We love this baked salmon recipe with capers and garlic. It tastes incredible. Tender, flaky salmon, gently cooked in butter with garlic, lemon, and capers. It’s one of the best things we’ve made recently.
We’ve been making a variation of this salmon recipe for ages. The method comes from my Mom, and I know I’m biased on this one, but my Mom’s method for cooking salmon is the best. She gently bakes her salmon, covered at a low temperature with a little liquid in the pan, so it doesn’t dry out.
In this caper butter version, we use melted butter as the baking liquid, then add lots more flavor with capers, fresh lemon, and garlic. Trust me when I say it’s incredible, or read through the reviews, everyone loves this recipe!
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. I advise the same for most of our salmon recipes including our popular brown sugar baked salmon.
- Butter: The base of our lemon caper sauce. The salmon gently bakes in the butter, which you can spoon over the finished salmon fillets before serving (it’s incredible).
- Garlic: I love garlic butter and use a tablespoon of minced garlic to make our butter sauce.
- Capers: Salmon and capers are such a classic combination! I use drained capers to make this recipe.
- Lemon: If salmon and capers are classic, adding lemon makes it even more so! Use fresh lemon for this recipe. It makes a difference.
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Baked Salmon with Capers
Tip 1: Use an oven-safe skillet. To make this salmon, we use one pan. (Hello, easy cleanup!) A large, oven-safe skillet is best. I use my cast-iron skillet.
You’ll melt butter with garlic and capers, then when it is bubbling and smells like garlic butter, take it off the heat and place your seasoned salmon fillets into the pan.
Tip 2: Covering the pan is key. Spoon a little butter over the fillets, and then cover the skillet with foil or tuck a sheet of parchment paper around the salmon (an oven-safe lid is fine, too). Covering the salmon creates a steamy environment, preventing it from drying out in the oven.
Tip 3: How to tell it’s ready to come out of the oven. You’ll know the salmon is ready to come out of the oven when it flakes and is a little pink in the middle.
Once it’s out of the oven, squeeze over lemon juice, and take a moment to gather up all the garlic butter from the bottom of the pan and spoon it back over the salmon (YUM). I can’t wait for you to try this one!
Serving Suggestions
Thanks to the butter sauce, this salmon works really well next to many of our side dishes. Some of our family favorites are mashed cauliflower, which is light, or mashed potatoes, which are a bit more hearty. We also love this salmon with saffron rice, homemade grits, or this unbelievably creamy polenta.
I also love a veggie side like sautéed green beans or roasted green beans, quickly sautéed bok choy, sautéed cabbage, sautéed veggies, or this garlic roasted asparagus.
And, for a truly special meal, serve this delicious salmon over risotto. Try our easy mushroom risotto or this vegetable risotto.
More Favorite Salmon Recipes
- Maple Soy Glazed Salmon
- Cedar Plank Salmon with Citrus Rub
- Chipotle Salmon Sandwiches
- Perfect Poached Salmon
Garlic Caper Baked Salmon
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
If you save one salmon recipe for life, make it this one. This garlic caper salmon is so flavorful, and I really cannot get enough of the garlic caper butter sauce! The cooking time may vary depending on the type and thickness of the salmon you have, so check the tips below for our tips on telling when the fish is ready to come out of the oven. If you love salmon, we also love this brown sugar baked salmon!
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
1 ½ pounds salmon fillets, 1-inch thick, preferably wild-caught (680g)
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (56g)
1 tablespoon minced garlic, 3 to 4 cloves
3 tablespoons drained capers
Chopped or torn fresh herbs like parsley, chives or dill
Half of a lemon, quartered
Directions
1Prep: Preheat the oven to 325°F (162°C).
2Season the salmon: Season both sides of the salmon with salt and pepper (we use ½ teaspoon fine sea salt for 1 ½ pounds of salmon). (Optionally, cut the salmon into four 6-ounce fillets.)
3Make the sauce: Melt the butter in a wide oven-safe skillet over medium heat. When the butter is bubbling, stir in the garlic and capers. Cook, stirring, until warm, about 1 minute. Remove the skillet from the heat.
4Cook the salmon: Add the salmon fillets, skin-side down, to the skillet. Tilt the pan so butter pools on one side, then spoon garlic caper butter over each fillet. Cover the skillet with aluminum foil or parchment paper, loosely tucking it around the salmon. Bake the salmon in the oven for 15 minutes, covered.
5Uncover the salmon: Uncover and spoon more of the butter over the salmon. Continue to bake, uncovered, until your desired doneness, 5 to 10 minutes more. 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.
6To serve: Squeeze fresh lemon juice over the baked salmon, sprinkle with lots of fresh herbs, and serve with another spoonful of the garlic caper butter on top.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- No oven-safe skillet: Cook the garlic and capers in butter in a regular skillet, and then add to a baking dish with the salmon.
- How to tell when salmon is cooked: We cook salmon to 125°F, which means it will be soft, tender and slightly pink in the center. For a visual cue, look for the flesh to be somewhat opaque. You should also be able to flake the salmon with a fork.
- Cook time: Cook time will vary depending on the type and thickness of the salmon you are baking. The cook times suggested above are for middle-cut fillets about 1 inch thick.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
This turned out absolutely delicious and pretty as a picture with the fresh herbs scattered on top! I’m going to try placing parchment on the bottom of the pan next time to help with clean-up. (I used your pan suggestion.) I cooked at 375 just because I like my salmon a bit more done (most would consider it too dry), but it was perfect for me. Thank you for yet another wonderful recipe!
Yay! We are so happy you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
I just made this and fam devoured it. Absolutely yummy. First time I’ve ever cooked salmon. Hubby’s the chef but maybe not anymore! Excellent recipe!
