Make flavor waves on a busy weeknight with this Bourbon Orange Salmon – ready in just 15 minutes.
It doesn’t have to be hard to be delicious, quick and flavorful. Wild-caught Sockeye Salmon Filets from my Butcher Box Delivery are quickly thawed in cool water (or overnight in the fridge). Keeping my freezer stocked with salmon and other quality proteins, such as grass-finished beef, from this subscription box delivery just makes life easy, healthy and flavorful. I always have the foundation for a fabulous meal – like this salmon with bourbon sauce – at the ready.
The salmon is simple seasoned with salt and pepper and seared in a skillet to succulent perfection. After pan-searing, a quick bourbon sauce (the alcohol is cooked off) in the same skillet along with a mandarin orange and a few other mindful ingredients.
The key to a super citrus-y taste that pairs so well with bourbon, is to use a microplaner to remove the zest from your mandarin orange before peeling and chopping. This handheld citrus zester fits perfectly in your palm and makes the task easy.
I hope you enjoy the Orange Bourbon Salmon at learn more about Butcher Box subscription meat and seafood deliveryHERE:
This 15 minute salmon recipe is prepared in a skilled and drizzled with a sweet bourbon orange glaze. Great for a quick weeknight meal or even company!
Servings: 2servings
Calories: 254kcal
Ingredients
1tspolive oil
24-oz. skinless salmon fillets
1/4tsp.black pepper
1/4tsp.salt
1mandarin orangezested, peeled and chopped
1/4cupbourbon
2tsp.honey
1tbsp.coconut sugar
1tbspcoconut aminos
1tbsp.butter
Instructions
Heat large non-stick skillet over medium-high.
Season salmon with salt and pepper and add to skilled with olive oil. Cook into golden on both sides, about 130F internal temp. Time will vary by thickness, but about 6-8 minutes typical.
Remove salmon from skillet, an in same skilled over medium heat add bourbon, coconut sugar, coconut aminos and let simmer for a few minutes until alcohol cooked of and volume is reduced.
Toss in chopped orange, zest and butter and cook another minute until heated.
To serve, drizzle sauce over salmon. Garnish with fresh herbs if desired.
As we approach the start of a new year, I’ve lined up five healthy, simple, and creative salmon recipes to make waves at the dinner table. These are the best easy salmon recipes!
I’m a mega fan of salmon for supper – it’s packed with omega-3 fatty acids, protein, and a host of essential nutrients, salmon not only will fuel your body but also provide a versatile canvas for your culinary imagination. Just a 3-oz portion of salmon boasts 22g protein and only 155 calories, and that’s a win for my training diet.
These salmon recipes offer something for everyone – and even the non-fish fans will fall in love (I hope)!
Garlic Butter Salmon & Mushrooms – Whip out your skillet and prepare this weeknight salmon recipe in just 15 minutes – it’s low-carb and delicious. I love how the mushrooms serve as sponges to sop up the buttery, garlic goodness. One of my all-time favorite salmon skillet dinners (because yee-haw, I’m a huge mushroom fan too).
Strawberry-Chipotle Salmon (with Quinoa Salad) – this quick and easy meal shines bright with a salmon glaze made jarred strawberry jam (I use a sugar-free variety), soy sauce, and canned chipotle peppers that have been chopped up! Sweet and spicy!
Creamy Coconut Lime Salmon Skillet – this low-carb, paleo-friendly skillet meal is rich and satisfying! Salmon poaches in coconut milk and is so tender and delicious – I like to serve it with cauliflower rice.
Cranberry-Orange Salmon Sheet Pan Dinner – This 30-minute salmon meal cooks up entirely on a standard rimmed baking sheet. Green beans, cranberries and citrus slices create a memorable medley of flavor – this salmon sheet pan dinner is elegant enough for a holiday celebration, yet easy-peasy for a busy night.
Grilled Salmon Zucchini Quinoa Burgers – a fresh and fit spin on a traditional patty – so juicy and tasty! Sandwich between the bun of your choosing and load up with toppings! This is a total mom win that sneaks in extra veggies and nutrients to “burger” night.
Salmon fillets are a mainstay on on my weekly dinner menu. Whether fresh or from frozen, salmon is a quality protein that makes the perfect blank canvas, ready to be “painted” with colorful vegetables and the seasonings that suit your mood of the moment!
When it comes to seasonings and flavor, garlic can’t be beat. It has a host of functional health benefits, is umami-friendly and maximizes the flavor of everything it’s paired with, from veggies, to proteins, to grains, pastas and bread . . ahh, garlic bread. Distinctively pungent, yet more mellow upon cooking, garlic is probably the “first reach” seasoning in my kitchen. If I could only pick one seasoning (other than salt and pepper) for a dish, it would be garlic — that’s how I keep life easy! Fresh minced or crushed garlic is the best, but when I’m making a quick dinner recipe, I rely on the convenience of minced garlic in a jar, garlic paste in a tube, or pre-portioned frozen crushed garlic.
