With only FOUR simple ingredients, this Crispy Caper Lemon Salmon is an easy weeknight dinner that is loaded with flavor!
What You’ll Need
With only four simple ingredients, this Crispy Caper Lemon Salmon could not be easier! A full list of ingredients with measurements for this recipe is available in the printable recipe card below.
- Capers – Capers come from the caper bush, as do caper berries, but they are not the same thing. Capers are the unopened buds and caper berries are the fruit the bush produces once the buds have flowered and then been fertilized.
- Salmon fillet
- Fresh lemon juice
- Maldon sea salt
- Freshly ground pepper
Make it a Meal
You can serve this crispy caper lemon salmon with just about any side dish you want to! I like to serve mine with garlic parmesan broccolini or something else green like side salads or broccoli.
I also like to serve with some sort of starch. Ranch rice is one of our favorites, as are oven baked potato wedges.
5S Philosophy 👩🏻
- Salt – I used my favorite maldon sea salt to help bring out the flavors of the other ingredients. Capers are already quite salty, so make sure to use sparingly.
- Seasonings – If you’d like to add even more flavor to this lemon salmon, try adding some fresh parsley, lemon zest or fresh dill.
- Sauces – You can serve this salmon with all kinds of sauces! Lemon garlic butter or dijon mustard would both be the perfect sauce.
- Senses – Bright lemon zest and briny capers cut through with a tangy punch, while buttery edges melt into a burst of citrusy, savory flavor. Light, fresh, and irresistibly aromatic.
Caper Lemon Salmon
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 ounce salmon fillet
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- Maldon sea salt & freshly ground pepper
- 1/4 cup brined capers drained and rinsed
- Cooking Spray
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray.
- Place the 8 ounce salmon fillet in the baking dish and cover with the 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice and season with Maldon sea salt & freshly ground pepper.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Cooking time will vary greatly depending on the thickness of the salmon.
- While salmon is cooking, lightly spray a small frying pan and heat to medium. Add the drained and blotted 1/4 cup brined capers. Saute for 3-5 minutes, or until capers start to crisp and brown. Remove from heat and salt aside until salmon is complete.
- Remove salmon, which should be a light pink and flake easily with a fork. Top with crispy capers and serve.
- If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or star ratings.
Notes
Nutrition
Storage and Freezing
Store leftover lemon salmon in an airtight container for up to 3 days. You can also wrap each salmon filet in plastic wrap.
You can freeze cooked salmon for up to 3 months but it is unlikely to retain the same texture when thawed.
Your Questions, Answered
The white stuff is called albumin and is harmless. In fact, it is a protein that is also found in eggs (the whites) and milk. It separates from the other molecules when heat is added to the food.
Every piece of salmon will have a different amount of the white stuff, but you can reduce how much comes out if it really bothers you. Simply cook your salmon less aggressively at a lower temperature for a longer amount of time.
Farm raised salmon is raised in a container and controlled environment while wild caught is caught out on the open sea.
Some feel that sustainable, farm raised salmon is the more responsible approach to eating seafood since it isn’t depleting the natural population. Salmon consumption has increased significantly within the past two decades after the extreme health benefits were revealed.
Experts claim that the health benefits between farm raised and wild caught salmon are the same, however farm raised aren’t nearly as active, as they kept in smaller aquariums and don’t get as much daily exercise.
Farm raised salmon with be rosey-orange, while wild caught salmon is a deeper pink or red. Some feel the flavor of wild caught is better and more flavorful.
Wild caught tends to be a little more expensive and might look a little rougher.
More Delicious Salmon Recipes
We eat a lot of seafood in this house, specifically salmon. Here are some of our favorite salmon recipes.
of late I changed my opinion bout special occasions and started celebrating a bit of life every day. So I understand having put away some treats. The salmon looks amazing and must be perfect.
I love all things salmon, so I know that I am going to be all over this! Making it tomorrow night, thank you so much for sharing 🙂
That lemon caper sauce sounds so delicious! 🙂 The salmon is cooked perfectly..
This was so good! Love the tangy lemon with the salmon.
I love how simple this recipe is – and I love the ingredients. We seldom see wild Alaskan salmon here – but I know how special it is! This recipe is delicious anyway – even with the Scottish salmon that is more normal here in the UK!
I am not going to say
“Never save” something for a special occasion, but I have found that it is more fun to “Enjoy it while you got it!”
Trying this recipe right now. I believe it will be guudaa. 🙂
Words to live by 🙂