Ready to eat in under 30 minutes this Salmon with Olive Tapenade is incredibly savory and delicious!
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Roasted Salmon with Olive Tapenade
After testing out my olive tapenade recipe so many times I had to start to get creative on how to use tapenade. Obviously it is good with pita or crackers but I wanted to use it for more. I began to start thinking about what proteins would be best with it, I didn’t even think salmon at first but I am so overjoyed that I tried it…
BECAUSE IT IS AMAZING!
Both my husband and I basically inhaled this off of our plate, I had no idea mixing olive tapenade with fish could be so amazing.
The brininess from the olives and capers plus the creamy saltiness of the cheese offsets the richness of the salmon in every bite.
Even my 7 year old who “hates fish” ate this. I mean it isn’t a guaranteed result that it will make every little kid like fish but hey maybe it will work!? (Or maybe your kiddos would prefer a white fish, give Baked Pollock a try instead.)
I haven’t even gotten to the best part yet, which is that is incredibly quick and easy. Like minimal prep and ready in under 30 minutes!
Ingredients
- Salmon – When shopping for salmon I prefer to get my fresh never frozen, I also look for wild caught versus farmed. Now if you can’t get fresh wild caught salmon no worries your meal will still be good! The recipe as written will have you cooking the piece as a 1.5 pound fillet, if you prefer to use smaller portion sized fillets that totally works! Just reduce the cooking time. And don’t sweat too much about what variety of salmon you want to use there are a lot like chinook, coho, pink, sockeye, and Atlantic salmon. Use what is best available to you!
- Olive Oil – This olive oil with go into a hot oven so extra virgin olive oil will work best. I love cooking with California Olive Ranch Olive Oil.
- Lemon – About half of a fresh lemon for some acidity and flavor on the fish, you don’t have to drown the fish in lemon juice but just enough to get in covered.
- Dried Oregano – Just a little to give the salmon a Mediterranean flair to accompany the tapenade!
- Olive Tapenade – You can choose your favorite tapenade, if you quickly want to whip up a homemade version you can use my Olive Tapenade Recipe. There are also usually a few options at the grocery store too!
- Feta Cheese – Crumbled you can use full fat or a lightened version.
- Parsley – Some fresh parsley helps to offset the richness of the fish and brininess of the tapenade so don’t leave it out!
For a complete detailed list of the ingredients continue towards the bottom of the page.
pro tip
In this recipe I like to start my salmon out in a cold oven, this was a trick I learned from The Pioneer Women years ago and I mean years ago because I can’t even find the original source anymore! But I have been cooking it this way ever since, I find it helps keep the fish nice and tender because it doesn’t get too hot too quickly. So yes it seems weird not to preheat the oven but put the fish it, start the oven, and then start the timer.
Instructions
Place salmon on a sheet pan. Massage on the olive oil. Drizzle with fresh lemon juice. Sprinkle on the oregano.
Transfer to cold oven. Turn oven to 400° F. Bake for 20 minutes until salmon is flaky and fully cooked (internal temperature of 125º F).
While salmon is cooking in a bowl combine the tapenade, feta, and parsley.
Serve the salmon topped with the tapenade mixture.
tips, tricks and questions
Cooking time will depend on the thickness of your salmon, for thinner cuts you will want to start checking a few minutes early.
If you want to cook the salmon in smaller serving size fillets opposed to one large fillet that is easy to do, just simply reduce the cooking time by about 5 minutes.
I find that between the olives and feta not extra salt is needed in this dish, but if you want to lightly salt the fish before cooking feel free to add a little bit.
If you like this Mediterranean Salmon with Olive Tapenade Recipe you might also like:
Salmon with Olive Tapenade
You wouldn't belive how good olive tapenade and feta cheese is on top of a nice baked piece of salmon! Not only is this absolutely delicious but so easy and quick too!
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs salmon fillet
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 cup olive tapenade
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Place salmon on a sheet pan. Massage on the olive oil. Drizzle with fresh lemon juice. Sprinkle on the oregano.
- Transfer to cold oven. Turn oven to 400° F. Bake for 20 minutes until salmon is flaky and fully cooked (internal temperature of 125º F).
- While salmon is cooking in a bowl combine the tapenade, feta, and parsley.
- Serve the salmon topped with the tapenade mixture.
Notes
Cooking time will depend on the thickness of your salmon, for thinner cuts you will want to start checking a few minutes early.
If you want to cook the salmon in smaller serving size fillets opposed to one large fillet that is easy to do, just simply reduce the cooking time by about 5 minutes.
I find that between the olives and feta not extra salt is needed in this dish, but if you want to lightly salt the fish before cooking feel free to add a little bit.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
.37 ounces fish plus 1/4 tapenade mixtureAmount Per Serving: Calories: 526Total Fat: 38gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 27gCholesterol: 125mgSodium: 514mgCarbohydrates: 4gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 41g
Nutritional data is automated and might not be 100% accurate, final nutritional information will depend on ingredients used and any changes made.
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