Minced fresh garlic if you have the time, but purchased garlic in jar, tube or frozen portions is convenient!
I drooled earlier about buttery garlic bread, but buttery garlic MUSHROOMS – ohhhhyeah! Low-cal and low-carb, can be a little bland on their own — but with just a little butter and garlic, any mushroom side dish becomes heaven! You can use white button mushrooms or baby bellas (cremini) mushrooms in this low-carb salmon recipe — both act like little sponges that soak up all the rich flavor.
A quick little 15-second tutorial!
Pro-Tips:
1) Leave bottom skin on salmon, this makes a richer recipe and makes the cooking process easier (less sticking). You can remove it later . . . but remember, the brown/gray “gunk” between the skin and salmon flesh is salmon fat and where most of the beneficial Omega-3 fatty acids reside.
2) Salmon is cooked in 2 steps. First a sear with the skin side up. Then the par-cooked salmon rests on a plate while the veggies cook. Second, the fish is finished off by cooking skin side down among the vegetables, with a lid on top of the skilled to expedite the process. Make sure to have the lid nearby.
3) You can substitute peeled, de-veined jumpo shrimp. Those will cook for 3 to 4 minutes UNTIL DONE on the first step, and then you add back into the recipe when the vegetables are finished. Don’t add cooking time after this, or they will become rubbery.
4) For this garlic mushroom salmon skillet recipe, a non-stick skillet/fry pan with lid (10″) works well to keep the garlicked up salmon from sticking to the pan on the searing step. However, if you don’t have a non-stick or don’t want to use a non-stick, and end up with some bits burned onto the pan, there is a solution. After removing fish to rest on plate, add a splash of water to the hot skilled to sizzle and then quickly scrape off with spatula.
5) This mushroom salmon recipe scales up easily. To make 4 servings, just double the recipe (fine to be loosy-goosey on vegetables) and use a 12″ non-stick skillet/frypan with lid.
Pin this for later!Macros per serving: 469 cal, 34g fat, 6g net carb, 33g protein
What's better than garlic butter? Garlic butter all over salmon, mushrooms and delicious veggies! This easy one-dish salmon skillet is sure to become your favorite 15-minute meal.
Course:
dinner
Keyword:
garlic, mushrooms, one dish, salmon
Servings: 2
Calories: 469kcal
Ingredients
2 5-ouncesalmon filetsskin on
¼teaspooneach salt and black pepperplus more for seasoning at end, if desired
2tbsp.garlicdivided
1.5tbspssalted butter
8ouncewhite or cremini mushroomscleaned and halved ½ red onion, chopped coarsely
1/2cut coarsely chopped red onion
3cupsfresh spinachcoarsely chopped
Instructions
Season salmon with salt, pepper and 1 tbsp. of the garlic.
Heat olive oil in skillet over med-high heat.
Add filets skin side up; sear for 3 minutes or until crust forming on flesh. Set par-cooked fish aside on plate (will finish cooking later).
Melt butter in skillet over med-high, add mushrooms and onions and saute for about 3 minutes; add remainder of garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Stir in spinach; set salmon back in skillet, skin side down this time. Cook on medium for about 3 to 5 more minutes (with lid on for several minutes to help speed process). Actual cook time will depend on thickness of salmon filets.
Season with additional salt and pepper, as desired.
Recipe Notes
2 servings. Each serving: 469 cal, 34g fat, 6g net carb, 33g protein
Winner, winner easy fish dinner! Pan-seared Lingcod with Creamy Burst Tomato Sauce is brilliantly delicious, so easy to make, low-carb on its own, but a family favorite with that creamy sauce sliding over into rice, potatoes or noodles. I’ve noticed that even the non-fish fans in my family are licking the plate!
This easy fish recipe takes less than 30 minutes to make and is perfect for quick, weeknight meals – but also snazzy enough to serve on a special occasion.
I used mild, white lingcod from Sitka Salmon Shares for this skillet fish recipe (it reminds me a lot of halibut). This fisherman’s co-op reels in the BEST wild Alaskan seafood (salmon, cod, sablefish, king crab, and more) and ships it straight to your door, it’s been my go-to fish source now for two years. Visit them at sitkasalmonshares.com and use my code FITFORK to save $25 on a premium share!
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Other firm white fish will work too like halibut, cod, pollock, haddock, and such. It’s really up to your preference. Pan sauté skinless filets that have been seasoned simply with salt and pepper. After just cooked through, remove from skillet temporarily while making the sauce.
The sauce is fresh and simple. In the same unwashed skillet that the fish was cooked in, add whole grapes and sauté until they start to pop. Then finish bursting tomatoes with a fork – piercing the skin to let the juices out and then mashing down before, pouring in a little veggie stock to deglaze the pan. Season this sauce for the lingcod fish recipe with garlic, Italian seasoning and a little paprika – then stir in some heavy cream to give this sauce that rich and luxurious mouthfeel.
