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These sauces for salmon make this simple fish into a delicious dinner! From creamy dill to zesty chimichurri, use these easy recipes to add flavor to your baked, grilled, or pan-seared salmon.
So you can serve baked salmon and grilled salmon on a plate with rice and call it dinner. But as a cookbook author, I’ve found this key: adding a simple sauce to fish turns it from a “just a weeknight dinner” to something actually special! (This is true with any protein, of course.)
My glistening green chimichurri adds zingy, herby flavor, or lemon caper sauce makes a tangy, bright pop. A flavorful miso sauce infuses loads of complexity, and a creamy dill sauce is extra classic. I’ve reviewed all my recipes to find the bet sauces for salmon: and you can mix them up while the fish cooks!
Best Sauces for Salmon
This is my go-to sauce for salmon when I want something classic and crowd-pleasing. The tanginess from the yogurt and lemon contrasts the flaky fish perfectly, and the dill adds fresh, herby notes. Try it with baked salmon or broiled salmon.
Chimichurri sauce is a great way to take salmon from meh to stunning! This Argentinian classic is simple to whip up and adds bright, garlicky flavor to grilled meats, chicken, fish or vegetables. It's perfect with my grilled salmon recipe.
The briny pop of capers, creamy butter, and bright lemon create this savory, salty, situation. A little goes a long way, and it makes a simple piece of fish into something I'd happily order at a dinner out. Perfect for date nights or when you want to impress.
This honey garlic sauce comes together in less than 10 minutes, making it an easy, no-hassle sauce for quick meals. You’ll want to paint this sticky, flavor-popping sauce on just about anything! It's perfect on my honey garlic salmon recipe.
This sauce uses two types of mustard (Dijon and whole grain), plus mayo and a touch of honey to balance the zing. It comes together in 1 minute, and it's fantastic as both a topping for cooked salmon and a dipping sauce for salmon burgers.
This salmon sauce is bursting with rich, creamy flavor with garlic, spinach, and earthy, bright bursts from tomatoes. Pan sear your salmon and remove it from the pan, make this sauce, and then add the salmon to the pan for 1 minute to warm through. It turns this fish into Tuscan Salmon.
Sometimes the best sauce is the simplest one. The bright green color of basil pesto, the garlicky basil punch, the richness from the pine nuts and Parmesan: it all just works with salmon. If I'm feeling fancy, I'll make pesto cream sauce by simmering the pesto with cream.
This is the sauce I make when I want dinner to feel impressive without much actual work. I whisk together miso paste, mirin, sake (or rice vinegar), and a touch of sugar to make a miso glaze, then brush it on before and after broiling. The result is a fillet full of glossy, savory, umami-packed flavor.
This lemon pepper sauce is full of zingy, zesty flavor, but requires only 5 minutes and 5 ingredients. The butter is savory and creamy, punctuated by the zingy lemon and hint of spicy black pepper. While is common with wings, it’s also perfect with salmon.
If you're looking for a salmon sauce that leans sweet, here the maple syrup and balsamic vinegar reduce down into a tangy-sweet glaze that caramelizes under the broiler. It's great for fall and winter when I'm craving those deeper, warmer flavors.
Sometimes you just need butter, lemon, and garlic. This classic combination is what I turn to when I need something simple. The butter is silky, the lemon is zingy, and the garlic adds just enough savory depth.
A great remoulade sauce is perfect for salmon: it's a zingy mayo-based condiment that's common in Cajun and Creole cuisine. The rich mayo and briny capers meld perfectly with seafood. Serve with Salmon Burgers, Pan Seared Salmon or Grilled Salmon.
Here's a fun dipping sauce for salmon: buffalo ranch! In just a few minutes, you can make a sauce that’s creamy, tangy, spicy, savory, and ideal for dunking just about anything. It's especially perfect with salmon bites.
Here’s a genius kitchen move: 5-minute pesto cream sauce! Did you know you can simmer pesto and cream and it thickens into a sauce? This bright green sauce is perfect for salmon, like Grilled Salmon or Baked Salmon.
This simple sauce is underrated in my opinion. I mix sour cream with garlic, onion, and fresh chives for a quick, tangy, savory topping that takes only 5 minutes to put together. It’s great with Grilled Salmon or Broiled Salmon.
Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
Most of these sauces keep well in the fridge, which is one of the reasons I love them. Chimichurri lasts up to a week and actually gets better as it sits (just bring it to room temperature before serving).
Creamy sauces like dill sauce, mustard sauce, and remoulade all keep for 3-5 days. Pesto can be frozen in ice cube trays for months. The one difference is butter-based sauces like lemon caper sauce, which are best made fresh.
Frequently Asked Questions
Pan-seared salmon pairs well with a variety of sauces, including lemon butter sauce, dill sauce, garlic herb sauce, or even a balsamic glaze for a touch of sweetness.
For baked salmon, you can use a marinade as a sauce, such as teriyaki sauce, honey mustard sauce, or a simple olive oil and herb mixture. These sauces will infuse the salmon with flavor while keeping it moist during baking.
The white sauce often served with salmon is usually a creamy dill sauce or a lemon dill sauce. These sauces complement the salmon’s flavor with their refreshing herbiness and tangy notes.
That was the most amazing sauce I had on salmon. Well done!
Amazing! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Let us know if you have any questions!