always someone sulking during festive times…..
Christmas 2016 Menu Sneak Preview
Every year here on RecipeTin Eats, I share a Thanksgiving and Christmas menu. Always easy, always something a little bit special, lots of it make ahead. Here’s a little sneak preview of the 2016 Christmas Menu….coming soon! I’ll write up a full post with links through to all the recipes and how to prepare ahead etc. 🙂
Here are the previous Christmas / Thanksgiving Menus I have done:
2016 Thanksgiving – “Going South” A Southern Feast starring a One Roasting Pan Cajun Turkey Breast and Dressing and all the essential sides.
2015 Christmas – “Family Japanese Christmas” Starring a family recipe, my mother’s Miso Marinated Side of Salmon plus our favourite sides!
2015 Thanksgiving – “Dry Brining is Genius” A Genius Dry Brined Turkey Breast plus classic Thanksgiving sides
2014 Thanksgiving and Christmas – ” Easy Christmas” Making the festive season super easy with my Juicy Slow Cooker Turkey Breast with Gravy
And here’s a sneak peak at the 2016 Christmas Menu! Coming soon…..
nagi – HELP !!! I’m making the sauce 2 days ahead. the sauce is not thick? and the butter floats on top. I used fish stock. should I re-make with wine? if yes, what dry white wine? TIA
Hi Nagi,
I’m going to do the salmon on Christmas day. Can’t wait!
Hello Nagi
I made your Parmesan Salmon and Lemon Sauce for my Christmas dinner party and it was a huge hit. I followed your recipe exactly and it turned out perfectly. The lemon sauce is divine. In fact, some dinner guests wanted the recipe. Thank you for helping me make the best Christmas dinner ever.
Patricia, San Diego, CA
Hello Nagi,
I have made this recipe many times, it is so delicious! As a variation, I was wondering whether you have ever tried using or think it would work to spread a thin layer of cream cheese rather than the dijon mustard?
Hi Nagi,
This looks amazing and drool worthy and I am planning on making this for an ‘Aussie Christmas’ themed party I’m hosting for my Aussie bloke – we live in the UK and having a bit of a heatwave right now so feels like the weather is perfect for it – but could I serve the salmon ‘cool’ a few hours after baking it, rather than still warm? Also, would the sauce work cooled down too or just a bit warm?
We live in a tiny heat-trapping flat with no outdoor space so ideally I’d like to serve both cool IF you think that would still be nice 🙂
Thank you!
Hi Jun! Have a look at the storage / make ahead notes – this is terrific served at room temp! The sauce will work at room temp too though if you can warm it a tiny bit, it makes it even nicer 🙂 Enjoy! N x
Hi Nagi,
Just wanted to say a HUGE thank you for this recipe. I made it with a massive salmon, your garlic prawns, alongside your potato salad, pumpkin salad, corn salad amongst other things AND your pavlova!! Everything was amazing and so delicious – I followed your pav recipe exactly and although it was my first time everyone was so impressed! Thank you for sharing all your genius recipes!
That’s great Jun! Thanks for letting me know – and you’re so welcome! – N x ❤️ PS Glad the Pav was a success too!
Thank you Nagi! And sorry, I spotted the notes after I sent the message – then couldn’t find it to delete. I can’t wait to make this, thank you again!
Hi Nagi! I’d love to make this during the week, but with limited cooking time after work, can I prepare anything ahead of time (like the day before)? What do you recommend?
You sure can Lara! I’ve got make ahead tips in the notes 🙂 Basically make the crumb the day before then pop it on the salmon just before baking!
Brilliant, thank you Nagi! I was able to prep the crumb ahead of time and though I was worried it would clump because of the butter, a good shake in the container made it come out great. Everyone loved it!! 🙂
Wow wow,!
Just amazing Nagi
Paired with your 12 minute Couscous and crunchy potatoes.
A delicious dinner to share on Easter Sunday – with a generous slice of your chocolate fudge cake xox
I absolutely LOVE hearing that Vanesa! Happy Easter! N x
OMG Nagi, this looks amazing! I love salmon but hubby only likes white fish, could I use another fish to keep him happy? What would you suggest? Many thanks!
I’ve made this recipe a few times now for my family and they LOVE it. In fact, our anniversary is coming up and this is one of the things my husband asked for. When the man wants salmon for a gift, you know it’s good.
OMG HIGH PRAISE!!!!
Hi,
I seriously love all your recipes! Really wanted to try this one, but I was wondering can I substitute the wine?
Hi Heba! Sure can – use chicken broth instead 🙂 N x
Nagi,
I have been on this long quest to find the best salmon recipe. I have tried over 20 recipes and none of them seemed to do the trick. I made your recipe two nights ago and I finally found my perfect salmon recipe. It was OUTSTANDING. I loved the lemon cream sauce and pre-baking the panko crumbs did indeed make it golden and crispy in the best way. I will recommend this recipe to anyone who enjoys salmon and I will surely look out for any future recipes you have. Thank you so very much for sharing this fantastic recipe. 🙂
I LOVE HEARING THAT! So glad you enjoyed this Jessica, thanks for letting me know! N xx
Nagi – I’m so happy to have found your blog this year. I’ve made a few things like your salted caramel tart, wild rice salad, crackers, pizza, sushi, pavlova and now this salmon. I made the salmon (using Huon) and wild rice salad for Christmas and both were a hit. Love the where to buy suggestions as I also live in Sydney.
