Now I know a lot of you think salmon isn’t a Mediterranean food because it wasn’t traditionally eaten in the Mediterranean diet. While that may be true, times are changing and diets can change! Salmon is widely available in the Mediterranean today and while it may be imported, it just goes so well with Mediterranean flavors! This sheet pan salmon has been my go-to salmon recipe since I was a little kid. It really doesn’t get much simpler than this. Dill, lemon, and olive oil give the salmon a delicious taste without overpowering it. I fill up the sides of the sheet pan with whatever vegetable is in season. The asparagus in this sheet pan salmon recipe can be substituted with summer squash, zucchini, thinly sliced potatoes, eggplant or any other fast cooking vegetable.
Driving around western Massachusetts at this time of year you see signs for fresh local asparagus around every corner. There are farm stands everywhere selling the famous local asparagus. There are even festivals dedicated to the stuff. I always try and cook what’s in season and the great thing about asparagus is it takes about the same time to cook as the salmon does. The tips of the asparagus get a little crispy and crunchy from roasting in the extra virgin olive oil.
There are so many advantages of using a sheet pan for this recipe. The presentation of sheet pan salmon with the lemon slices on top and the asparagus filling up the rest of the pan looks amazing. I never serve this in any other dish except the sheet pan. This not only impresses your guests, but it makes for a super easy clean-up because the sheet pan is the only pan you’ll dirty with this recipe. I like to serve this recipe with rice, a Greek salad, and a bottle of white wine.
Sheet Pan Salmon with Asparagus, Lemon, and Dill
Ingredients
- Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
- 1.5 to 2 pounds fresh salmon filet
- salt and pepper
- 2 pounds asparagus, washed
- 1/3 cup fresh dill, washed
- 3 lemons, washed
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F. Drizzle a sheet pan with a light coating of extra virgin olive oil. Lay the salmon filet skin side down on top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Snap woody ends off of each asparagus and keep the tops. This is the most tender part of the asparagus. Discard the woody ends.
- Arrange asparagus around the salmon and sprinkle with salt.
- Rip the fresh dill in your hands and cover the top of the salmon with a nice layer. Slice a lemon into rounds and cover the salmon with it.
- Take a second lemon and squeeze the juice of it over the salmon and asparagus. Drizzle the sheet pan with 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil.
- Bake at 400 F for 20 - 25 minutes or until salmon is flaky. After 20 minutes you can check the salmon by flaking away a little of the flesh with a fork. If it looks a little undercooked, cook for 5 more minutes. Serve with a lemon cut in 1/4s for each person to squeeze on their serving as they please!
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
About the Author: George Zikos
Easy and delicious. The recipe is spot on and a keeper. Salmon and asparagus did cook at the same rate, and the asparagus, drizzled in olive oil, was excellent. I substituted dill paste for fresh, and it worked well. Thank you, George!
Glad you enjoyed it, Sarah! The dill paste is a good substitute. I’ve used this before also. I appreciate the comment!
This was an amazing dish! So easy to make and really delicious.
It’s also an easy recipe to adapt. Although I love lemon I’m not a huge fan of a lot of lemon on salmon. I used half the amount and the dish was really good.
I also like my salmon just barely cooked through. I had a thick piece of salmon so I cooked it for the minimum amount of time specified in the recipe. If I had a thinner salmon I’d cook it less time.
This was easy and delicious! Definitely my new go-to salmon recipe. Thank you!
I’m happy you enjoyed it! It’s definitely my go-to salmon recipe too! Thanks for the comment.