This lemon dill salmon recipe is my family’s favorite way to cook salmon. Thanks to our easy baking method, the fish stays moist, flaky, and melts in your mouth.
My mom makes the best baked salmon! Her secret is adding some liquid to the baking dish and covering it. This gently poaches the fish in the oven (you could even call it oven poached salmon).
This lemon dill recipe uses her foolproof method, and I’m so excited for you to try it! This salmon is especially delicious served with our creamy dill sauce.
Key Ingredients
- Salmon: Any salmon fillet will work for this recipe. However, I especially love those with a higher fat content, like sockeye, king, and coho. When baked, these types of salmon stay soft and moist.
- Lemon: My mom always places a slice of lemon underneath her fillets, and I do the same. It adds a lovely lemon aroma and flavor to the dish.
- Dill: Dill and salmon are such a classic pairing. I use fresh dill whenever possible, but you can substitute dried. I’ve shared tips for this below the recipe.
- White wine: My mom sticks with water (which is totally fine), but I love adding a little extra flavor with dry white wine. Use something light and dry, like sauvignon blanc, pinot grigio, or unoaked chardonnay. I also use white wine for this skillet poached salmon.
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Lemon Dill Baked Salmon
Tip 1: Place salmon on a layer of fresh dill and lemon slices. Season your fillets with olive oil, salt, and pepper, then place the fillets down on top of the lemon and dill. You can leave the skin on for this recipe (it acts as an extra barrier, protecting the fish from overcooking).
Tip 2: Pour wine or water into the baking dish and cover with foil. Bake the salmon in a 325°F oven until it flakes easily with a fork. For 1-inch fillets, expect 10 to 15 minutes. The steamy environment from our poaching liquid keeps the fish super moist in the middle.
Serving Suggestions
This recipe is incredibly versatile and pairs well with a variety of side dishes. For a sauce, we highly recommend this dill sauce for salmon (it’s so good!). Then, for sides, I love serving it with cauliflower rice. Adam prefers classic mashed potatoes, while my son enjoys simple buttered noodles.
Veggies are always a great idea! Try roasted asparagus with a touch of garlic, sautéed zucchini, or my quick and easy sautéed cabbage.
If you’re looking for a salad, the recipe works wonderfully with a Caesar salad, this lemon orzo pasta salad, or a simple green salad with balsamic vinaigrette. Finally, salmon and cucumber is a classic pairing. Try our tangy cucumber salad or this avocado salad with cucumber.
More Salmon Recipes
- Garlic Caper Baked Salmon
- Perfect Poached Salmon
- Chipotle Salmon Sandwiches
- Maple Soy Glazed Salmon
- Salmon Patties (using canned salmon)
Lemon Dill Baked Salmon
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
The trick to perfectly baked salmon is gently baking it in a bit of liquid, like wine, stock, or water. Cover the dish and bake until just cooked through. You can call this recipe oven poached salmon. It’s practically foolproof. If your salmon is thick, expect the cooking time to be a few minutes longer than what we share below.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
1 ½ pounds salmon fillets, 1-inch thick, preferably wild-caught
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
1 lemon, cut into slices
4 sprigs of fresh dill, plus more for serving
½ cup dry white wine or water
Directions
1Preheat the oven to 325°F (162°C). Set aside a baking dish large enough to fit the fillets in one layer.
2Lightly oil and season both sides of the fish with salt and pepper. (Optionally, cut the salmon into four 6-ounce fillets.)
3Arrange lemon slices and dill on the bottom of the baking dish, then place the salmon skin-side down on top.
4Add wine to the baking dish, and then cover with aluminum foil.
5Bake until the fish flakes easily with a fork, 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of your fillets (thicker fillets may require longer). Check after 10 minutes to see its progress. The best way to prevent overcooking is to check the temperature of the salmon using an internal thermometer. The thickest part of the salmon should read 125°F.
6Take the salmon out of the oven, untuck the foil to cover the dish loosely, and set aside on the counter for 5 minutes. The fish will continue to cook during this time.
7Serve scattered with chopped fresh dill on top.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Dried dill: Use 1 tablespoon dried dill. Add half of the lemon slices at the bottom of the dish, and sprinkle the rest over the top of the salmon.
- Wine: Use a light, dry wine like sauvignon blanc, pinot grigio, or unoaked chardonnay. Or substitute water.
- White stuff on cooked salmon: The white stuff around cooked salmon is called albumin. It’s perfectly fine to eat, but since it isn’t the prettiest thing to look at, I quickly scrape it away and spoon a bit of the cooking liquid from the bottom of the dish on top.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
Can you explain your process using frozen?
Hi Lori, We would thaw the salmon in the fridge overnight or under running cold water before using it in this recipe.
This is my favorite recipe for salmon! I eat a lot of salmon and wanted a recipe that would preserve the omega-3. I just bought wahoo (ono). It seems like it would be a good recipe for that fish, too. What do you think?
Yay! This recipe should work really well with wahoo.
Tried this tonight and it was a big hit. I used water instead of broth or wine. It took around 35 minutes for the fattest part to cook, but the rest of the fish did not dry out. I particularly like that it infuses the fish wish lemon flavor, but it doesn’t have the tartiness of lemon that my little one hates. It’s so easy to prepare. My husband loved it and my little one tolerated eating it (which is a huge win). Thanks for sharing!
Yay! We so happy that your whole family loved it 🙂
This is basically wine poached salmon with dill and lemon. A good way to prepare salmon that will melt in your mouth when properly prepared. Simple and delicious.
