comment icon 106 more comments That bright green basil sauce is the green sauce of summer 2023 for me – pour it over spice-loaded, caramelized salmon and throw a little tomato salad on the side and you have a very happy dinner. We’ve been eating this ON REPEAT in our house lately!
In This Post: Everything You Need For Salmon with Basil Sauce
Watch How To Make This Salmon with Basil Sauce
How To Make This Salmon with Basil Sauce (with Pictures)
Step 1: Make the Basil Sauce
Just blitz, blend, do your thing. I use this mini chopper (affiliate link) for nearly all my sauces these days! Looks like this when you’re done:
Step 2: Rub The Salmon with Spices
It’s a little bit satisfying, I’m not going to lie.
Step 3: Bake The Salmon
Ten minutes before it’s time to eat, we pop this guy in the oven. I usually either use a meat thermometer, to check the temp (135-140 is a great benchmark) or I just sacrifice one end of one piece to check for doneness.
Step 4: Assemble and Serve
Everybody builds their own plate! We layer in rice and a simple tomato salad. Only requirement: make sure everyone gets lots of basil sauce.
Lindsay’s Notes
I have a real emotional attachment to this basil sauce (or some version of it) because it originated at a family cabin in Wisconsin. There was a huge basil plant on the dock, and we harvested it liberally, and for weeks we ate ev-er-y-thing smothered in basil sauce. Last week, when I breathed in my first bunch of fresh summer basil, it took me right back. Lightbulb. Craving. Basil sauce time. One of my all-time favorite things in life is when I find a recipe that makes everyone in my family happy. And this meal has something for all of us: lots of protein to make Bjork happy, lots of big flavor to make ME happy, and enough elements that no matter what the mood is in the kid department, they can find something they will like. Against all odds, my preschooler regularly asks for seconds and thirds on salmon whenever we make this, and my toddler literally cleans out the sauce blender with a spatula. And I’m not saying that’s going to happen for everyone. But I’m saying it does sometimes happen for us, and I am always shocked, and I always play it cool, but it’s making me super-extra love this recipe right now. In short: whole family endorsement here. May your summer be full of many batches of basil sauce! Note: The photos on this recipe show a tomato cucumber salad, but at this very moment, I’m preferring a tomato corn salad! You’ll see corn in the recipe card, but not in the photos. Either will work, but for what I love best, follow the recipe card!
4.9 from 53 reviews
1 teaspoon paprika 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon onion powder 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt 1 teaspoon granulated sugar 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 lb. salmon filet, cut into 2–3 pieces
Basil Sauce:
1/2 cup packed fresh basil 1 small bunch of fresh chives 1 teaspoon dried oregano, optional 1 clove garlic 1/2 cup mayo (more as needed to keep it creamy) 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1–2 tablespoons lemon juice small pinch of salt, to taste
Tomato Salad:
1 1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes 2 ear sweet corn, cut off the cob 1–2 cups fresh spinach or spring greens 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 tablespoons minced chives or parsley salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste 2 cups cooked rice or grains for serving (I use precooked to make it easy)
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