Salmon makes a quick and easy weekday meal, but how do you make it interesting? This lemon butter salmon with potatoes and asparagus is certainly that. What a delicious, healthy meal perfect any time of year – and you’ll only have one pan to wash!
A simple and delicious easy salmon dinner
One of our go-to easy weekday meals is simple baked salmon and roasted vegetables, but I decided to switch things up a bit and make a slightly fancier springtime variation.
So how exactly is this baked salmon fancier? Well, lemon butter sauce for one thing. Asparagus for another. Lovely lightly crispy potatoes for yet another.
Is your mouth watering yet?
Ingredients for lemon butter salmon
Lemon butter sauce is a perfect sauce for salmon, and it’s so simple you’ve possibly got all the ingredients for it already.
The asparagus you’ll most likely need to make a trip to the shops for, but how can you not make the most of this seasonal little beauty?
All you need is:
- small potatoes (leave the skin on for minimum effort)
- garlic and butter (of course), lemon juice and sweet chili sauce for the delicious ‘sauce’
- asparagus
- cherry tomatoes
- salmon!
Asparagus is so delicious pan fried or baked, and hardly takes any time to cook, which makes it a perfect addition to this salmon sheet pan dinner!
Combine butter, lemon juice, garlic and parsley for the perfect light dressing for your salmon and veggies!
A really quick and easy meal
The beauty of this meal is that all of the ingredients take an equal amount of time to cook – just ten minutes! Think about it – salmon (roughly ten minutes), asparagus (bake for ten minutes), mini tomatoes (beautiful roasted after just ten minutes).
The only part of this that takes a little longer is the roasted potatoes. And we take care of this by popping them into the oven with a little olive oil for about 25 minutes before adding everything else to the sheet pan (that’s a baking tray if you’re in the UK or Australia!).
Butter and tomatoes are a match made in heaven!
You might be quaking at the knees already at the sound of that delicious lemon butter sauce. But it’s even more delicious after the sweet and juicy tomatoes have mingled with it.
Have you ever tried butter with tomatoes? Trust me, it’s delicious (and I’m not even a fan of butter!).
How to serve your salmon and veggies
I find the best way to eat this salmon sheet pan dinner is with some lovely fresh crusty bread to mop up the scrumptious juices.
But you can’t make this meal ahead… can you?
Yes, you can!
Just in case you have a demanding young child like I do and need to prepare dinner whenever you can, I discovered that you can make this ahead.
Simply reheat it by covering with aluminium foil and popping in the oven at 325F/140C for 20 minutes. I wasn’t sure how cooked fish would turn out reheated, but it wasn’t at all dry or overcooked.
More easy fish recipes
- These basic crispy salmon fishcakes are easy crowd pleasers the whole family will love.
- You have to try this baked panko cod with lemon butter sauce. It’s a restaurant quality meal that’s ready in just 45 minutes. You could call it ‘posh fish and chips’!
- For a healthy Mediterranean style dinner twist, try this Greek oven baked fish.
More sheet pan dinners
- Amazing sheet pan chicken tikka
- ‘Everything’ sheet pan frittata (great if you have leftover veggies in the fridge)
- Honey balsamic chicken with mushrooms and brussels sprouts
- Or see all my one pan easy meals
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Lemon butter salmon with potatoes and asparagus (sheet pan dinner)
Ingredients (UK/Australia? Click below for grams/ml)
- 10 ounces potatoes small with skin on, scrubbed and chopped in half or thirds (or more depending on size of potatoes)
- 1¾ ounces butter (3 heaped tablespoons)
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- ½ lemons (juice only)
- 1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce
- 2 tablespoons parsley chopped
- 3½ ounces asparagus (about 14 stems) woody parts removed
- 7 ounces cherry tomatoes
- 7 ounces salmon (2 fillets)
- salt and pepper
to serve
- fresh crusty bread optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 355F / 180C.
- Roast the potatoes in a little olive oil on a sheet pan / baking tray for 25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan, then add the garlic. Cook for a couple of minutes.
