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Here are all the best capers recipes to use up a jar! Try a classic recipe or pick from these creative ways to use this tasty ingredient.

Capers recipes
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Got capers? Then you’ve got gold. The potential of this Mediterranean ingredient is undiscovered for many home cooks. It adds massive flavor to any dish: each bite is a pop of bright, briny and salty flavor. Behold, the magic of the caper!

Here’s a list of all the best capers recipes to utilize this uniquely powerful ingredient in your cooking! There are classics like French-style salmon with capers and Italian pasta puttanesca. Then we’ve got more modern spins, like using capers to mimic Parmesan cheese in a vegan Caesar salad.

Before we start: what are capers?

  • Capers are a berry of the caper bush that’s native to the Mediterranean. They’re round and dark green gray, about the size of a peppercorn. You’ll find them in many Italian and Mediterranean recipes.
  • What do capers taste like? They have a bright, briny and salty flavor.
  • Where to buy capers? Capers are served pickled. Find them in small, thin jars near the olives at the grocery store.
  • Any substitutes for capers? Try chopped green olives or Kalamata olives.

And now…pick a capers recipe to try!

More ideas

Not inspired yet? Pick a capers recipe from these ideas:

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15 Great Capers Recipes: Salmon with Capers & More!

Salmon with capers
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Here are all the best capers recipes to use up a jar! Try a classic recipe or pick from these creative ways to use this tasty ingredient. 

  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1x
  • Category: Main Dish
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: Seafood
  • Diet: Gluten Free

Ingredients

Scale
  • 4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets
  • Olive oil, for brushing
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for brining
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 6 lemon slices (from 1 lemon)
  • Fresh oregano or thyme sprigs (optional)
  • 3 tablespoons salted butter
  • 2 tablespoons jarred capers, drained
  • 1 garlic clove, grated
  • To garnish: finely chopped Italian parsley, chives, or other herbs

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.*
  2. Brine the salmon: While the oven preheats, in a shallow dish mix together 4 cups room temperature water and 3 tablespoons kosher salt. Place the salmon in the water and wait for 15 minutes.
  3. Place the salmon in foil: Place a large sheet of aluminum foil on a baking sheet and brush it with olive oil. Pat each piece of salmon dry and place it on the foil. Sprinkle the salmon with ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt for each fillet and fresh ground pepper. Place the lemon slices and fresh herbs around the salmon (not on top). Close and seal the foil around the salmon.
  4. Bake: Bake the salmon for 10 minutes in the foil. Then open the foil packet so steam can release and bake again for 3 to 6 minutes, depending on thickness, until just tender and pink at the center (the internal temperature should be between 125 to 130F in the center). A 1 inch thick fillet should cook in about 15 minutes total.
  5. Make the caper butter: Meanwhile, melt the butter over low heat. Once melted, add the capers and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 3 minutes.
  6. Serve: When the salmon is done, squeeze with some lemon juice from remaining lemon slices. Spoon the butter sauce over each piece of salmon. Garnish with finely chopped parsley or chives.

Notes

*You can also pan sear or broiled the salmon to make a quicker recipe. Go to Pan Seared Salmon or Broiled Salmon.

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About the authors

Alex & Sonja

Hi! We’re Alex & Sonja Overhiser, authors of the acclaimed cookbooks A Couple Cooks and Pretty Simple Cooking—and a real life couple who cooks together. We founded the A Couple Cooks website in 2010 to share seasonal recipes and the joy of home cooking. Now, we’ve got over 3,000 well-tested recipes, including Mediterranean diet, vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, smoothies, cocktails, and more!

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2 Comments

  1. george santos says:

    Hello I have made a few of your recipes and have enjoyed everyone. I have a question about your baked salmon recipe with capers. You guys use 4- 6oz portions of fish and would like to know if I can use 1.5 lbs of flat salmon instead? Would I have to adjust the temp. or cooking time. Thank you!

    1. Alex Overhiser says:

      That will work fine! The cook time is more dependent on the thickness of the salmon than the portion size.