Happy New Year to you and your family and I look forward to trying more of your recipes.
Vivien
Nagi, Nagi, Nagi… how I love thee!
Made this for dinner tonight and the entire family demolished it.
They said it was pretty much the best thing I’d cooked EVER, which is saying a lot as I’m the cook in the family and make lots of nice things.
Salmon and sauce was heavenly! Keep up the delicious wonderful work! xxxx
That’s so great to hear Eileen! Thanks for letting me know – N x ❤️
Hi Nagi,
I have been following your blog for about a year now, but first time commenting though. Firstly just wanted to thank you for such amazing recipes! We have loved everything we’ve tried – satay chicken, peanut butter slice, hummus, mac and cheese, mexican chicken rice… and many more! You are known as my “blog lady” 🙂
I am hosting Xmas dinner this year and will attempt your baked salmon. Just wondering if I use skin on salmon, do I put the crumbs on the skin side or the non-skin side (i.e. cook skin side down)? Or do you just recommend to use skin-off salmon?
Thanks in advance,
Jenny
Hi Jenny! Skin on or off is fine, with skin on, when you cut a piece, it slides right off the skin. I do find it easier to slide the salmon out of the foil onto the serving platter with skin on. Either way, put the crumb on the top skinless side! N x
Thanks Nagi! I’ll let you know how I go!
Yes, other countries use stubby holders i.e. Canada. I can’t recall what they are called, I’m relearning Canadian after living in Oz for 30 years. Lovely to see the Canadian touches in your menu i.e. Maple glaze on the ham and salmon on the menu which is also well-loved here although not so much on the Christmas menu. I will be tucking into turkey at a friend’s and am taking your Festive Wild Rice Salad; I got so excited when you published it, I emailed my friend right away. I wanted to also take a bottle of Seppelt’s Sparkling Shiraz but can’t find it here so will have to take a local replacement.
Hope you have a wonderful festive season in the sun!
AND I actually used Canadian maple syrup I brought back from Canada!!! N xx
Hi Nagi,
I would love to try this recipe for a gathering of only 4 for dinner, but imagine a side of salmon will be too much. Do you think the recipe could be adapted to individual portions or a smaller cut?
Absolutely Jan! Just buy a smaller piece of salmon from the fish shop then scale the recipe down to the weight of that salmon. If you click on the Servings, a slider will appear, just move it until the salmon weight becomes the weight of your salmon. I would suggest not making any less than half the sauce though, just from a practical perspective of simmering / reducing 🙂
Hi nagi. I want to make your Parmesan baked salmon but am not fond of Dijon mustard any suggestions could I spread some of the lemon sauce on the salmon then the panko crumbs? Thanks I love your recipes Sue
Hi Sue! I am not sure it will stick with that – mayonnaise would work well as a sub. Otherwise, whisk an egg and use a brush to brush it over the salmon then proceed with recipe! 🙂 N x
This recepie was a hit!! Thank you!! I love all your receipes. This is the only website I trust to make a great dish! Do you have any other websites you personally use alot to reccomend?
Aww that’s so flattering Tara! Yes I do have some – my personal favourite is Smitten Kitchen, also Jo Cooks and Kevin is Cooking, I am friends with both of them and I have personally tried their own cooking and I make their recipes myself. I use I Am Baker for baking recipes, and I use Food Network for all sorts of recipes (actually, I probably use Food Network the most out of all websites) and I use Cook’s Illustrated / America’s Test kitchen a lot too, to learn the science behind things. Oh – and Serious Eats too. N x
Hi Nagi,
I couldn’t find any Dill in the local supermarket.. And i was only able to get curly parsley instead of italian parsley… arghh!! i plan to cook and bring this for our mooncake festival party tomorrow. I was so looking forward to impressing everyone with your recipe 🙁 I only have dried oregano on my cupboard, italian seasoning, fresh rosemary and basil… what do you think? should i substitute or just go without?
You’ll be fine! Add some dried herbs – just go by taste 🙂 N x
OMG, this recipe is delicious!!! My daughter and her boyfriend were home from college for dinner and their food request was salmon. They thought they were in heaven! My daughter loved it, and her boyfriend said it was the best salmon he had ever had:) I made the sauce and parmesan crumb topping ahead of time, and had a really nice piece of salmon, it took the whole 20 minutes. Served with baby red potatoes with herbs from our garden, and green beans with carmelized shallots and toasted marcona almonds, so yummy! I will be adding this recipe to my daughter’s keepsake recipe book I am making for her. Thanks so much!
I’m so happy to hear everyone enjoyed this Susan!! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review. N x ❤️