If you need a salmon dinner on the table in under 30 minutes with almost no cleanup, this is the recipe. A simple garlic butter sauce with melted butter, fresh lemon juice, and minced garlic gets poured over the salmon, sealed in foil, and baked until perfectly flaky. The foil does all the work, locking in every drop of that buttery sauce so the fish stays moist and full of flavour from edge to edge. Pierre asks for this almost every week, and I never get tired of making it.
Why I Always Bake Salmon in Foil
I’ve been making salmon recipes at Primavera Kitchen for over 12 years because we absolutely love salmon so much. If you also love it as much as my family does, I have over 25 salmon recipes on the site, from quick weeknight fillets to meal prep bowls.
Most garlic butter salmon recipes ask you to stand over a hot pan and baste constantly. I’ve done it that way plenty of times and honestly? I always prefer the foil method. Wrapping the salmon creates its own little oven inside the oven and you get perfectly flaky salmon every single time without babysitting the pan.
It is a breeze to make and cleanup takes about 30 seconds. I love serving it with roasted green beans, mashed potatoes, or fluffy rice for a complete weeknight dinner.
Key Ingredients
Salmon — After making this recipe so many times, I’ve found that the quality of your salmon makes a real difference in the final result. Wild-caught is always my first choice. It has a deeper, richer flavour and that beautiful vibrant colour that farmed salmon often lacks. When I’m at the store, I look for bright, firm flesh with no grey patches and no fishy smell. Good fresh salmon should smell like the ocean, clean and mild. I always go for King, Sockeye, or Coho when I can find them. They have the best flavour and hold up beautifully in the foil.
Pro tip: Honestly? Don’t be afraid of frozen salmon. I buy it all the time. Fish that’s been flash-frozen at sea is often fresher than what’s been sitting on ice at the counter for days. I just thaw it overnight in the fridge and it works perfectly every time.
Garlic — I always mince my garlic by hand with a knife and I never use a garlic press for this recipe. When the pieces are too fine, they burn in the hot butter before they have a chance to infuse it with flavour. Hand-minced gives you slightly bigger, irregular pieces that cook more gently and release their flavour slowly into the sauce. Two cloves is what I use, but if you love garlic as much as my family does, three cloves works beautifully too.
Butter — I prefer unsalted butter here because it lets me control exactly how much salt goes into the sauce. When the butter, lemon juice, and seasoning all come together in that foil packet, the flavours are very concentrated. So being able to control the salt matters. That said, salted butter works perfectly fine too, just hold back a little on the kosher salt when you season the fish.
Lemon juice — I always squeeze it fresh. I know bottled lemon juice is convenient, but in a sauce this simple, with so few ingredients, you would honestly taste the difference. Fresh lemon juice is brighter, cleaner, and adds that light citrus lift that makes the garlic butter sauce feel balanced rather than heavy. One lemon is all you need for this recipe.
Seasoning — I use kosher salt, black pepper, dried oregano, and crushed red pepper. The oregano adds a subtle earthiness that pairs really well with salmon and the crushed red pepper gives just a little warmth without making it spicy. I’ve also tested this with paprika, garlic powder, thyme, and Italian seasoning and they all work well, so feel free to use what you have on hand.
How To Make Garlic Butter Salmon in Foil
Preheat your oven and prepare the foil — I always preheat to 400F before I do anything else. While the oven is heating up, I cut a large piece of aluminum foil and place it on my baking sheet. It needs to be big enough to fold over and fully seal the salmon. I always go a little bigger than I think I need. A packet that’s too small and can’t close properly will leak sauce all over the baking sheet and you lose everything that makes this recipe special.
Pat the salmon dry — This is a step I never skip, even though the salmon is going straight into a butter sauce. Moisture on the surface of the fish dilutes the flavour of the sauce and can cause the salmon to steam unevenly inside the packet. I just press a few paper towels firmly on both sides and it makes a real difference. Then I place the salmon skin side down on the prepared foil.
Make the garlic butter sauce — In a small bowl, I whisk together the melted butter, fresh lemon juice, and minced garlic until everything is combined. This takes about 30 seconds and it’s worth doing before the salmon goes on the foil so the sauce is ready to pour immediately. I like to taste it at this point. It should smell incredible and taste rich, garlicky, and bright from the lemon.
Pour the sauce and season — I pour the garlic butter sauce slowly and evenly over the whole surface of the salmon, making sure every part gets coated. Then I season generously with kosher salt, black pepper, dried oregano, and crushed red pepper. I always season after pouring the sauce so the spices sit on top and don’t get washed to the sides.
Seal the foil tightly — I fold the sides of the foil up and over the salmon and press the edges together firmly to create a well-sealed packet. This is important. If the packet has gaps or isn’t properly sealed, the sauce leaks out onto the baking sheet during baking and you lose the self-basting effect that makes this recipe so good. Take an extra few seconds here and make sure it’s really closed.