- Add the lemon, sweet chili sauce and chopped parsley and stir. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Remove the sheet pan with the potatoes on from the oven and add the asparagus and tomatoes.
- Tuck the salmon in amongst the vegetables, then drizzle the lemon butter sauce over the salmon. Grind plenty of salt and pepper over the whole pan.
- Bake for 10 minutes until the salmon is just cooked and the potatoes are tender.
- Serve drizzled with the lovely sauce and with fresh crusty bread.
Christina Larkin says
Such a simple but tasty recipe…great for last minute or friends/ family dropping in for a meal…..it’s a great way to promote a fish meal!
Thanks Helen
Helen says
Hello Christina! So happy you like this recipe! I love how easy-but-impressive it is, too. My favorite kind of meal! Thanks so much for the feedback!
Helen says
Hi Helen, I was just wondering if there was anyway I could swap the salmon for chicken breasts? I just love your recipes I’ve tried many of them !!!! My family think I’m an amazing cook now which is all down to your tasty easy to follow recipes!!!! Many thanks!!!!
Helen says
Hello Helen! I’m so happy you’re enjoying the recipes – that is such a compliment! And of course your family are not wrong – you ARE an amazing cook and that’s all down to you 😉 I do think you could make this with chicken. What I’d do is bake the chicken (thighs?) for around 20 minutes on their own at the start, then I’d add in everything else for the last part of cooking. Since chicken takes longer to cook than salmon. Let me know how you get on because this is a great idea which I might try myself! 🙂
Lynda says
Hello Helen,
What a find ! To find a delicious recipe for salmon and a great source of new recipes in
Scrummy Lane! I shall visit regularly.
The salmon and lemon butter recipe is great its so easy and good to eat. I added some courgette and red pepper. I cooked them for about 10 minutes with the potatoes but they could probably be added with the salmon.
So thank you Helen, I look forward to trying more of your recipes.
Helen says
Hello Lynda! Welcome to the blog, and thank you so much for your feedback on this recipe. It’s one of our family favourites (even our 4-year-old will eat this!). I love your idea of adding even more veggies that also cook quickly – I think you might be able to get away with adding them with the salmon, too. I really hope you find some more recipes that you enjoy as much. 🙂
Michelle says
I came across this recipe i think in 2018 and I have made it several times and its always a favourite with my family and guests, today I tripled the recipe for a bigger party and amazing! Its my go to salmon recipe and its so easy to follow. Thank you
Helen says
Hello Michelle! Thank you SO much for taking the time to leave your lovely feedback. I’m so flattered that you’ve made this a few times and enjoyed it so much. It’s really helpful to hear that it worked well for guests, too. It’s my favourite sort of recipe – one that you can make for yourselves midweek or that feels impressive enough to serve for guests. Best wishes and have a great week!
Debbie Spoor says
I have been vegetarian for over 30 years although the rest of my family aren’t. I do cook meat for them but never fish. This was my first ever attempt at cooking salmon and they absolutely loved it. I will definitely be making it again. Thank you.
Helen says
Hi Debbie! This is very tasty, isn’t it? I’m so glad your family enjoyed it with it being the first time you cooked salmon for them. Thanks so much for the feedback!
Clive Bonner says
Hi Helen
I have just done the recipe you send and another great success.
I have only started cooking again due to the lockdown in the UK and finding Scrummy Lane has been fantastic.
My wife ( also a Helen) is a great cook so I tend to avoid cooking.
She is so happy now that I say I will cook, and I know I have already selected something from your website,
Best wishes
Helen says
Hi Clive! Aw, this message has truly made my day! Thank you so much for letting me know how you’re getting on with the recipes. I’m so happy that you’ve started to enjoy cooking. I bet your wife loves to have a break every now and again, even if she does love cooking herself. Please do let me know if you ever need any help with any of the recipes, or if you have any special requests. Thanks again, Clive! Best wishes to you both.
Clive says
This is so tasty, quick and easy.
