Lemon Salmon, served with Dill

At a glance

What stands out: This moist and flaky lemon salmon recipe with dill is ready in less than 30 minutes! It’s a straightforward and flavorful salmon dish that’s reliable for weeknight dinners. The oven method keeps this recipe fool-proof and it’s straightforward to clean-up, too!

How long it takes: 25 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: sheet pan, oven
Servings: 3

A standby Lemon Salmon With Dill

We never run short of ways to cook salmon. Whether it’s grilled salmon in foil or stovetop-friendly recipes like this pan-seared salmon with spinach cream sauce, salmon is versatile and so tasty!

This baked lemon salmon with dill is hands down our go-to dinner when time is short and the family is hungry. It’s moist, flaky, and foolproof. Dried dill adds savoriness while fresh lemon brightens everything up for a rich and straightforward salmon dinner. A standby part? It’s ready in just 30 minutes!

What goes in

• Fresh Salmon – This recipe can easily be doubled or even tripled, depending on how many people you’re serving and how much salmon you like for each serving. A serving can range from 3 oz. to 8 oz. If you’re serving a lot of side dishes, go with the smaller amount.
• Dill – Use either fresh or dried. If using fresh dill, you’ll use a bit more. If you love dill as much as we do, go ahead and add lots more.
• Lemon – A thick slice of lemon is roasted on top of each salmon fillet. Don’t discard that lemon after the salmon is baked! Squeeze the juice on top for even more zesty flavor.
• Salt and Pepper – Season the salmon according to your taste.

How it comes together

Here’s a speedy step-by-step to show you how to make this straightforward lemon salmon recipe. Scroll down to the recipe card for printable instructions and ingredient amounts.

Prep the salmon. Rinse salmon with cold water and pat dry with a paper towel. Place the salmon on a sheet pan. We like to line it with parchment for straightforward clean-up and to prevent the salmon from sticking.

Season the salmon. Sprinkle the fillet(s) with salt and pepper and then a good coating of dill. We like a LOT of dill but you can use as much, or as little, as you like. Finally, top with lemon slices.

Bake. Bake at 400°F for 18 minutes. Your salmon is done cooking when it flakes easily with a fork or when the internal temperature reaches 145°F (use an instant read thermometer).

Serve. Enjoy immediately. If you’d like, squeeze the roasted lemon slices over the salmon. Top your fish with a dollop of sour cream before digging in! We also like to top the salmon with creamy tzatziki sauce or from-scratch tartar sauce.

Tips for Success

These are our tips for a standby lemon salmon with dill:

• Pat the salmon dry. This way, the seasonings stay put.
• Cut the salmon into fillets. If desired, cut larger pieces of salmon into fillets so that they’re easier to serve. This is easiest to do before baking.
• How to tell when salmon is cooked: Salmon is done when it’s flaky, or you can check the internal temperature with a thermometer (our Thermapen is our right-hand man in the kitchen). We like to cook salmon to an internal temperature of 140-145°F.

Ways to change it

Lemon salmon is one of those recipes that’s wonderfully simple and rich, and also straightforward to customize. Try these variation ideas:

• Scale the recipe. You can double or triple this salmon recipe to feed as many people as you need.
• Add seasonings. Give your salmon even more flavor and rub the fillets with salmon seasoning before adding the dill.
• Different flavors. Salmon has a fairly assertive flavor so you can be bold with flavors and seasonings. Lemon and dill are a popular combination. Asian flavors such as soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and honey are great with salmon, too, like teriyaki salmon or orange glazed salmon.
• Make it a sheet pan dinner. We often throw some asparagus onto the pan in the last ten minutes of baking for a straightforward meal. See our salmon and asparagus sheet pan dinner for tips. The creamy lemon dill sauce is also so good!

Ways to serve it

We love to pair zesty lemon salmon with a straightforward Caesar salad (complete with from-scratch Caesar croutons) and speedy sautéed sugar snap peas, followed by a ridiculously straightforward chocolate tart for dessert. Dinner, done and dusted!

If you’re more into pasta as a side, try our favorite pink pasta with fresh tomato cream sauce. This one-pan creamy lemon orzo with greens is another straightforward choice. Dill pickle pasta salad or dill potato salad go well, too.

Keeping leftovers

Refrigerate. Store leftover salmon airtight in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave in 30-second increments or until heated through. Leftover salmon is good cold, too. Try it on a salad.

Freeze. Cooked salmon freezes well. Let the lemon salmon cool completely, and then store it in a freezer-safe container. You can freeze it for up to 3 months. Defrost the salmon in the fridge before reheating.

Leftover Love

Try leftover lemon salmon flaked on top of a Mediterranean green bean salad or substitute it for the shrimp in shrimp salad with mango and avocado. Keep it classic with a simple arugula salad or add this salmon to a quinoa bowl.

Free Meal Plan

Interested in a weekly meal plan that includes this recipe? Take a look at our Meal Plan #48 or Meal Plan #98. You’ll find a wholesome recipe for each weekday plus a categorized grocery list. We add a new meal plan weekly.

Browse Meal Plans

Slow Roasted Salmon with Lemon Pepper

• Yield: 3
• Prep: 5 minutes
• Cook: 18 minutes
• Total: 23 minutes

Ingredients

• 12 oz. salmon fillet (see note)
• ½ teaspoon dried dill weed ( or 1 ½ teaspoons fresh dill)
• ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste
• black pepper, to taste
• ½ lemon, sliced into 3 slices (discard ends of lemon)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a sheet pan or baking dish with parchment for easy clean-up or spray lightly with cooking spray.
2. Rinse salmon with cold water and pat dry with paper towel. If desired, cut salmon into fillets.
3. Sprinkle salmon evenly with dill, salt and pepper. Place lemon slices on top of salmon.
4. Bake for 18 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 145°F. (insert instant read thermometer into thickest part of salmon). It should flake easily.
5. Enjoy immediately. Squeeze the roasted lemon slices on it, if desired.

Notes

Portions: Recipe is easily doubled or tripled. Individual servings can be larger, too.

Cooking time: Cooking time varies depending on thickness of fillet, and whether you roast the fillet whole or cut into serving size portions before roasting. Keep in mind that some folks prefer salmon served medium rare, which is 120°F.

Serve on salad: Once the salmon is cooked, flake it with a fork and add to salad. If you prefer, refrigerate the salmon before adding it to the salad.