These salmon recipes are useful when you want a dinner that feels fresh, satisfying, and not too complicated. Salmon cooks quickly, works well with creamy sauces, rice, pasta, salads, air fryer recipes, and bistro-style sauces, and can be served for both weeknight meals and more special dinners.
This collection includes easy salmon fillets, air fryer salmon, salmon bites, creamy salmon pasta, salmon burgers, bistro-style salmon with beurre blanc, and a few more special salmon recipes for weekends or entertaining.
Air Fryer Salmon Bites Recipe, Crispy Outside and Tender Inside
When you want a fast salmon dinner that still feels fresh and satisfying, air fryer salmon bites are hard to beat. They cook quickly, take very little prep, and give you crisp edges with a moist center. This version is especially useful on busy weeknights, but it also works year-round for meal prep, rice bowls, salads, or a lighter weekend dinner.
Air Fryer Salmon (Perfect Every Time – Moist, Flaky, Never Dry)
Air fryer salmon is a quick, high-heat method for cooking salmon fillets until tender and flaky inside with lightly crisped edges outside. What makes this version different is the precise timing, temperature control, and seasoning balance that prevent dryness while keeping the fish flavorful. It’s ideal for busy weeknights, healthy meals, or anytime you want a reliable salmon dish without turning on the oven.
Easy Oven-Baked Salmon (Fail-Proof, Moist, and Weeknight-Friendly)
Oven-baked salmon is a simple method where salmon fillets cook quickly in steady heat until just flaky, then finish with a glossy sauce or glaze. What makes this version different is the gentle bake plus a fast lemon-Dijon butter finish that keeps the fish moist without needing a marinade. It’s the kind of recipe you make on a busy Tuesday, but it’s also clean and elegant enough for guests.
Oven-Baked Salmon with Rice Pilaf and Tarragon Cream Sauce
A good salmon dinner does not need to be complicated to feel elegant. This one is built around a thick piece of oven-baked salmon, fluffy rice pilaf, green vegetables, and a light tarragon cream sauce, which makes it just as fitting for a weeknight as it is for a more polished weekend meal.
A salmon burger is one of the best ways to serve fish to the whole family: it’s quick, it grills beautifully, and it feels a bit more festive than a classic fillet. This version is based on my original YouTube video, but I made a few adjustments for the blog so that the mixture holds better, gives a juicier result, and works whether you cook it outside on the barbecue or inside in a pan. We’re keeping the spirit of hand-chopped salmon, fresh herbs, and a light binder — just with slightly improved proportions.
Crispy skin salmon with beurre blanc is a restaurant-style salmon recipe made with pan-seared fillets and a warm French butter sauce. What makes it different from a basic salmon dinner is the contrast between the crisp skin, tender flaky fish, and silky white wine sauce.
If you’ve been searching for a salmon Wellington recipe that actually stays crisp with a tender, rosy interior, this is the one. We wrap 500 g (1.1 lb) salmon in puff pastry with a spinach–mushroom duxelles and finish with a silky tarragon white-wine cream sauce. The key tweaks vs the video: we cook the filling drier, pat (or briefly sear) and chill the salmon, bake hotter (400°F) for real puff, and rest 5–10 minutes before slicing. The result is a holiday-worthy main that works on a weeknight and scales beautifully for dinner parties.
This beet-cured salmon gravlax is a colorful and elegant twist on the classic Scandinavian cured salmon. The fresh beetroot gives the fish a deep ruby hue and a subtle earthy sweetness that pairs beautifully with the salt-cured salmon and herbs. It’s an easy no-cook recipe that anyone can make at home: simply cure the salmon in salt, sugar, and grated beet, then scrape off the crust before slicing thinly. The result is perfectly balanced in salt, rich in flavor, and melt-in-your-mouth tender even after 36 hours in the fridge.
There’s nothing like homemade salmon tartare, made with ultra-fresh ingredients and a perfectly balanced seasoning. This version, spiked with just enough Sriracha for a gentle kick, is ideal as a light starter or elegant main dish, served with crisp greens and toasted baguette slices. Not only is it easy to make, it highlights the clean flavors of raw fish and aromatic herbs.