Can I serve the salmon at room temperature?
Hi Gail, Yes, you can serve it at room temperature. Many people prefer to serve baked salmon slightly cooled, as it allows the flavors of the lemon and dill to really come through. Just be sure to follow standard food safety guidelines (don’t leave it out for more than two hours).
The lemony dill component makes for very tasty next day cold salmom for a salad or by all by itself. Make a sandwich! Delicious.
This was a HIT at our house! Quick, easy, and healthy! Even my 5 year old gobbled it up. 🙂
I like crispy skin…so I guess I shd put skin side up..other than that truly melt in the mouth salmon
This recipe is EASY to make and plates up like you would expect at a $$$ restaurant. Serve with a side of polenta or risotto and you have a five star dinner and very-very happy guests.
Made this tonight for an easy, quick, healthy, and new take on how I usually make salmon. Everyone loved it! This recipe is a keeper!
Awesome dish for newbie like me. It’s so simple and can’t go wrong – made this twice for my family. Thank you 😊
this was simply delicious and so easy. Just wonderful!!
I love this salmon, so easy and so delicious! Thank you!
I want to serve this cold tonight after cooking it this afternoon. Do I leave it in the wine juices or will it go mushy?
Hi Jess, You can leave it in the juices.
Came out pretty good. Took about a half hour at 350. I added some lemon zest as well, and a squirt of lemon at the end with the fresh dill.
I’m a bit confused. It feels like the salmon should go skin size up so it gets maximum exposure to the dill and lemon, and all the good fats stay inside the salmon. That, or put the dill and lemon on top of the salmon. Can you explain?
The skin won’t absorb nearly as much seasoning as the flesh side.
You can flip the salmon if you prefer. With our recipe, we find the dill and lemon perfumes the salmon just fine.
Delicious recipe! I made this for the first time a couple of months ago and I’ve made it at least three times since. Simple and flavourful, thank you!
This recipe is delicious! Thank you for this!
It was so good, and I really appreciate the tips on how to know when the salmon is done. Such a good recipe. I will definitely make it again.
I love your recipes. This salmon comes out better than “top restaurant in town”. When I have salmon, this is the recipe I go to now. This is not the first time using this recipe and for sure it won’t be my last. Love it! You inspired me to cook better meals after burning out from cooking so many meals for family since the 80’s; and YOU make it look fun and easy. Thank you for your beautiful inspiration! Lorraine Lott
I love all your recipes and the salmon one is great. You are talking about other ways to make the salmon and I recently discovered that making them sous vide (I use my instant pot for this) makes the salmon so buttery and deliciously moist. I used your recipe at 125F for somewhere between 30 and 45 minutes. That way you know you are not overcooking the fish.
I would love to try this recipe this evening as I already have the ingredients. However, my salmon fillets have the skin on. Whenever I’ve tried to remove the skin myself I usually end up just mutilating it lol. Should I try putting the lemon and dill on top of the salmon so that it absorbs the flavor? Or still put the salmon on top of the lemon and dill as directed? Thank you!
The recipe works with skinless and skin-on salmon. The flavors of the lemon and dill will still perfume the fish.
Absolutely delicious! I used Sav Blanc (white wine) and that is an absolute must. Like another review says, we had to cook it for approximately 45 minutes. So simple and probably a new go-to meal.
I made this recipe tonight and it was very easy to follow and yielded delicious, juicy salmon! I used the Trader Joes BBQ Cut Fresh Atlantic Salmon Fillets, and they weighed just under a pound in total. I followed the recipe exactly and it took 30 minutes to cook. Highly recommend!
Absolutely delicious! I used fresh dill and gave the leaves a pinch to get the flavor really going. Next time I’ll make it with wine instead of chicken broth to reduce the salt a little. This recipe is going into my regular rotation for sure.
I used dried dill and overcooked it just a touch but it still turned out SO delicious and moist not to mention flavorful! Thank you, I’ll be using this method often.
Very good recipe. I used lemons , thyme and dill, with olive oil
Turned out great. Thank you.
I’ve made the recipe three times and 325 degrees is too low to cook within 12 to 30 minutes. My experience has been 35-45 minutes at that temp.
This recipe is always my go to when making salmon. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe with my family and I!
Looking forward to more great recipes to try!
This is my first time EVER cooking salmon, and I tried out this recipe. There are a few things I hate more in the culinary world than dry salmon, so the addition of liquid for poaching and lemon appealed to me. (I also had to bake it for almost an hour to get all parts of the salmon cooked). Oh. MY. Goodness. The salmon is moist, flaky, and delicious, and I cannot wait to try this at dinner tonight! Thank you!
I understand the salmon to be 125 degrees. But it would be helpful if I knew what temperature to set my oven. Did I miss that somewhere? Thanks.
Hi Naomi, You must have missed it (sorry). The recipe states that the oven should be set to 325F.
This salmon receipe by far is the best! The salmon was deliciously moist & great tasting.
I found your recipe when searching for a quick, easy way to prepare our salmon for tonight – it is excellent! I am closer to 30 minutes on the cooking time, because of the thickness of my salmon; it is moist and delicious! I look forward to using more of your recipes! Thank you for sharing!!!
Hello, I can’t wait to try! I can’t decide whether to use stock or wine. Which did your mother prefer? Thanks
Hi Erica, Mom usually uses stock since she doesn’t typically have wine in the house.
Simply the best salmon reciepe ever!