Creamy Baked Salmon Lemon Butter (Printable Version)

Tender salmon baked in tangy lemon butter sauce with cream cheese and Parmesan. Ready in under 30 minutes.

# What You'll Need:

→ Salmon

01 - 4 salmon fillets, 6 ounces each, skin-on or skinless
02 - Salt to taste
03 - Black pepper to taste

→ Lemon Butter Sauce

04 - 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
05 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
06 - 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
07 - 1 teaspoon lemon zest
08 - 2 ounces cream cheese, softened
09 - 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

→ Garnish

10 - 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
11 - Lemon wedges for serving

# Directions:

01 - Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a baking dish with butter or cooking spray.
02 - Pat salmon fillets dry with paper towels. Season both sides lightly with salt and black pepper. Arrange fillets in the prepared baking dish skin side down if using skin-on.
03 - In a microwave-safe bowl or small saucepan, melt the butter. Add minced garlic and stir immediately to release aroma without browning.
04 - Whisk in lemon juice, lemon zest, softened cream cheese, and grated Parmesan until smooth and creamy. Season with a pinch of salt and black pepper to taste.
05 - Spoon the lemon butter sauce evenly over the top and sides of each salmon fillet.
06 - Bake uncovered for 15 to 18 minutes, until the salmon is opaque and flakes easily with a fork, and the sauce is bubbling and lightly golden at the edges.
07 - For a golden crust, broil for 1 to 2 minutes at the end, watching carefully to avoid burning.
08 - Sprinkle with fresh parsley before serving. Serve with extra lemon wedges if desired.

# Additional Tips::

01 -
  • The sauce is impossibly creamy without any heavy cream, so it tastes indulgent but feels lighter than you'd expect.
  • Sixteen minutes of actual cooking time means you can pull off something restaurant-quality on a random Tuesday without losing your mind.
  • Lemon and Parmesan together hit a flavor note that makes even frozen salmon taste like something special.
02 -
  • The moment your oven hits temperature is the moment you should be ready to put the salmon in; letting it sit longer than five minutes means the timing gets thrown off and you risk a dry result.
  • Cream cheese that isn't softened will seize up and create lumps instead of melting into creamy sauce, so those 10 microwave seconds are non-negotiable.
  • Overbaking salmon by even two minutes transforms it from tender to chalky, so set a timer and trust it more than you trust your intuition.
03 -
  • Buy salmon from a fishmonger who can tell you when it arrived; fresher fish tastes noticeably brighter and cooks more evenly.
  • If your cream cheese is still cold when you try to add it, the sauce will break; those 10 seconds in the microwave really do matter, or run the bowl under warm water for 30 seconds instead.
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