I’ll make this recipe using other fish as the only Atlantic salmon we get in this country is from aquaculture and I wouldn’t eat that product. Thanks for your ideas, really inspirational!
Wonderful, Dana!
Is the foil/parchment paper important or could I just use a lid?
A lid is fine, just make sure it is oven-safe.
I’m new to cooking salmon and was so proud to serve this. It was absolutely delicious!
Incredibly simple. Incredibly delicious. Will be making this again tomorrow night. We tried this out a few weeks ago and it’s just the bomb. It is now in our rotation. Thank you thank you thank you.
Is it me or did not see oven temperature????
Hi Joyce, it’s the first line of the recipe directions. You will need a 325F oven.
This was absolutely delicious!! SO happy I stumbled on this recipe. Made it in my briaser dutch oven and ended up with a restaurant quality dinner that was so simple it will be on our weeknight meal rotation.
Super easy, super delicious. Followed recipe and came out perfect- OK maybe I added a little more garlic 🙂
We can never get enough garlic. Love it 🙂
Hi, I want to make a salmon half to be served room temperature or cold at Easter. I love capers and lemons, would this be a good recipe to serve at room temp?
Hi Lois, I think this would be delicious cold. Keep in mind, though, that the butter will harden and you won’t have the butter sauce shown in the photo.
OMG this was the best salmon I ever tasted. I rarely write a review but this recipe is definitely a keeper. That sauce is heavenly. Thank you so much for sharing !
Yay! Thank you so much for coming back to let us know that you loved the recipe 🙂
This came out delicious! I used green onion and cilantro since I didn’t have any other fresh herbs on hand. I also added shallots to the garlic and Capers mixture.
I made this for the family and everyone loved it. The capers added a briney flavor that was perfectly balanced with the butter and garlic. I didn’t add the lemon so I didn’t follow the recipe exactly but I highly recommend this recipe.
I made this for my husband and we both love it and its. so easy to make
Made this last night and it was amazing. Had a couple of at least one inch thick pieces of salmon and cooked it for ten mins covered in parchment then four mins without (used cast iron skillet)- absolutely delish! Used fresh chives, thyme and parsley cut straight from the garden.
Amazingly good! I kept thinking that I was eating awesome garlic bread, which is my specialty.
I love salmon and cook it often, but I have dried it out a number of times. This recipe I will use many times in the future. Because I did not have a large enough cast iron pan, I used an enameled cast iron dutch oven and instead of foil, I put the lid on it askew leaving a 0.25″ opening. The salmon was very moist (but not poached) and the fatty parts between the meat and the skin were especially tasty, as was the skin. Didn’t have any fresh herbs but next time I try that too.
I had never cooked salmon before. But following your recipe gave me and my partner the best fish we’ve ever had! Thank you!
THIS! Tender, tasty, yumminess–now my favorite fish dish. THIS is now my go-to recipe. I used a baking dish and followed the recipe for baking in a baking dish. DELIGHTFUL and thank you for the extra tip if not using an oven skillet.
Oh man! I never leave reviews but this recipe is so amazing. This was my first time in my life trying capers down I was definitely hesitant. This will definitely be my go to recipe as I feel like salmon is so bland. I decided to take a risk and I’m glad I did.
Best salmon I’ve ever cooked. My 4 year old enjoyed it too, normally we have bland boring salmon but this was soooo much better than I normally manage. My ‘go to’ website for recipes now. Thanks 🙂
Yummy and extremely simple recipe. I didn’t want to use so much butter so I used 1/2 butter needed and 1/2 olive oil.
This recipe was delicious. My whole family including my 3 year old thought it was tasty. I loaded the cooked fish up with fresh dill and just a little lemon. Kudos and thank you for this recipe.
Excellent I’d like to post my picture of it
Hi, What could I possible substitute for Capers? Capers are not readily available in my country 🙁
Hi Jeanie, there really isn’t anything quite like capers but this dish would be nice if you served it with your favorite pickled vegetable.
We used half a 3 lb. fillet, 1 stick butter, double the garlic, add more of the capers and lemon juice. Lots of chopped fresh parsley and dill, and 5 green onions since we didn’t have any chives. So delicious. We baked in a glass covered pan for about 15 minutes – until we could see the butter bubbling, then pulled it and it was perfect. Never did the part with the lid off. We like salmon VERY tender and pink, and this was perfectly done without being at all dry. It was also perfect gently warmed for dinner the next night. Definitely a keeper!
❤ it!!!. Super easy to make and delicious. I always have a hard time with salmon drying out but this was perfect cooking without the white residue. I never leave comments but loved the recipe so much I had to leave a thank you!!!
Didn’t have much time and got home late from work so I cooked it on the stove instead of the oven. I added like a Tbsp of butter and some extra virgin olive oil to make it a little bit healthier. I also added the herbs to the pan turned the heat to low and covered. It came up delicious! with all the flavors from the herbs the garlic, butter, capers sauce on top! Yummy! Wish I could use less fat but it’s an amazing recipe!
We loved this recipe …very tasty. I had the sauce and fish ready to go in the oven when hubs came home and said he wasn’t hungry ..so I put it in the fridge overnight. We’ll definitely have this again. Great recipe!
I am a Midwestern who grew up on steak and potatoes. Thankfully my husband came home with salmon tonight and we found this recipe. Clean plates for all of us!
Cant wait to try this salmon caper recipe.
Fantastic recipe! The salmon flavor was mellow and the cooking method is perfect! A new family favorite. thank you!
Delicious! Your recipe for Garlic Caper Baked Salmon. Thank you. The first baked salmon recipe I’ve found that we truly love.