Lemon-Roasted Salmon with Green Herb Sauce

Our Lemon-Roasted Salmon with Green Herb Sauce epitomizes weeknight elegance—start to finish in 30 minutes. Inflammation-fighting salmon is roasted to flaky perfection on top of a bed of lemon slices and topped with a gorgeous green, herb sauce that will knock your socks off. The anchovy and olives add a hint of saltiness and briny kick to the sauce, and the fresh lemon juice brightly accents the salmon. Keep reading for our expert tips, which include how to know when your salmon is fully cooked. 

Tips from the EatingWell Test Kitchen

These are the key tips we learned while developing and testing this recipe in our Test Kitchen to make sure it works, tastes great and is good for you too! 

• When cooking salmon (or any fish), remove it from the refrigerator about 20 minutes in advance. This allows it to retain moisture and ensures even cooking.
• Broiling salmon close to the heating element enhances caramelization and reduces cooking time. Keep a close watch on the salmon to prevent it from burning, as broilers can vary significantly in heat output.
• Choose a fattier salmon, like farmed Atlantic salmon, for this recipe. Wild salmon are leaner and more prone to drying out with this cooking method.
• Cold leftover salmon is excellent when flaked over salads, added to pasta or mixed with mayonnaise or yogurt and served in a pita pocket.

Nutrition Notes

• Salmon definitely qualifies as a nutrition powerhouse. It’s packed with omega-3 fatty acids, nutrients that are well known for their benefits to heart health. Salmon is also a natural source of immune-strengthening vitamin D and heart-healthy vitamin B12 and is a high-quality protein—essential for maintaining and building muscle. 
• The herb sauce is another nutrition powerhouse. The nutrition in herbs is often an afterthought because of the smaller amounts used in recipes, but every small addition adds up to a bigger picture of better health. Parsley, dill and shallots contain an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrient called quercetin, which has been shown to help reduce the risk of cancer. Add that to the vitamin C from the lemon juice and the monounsaturated fats from the olive oil and you’ve got one nutrient-rich sauce.