If you love Nordic flavors and elegant appetizers, gravlax (cured salmon) is one of the highest-impact, low-effort recipes you can make at home. This version follows my chef’s style: a stronger, salt-forward cure, plenty of cracked pepper, fresh fennel/dill on top—and no rinsing after curing. Instead, we scrape and blot the exterior so the flavor stays concentrated and the texture remains silky.
Easy Creamy Salmon Pasta with Spinach (15–20 Minutes, One-Pan Sauce)
This creamy salmon pasta is a fast stovetop dinner made by tossing al dente pasta with seared salmon, baby spinach, and a simple tarragon cream sauce. It’s different from heavier baked pasta dishes because it’s cooked entirely on the stovetop and finished with pasta water for a glossy, restaurant-style coating. Make it when you want a quick weeknight meal that feels comforting year-round—especially on busy school nights or when you’re cooking on a budget.
Cold Salmon Salad (No Mayo Overload): Creamy, Fresh, Ready in 10 Minutes
Cold salmon salad is one of the easiest ways to turn salmon into a high-protein lunch that feels fresh instead of heavy. It’s the kind of recipe you make once and then keep repeating because it solves real problems: you need something quick, you want to meal prep, and you want a cold lunch that still tastes “chef-level.” This version is creamy without being greasy, bright without being sour, and it stays moist in the fridge.
These salmon recipes are the easiest place to start when you want a fast dinner with minimal cleanup. They work well with rice, salad, vegetables, potatoes, pasta, or a simple sauce.
Air Fryer Salmon is a quick way to cook salmon with very little effort.
Air Fryer Salmon can be flaked into salads, pasta, rice bowls, or sandwiches if you have leftovers.
Beet-Cured Salmon Gravlax can be served with bread, bagels, salad, dill sauce, potatoes, or a brunch plate.
Tips for Choosing the Right Salmon Recipe
For quick weeknights, choose air fryer salmon, salmon bites, easy oven-baked salmon, or salmon pasta. For a bistro-style dinner, choose salmon with beurre blanc or salmon Wellington. For a casual meal, choose salmon burgers or salmon bites. For brunch, appetizers, or a cold salmon plate, choose gravlax or salmon tartare.
Easy Substitutions
Fresh salmon, frozen salmon, skin-on salmon, skinless salmon, and salmon fillets can all work depending on the recipe. Trout can sometimes replace salmon in similar recipes. For creamy salmon pasta, you can add spinach, peas, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, lemon, dill, parsley, or capers.
Storage and Meal Prep
Salmon is usually best served fresh, especially crispy skin salmon. Cooked salmon can be stored in the fridge and used within a few days in salads, pasta, sandwiches, wraps, rice bowls, or omelettes. Reheat gently so it does not dry out. Cold salmon recipes like gravlax and tartare should be kept well chilled and served quickly.
Air fryer salmon and oven-baked salmon are two of the easiest methods. Both are simple, reliable, and work well for weeknight dinners.
What goes well with salmon?
Salmon goes well with rice, pasta, roasted vegetables, potatoes, salad, asparagus, spinach, lemon, cream sauce, beurre blanc, dill, parsley, and capers.
Can I use frozen salmon?
Yes. Thaw frozen salmon properly before cooking for the best texture. Pat it dry before seasoning so it cooks better.
Is salmon good for meal prep?
Yes, but it is best reheated gently. Cooked salmon can also be served cold in salads, sandwiches, wraps, pasta, and rice bowls.
How do you keep salmon from drying out?
Avoid overcooking it and remove it from the heat as soon as it is just cooked. A sauce, a little butter, oil, or cream can also help keep the texture moist.
Hello, my name is Michel Dumas and welcome to my blog! I have over 50 years of experience and trained as a cook in France, then came to Canada in the 70s where I was sous chef at the Windsor Hotel in Montreal. Since retiring in 2013, I have been posting recipes on YouTube. At the time, I wanted to show my mother how to cook. My son filmed the video and posted it on YouTube so we could email her the link to watch it. After a few days, we had 50 views on that video. We then decided to make videos every week and now have a fairly large audience that we still can't believe. With the help of my son Jean-Pierre, we transcribed my recipes that can be found on our various social networks onto this blog so they are easier to reproduce and share!
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