Scrummy Lane is now my first choice to find new recipes.
Helen says
Thanks Clive! That’s such an encouraging comment to read first thing on a Monday morning. I hope you find more recipes you enjoy as much. Definitely try the Greek chicken and potatoes and the sheet pan chicken tikka which are also easy one pan dinners.
Karen says
This has become a family staple…easy to make and absolutely delicious. Highly recommended it Often substitute broccoli for asparagus and it is just as good
Helen says
Hello Karen! So glad you enjoy this, and great reminder that you can sub broccoli. Thank you for the great feedback! 🙂
Howard Isaiah Bly says
The recipe was absolutely the best. Looking for more recipes such as this one.
Helen says
So happy you enjoyed it, Howard! Thank you for your review. What would make it a 5 star recipe? Is it super quick sheet pan dinners that you’d like to see more of? 🙂
Sue Rodrigues says
This is absolutely delicious!!! Ten minutes for my salmon was a bit much so it was slightly overcooked but it was still full of flavor! Thank you for the recipe!
Helen says
Hello Sue! If you use slightly bigger/thicker pieces of salmon that should do the trick with the timing. I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Crystal says
This is a firm family favourite in my house, this was the one dish that turned my husband to liking salmon 😁 kids age 1, 3, 7 and 14 all love it too. Thank you
Helen says
Hi Crystal (what a lovely name!). Thank you so much for letting me know – it’s beautiful that you can enjoy this as a family! I will have to try it out on my 3-year-old. He’s still a bit fussy but getting a bit better, and he loves salmon and potatoes, so I have a feeling it’d be a success for us too. It’s hard to find meals that the whole family can enjoy, isn’t it? Thanks so much for getting in touch – it’s great to hear from you!
Aloysius Ochiamuloy says
Hello, This is a super delicious recipe. I really enjoyed making it.
Helen says
So glad you enjoyed it, Aloysius! I have quite a few sheet pan recipes on the blog – a balsamic chicken with brussels and mushrooms, and a sausage gnocchi tray bake. There’s also a great recipe for salmon fish cakes, if you’re interested in more salmon recipes!
Anna says
I never ever comment, but i just had to tell you that i LOVE that i could switch to metric system 😀
And i totally gonna cook this for my family on sunday! It looks great and here in Germany asparagus season just started 🙂
Helen says
So glad you approve, Anna! 😉 Thanks so much for taking the time to comment (especially when you don’t usually!!!). I really hope you enjoy the recipe – we love it!
Jenna Aguilar says
I love every bit of it, it’s taste amazing.
Helen says
Great to hear, Jenna. Thanks for taking the time to leave your review!
mira says
You make the easiest and most delicious sinners Helen. This salmon looks amazing! Can’t wait to try it.
Helen says
Thank you, Mira. What a compliment!
Shelley @ Two Healthy Kitchens says
Hi Helen! I’m really trying to carve out some time to get back to the fun of reading blogs I dearly love … and oh, what a perfect day to pop back to you! This salmon recipe is wonderful – so gorgeous (oh, your photos!), so nutritious, and so gosh-darn-easy, too! Plus I just love your fantastic tip about making this entirely ahead – what a lifesaver on busy nights! Can’t wait to share this recipe – it’s a total gem! Thank you! And have a wonderful weekend! 🙂
Helen says
Hello Shelley – how lovely to hear from you! I really must pop over to your blog some time soon too! I’ve missed you! Thank you so much for being nice. You’re always full of such lovely compliments. I hope yo’re well! 🙂
Marissa says
This looks amazing, Helen! And your timing is perfect because asparagus is at its peak!!
Helen says
Thanks, Marissa. I eat so much asparagus at this time of year. I love it!
Healthy World Cuisine says
Helen this looks absolutely SCRUMMY!!! Scrumptious. Melt in your mouth delicious and all on one pan. Love that. Pinning and saving for later. Wishing you a super week!
Helen says
Hi! Thank you so much – really appreciate your enthusiasm. I must pop over to your blog to have a look around. 🙂