We love salmon and eat it about once a week in our home! It’s filled with healthy fats and oils, and it tastes delicious too. I love to try out different ingredients with salmon to spice it up, and this week’s choice was a creamy spinach and garlic dish. It was simple to throw together with ingredients we had on hand, and takes less than half an hour to make! Check out this new family favorite that’s filled with flavor.
Creamy Spinach + Garlic Salmon Recipe
I think one of the keys to a great salmon dish is cooking the fish with the skin on. Not only does this release additional healthy oils, it also makes the salmon super flavorful. We like to buy wild caught salmon from Costco because it’s a large enough piece to give us leftovers. I use my Edge Chef’s Knife to cut the salmon into pieces that will fit in my pan for cooking.
I always cook the salmon in a little organic olive oil, skin side up first. I just seasoned this with a little pink Himalayan salt before cooking for a few minutes on each side. After the salmon was cooked through (about 3-4 minutes per side), I removed it from the pan and started on the sauce.
For the sauce, you’ll start with the garlic and shallots to bring out their flavors. Then you’ll add the coconut milk (I promise you don’t taste coconut in the end product, and it really makes for a creamy sauce!), red pepper flakes, and Parmesan cheese. Fresh grated Parmesan cheese would probably work even better for this meal, but the finely grated brand we had in our fridge worked well too.
Once your cheese is fully incorporated in the sauce, you’ll add the lemon juice and spinach, stirring until the spinach is wilted. Then, add the salmon back to the pan and spread the sauce over top.
The end result is so flavorful and has just a tiny kick from the red pepper flakes! Our kids always complain if something is too spicy, but they didn’t with this dish! In fact, they loved it so much we didn’t even end up with leftovers. I served our creamy spinach and garlic salmon with a delicious mead that my mother-in-law sent us from Idaho!
Check out the full recipe below!
- 6 Wild Caught Salmon Filets (or one from Costco sliced into 6 pieces)
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
- Himalayan Salt to taste
- For the Sauce:
- 2 Tbsp Salted Butter
- 2 Shallots, sliced thinly
- 3 Garlic Cloves, chopped
- ¼ tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
- 1 cup Coconut Milk or Heavy Cream
- ¾ cup Parmesan Cheese
- 4 cups Baby Spinach
- 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
- Slice the salmon and season both sides with salt (keep the skin on for cooking!)
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the salmon to the pan, skin side up and cook for 3-4 minutes. Then flip the salmon and cook an additional 3-4 minutes or until it is cooked to your liking. Remove the salmon from the skillet. At this point, you can discard the skin if you choose!
- Add the butter to the skillet and when it's melted, add the shallots and garlic. Cook for about 20-30 seconds or until fragrant.
- Add the red pepper flakes, coconut milk, and Parmesan cheese to the pan, gently stirring to incorporate. Once the cheese has melted, bring the sauce to a simmer.
- Add the lemon juice and baby spinach to the pan, stirring until the spinach wilts.
- Add the salmon back to the pan and cover with sauce.
- Serve immediately.
Will you try this Creamy Spinach + Garlic Salmon?
Let me know in the comments!
Hi there! I’m Amber, a 34 year old wife and mom of two from central Minnesota. I love to be outside with my family anywhere the weather is warm (which means I spend half the year freezing). We’re a homeschooling family that loves to travel as often as possible! When I have a spare free moment, I love to read, take photos, and scrapbook. I’m interested in anything that makes life more fun; I also love socializing and sharing about my favorite products!
This post currently has 9 responses.
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Oh my! This looks amazing. Thanks for the recipe! I pinned it!
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That looks so good. I am going to try this. Thank you for the recipe.
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I agree about cooking with skin on, to me it has a better flavor also. This will be a great recipe and one we will enjoy. I might make this on Friday!
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I would never have thought of putting the salmon in the creamy spinach. But it really sounds so good and looks easy to make
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I almost thought this was a soup! It looks really delicious and I think our whole family would enjoy it. I would have to make a few modifications for my Mom’s food allergies but should be simple enough.
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This looks really good! My husband usually grills the salmon, but I pinned this to Pinterest so I can try this recipe. Thanks!
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Great combination of my two favorites, thanks a lot
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Creamed spinach is so delicious. I like the inclusion of salmon in this recipe to make it a meal.
Salmon is one of my favorite treats. This sounds like a keeper of a recipe. Thank you.