Your favorite fish fillets are pan-fried to perfection in this super easy recipe for classic Seared Salmon. Flavored with fresh lemon and parsley, each fillet is wonderfully flaky and tender on the inside with crispy, golden skin. Gluten-free, paleo, Whole30, keto and low-carb.
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Updated January 2022
Flaky Pan-Fried Salmon Recipe
Making restaurant-quality salmon at home is anything but difficult – you just need the right set of instructions! This foolproof recipe is here to guide you every step of the way. You’re about to learn all of my secrets for how to cook moist and flaky salmon on the stove.
This quick and easy cooking method takes things a step further by creating a crispy crust around your succulent fish fillets. Whether you stick with the lemon-herb seasoning blend included in the recipe or flavor your salmon some other way, the results will have you head over heels in love. In addition to being downright delicious, pan-seared salmon is loaded with essential nutrients like protein, potassium and Vitamin B. Dinner doesn’t get better than this!
What You’ll Need
This mouthwatering salmon is made with just a handful of ingredients. Scroll down to the recipe card to see the full amounts.
- Salmon Fillets: Skin-on, descaled and brought to room temperature. Reach for separate 4-6 ounce fillets or ask your fishmonger to portion out one large fillet.
- Salt & Pepper: Added to taste.
- Avocado Oil
- Ghee: If you’re not on the Whole30 diet, feel free to use grass-fed butter instead.
- Lemon Juice: Freshly squeezed.
- Lemon Zest: Be sure to zest your lemon before you squeeze it. Otherwise, the zesting process will be pretty tricky.
- Fresh Parsley: Finely chopped.
What Kind of Salmon Should I Use?
It’s super important to select salmon fillets with the skin intact – even if you don’t care about getting that crispy exterior. The skin also protects the fish from overcooking, so if you really don’t want it on there, just peel it off of the fillets after they cook.
Farm-raised salmon will work for this recipe, but wild-caught salmon will give you the best flavor and the leanest fish.
How to Make Pan-Seared Salmon
Follow these detailed instructions to make flawless seared salmon every time. It only takes 15 minutes!
Season Fillets: Pat the salmon fillets dry with a paper towel, then season them with salt and pepper.
Heat Oil: Preheat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan, allowing the oil to heat up on the pan until it starts to shimmer. In other words, the oil should start to glimmer and have an almost wavy look to it.
Sear First Side: Carefully place the fillets into the pan skin-side down. Cook them undisturbed for 3-5 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets.
Flip & Continue Cooking: Use a spatula to carefully turn the salmon over, letting the second side sear for 2 minutes.
Add Seasonings: Add the butter, lemon juice and lemon zest to the pan along with a few lemon slices and half of the parsley. Cook the salmon for another 2 minutes or so, spooning the sauce over the fillets as they cook.
Enjoy! Remove the fillets from the heat, garnish them with the remaining parsley and serve.
Tips for Success
Don’t start whipping up your pan-seared salmon until you’ve reviewed these handy tips. They’ll help you achieve the results you’re aiming for!
- Stick With Evenly Sized Fillets: Try to make sure that all your fish fillets are even in size and thickness. This way, they’ll cook at the same rate. If needed, you can pound down a certain fillet or a certain area with a meat mallet to thin it out.
- Don’t Crowd the Pan: If you can’t fit all of the fillets into your skillet with some breathing room between them, you’ll want to fry the fish in batches. This ensures that they’ll cook properly and crisp up well.
- Use a Cast-Iron or Stainless Steel Skillet: Pans made out of stainless steel or cast iron will heat up faster and hold onto heat better than other types of pans. If you have a skillet composed of either material, I highly recommend using it.
- How Can I Tell When My Salmon is Done? Fully cooked salmon will lose any translucence and start to flake apart when it’s pressed with the prongs of a fork. This happens quite quickly, so it’s important to keep a watchful eye on your salmon while it cooks.
Ways to Flavor Your Fish
Looking for an alternative way to flavor your pan-seared salmon? Try one of the tempting seasoning blends listed below.
- Greek/Mediterranean Seasoning
- Homemade Taco Seasoning
- Blackening Spice
- Italian Seasoning
- Creole Seasoning
- Coconut Curry Sauce
- Jerk Seasoning
- Lemon Pepper Seasoning
- Cajun Spice
Serving Suggestions
Whether you serve your seared salmon over Cauliflower Rice or throw together a quick Salmon Salad, you’ll be cleaning every crumb off of your plate. If you’d like to pair your flaky fish fillets with a healthy side dish, you really can’t go wrong with roasted veggies like asparagus or broccoli. The salmon will be the star of the show no matter what you serve it with!
Storage and Reheating
Keep cooled salmon refrigerated in an airtight container and enjoy it within 4 days. Reheat it in a 275°F oven for about 15 minutes, or until the fish is heated through.
Can I Freeze Cooked Salmon?
Yes – enclose each cooled fillet in a tight layer of plastic wrap and freeze the wrapped fillets in a freezer-safe container for up to 4 months. Thaw them out in the fridge overnight before you reheat them.
More Easy Seafood Recipes
Your favorite fish fillets are pan-fried to perfection in this super easy recipe for classic Seared Salmon. Flavored with fresh lemon and parsley, each fillet is wonderfully flaky and tender on the inside with crispy, golden skin. Gluten-free, paleo, Whole30, keto and low-carb.
- 4 salmon fillets descaled, skin-on – 4 to 6 oz each
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
- 1 Tablespoon avocado oil
- 3 Tablespoons ghee Or grass-fed butter (if not Whole30)
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon of lemon zest
- 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley chopped finely
Pat salmon dry and season fillets with salt and pepper.
Preheat skillet over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan, you want the oil to be shimmering.
Carefully place the fillets skin-side down in the pan. Cook undisturbed for 3-5 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillet.
Using a spatula, carefully turn the salmon fillets over and sear the other side for another 2 minutes.
- Place the butter, lemon juice and zest into the pan, along with the lemon slices and half of the parsley, and cook for a further 2 minutes, spooning the sauce over the salmon as it cooks.
- Garnish with parsley and serve.
- To Store & Reheat: Refrigerate cooled salmon in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Reheat in a 275°F oven for about 15 minutes, or until salmon is heated through.
- To Freeze: Wrap each cooled fillet tightly in plastic wrap and freeze in a freezer-safe container for up to 4 months. Thaw in the fridge before reheating.
Did you try this recipe?
DARLA -
This came out perfect! thank you!