White wine garlic salmon
You’re going to love this easy white wine garlic salmon recipe. Juicy, tender salmon pan fried and cooked in a delicious white wine garlic sauce is an easy,fool-proof recipe. Perfect served with greens for dinner.
Ingredients Needed
- Salmon. Fresh or frozen salmon filets can be used for this recipe. King salmon, Alaska salmon, Norwegian Salmon, etc. can all be used. Use whatever is local/seasonal to your area. This recipe will also work with any white fish.
- Butter. I used salted butter but unsalted butter can be substituted. Olive oil can be used but the sauce won’t be quite as creamy and delicious.
- Fresh garlic cloves. I prefer using fresh garlic but garlic powder can be used in a pinch.
- White wine. Chicken stock can be substituted. I used Sauvignon Blanc but any dry white wine of your choice can be used. Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Chenin Blanc, etc.
- Lemon juice.
- Fresh parsley. Other herbs like chives, thyme, oregano and dill are all delicious with salmon.
- Salt and black pepper.
How to cook salmon in a pan
To prevent salmon from sticking to a frying pan, make sure the pan you’re cooking with is very hot. Pat the salmon dry on all sides with paper towel then preheat a neutral cooking oil (like canola oil or avocado oil) until hot and shimmering then carefully place the salmon in the pan, skin-side down. If the salmon starts to curl up, gently press it down with a spatula to allow to the skin to make full contact with the pan.
Cook the salmon for 3-4 minutes on the skin side before flipping over and cooking for 1-2 minutes further. At this stage I remove the salmon from the pan and make the white wine pan sauce. You can serve the seared salmon with garlic butter sauce or lemon butter sauce as well.
How long to cook salmon
Salmon is cooked when the flesh flakes easily. It’s best not overcooked so cooking for 3-4 minutes on the skin side and another 1-2 minutes on the flesh-side should result in perfectly cooked fish (depending on thickness). Salmon is safe to eat when the internal temperature reaches 145°F/63°C on a meat thermometer.
Can I make this ahead?
The salmon is definitely best served immediately after cooking but leftover salmon can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days and reheated in the microwave oven before serving.
What to serve with white wine garlic salmon
This salmon and the pan sauce is delicious served with pretty much any side dish for busy weeknights. We love it with rice, mashed potatoes or crusty bread to soak up all the sauce. We also love it with veggies like broccoli, sugar snap peas, cauliflower or green beans or a big salad.
- Crispy salt and pepper smashed potatoes
- Easy side salad with lemon dressing
- Almond, lemon and parsley pilaf rice
- Pea and feta quinoa salad
Easy Salmon Recipes
Ingredients
- 4 x 150g (5-6oz) salmon fillets skin on
- 2 tbsp butter
- 3-4 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1-2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley
Instructions
- Heat a large frying pan over high heat and add a splash of canola oil.
- Dry the salmon fillets with paper towel and season generously with salt.
- Carefully place the salmon into the hot pan, skin-side down, and turn down the heat to medium-high. Cook the salmon for 3-4 minutes until the skin is golden brown and crisp then flip over. Cook for another 1-2 minutes on the flesh-side until the salmon is cooked through. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Melt the butter in the pan and add the garlic. Fry until fragrant then add the wine and lemon juice.
- Allow to simmer and reduce for 4-5 minutes then add the parsley and season to taste.
- Add the salmon back into the pan and baste with the sauce, allowing the salmon to heat back up.
- Serve with extra lemon wedges.
Hello I made this sauce as written but the way it’s written isn’t right. The sauce would never emulsify. It stayed separated. I ended up needing to add a couple cold pats of butter at the end to try to emulsify. And I didn’t want to add too much butter to make it even fattier. So I ended up with a very loose sauce. I do enjoy the flavor though.
Butter should be added at the end to emulsify, not the beginning. For this kind of sauce anyway.
I would start with an oil with the garlic, then do the other steps, then do butter at the very end. And it does need more butter to properly emulsify it. At least, with the measurements provided.
The flavor is quite nice though.
Hi Samantha. This white wine garlic sauce isn’t an emulsified sauce in the style of French sauces. If you want an emulsified sauce you are totally right, you’ll add the cold butter to the sauce and whisk to create a cohesive sauce.
This recipe made the salmon quite tender! No overbearing garlic, or lemon flavor. Easy to make.
Simply beautiful! Thanks Alida,
So delicious!!!
I made this tonight and it was FANTASTIC!! We love garlic, so I added a bit more. Definitely a new favorite in our house!! I wish I could share a picture
So happy you liked it Felicia. If you go to the recipe on Pinterest, you can upload a photo there: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/3940718411412199/
What type of white wine would you suggest?
I like something like Sauvignon Blanc or Chenin Blanc. Chardonnay’s oakiness can be a little overpowering.
Delicious ! Looking forward to making it again. I served green beans and a quinoa & wild rice mixtire with it.
That sounds fantastic. So happy you liked it!
Succulent salmon in the most delicious sauce. A new favorite of ours! Thanks!
Glad you liked it! 🙂
Such an easy, tasty dish Alida. I bet my husband could even manage this one on his own. So nice and light for spring and summer!
He would rock this, it’s SO easy!