Sheet Pan Pesto Butter Salmon
Pesto butter salmon is a delicious, quick, and healthy dinner. Fresh salmon and seasonal veggies are topped with a rich and savory pesto butter sauce, for an easy one pan meal that is perfect for the busy weeknights.
This sheet pan pesto butter salmon recipe is a great recipe to keep in your back pocket for the busy weeknights. Salmon is a super quick-cooking protein, and one of my favorite things to make when I’m pressed for time. It takes only about 10 minutes of prep to put this recipe together, and within a half hour you will have a delicious and healthy meal to feed your family. Honestly, this is easier than takeout if you have the groceries!
This recipe is also versatile, and a great way to use up the extra veggies in your fridge. You can roast whatever fresh veggies you have on hand – potatoes, squash, asparagus, green beans, tomatoes. My family often makes it with asparagus and this lemon garlic orzo (one of our favorite side dishes)! Top the rich and flaky salmon with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice or a sprig of fresh basil, and it will feel like a restaurant-quality meal. I hope this becomes a new family favorite!
You Will Love This
- This pesto salmon recipe only takes about 10 minutes of prep, and the rest of the time is inactive cooking time.
- This is a healthy and delicious dinner. It is full of healthy fats from the fish, and vitamins and minerals from the veggies. You can use a store-bought pesto for convenience
- Sheet pan meals are the best easy dinner recipes – prep is quick and with only one baking dish cleanup is super easy!
Ingredients
To make this pesto salmon recipe, you need the following simple ingredients (full ingredient list can be found in the recipe card below).
Ingredient Notes
- Olive oil: You could substitute avocado oil.
- Salmon fillets: You can use fresh salmon or frozen, defrosted salmon. If you are using a whole salmon fillet I recommend cutting it into individual portions for quicker cooking.
- Butter: Both salted butter and unsalted butter will work fine. If you use unsalted butter, just adjust the seasoning to taste.
- Prepared basil pesto: Use whatever brand of pesto you like best. I like Kirkland brand signature basil pesto from Costco, and also Rao’s brand. Of course, you can use homemade basil pesto sauce if you have it on hand!
Additions and Substitutions
You can use any type of fresh veggies that you like in this recipe. Just make sure to account for how long your veggies will need to cook. Individual fillets of salmon only take 12-15 minutes to cook. Quick-cooking veggies like asparagus, summer squash, bell peppers and cherry tomatoes can be cooked for the same amount of time as the salmon. For veggies that take a little longer, like mini potatoes, sweet potatoes, broccoli or green beans, give them a small head start by cooking them on the sheet pan for 10-15 minutes before adding the salmon. This is exactly what we are doing in the recipe below, so check out the process photos and recipe card to see what I mean!
Instructions
Top Tip: Make sure to cut the potatoes into very small pieces, so they will cook quickly. I cut my mini potatoes in half, placed the flat side of each half onto the cutting board, and cut each half into quarters.
Storage and Reheating
Store leftover salmon in an airtight container in the fridge for a maximum of 3 to 4 days. Fish can be prone to drying out when reheated in the microwave, so I recommend reheating on your microwave’s low setting (about 50% power) for bursts of 30 seconds or so at a time, until it’s warmed up to your liking. Cold pesto salmon is also yummy on top of a Caesar salad for lunch!
Sheet Pan Pesto Butter Salmon
Ingredients
- 1 pound baby gold potatoes
- 2-3 small summer squash about 2 cups sliced squash
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper to taste
- 4 salmon filets approximately 5-6 ounces each
- 3 tablespoons salted butter
- ¼ cup prepared basil pesto
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Wash the potatoes and summer squash. Cube the potatoes into small pieces. Cut the squash into half-moon slices.
- Toss the potatoes with 1 teaspoon olive oil, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Toss the squash with the remaining oil, salt and pepper.
- Place the potatoes on the sheet pan and roast them for approximately 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, remove the sheet pan from the oven. Push the potatoes to one side of the sheet pan. Place the salmon on the sheet pan, skin side down. Add the summer squash in the remaining space.
- Melt the butter in the microwave, and whisk it together with the pesto. Drizzle the pesto butter evenly over the top of the salmon filets.
- Place the sheet pan back in the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, until the salmon reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees.
This was delicious! The salmon was moist and had a great flavor.