This pesto salmon with tomatoes is creamy, easy, and delicious. I make it in one pan and it comes together in less than 30 minutes—it's the perfect healthy weeknight meal.
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Why We Love This Salmon
This pesto salmon is perfect for busy weeknights. You can serve it on its own, over cauliflower rice or white rice, or with your favorite noodles to make pesto salmon pasta. The salmon has the perfect sear, the basil pesto keeps it fresh, the tomatoes add the perfect level of acidity and sweetness, and the roasted pecans add some nice crunch.
Looking for other delicious salmon recipes? Try our baked salmon bites, crispy fried salmon nuggets, grilled salmon bites, or spinach and artichoke salmon.
Key Ingredients and Substitutions
Salmon: We always use wild-caught salmon, but you can use whatever you normally buy. We love fresh fish but understand that buying it isn't always realistic or cost-effective. Frozen salmon works perfectly well in this recipe too. Costco is a great place to buy fresh or frozen salmon at a good price. If you don't like salmon, try this recipe with chicken.
Pesto: You can make your own (check out our almond butter pesto or nut-free pesto) or buy it. Costco has a good pre-made pesto, as does Trader Joe's (I especially love their vegan pesto).
Grape or cherry tomatoes: Any variety works, but the sweeter the better!
Roasted Pecans: You can buy roasted pecans or raw ones and roast them yourself. We buy big bags of raw pecans at Costco and eat them on everything (I've even been known to eat them raw with cheese), but you can buy them anywhere. We use raw pecan halves and then chop them up after we roast them.
Heavy cream: A little goes a long way to make this dish creamy and indulgent. You can substitute half-and-half if you want to lighten it up just a bit.
Romano or parmesan cheese: We like to grate it ourselves, but you can buy pre-grated if that's easiest for you.
See recipe card for full ingredient list.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Add oil to a large pan over medium-high heat. Pat the salmon dry with a paper towel, then sprinkle salt and pepper over each fillet. Place the fillets in the hot pan skin-side down and let them cook, undisturbed, until the color of the filets has changed from dark pink to a more pale color about ¾ of the way up the sides, about 3-5 minutes. Then flip the salmon and let it cook another 1-2 minutes. Remove the salmon from the pan and let it rest on a plate.
Step 2: Reduce the heat to medium-low, then add the tomatoes, salt, and pepper to the same pan that the salmon cooked in. Let the tomatoes cook, stirring occasionally, until they start to burst, about 3-5 minutes, then add the garlic. Cook the garlic for 30 seconds to a minute, stirring constantly, then add the pesto, cream, and parmesan cheese. Let the mixture thicken for a couple of minutes.
Step 3: Remove the skin from the salmon, then add it back to the pan. Top the salmon with the roasted pecans and the juice from half a lemon, then serve!
Side Pairing Ideas
Try serving this pesto salmon with:
- Cauliflower rice
- White or brown rice
- Quinoa (I love this cooking method)
- Pasta (use the pesto and tomatoes as the sauce!)
- Sautéed vegetables
- Salad
Frequently asked questions
Store the leftover salmon and sauce in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. To reheat, place in a pan over medium heat and cook until warm.
Of course! Using store-bought pesto is a great way to cut out some prep-time. We really like Costco pesto or Trader Joe's kale pesto.
Of course! This recipe would be great with chicken (or even shrimp!). You can follow the same steps, but the chicken will take longer to cook than the salmon. Just make sure you cook it to 165°F. We have a great pan-seared chicken breast recipe here that would be great for this. You may also have to wipe your pan clean between steps, as chicken tends to leave behind more burnt bits than salmon.
📖 Recipe
Pesto Salmon
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
This pesto salmon with tomatoes is creamy, easy, and delicious. I make it in one pan and it comes together in less than 30 minutes—it's the perfect healthy weeknight meal.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable or avocado oil
1 pound salmon fillets, skin on
Dash of salt and black pepper
2 cups cherry tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
¾ cup pesto (see note 1)
¼ cup heavy cream
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
¼ cup chopped roasted pecans (see note 2)
Juice of half a lemon
Instructions
- Add oil to a large pan over medium-high heat. Pat the salmon dry with a paper towel, then sprinkle salt and pepper over each fillet. Place the fillets in the hot pan skin-side down and let them cook, undisturbed, until the color of the filets has changed from dark pink to a more pale color about ¾ of the way up the sides, about 3-5 minutes. Then flip the salmon and let it cook another 1-2 minutes. Remove the salmon from the pan and let it rest on a plate.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low, then add the tomatoes, salt, and pepper to the same pan that the salmon cooked in. Let the tomatoes cook, stirring occasionally, until they start to burst, about 3-5 minutes, then add the garlic. Cook the garlic for 30 seconds to a minute, stirring constantly, then add the pesto, cream, and parmesan cheese. Let the mixture thicken for a couple of minutes.
- Remove the skin from the salmon, then add it back to the pan. Top the salmon with the roasted pecans and the juice from half a lemon, then serve!
Notes
- You can make your own (check out our almond butter pesto or nut-free pesto) or buy it. Costco has a good pre-made pesto, as does Trader Joe's (I especially love their vegan pesto).
- To roast your own pecans, spread raw pecans on a sheet pan and bake at 350°F for 5-10 minutes or until slightly browned.
- Nutritional information is only an estimate.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 salmon fillet
- Calories: 483
- Sugar: 3.5 g
- Sodium: 636.1 mg
- Fat: 37.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 7.9 g
- Protein: 31.1 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg
Gloria T. says
Absolutely LOVED this dish! It was fairly simply and really enjoyed not having buy pine nuts for the Pesto. Can't wait to make this again for friends and family!
Amy P. says
I find it hard to use all my fresh produce before it goes bad so I love how this recipe incorporates all the ingredients I already have on hand. There's no need to buy new ingredients I'll only use once. So simple, quick, and delicious!
Amy P. says
I find it hard to use all my fresh produce before it goes bad so I love how this recipe incorporates all the ingredients I already have on hand. There’s no need to buy new ingredients I’ll only use once. So simple, quick, and delicious!