Baked Salmon with Pesto and Tomatoes (Video)
Baked Salmon with Basil Pesto and Tomatoes is delicious all year, even when you have to use basil pesto from a jar!
PIN Baked Salmon with Pesto and Tomatoes to make it later!
Today I want to remind you about this Baked Salmon with Pesto and Tomatoes. This is one of those no-fail perfect recipes that’s always delicious whenever you make it, but if you still have some fresh garden tomatoes (and maybe even some homemade Basil Pesto with Lemon in the fridge) this is even better. In my small garden I’m still getting a few tomatoes, and I just made some pesto with the last of my basil that was growing in the window, so this looks like a great idea for an early fall dinner.
But even if you don’t have a garden, or your garden tomatoes are long gone, or if you have to use mid-winter tomatoes and pesto from the store, this recipe will always produce spectacular results! It was adapted from Mark Bittman’s Quick and Easy Recipes from the New York Times, where Bittman used tomatoes and fresh basil to top salmon that was baked in foil.
And no disrespect to Mark Bittman, but I think my variation of using pesto to replace the fresh basil might even have been an improvement! Check out My Favorite Low-Carb and Keto Recipes with Pesto for more tasty ideas for using basil pesto!
Easy Steps to Make Baked Salmon with Pesto and Tomatoes:
(Scroll down for complete printable recipe including nutritional information)
- Let salmon come to room temperature while you preheat the oven or toaster oven and the baking sheet.
- Make a double layer of foil, drizzle a little olive oil on the foil, lay on the salmon pieces, and season the fish. I always season fish with Szeged Fish Rub (affiliate link), but use any seasonings you like if you don’t have that.
- Top each piece of salmon with a thin layer of pesto and some slices of tomato.
- Wrap up the packets, folding over the ends a couple of times.
- Bake at 450 F for 15 minutes. Then let sit a few minutes before carefully opening packet.
- Serve hot, and enjoy!
Make it a Low-Carb Meal:
You can serve Baked Salmon with Pesto and Tomatoes right in the foil if you’d like, for a dinner that’s sure to please anyone who likes salmon. Add something like Cucumbers Caesar or Zucchini Noodle Mock Pasta Salad for a low-carb meal!
More Low-Carb Ideas for Cooking with Pesto:
Easy Baked Pesto Chicken ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen
Roasted Red Peppers with Pesto and Goat Cheese ~ Aggie’s Kitchen
Twice-Baked Spaghetti Squash with Pesto and Parmesan ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen
Pesto Zucchini Lasagna Rolls ~ All Day I Dream About Food
Low-Carb Baked Chicken Stuffed with Pesto and Cheese ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen
Baked Salmon with Pesto and Tomatoes
Baked Salmon with Pesto and Tomatoes is so good, even when you don't have fresh summer tomatoes!
Ingredients
- 2 6 oz. salmon fillets
- fish rub of your choice; see note (this is optional but recommended)
- 2 tsp. olive oil (to grease foil)
- 4 tsp. basil pesto (see notes)
- 2 medium tomatoes, sliced about 1/4 inch thick
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 F. (see notes)
- Place a baking sheet in oven to heat while you prep the salmon.
- Tear two pieces of foil, big enough to wrap salmon with some overlapping.
- Place foil pieces one on top of the other.
- Put about 2 tsp. olive oil in center of top piece of foil and lay salmon on top of oil.
- Season salmon with Szeged Fish Rub or other seasonings of your choice.
- Spread each piece of salmon with about 2 tsp. basil pesto.
- Arrange sliced tomatoes over pesto so they cover the top of the salmon.
- Wrap salmon securely in foil, doubling over the seam and ends several times.
- Place salmon packet on heated baking sheet and cook 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven after 15 minutes and let sit 2-3 minutes.
- Then open carefully and serve immediately, while salmon and tomatoes are hot.
Notes
For years I have used Szeged Fish Rub (affiliate link) but any seasoning blend that tastes good on fish will work in this recipe. You can use pesto from a jar here with good results, although obviously homemade pesto is even better.
I baked this in my Oster toaster oven (affiliate link) which is a good idea when the weather starts heating up.
Recipe adapted from Mark Bittman’s Quick and Easy Recipes from the New York Times (affiliate link).
