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Keeping things super quick and very delicious with this Garlic Butter Creamed Spinach Salmon. This one skillet salmon is for those nights when you’re craving something fancy…ish, but need to keep things quick and easy too. It’s all made in one skillet with heart healthy salmon, shallots, garlic, a touch of creamy coconut milk, parmesan cheese, plenty of fresh baby spinach, and spring herbs. Not only is this salmon easy and delicious, but it feels fancy too. Best part? It comes together in less than 30 minutes.

overhead photo of Garlic Butter Creamed Spinach Salmon in skillet

There are some days that I head into the kitchen and I really do not have a clue what I’m going to cook. To be honest, I don’t love to be overly planned out when it comes to the recipes I share. I’ve learned that when I spend a day or two plotting out new recipes, and putting the concepts on my list of recipes to test, that when the time comes to actually make the recipe, I find that I’ve already changed my mind.

What I’ve found most productive is to start each week fresh and only plot recipe concepts every 2-3 days. Any more lead time and I will end up changing my mind and move on from the concept. Yes, I know it sounds crazy, but if something is not exciting me in the moment, I’m not going to create it. Of course, there are some ideas that are just always exciting, and will always make the cut. But then there are also some that just aren’t.

I leave the non-exciting ones behind, and run with the exciting ones…

raw salmon cooking in skillet

Anyway, my point in this little behind the scenes peek into my recipe development process, is that I made this garlic butter salmon last week on a whim, and without much thought. It just sounded amazing, so I ran with it and had the recipe tested and ready for photographing in just a couple of hours.

For whatever reason, I was thinking about how much I used to love my mom’s homemade Chicken Florentine. She made it heavy on the butter, lemon, spinach, and parmesan. It’s one of those childhood comfort foods I will always love.

I thought about how delicious that Florentine sauce would be with pan seared, crispy salmon. Once the thought hit, I knew this would be one of the recipes I’d be testing out that day.

I was almost certain it would turn out to be a great recipe to share with you all. So I was very excited about it from the start. Clearly all went as planned, because here it is! And you guys…it’s just as good as it sounds, but better.

And so easy, which I think is always nice on a Monday.

side angled close up photo of Garlic Butter Creamed Spinach Salmon in skillet

This is another one of my one skillet recipes.

The salmon is pan seared until both sides are perfectly crisp. I love cooking salmon filets with the skin on, as it adds an incredible amount of flavor. Plus the skin is where a lot of the healthy oils are, so there are also additional health benefits. You can certainly use skin-off salmon as well, but I do recommend skin-on for best flavor!

Once you sear the salmon, it’s time to make the sauce. All you need is a pat of butter, shallots, garlic, coconut milk, parmesan, spinach, and herbs. Now, I know the coconut milk may sound odd, but you really don’t taste any coconut flavor. I like to use coconut milk for its creaminess. I find it to be incredibly delicious in cream sauces and prefer it over heavy cream. Bonus that it’s also much healthier!

Slowly cook the garlic until fragrant, then add the milk, spinach, and herbs. I also add plenty of lemon, since that was a key ingredient in my mom’s sauce.

Garlic Butter Creamed Spinach Salmon in skillet with 1 salmon filet broken in half

Finish up with some fresh chives and done. It doesn’t even take 30 minutes, and it’s really just one of the most delicious ways you can cook up salmon on a weeknight. The sauce is a touch buttery, a little garlicy, very creamy, and made fresh with the squeeze of a lemon. It’s the perfect pairing to a pan seared, crispy filet of salmon.

Serve this with crusty bread for dipping, baby potatoes, roasted asparagus, a big salad, or maybe even a combo of them all! This makes for a great weeknight meal, but can easily be used as a main course for your next spring or summer dinner party.

And yes, it’s great for Easter too!

overhead photo of Garlic Butter Creamed Spinach Salmon plate

If you make this garlic-butter creamed spinach salmon, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

Watch the How To Video:

Garlic Butter Creamed Spinach Salmon.

Author: Tieghan Gerard
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings: 4 4
Calories Per Serving: 619 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

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Ingredients

Instructions

  • 1. Season the salmon all over with salt and pepper. 
    2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the salmon, skin side down and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the salmon is crisp. Gently flip, and continue cooking the salmon for another 2-3 minutes, or until the salmon is cooked to your liking. Remove from the skillet. If desired, peel away the skin and discard. 
    3. To the same skillet, add the butter, shallots, and garlic and cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the crushed red pepper flakes, coconut milk, and cream cheese. Season the sauce with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly until smooth and creamy. Add the parmesan, and spinach and cook until the spinach is wilted, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice, parsley, and chives. Remove from the heat and slide the salmon back into the sauce. 
    4. To serve plate each piece of salmon, then spoon the sauce over top. Serve with additional herbs. 
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horizontal photo of Garlic Butter Creamed Spinach Salmon in skillet

This post was originally published on April 8, 2019
4.42 from 776 votes (576 ratings without comment)

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I made this for dinner tonight as the evenings have cooled somewhat and I was hankering for something warm, comforting and delicious. It didn’t disappoint. An easy to put together great tasting dish. I will definitely add this to my recipe folder.

    Reply

  3. 5 stars
    As a mom of three kid 4 and under I’m always searching for easy recipes and had some salmon that needed to be used. This hit the spot and was delicious! We put the salmon and sauce over some bucatini for a Saturday treat. ?

    Reply

  4. 5 stars
    thank you Tieghan for the recipe! i cooked it today. and it was incredibly tasty juicy with delicate creamy taste. i liked it so much!!!

    Reply

  5. 5 stars
    I’m eating leftovers for lunch, as I type this. I absolutely love this recipe!!! The only thing I didn’t include was the parsley and chives b/c I forgot to buy them. This is going on the regular rotation!!! So easy!

    Reply

  7. 5 stars
    I’ve made this twice! The second time I used chicken. Great flavors and easy to make. Thanks for a tasty recipe!

    Reply

  8. 5 stars
    Absolutely delicious and unique. Bursts with flavor, easy prep and healthy. What more could you ask for. Thank you!

    Reply

  9. 5 stars
    This recipe came out great, I would not typically use Parmesan cheese with salmon, but it tasted good together. I used heave cream instead of coconut milk, so I skipped the cream cheese.

    Reply

  11. 5 stars
    Absolutely delicious! I was very hesitant to use coconut milk because I thought this was very odd with parmesan cheese but I was wrong! Trust the recipe!

    Reply

  12. Hello 🙂
    The recipe sounds amazing. We will try it next weekend 🙂 do you mind sharing where your ceramic plate is from? They look stunning! 🙂
    Thank you, Lena x

    Reply

  13. 5 stars
    I’m not the biggest spinach fan—thoughts on using kale instead?? Very excited to try this and hoping kale would make a great substitute. Love all your recipes and cookbook!

    Reply

    1. Hey Allison! Kale will be delicious! I would add it 3-4 minutes earlier to help it wilt down properly. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan

      Reply

  14. 5 stars
    WOW! I made this last night for the cat and I (OK, her salmon was just plain), and I was blown away by how good it was. I don’t even like cooked salmon all that much, so I really didn’t expect it to be *that* good. I made roasted potatoes to go with it, to make sure I got all the sauce. I didn’t have cream cheese in the fridge, so it was on my grocery list, but when I remembered that I had some Basil and Chive Boursin, I decided to use that in place of both cream cheese and the chives, and I don’t know if that made it even better, but I was sad when dinner was over.

    Reply