This delicious, flavorful pan seared salmon dish is the perfect weeknight dinner. And, when you pair it with my healthy lemon butter cream sauce, it’ll make you do the chef’s kiss! Best of all, you can make it using only one pan, which makes for super easy clean up.
And, to cut back on the dairy, I’ll be using coconut cream, but feel free to use heavy cream if you prefer that. This pan seared salmon dish is gluten free, grain free, low carb, and Keto friendly.
I must say… I love salmon! So, I’ve made lots of healthy salmon dishes in my life, but this one easily takes the #1 spot. It only takes about 20 minutes to make and it’ll have you feeling like you’re at a 5-star restaurant.
If you’re not a fan of salmon, feel free to swap it out with any type of fish. You can also use shrimp or even chicken breasts for this dish. It’s very versatile.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED TO MAKE THIS PAN SEARED SALMON RECIPE
Sometimes, less is more, especially with salmon dishes. We want to keep the salmon the star of the show and use a simple lemon butter cream sauce to compliment it. Here’s what you’ll need…
- Salmon – I prefer using individual salmon filets for this recipe, but you can also use one large filet.
- Butter – This adds so much flavor & moisture to this dish. Feel free to use ghee if you want to eliminate most of the lactose and casein.
- Lemon – Add the juice from a lemon takes the flavor up a notch and really compliments the buttery flavor.
- Coconut Cream – To cut back on dairy, I like using coconut cream, but feel free to use heavy cream.
- Garlic & Herbs – This is where a lot of the flavor comes in. The garlic and parsley mix perfectly with the lemon, butter, and cream to round out all of the flavors.
WHICH TYPE OF SALMON TO USE
When choosing salmon, it’s important to consider both the quality and type of salmon.
- Wild-Caught Salmon: If I’m going to be eating salmon, I always try to avoid farm-raised and opt for wild-caught. Yes, it’s more expensive but farm raised salmon may contain pollutants, toxins, and antibiotics due to the farming conditions.
- Types of Salmon: There are several different types of salmon available, such as sockeye, king, atlantic, etc. so it can get confusing. My favorites are sockeye salmon and king salmon. But, because king salmon is so expensive, I usually stick to sockeye.
HOW TO MAKE CRISPY SALMON SKIN
You can certainly leave the skin on for this pan seared salmon recipe, but today I’m going to show y’all how to make crispy salmon fish skin to serve alongside the salmon. It’s actually quite tasty too!
- Step 1: Remove salmon skin. Using a sharp knife, you’ll want to remove the salmon skin from the flesh. And, make sure you remove as much of the flesh as possible; otherwise, it won’t crisp up.
- Step 2: Place salmon skin onto a lined baking sheet. Lightly brush avocado oil onto the skin and season with sea salt and pepper.
- Step 3: Bake salmon skins. Let cool completely before serving. Once cooled, they should be extra crispy.
PAN SEARED SALMON RECIPE VIDEO
PAN SEARED SALMON | with Lemon Butter Cream Sauce (grain free, low carb)
Course: DinnerDifficulty: Medium4
servings5
minutes15
minutesThis pan seared salmon recipe is perfectly complimented with my lemon butter cream sauce made with coconut cream keeping it low in dairy. It’s low carb and Keto friendly.
Ingredients
4 (6 oz) Wild-Caught Salmon Filets (see notes below)
Sea Salt & Pepper, to taste
4 Tbsp Butter or Grass-fed Ghee
1 C. Chicken Broth
1 Lemon, the juice only
1 Tbsp Garlic, minced
2 Tbsp Sweet Onion or Shallot, finely diced
1/3 C. + 1/4 C. Coconut Cream or Heavy Cream (see notes below)
1/2 C. Fresh Parsley, finely chopped
Directions
- Remove salmon from fridge and let it sit at room temperature for about 10-15 minutes. This will help is to cook more evenly. If salmon is frozen, be sure to de-thaw it the day prior.
- Using a sharp knife, remove the skin from the salmon filets. Make sure you remove as much of the flesh from the skin as possible so the skin will crispy up nicely. **This step is optional. Feel free to keep the skin on.
- Place the salmon skins onto a lined baking sheet. Lightly brush avocado oil onto each salmon skin and season with sea salt and pepper. Bake salmon skins at 400 degrees F. for 15 minutes. Once done, remove from oven and let cool completely before serving.
- Season salmon filets with sea salt and pepper on each side.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, add the butter or ghee. Once the butter is completely melted and heated through, add the salmon filets to the skillet. Cook on each side until salmon is fully cooked through and butter is a nutty brown. This should take about 10 minutes.
- Once the salmon is done, add in the chicken broth, lemon juice, minced garlic, onion, and 1/3 C. of the coconut cream. Lightly whisk that together. Then, sprinkle in a bit more sea salt and pepper, to taste. And, baste the salmon filets with the juice and let that cook about 3-4 more minutes.
- Remove salmon filets from the skillet and set aside. Add the remaining coconut cream and continue cooking down the sauce while whisking until it reaches your desired texture. This takes about 5-10 minutes depending on how thick you want the sauce to be. Then, add in the parsley and continue mixing until it’s fully incorporated. Turn off the heat.
- To serve, you can add the salmon back into the skillet or transfer both salmon and sauce to a large serving dish. But, be sure to drizzle the cream sauce over the salmon filets to let it soak up all those flavors. Serve with your favorite healthy side dish and ENJOY!
Notes & Nutrition
- You can use any size salmon filets. It doesn’t have to be 6 oz. I’m using exact measurements for those who like to count calories and macros.
- Coconut cream is the cream that sits on top when you open a can of full fat coconut milk. Do not shake the can prior to opening.
- NUTRITION – Serving Size: 1 salmon Calories: 445kcal Carbohydrates: 3g Protein: 38g Fat: 32g Fiber: 2g Sugar: 1g
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WANT MORE HEALTHY DINNER RECIPES?
If you’re on the search for more healthy dinner ideas, here’s a few of my favorites.
- Sweet Potato Taco Skillet (paleo & grain free)
- Turkey Chili Stuffed Sweet Potato (Paleo & Grain Free)
- Grain Free Turkey Meatloaf (high protein & paleo)
- Hearty Beef ‘n Bacon Chili (bean free & low carb)
- Comforting Turmeric Golden Soup (dairy free)
- Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Soup (dairy free & gluten free)
It looks delicious! Thanks so much…I noticed you use some really pretty skillets with their lids…If I can ask, What brand of cookware do you use? Thanks again