Bake — I place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 12 to 16 minutes depending on the thickness of the fillet. A thinner fillet will be done closer to 12 minutes, a thicker one will need the full 16. I always check at 12 minutes just to be safe. Overcooked salmon is dry and chalky and it happens faster than you think.
Broil for the finish — This is my favourite part of the whole recipe. I open the foil carefully (the steam inside is very hot) and slide the baking sheet under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes. This step turns the top of the salmon golden and slightly caramelised, and the difference in texture compared to skipping it is very noticeable. Keep a close eye on it though — under the broiler things can go from golden to burnt quickly. I never walk away during this step.
Rest and serve — I remove the salmon from the oven when it flakes easily with a fork or reads 145F on an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part. Before serving, I spoon some of the garlic butter sauce that has collected in the foil back over the top of the fish. That sauce is too good to leave behind. I finish with a little fresh chopped parsley and lemon slices.
Why I Always Bake Salmon In Foil
Foil-baking creates a sealed steam environment, which does two things. First, the moisture from the lemon juice and butter has nowhere to escape. It circulates around the fish and continuously bastes it. Second, the salmon cooks more gently and evenly than it would exposed in a pan. You’re much less likely to overcook it. The final broil at the end gives you the best of both worlds: the moisture of steaming and a golden, slightly caramelized top.
How to Tell When Salmon Is Done
The FDA recommends 145°F, that’s fully cooked. But I’ve found that pulling the salmon at 125–130°F gives you that silky, just-set texture that most chefs prefer. It’s a personal call. I like mine at about 130°F. It’s cooked through but still moist.
Use a thermometer: Insert it into the thickest part.
- 115–125°F: Medium-rare
- 125–140°F: Medium to well-done
- 140°F: Fully cooked—take it out!
No thermometer? Gently flake the salmon with a fork. It should separate easily and look cooked to your preference.
Know your preference: Like steak, salmon doneness is personal. Try a few levels to find what you like best.
Garlic Butter Salmon (Baked in Foil)
Video
Ingredients
- 1¼ pounds salmon fillet
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons melted butter or melted ghee
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley to garnish
- lemon slices to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF. Line a baking sheet. The piece of foil should be large enough to fold over and seal the fish.
- In a small bowl, add lemon juice, garlic, and melted butter or melted ghee. Whisk everything together.
- Place the salmon on the prepared baking sheet. Pour the butter mixture over the salmon.
- Season with salt, pepper, oregano, and red pepper flakes.
- Fold the sides of the foil over the salmon. Make sure it is well sealed so that the sauce does not leak. Place the pan into the oven, and bake until cooked, about 12-16 minutes. The cooking time depends on the thickness of the fillet.*
- Open the foil, and broil the fish for 2-3 minutes. Be careful not to burn the fish!
- Remove from the oven. Using a spoon, pour some of the butter sauce left in the foil onto the salmon before serving. Then, garnish with fresh chopped parsley and lemon slices.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?
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Hi! So salmon patties were on sale at the store, I had no clue what to do with them. Thankfully you had this amazing and delicious recipe. I added a couple actual small red peppers to it!! Oh my delicious!! Thank you!! My husband and I just love it!
That’s great!
OMG 😲! This baked Salmon is so mouthwatering!I love to baked/grilled Salmon without the skin. I don’t like the slimmest of the skin. So I have them to remove it. I make foil packs using these seasoning, i first add salt,, lemon juice, lemon pepper, Cajun, sea food seasoning, butter, slice of lemon & some have Rosemary. That’s how I do mine and hubby grills them for 10-15 mins to make sure they are are all cooked. We like it cooked all da way. My hubby likes the Rosemary to his. I rather not have it. It changes the taste of my Salmon. I don’t like that especially when I love having my Cajun Salmon filets. They are pretty expensive so I buy them when publix is running their sale at $6.95 pld with a $1/coupon by being a publx shopper/member. So sign up to get a good deal.
I have been making something very similar for many years and it’s a Spring Staple in our household- only I add a cruciferous roasting vegetable: asparagus, broccoli or Brussels all around the fish when baking. This gives me a 1 dish meal AND the veggies reeeeeally go well with the garlic/butter sauce!! I like to serve with rice or pasta- absorbing that wonderful sauce.
Thanks for sharing your twist on this recipe! Adding roasted asparagus, broccoli, or Brussels sprouts sounds like a fantastic idea for a one-dish meal, and I can imagine how well they complement the garlic/butter sauce. Serving it with rice or pasta to soak up that delicious sauce is a brilliant move. 😊🍽️
Our favorite way to have salmon in our house!
Aww amazing! Happy to hear that!
wrap it tight or not to tight?
Yes wrap it tight 😉
Have not tried recipe yet. Plan to today.
I’m sure you’ll love it!
Hi Olivia. I love salmon skin. Should I broil the skin at the last minute? Thanks.
Yes, you can totally do that. You can also remove the skin from the cooked salmon and place it in a skillet on the stove and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes.