Salmon with Tomatoes & Fennel (sheet pan meal!)

At a glance

What stands out: Roasted on one sheet pan, salmon with tomatoes and fennel is joined by shallots, garlic, capers, dill, and Dijon for an exciting flavorful entrée. This meal is cooked in one pan so clean-up is straightforward!

How long it takes: 35 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: sheet pan, oven
Servings: 4

One Pan Salmon with Tomatoes

Exciting flavors. The bold flavors of salmon, tomatoes, and fennel assert themselves in this Mediterranean-style sheet pan dinner. The excitement doesn’t stop with the salmon/tomato/fennel trifecta. Believe us, this entrée isn’t shy. The supporting cast is equally prominent: shallots, garlic, capers, dill, and Dijon. Wow! There’s nothing boring about this dinner.

Lighter ingredients. You’ll love how lighter this salmon dinner is, too. This recipe is adapted generously from a Melissa Urban’s Whole30 Fast and Straightforward. Pretty much every ingredient is good for you, from protein-rich salmon to antioxidant-loaded fennel. This is whole food at its best!

One pan dinner. Baked sheet pan dinners are straightforward! Cook your entire dinner on one pan, with no stirring, splatters, or multiple pots to wash. For even easier clean-up, line the sheet pan with parchment paper. Just toss the paper when dinner is finished. How straightforward is that!

If you like the idea of one pan salmon dinners, try salmon and asparagus sheet pan dinner, Greek salmon sheet pan dinner, or walnut crusted salmon sheet pan dinner. Another tasty idea is pesto salmon in parchment. The salmon is baked with a medley of vegetables in a neat parchment packet.

Karin Said:

“we've made this a few times for friends and family with many compliments and requests for the recipe — so rich, so straightforward to mix. Thank you!!”

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What goes in

• Salmon: This recipe serves four. Buy one fillet and cut it into four equal portions or buy four 6 ounce fillets. It can be skin-on or skinless.
• Tomatoes: Bite-size tomatoes, like cherry or grape tomatoes work well for this recipe. They are sweet, tangy, and juicy when roasted.
• Fennel Bulb: Look for fennel in the produce department. The fennel bulb is light green to white in color, and has a mild licorice flavor. You’ll need one medium-sized bulb, with the fronds. Fennel bulbs should be refrigerated where they will keep for 7 to 10 days.
• Shallots: A member of the onion family, shallots are smaller and mild-tasting. You can substitute a sweet onion if you prefer.
• Sauce: The salmon and veggies are roasted with a savory sauce consisting of olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice, capers, minced garlic, Dijon mustard, and fresh dill.

How it comes together

Prep vegetables. Thinly slice the fennel bulb. Begin by cutting the bulb in quarters, removing the core, and then slicing each quarter as thinly as possible. A mandoline is helpful if you have one. Toss the fennel with halved grape tomatoes, quartered shallots and olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Put everything on the sheet pan. Arrange the vegetables around the salmon fillets on a large rimmed baking sheet. (You can line it with parchment paper for straightforward cleanup.)

Make the sauce. Stir up a flavorful sauce of minced garlic, fresh lemon juice, Dijon mustard, fresh dill, and capers. Spread the sauce over the salmon. There will be plenty, so let the excess spread into the veggies to flavor them as well.

Bake. In twenty minutes or so, you’ll have beautifully roasted salmon and vegetables ready for dinner! For well-done salmon, the internal temperature should be 145ºF when checked with an instant read thermometer. The salmon should be opaque and flake easily with a fork.

Serve. Place a salmon filet on each plate, surround it with roasted tomatoes and fennel, garnish with fennel fronds or fresh dill, and serve. Beautiful!

Ways to serve it

Sides: Accompany your dinner with a loaf of crusty bread with Italian bread dipping oil and a simple salad with from-scratch vinaigrette, if desired.

Beverage: Try a merlot with this salmon dinner. It pairs evenly with the tomatoes and fennel. A bubbly Aperol spritz is reliable for an aperitif, with olive oil roasted almonds to nibble on.

Dessert: For a sweet finish, try 3 ingredient lemon pudding, along with honey lemon shortbread cookies or lemon brownies.

Ways to change it

• Add olives. Instead of, or along with the capers, add olives to the sheet pan. Kalamata or Castelvetrano olives would be reliable.
• Make a main dish salad. Toss greens like arugula, red leaf lettuce, and spinach with a light vinaigrette and top the greens with the warm roasted salmon and vegetables.
• Grill the meal. Don’t want to heat up your kitchen? Roast the salmon and veggies wrapped in foil packets and grill the packets. This grilled salmon recipe is good, too.

Keeping leftovers

Refrigerate: Store leftover salmon and vegetables in the refrigerator for up to two days. Reheat gently in the microwave on a plate. Check out the salad idea above for a rich way to eat leftovers.

Free Meal Plan

Interested in a weekly meal plan that includes this recipe? Take a look at our Meal Plan #39. You’ll find a wholesome recipe for each weekday plus a categorized grocery list. Let us do the planning for you this week!

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• Yield: 4
• Prep: 15 minutes
• Cook: 20 minutes
• Total: 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 ½ pounds salmon (or four 6 ounce fillets)
• 1 medium fennel bulb
• 3 cups halved grape tomatoes
• 3 shallots, quartered
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• ¾ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper, divided
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons capers, drained
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill (or 1 teaspoon dried dill)
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF. For easy clean up, line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. If you bought a whole salmon fillet, cut it into 4 equally-sized pieces. Pat the salmon dry with paper towels. Arrange the filets on baking sheet.
3. Scrub the fennel bulb. Cut the fennel into quarters, cut out the core, and very thinly slice each quarter (the thinner the better). We use our mandoline. You should have about 2 heaping cups of sliced fennel.
4. In a large bowl, toss together fennel, tomatoes, shallots, 1 tablespoon olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Arrange in a single layer around the salmon.
5. In a small bowl, stir together remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon black pepper with garlic, lemon juice, capers, dill, and Dijon mustard. Spread the sauce onto salmon. There will be plenty of sauce so it's okay if some of it spreads into the vegetables.
6. Roast 18 to 20 minutes or until salmon reaches desired temperature (we recommend 145ºF) when checked with an instant read thermometer. The salmon should be opaque and flake easily with a fork.
7. Plate with one portion of salmon and ¼ of the vegetable mixture. Serve immediately, garnished with sprigs of fresh dill or fennel fronds.

Notes

Variations: If you prefer, substitute Kalamata or Castelvetrano olives for the capers. Other vegetables could be substituted for the fennel and tomatoes, if you like. You can omit the Dijon mustard if you prefer.

Make it a main course salad: Serve the warm salmon and vegetables on a bed of salad greens dressed with a light vinaigrette.

Storage: Leftovers should be refrigerated promptly in a covered container for up to 2 days. Reheat in the microwave being careful not to overheat the salmon. Fennel bulbs should be refrigerated in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator where they stay fresh for 7 to 10 days.