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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.
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…
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
Ingredients
- 4 salmon filets, skin on or off (your preference)
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 small shallot, thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 cup canned full-fat coconut milk, or heavy cream
- 2 ounces cream cheese, cubed
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 4 cups fresh baby spinach
- juice from 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives, plus more for serving
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.
This post was originally published on April 8, 2019
Loved this recipe! We were unable to find spinach anywhere so we used leftover broccoli which worked great as well! Great quarantine family meal, thank you for the inspiration 🙂
Thank you Valerie! xTieghan
Just tried this recipe and everyone loved it!! Delicious and nutritious!! 🙂 I forgot to add the lemon, but no big deal, still turned out be super delish, thank you!!
Thank you Ana! So happy to hear that this turned out well for you! xTieghan
Insanely delicious. This one I will absolutely be making again!! I just love everything about it!!
Thank you so much Blair! xTieghan
Hey! Made this last night and it was delicious! We only had two pieces of salmon, so we have a lot of leftover sauce. Any ideas for what to do with it?? Thanks!
Hi Elizabeth,
So glad you enjoyed the recipe! You could use the leftover sauce for chicken or freeze it and use it again with more salmon. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I used coconut cream because that’s what I had on hand. It was delicious! Loved the tartness added by the cream cheese. I’m new to this site–looking forward to trying other recipes!
Thank you so much Stephanie! I am so glad you enjoyed this and I hope you love all of the others you try! xTieghan
Wow! The whole family was RAVING about the flavor of this! Thank you thank you!
We will definitely make this again!
Thank you so much Anita! So glad you all enjoyed this! xTieghan
Delicious…..loved this recipe!
Thank you so much Anne! xTieghan
Just made this recipe cause I happened to have all the ingredients. Oh man…it was amazing and so quick to make. I paired it with mashed potatoes which was perfect so I didn’t miss an ounce of the sauce! Thank you for the recipe 🙂
I am so glad this turned out so well for you Natalie! Thank you so much for trying it! xTieghan
Could you make this without the cream cheese?
Hi! Yes, you can omit it. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
Amazing recipe. I didn’t have shallots so I opt for regular onion (tiny pieces) and no lemon juice was used! My family loved it and will make again (weekly).
That is so great! Thank you so much for trying this Rhonda! xTieghan
This dish was DELICIOUS. I don’t know if I have ever made something that made me want to lick the plate afterwards. Full confession: I did. Great recipe.
Thank you so much! I am so glad this recipe turned out so well for you John! xTieghan
So simple and delicious! I doubled the amount of spinach to take advantage of all of that delicious sauce, and it was still perfect. I went from checking out at the grocery store with the salmon to putting it on my plate in under an hour. It’s that easy.
Yes!! So glad this turned out so well for you Katie! xTieghan
This was so delicious! My kids (2&4) helped me with it and the fact that it had parm and cream cheese totally sold them. They love it! ( lExcept for the spinach, but I served frozen peas with theirs.) Also, it was easy enough to cook with them without me going insane. I made it on a a Sunday but I think I could do it midweek, which is really saying something for me.
Aw that is so sweet! I am really glad you all enjoyed this recipe Liz! Thank you so much for trying it! xTieghan
Great recipe for a creamed spinach lover. The next time you make a video of sautéing salmon over medium heat I’d like to see how you sauté the top side of the salmon to get it so evenly browned and with out having any of the salmon sticking to the skillet.
Thanks for the feedback! I will be sure to do this next time we shoot a salmon recipe. Thanks Rick!
Can this be made dairy free? like with cocount cream and df butter??
Hey Madeline! Yes, I think that should work well. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan