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.
This is the kind of easy, weeknight dinner recipe I fall back on time and time again. This salmon takes no more than 15 minutes to make from start to finish. And the end result is always super juicy, flaky salmon in the most delicious white wine garlic sauce.
I love serving the salmon with steamed greens or crispy potatoes. That sauce would be perfect over rice pilaf and a nice salad wouldn’t be out of place either. It’s a great recipe to have in your arsenal and will have your family licking their plates, guaranteed!
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 sunflower 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 sauce but you could serve the salmon just like that with a squeeze of lemon if you want to keep it simple.
How long to cook salmon
Salmon is cooked when the flesh flakes easily. Salmon is 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).
What side dishes go with salmon?
- Crispy salt and pepper smashed potatoes
- Easy side salad with lemon dressing
- Almond, lemon and parsley pilaf rice
- Pea and feta quinoa salad
- Farmers market salad with buffalo mozzarella
White wine garlic salmon
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.
Nutrition
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!