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
2Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 575Total Fat: 33gSaturated Fat: 7gUnsaturated Fat: 24gCholesterol: 158mgSodium: 211mgCarbohydrates: 6gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 62g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Foil-Baked Salmon with Basil Pesto and Tomatoes is a wonderful meal for low-carb eating plans, including any phase of the South Beach Diet. Tomatoes do have some carbs, but there’s not a lot of tomato in this recipe.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Seafood Recipes or Oven Dinners to find more recipes like this one.Use the Recipes by Diet Type photo index pages to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
105 Comments on “Baked Salmon with Pesto and Tomatoes (Video)”
Salmon always makes for such a beautiful dish! Love the pesto topping!
Thanks Anna; so glad you like it!
Wow, what a great idea! I have bags of pesto in the freezer so I'm totally making this, and soon!
Sara, lucky you! Hope you enjoy it!
I actually like the original picture. 🙂 I think your pesto instead of basil idea was definitely an improvement! It looks lovely.
Erin, I don't *hate* it, but I like the new one much better!
Ah, Weekend Herb Blogging — a little nostalgia trip! I love how easy this recipe is, and how flavorful the results of just a few minutes of cooking can be.
Lydia, yes I miss some things about those days. But I don't miss the hours I used to spend doing the WHB round-ups. And no one would click around and read about herbs now anyway! Highly recommend this recipe.
I love to see these recipes resurrected from the archives, if only to see the familiar names of the “original” food bloggers in the first comments. This one’s going on the Supper This Week list!
Alanna, it is fun isn't it? And this was posted for Weekend Herb Blogging! Those were the kinder, gentler days of blogging for sure, when people actually had to visit the blog to talk to you. I hope you enjoy it, this is one of my favorites.
Seriously I don't think this will freeze all that. But it only tales a few minutes to throw together.
Hi Kalyn 🙂
I am excited to try this recipe. I teach and have 3 kiddos. We are BUSY, but are committed to eating healthy despite our schedules. This recipe is perfect for us! I have acquired quite a bit of healthy freezer friendly meals that meet our needs. Do you think this would freeze well? I thought I could prepare it with the pesto, wrap it in foil, and put it in the freezer. When we are ready to enjoy, I could thaw in fridge, top with tomatoes and bake. What do you think?
I wrapped both pieces of salmon together, but double-wrapped the packet with foil so it wouldn't leak or burn on the grill.
I'm sure this is a dumb question, but did you wrap each piece of salmon individually in it's own piece of foil, or did you double wrap the two salmon together. It says two pieces of foil. Not sure where the second piece goes.
So glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks for this recipe! Made this today and it came out very tasty.
I'd try thawing it a tiny bit more with either the fish inside a plastic bag and run hot water over it, or a microwave, knowing that will start to cook the salmon the tiniest bit. I still think that would be better than having the inside not cooked (and the other part might get dry before the frozen part is done. Hope that works; I love this recipe!
I have a dilemma! I took my salmon out of the freezer far too late today and I've gotten myself into a bit of a mess. I've thawed it under cold water but the thickest part is still a bit frozen and it's already 7:15pm. Do you think it would be alright to go ahead and use it, if I adjusted the cooking time longer, perhaps? Would there be an issue with extra liquid?
It's my own fault, I suppose. I've been so excited about this recipe all week, but my day just got away from me!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe. This is something I've made over and over for guests.
A friend gave me some homemade pesto and I wanted to make salmon for a dinner party so googled and found your recipe. I am a huge lover of caprese salad so your recipe really caught my eye with the basil pesto and tomotoes. It was a huge hit! I cooked 4 packets so left in the oven for about 5 extra minutes. I served this with a starter of corn, red pepper, and leek soup with creme fraiche; then the salmon with roasted root veges and a salad of arugula, apples, calamata olives and pecans. I will be sharing your recipe and definitely making it again! Cannot wait to check out your other recipes! Thanks! – Houston, TX
DELICIOUS! My hubby enjoyed it too!
I cannot tell you how HAPPY and GRATEFUL I am that I found this site! Every time I look for recipes I'm bombarded with so much fat and carbs!! I kind of gave up and just ate whatever was around and easy (lots of rice and pasta dishes).
I recently decided to go south beach-y and this site is just perfect. Please keep posting and sharing, because I would be lost without it!!
Hope you enjoy it!
Thanks for posting this recipe! I made pesto a few days ago and had no idea how to bake it with the salmon. I'll be trying this one tonight!
Mike, glad to hear it worked well for you!
Your recipe was a lifesaver. I bought 3 fillets today and did have a clue how I wanted to cook them. I added a few thin lemon slices and a splash of pinot grigio (about a half shot) for a little extra acid.
Made fresh cooked spinach with garlic and fingerling potatoes with chives, parsley and evoo.
My wife and daughter loved it. Thanks again.