Impress yourself with this delicious Baked Salmon with a Lemon Basil Cream Sauce. A quick baked salmon dish with a delicious creamy sauce made from wine, onions, cream, basil and lemons. A great meal for dinner parties or just to treat yourself.

I think salmon is one of my favourite fish and I love it cooked in every way possible. Dishes like this one, my Zesty Pan Seared Salmon and the Salmon and Leek Cakes are all classic recipes that I make on repeat. This particular recipe, doesn’t take much time and is quite tasty. It can be served with whatever you like really. I think the Crispy Oven Roasted Potatoes, Sherry Sauteed Asparagus and Carrots or the Sauteed Wild Asparagus & Couscous are all great side dish options.

Ingredients

For The Salmon:

• Salmon – I used four salmon fillets in this recipe.
• Oil – olive oil
• Seasonings – salt and black pepper

For The Sauce:

• 1/2 Onion finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic crushed
• 1 Tablespoon olive
• 1 Cup cream
• 3/4 Cup white wine
• Juice and zest of half a lemon
• Small bunch of fresh basil roughly chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 1 Tablespoon corn flour
• 2 Tablespoons cold water
• Pinch sugar optional

REMEMBER, The full recipe and instructions is can be found at the end of the post in the recipe card.

Instructions

1. Preheat oven – Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Season and bake the salmon – Place the salmon in a large baking dish making sure it doesn’t overlap. Drizzle over olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for about 20 minutes. Remove from oven.
3. Make the sauce – While the salmon is cooking start the sauce. In a small saucepan set over high heat, add the olive oil, garlic and onions. Cook for a few minutes like this until the onions have started to soften. Add the wine all at once and reduce heat to low. Cook over a low heat until the wine has reduced to about half in volume. This will take 10 -12 minutes.
4. Strain the onions – After the wine has reduced by half, remove the saucepan from the heat and pour the liquid through a fine strainer placed over a bowl. Discard the onions and place the reduced wine back in the saucepan.
5. Add the cooking cream – Whisk in the cooking cream and stir until it comes to a simmer about 2 minutes.
6. Add flavours – Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, chopped basil, salt, pepper and sugar. Whisk well and bring to a simmer for another minute.
7. Thicken sauce – In a small glass, mix the corn flour with the water until a smooth paste forms. Slowly add the cornstarch mixture to the sauce and stir until it thickens. You may or may not need all the mixture.
8. Serve – Serve the sauce with the salmon. Delicious.

Recipe Notes

• Multi task cooking – As soon as you put the salmon in the oven, start cooking your sauce. This way, the sauce will be ready as soon as the salmon comes out of the oven.
• Cooking the salmon – I baked this salmon in the oven and it was perfectly cooked in exactly 22 minutes. You can alternatively cook it on the stove top about 5 – 6 minutes per side. Or even cook it on the barbecue in foil for about 12 – 15 minutes.
• Making the sauce – This sauce does come together quickly but there are quite a few ingredients. Make sure to have everything prepared before starting on the sauce. And keep and eye on it as it’s cooking so it doesn’t burn, stick or start to curdle.
• Thickening the sauce – I used a cornstarch mixture to thicken this sauce. You may or may not need all of it. Pour in a little at a time and whisk as you pour until it reaches the desired thickness.

Substitutions

• Fresh lemon juice – I recommend using fresh lemon juice for the sauce, but if needed you can substitute bottle lemon juice. Use the same amount as stated in the recipe below.
• Fresh basil – If you don’t want to use fresh basil for this recipe, you can use fresh parsley. I wouldn’t recommend dried herbs as they just don’t have the same flavour. Keep in mind, if using fresh parsley, the flavour will change.
• Cooking cream – this is my favourite for making creamy sauces. If you are looking to lessen the calories or fat intake, you can use half and half or whole milk. The sauce won’t be quite as rich, but it will still be great.

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US CustomaryMetric

Baked Salmon with a Lemon Basil Cream Sauce

Impress yourself with this delicious Baked Salmon with a Lemon Basil Cream Sauce. A quick baked salmon dish with a delicious creamy sauce made from wine, onions, cream, basil and lemons. A great meal for dinner parties or just to treat yourself.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mediterranean, North American

Keyword: cream, Dairy, Seafood

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 534kcal

Author: Julia Pinney

Ingredients

For The Salmon

• 4 Salmon fillets
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

For The Sauce

• 1/2 Onion finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 Cup cooking cream
• 3/4 Cup white wine
• Juice and zest of half a lemon
• Small bunch of fresh basil roughly chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 Tablespoon corn flour
• 2 Tablespoons cold water

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C.
• Place the salmon in a large baking dish making sure it doesn't overlap. Drizzle over olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for about 20 minutes. Remove from oven.
• While the salmon is cooking start the sauce. In a small saucepan set over high heat, add the olive oil, garlic and onions. Cook for a few minutes like this until the onions have started to soften. Add the wine all at once and reduce heat to low. Cook over a low heat until the wine has reduced to about half in volume. This will take 10 -12 minutes.
• After the wine has reduced by half, remove the saucepan from the heat and pour the liquid through a fine strainer placed over a bowl. Discard the onions and place the reduced wine back in the saucepan.
• Whisk in the cooking cream and stir until it comes to a simmer about 2 minutes.
• Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, chopped basil, salt, pepper and sugar. Whisk well and bring to a simmer for another minute.
• In a small glass, mix the corn flour with the water until a smooth paste forms. Slowly add the cornstarch mixture to the sauce and stir until it thickens. You may or may not need all the mixture.
• Serve the sauce with the salmon. Delicious.

*A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.

Notes

• Multi task cooking – As soon as you put the salmon in the oven, start cooking your sauce. This way, the sauce will be ready as soon as the salmon comes out of the oven.
• Cooking the salmon – I baked this salmon in the oven and it was perfectly cooked in exactly 22 minutes. You can alternatively cook it on the stove top about 5 – 6 minutes per side. Or even cook it on the barbecue in foil for about 12 – 15 minutes.
• Making the sauce – This sauce does come together quickly but there are quite a few ingredients. Make sure to have everything prepared before starting on the sauce. And keep and eye on it as it’s cooking so it doesn’t burn, stick or start to curdle.
• Thickening the sauce – I used a cornstarch mixture to thicken this sauce. You may or may not need all of it. Pour in a little at a time and whisk as you pour until it reaches the desired thickness.

Nutrition Facts

Baked Salmon with a Lemon Basil Cream Sauce

Amount Per Serving (1 serving)

Calories 534 Calories from Fat 333

% Daily Value*

Fat 37g57%

Saturated Fat 16g100%

Cholesterol 175mg58%

Sodium 132mg6%

Potassium 930mg27%

Carbohydrates 7g2%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 1g1%

Protein 35g70%

Vitamin A 943IU19%

Vitamin C 2mg2%

Calcium 69mg7%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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