Gently add back in the cooked fish, spoon sauce over top of filets to coat and sprinkle with chopped fresh basil.
Crunchy, tender fish sticks are always a family favorite – especially with yummy dipping sauce to elevate the experience. My recipe for Paleo Coconut Fish Sticks with Spicy Orange Sauce are a quick healthy fish fix and sure to be requested again and again.
I like making my fish sticks at home with fish from Sitka Salmon Shares because I KNOW, I’m getting the good stuff. Whole chunks of responsibly-caught, wild-caught fish flash-frozen at the peak of freshness, not some questionable highly-processed fish product, minced up in tiny pieces and filled with all kinds of bready binders and yuck. To me, many store-bought (but not all) fish sticks are like the seafood version of hotdogs, ewww.
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But kids love crispy fish sticks, am I right? And, adults too – they remind me of childhood, comfort and a time when things were just simpler. My boys who are now grown and off to college or first jobs are always calling me to as how to make homemade fish sticks. And, talking about simple, these Paleo Coconut Fish Sticks are success-guaranteed for beginner cooks. With a short ingredient list, simple instructions, and total of 30 minutes (max) prep to plate, you can have a heathy fish dinner on the table that is low-carb, Paleo-friendly, and gluten-free.
First things first, you’re going to need an approximate 1-lb. skinless filet from a firm, white fish. I used lingcod from a fisherman’s co-op called Sitka Salmon Shares, it’s a mild white fish that actually isn’t cod at all, but a relative of the greenling family. It has a dense flesh, with large flakes and slightly sweet taste – many say it reminds them of halibut. Halibut would be another good choice, as would less expensive choices like pollock, haddock, and cod. Stock your freezer with a premium share of Sitka Salmon Share’s wild fish and seafood options responsibly-caught from cold Alaskan waters and save $25 with discount code: FitFork
The recipe for lingcod fish sticks (or any other white fish) couldn’t be any easier and fast, rendering it a busy weeknight dinner solution. Make a simple egg wash and dredge with shredded coconut, almond meal and a few herb/spices (bonus, the coating is gluten free and Paleo). Then bake for approximately 15 minutes at the same time what you whip-up a simple, 3-ingredient dipping sauce that warms in the microwave. Boom, bam – that’s it!
Pro tips:
When dipping and dredging fish, use one hand for the egg and the other hand for the coconut mixture to keep fingers from getting overly gunked up.
Achieve maximum crunch on these crispy coconut fish sticks by baking on a mesh crisping tray designed for the oven. This allows hot air to circulate all around and make both top and bottom of the coconut fish sticks crispy.
Meal prep more than one batch and freeze in a single layer, in freezer-proof container. To reheat from frozen, place on crisping tray for approximately 10 minutes in a 400F degree oven, or until warmed through.
Don’t forget to visit Sitka Salmon Shares, they are a great resource for healthy fish recipes, including lingcod recipes and easy white fish recipes like these coconut crusted fish sticks (and use my code FitFork for $25 off a premium share)
This post sponsored by Sitka Salmon Shares and contains affiliate links, however all content, opinions and enthusiasm remain my own. Thank you for visiting and supporting companies that partner with The Fit Fork.
CrispyCoconut Fish Sticks with Spicy Peach Sauce – Paleo, Gluten-free
Prep Time
10mins
Cook Time
15mins
Total Time
25mins
Crispy fish sticks are a family favorite and this easy fish dinner is made with lingcod, cold, pollock, halibut or other firm white fish and served with a simple three ingredient sauce. Paleo friendly, low carb and gluten-free — perfect for Lent and also busy week night meals as only 25 minutes prep to plate.
Course:
dinner, entree
Keyword:
black cod, family friendly, fish, gluten free, lingcod, paleo
Servings: 4servings
Ingredients
1lbskinless filet of firm white fish like lingcodhalibut, tilapia, cod, pollock, haddock
½cupunsweetened shredded coconut
½cupalmond meal
1tbspfreeze-dried parsleyor dried
2tspgarlic salt
1tspsweet paprika
¼cupsugar-free peach preserves
1tbspcoconut aminoscan substitute soy sauce if not Paleo or gluten-free
1 to 2tspsriracha saucepaleo version preferably
Instructions
reheat oven to 375F degrees
Cut fish into approximate ¾” wide x 1 ½” long sticks or nuggets. Try to make pieces even in size and thickness so that it cooks evenly.
In shallow dish, mix together coconut, almond meal, parsley, garlic salt and paprika.
In small bowl, whisk egg.
Dip fish pieces, one at a time, into egg wash and then roll into coconut mixture, pressing to stick on if needed. Place on baking sheet, preferably with mesh cooking rack inside to elevate and allow heat circulate. Repeat with all fish chunks.
Bake at 375F for approximately 12 to 15 minutes or until fish white and flaky and turning lightly golden brown on top.
While fish baking, mix together preserves, coconut aminos and sriracha and warm up in microwave for about 30 seconds.
Remove fish from oven and serve with warmed sauce!
