Salmon is an extremely versatile fish that can be prepared in many ways. This easy Salmon Piccata with garlic, lemon, capers, and baby spinach is so flavorful, and simple enough for a weeknight meal!
Salmon is one of the most widely available and commonly cooked fishes in the United States. There are many ways to prepare salmon, but easily one of my favorites is this delicious garlic lemon salmon piccata.
It's super citrusy, a wonderful flavor profile for any fish dish, and adds a burst of bright green color from handfuls of baby spinach and a sprinkle of parsley to finish. Best of all, it's easy to make and only takes about 30 minutes from start to finish.
How to make it
This salmon piccata recipe is as simple as it gets. Season and flour salmon fillets, and then cook in them in butter and olive oil in a skillet. Remove the salmon from the pan, and then make the sauce.
Melt some more butter, than add garlic, lemon juice, white wine, capers, lemon slices, and baby spinach. Cook the sauce until fragrant and the spinach is wilted. Then return the salmon fillets to the pan and coat with the sauce. Finish with a sprinkle of parsley, and dinner's ready!
Please scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe (in a printable recipe card) including ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.
Expert tips
I find that this salmon piccata is never dry because it's pan-seared and cloaked in the delicious lemon, garlic, and white white sauce. Although the recipe calls for four 6-ounce fillets of fish, you can use smaller fillets if you prefer, which is what I often do. Take a side of salmon (weighing around 1 ½ pounds) and cut it into relatively equal-sized portions.
You can also make this recipe with grilled salmon! Season the salmon, omitting the flour step, arrange the fish fillets in a greased fish grill basket and grill until cooked through. Meanwhile, make the sauce the way it says to in the recipe. Then add the grilled salmon into the piccata sauce. When it's grilling season, this is a great option to get a little extra smoky flavor into your salmon.
Other recipes you may like
- Salmon with Quinoa Salad and Arugula Chimichurri
- Wrapped Salmon in Phyllo with Lemon Horseradish Cream Sauce
- Pescado a la Veracruzana (Veracruz-Style Fish)
- Grilled Fish Tacos
- Fish Hash
- Le Bernardin's Salmon Rillettes
Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also follow me on social media on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Garlic Lemon Salmon Piccata
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (I also like to sprinkle paprika on my salmon fillets)
- 4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets (or equivalent weight salmon in small fillets)
- 3 tablespoons butter divided
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ⅓ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- ¼ cup capers drained
- 1 lemon thinly sliced
- 4 cups baby spinach
- Chopped fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
- In a shallow baking dish, add flour. Season salmon with salt and pepper (and paprika if desired), then dredge in the flour, and toss until coated.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter and olive oil. Add salmon and cook until golden, 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
- Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to skillet. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute, then add lemon juice and white wine and bring to a simmer. Stir in capers, lemon slices and spinach and let cook down until wilted, 2 minutes.
- Return salmon to skillet and combine. Garnish with parsley and serve.
Notes
- Although the recipe calls for four 6-ounce fillets of fish, you can use smaller fillets if you prefer, which is what I often do. Take a side of salmon (weighing around 1 ½ pounds) and cut it into relatively equal-sized portions.
- You can also make this recipe with grilled salmon! Season the salmon, omitting the flour step, arrange the fish fillets in a greased fish grill basket and grill until cooked through. Meanwhile, make the sauce the way it says to in the recipe. Then add the grilled salmon into the piccata sauce. When it's grilling season, this is a great option to get a little extra smoky flavor into your salmon.
- Adapted from Delish
Nutrition
*All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.*
Katie says
Came out great!
SM says
Simply delicious!
Sandra says
Came out great!
Stacy Kerman says
Fantastic dinner in under 15 minutes. Classic flavors, light, yet completely satisfying.
Billie says
This was absolutely delicious . Cooked it exactly as written.
A.J. says
This was great - fast, flavorful and satisfying!
Mary Kabakian says
I would give this recipe 10 stars if I could, 5 stars is simply not enough. I love fish in general, but this particular recipe is one of the best that I've ever tried.