Citrus Baked Salmon with roasted fingerling potatoes in a flavorful citrus marinade. With only 15 minutes of hands-on time, this simple easy sheet-pan diner recipe is perfect for busy weeknights! Healthy and Light! Serve it up with the Everyday Kale Salad!
I replace fear and resistance with courage and openness to change in ways that serve me best. ~ Cynthia Shifrin
This flavorful healthy recipe for Citrus Baked Salmon comes together quickly and easily on busy weeknights, yet it is special enough for Sunday Supper. If you can track down seasonal kumquats- usually in season January-March, be sure to use them otherwise feel free to substitute tangerines, oranges, Meyer lemons or Mandarins.
This dinner is so simple to make, yet full of amazing flavor while being light and healthy!
Serve it up with a large green salad, like the Everyday Kale Salad.
Why I love this recipe:
The nice thing about this recipe is the oven does most of the work.
While the fingerlings are roasting, make the flavorful citrus marinade for the salmon. Once the fingerlings are fork tender, nestle in the salmon and bake another 10-12 minutes, turning the oven down.
Citrus for the soul!
By now, I’m sure you may be sick of me telling you how much I love citrus in winter, but truly, it really does a good job of nudging me away from the edge of winter despair. Ok, yes, I’m being a little dramatic here. I love winter, I love snow, but five months of winter is way too long!
Citrus helps. Aromatherapy for the soul.
Little kumquats are particularly effective. It’s pretty hard to feel anything but joy when you plop one in your mouth. So if you do find kumquats, make sure to get a few extra, just for plopping. And feel the corners of your mouth turn upward.
And, no, you don’t have to have kumquats for this recipe! Sub tangerines, Meyer lemons, mandarins, or oranges!
What are Kumquats?
For those of you unfamiliar with kumquats- they are tiny little citrus fruits the size of a grape. The peel and seeds are edible, and when they are ripe, they are the perfect balance between sweet and tart. Kind of like the healthiest candy on earth. They originate from China but grow in California, Florida and Mexico.
They add a unique and delightful flavor to the recipe and when roasted they get even sweeter while their peel and flesh gets more tender.
Ingredients in Citrus Baked Salmon:
- fingerling potatoes,(or sub mini potatoes)
- olive oil
- shallots,
- citrus: kumquats, or tangerines, mandarins, meyer lemons, or oranges- or a mix!
- salmon – skinless, and portioned into 4, 4 ounce pieces
- a few thyme sprigs
Citrus Marinade:
- olive oil
- honey
- garlic cloves
- one orange- zest and juice
- kosher salt, pepper and cayenne
A simple easy dinner- serve this up with the Everyday Kale Salad!
Related: Simple Sheet Pan Dinners
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Citrus Baked Salmon with Fingerlings
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 35
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: fish,
- Method: baked, roasted
- Cuisine: northwest
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Ingredients
- 1 lb fingerling potatoes, halved ( or sub-mini potatoes)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 shallots, cut into thick wedges
- 1 1/2 cups kumquats, halved ( or sub 2 tangerines, mandarins, Meyer lemons, thinly sliced)
- generous pinch salt and pepper
- 1 lb wild salmon – skinless, and portioned into 4, 4-ounce pieces
- a few thyme sprigs
Citrus Marinade:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced ( use a garlic press)
- zest from one orange, divided
- juice from one orange, divided
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cracked pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F (you will turn this down later in recipe)
- Place potatoes, shallots, and citrus on a parchment-lined baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat well and spread out. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until potatoes are fork-tender.
- While the potatoes are roasting, make the citrus marinade. Stir the olive oil, honey, garlic, 1/2 of the orange zest, 2 tablespoons of the orange juice, salt, pepper and cayenne in a small bowl. Place the salmon in a shallow bowl and pour the marinade over top, turning salmon to coat all sides. Leave on the counter.
- When the potatoes are fork-tender, lower heat to 375F .give them a quick toss and nestle the salmon in between the potatoes, drizzling any remaining marinade over the salmon filets. Scatter with a few thyme sprigs and bake until salmon is cooked to desired doneness (8-12 minutes, depending on thickness or the filets). If you have a broiler in your oven, broiling the salmon for the last few minutes adds beautiful color.
- Garnish with remaining orange zest, thyme and a squeeze of orange juice to taste.
- Serve with the Everyday Kale Salad!
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 429
- Sugar: 18.2 g
- Sodium: 699.8 mg
- Fat: 16.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 44.5 g
- Fiber: 9.4 g
- Protein: 29.8 g
- Cholesterol: 57.9 mg
Absolutely fantastic recipe that comes together quickly and that is visually stunning on a platter as well. Made with what citrus I had available, used broccoli instead of potatoes, and paired with butternut squash risotto.
Sounds perfect Rachel!
This is truly happiness on a plate. Simple ingredients yet absolutely delicious! I served with lemon pepper baked asparagus. Happy healthy light & yummy. Full of nutrients too! Win win. These recipes never disappoint. Yum!!!
Great to hear Nicole!
SO good! I didn’t use the parchment and the kumquats burned a bit so will add that next time. Also the shallots were so good I would add more! My new favorite salmon recipe! Just fantastic!
Great to hear Heather!
turned out delicious!! i used oranges and lemons for my citrus. cant wait to make this summer recipe again.
Great to hear Emily!
Thanks for what looks like a great recipe. What changes would you make if you served a side of salmon instead of individual salmon fillets?
Hi kelly- I would adjust cooking time, especially if your fillet is thick, plan to cook it longer.
I made this today. Exactly as the recipe says. Incredible flavors. I’ve had salmon so many ways but this was the best. Good job👍
Glad you enjoyed this one Greg!
Hands down my favorite salmon recipe! The marinade makes all the difference, so flavorful but not overpowering the salmon. I’m slow in the kitchen so the recipe takes a while, but it’s worth it every time! I will sub out fingerlings when they aren’t available for golden potatoes and sometimes broccoli. I eat this with just about anything I have on hand 🙂 very versatile!
Great to hear Alicia!
Love the orange flavor with the salmon.
Thanks Sharon! Glad you enjoyed this!
Do you peel the tangerines/mandarins before baking? 🙂
I don’t, just slice.
What other fish could be substituted for the Salmon?
How about halibut, sea bass or black cod?
It was brilliamt. We absolutely loved it. Next time I will make a little
more salmon to enjoy cold with salad!
So happy you enjoyed!
First time cooking salmon, so flavorful and easy to make! The everyday kale salad complimented this perfectly!
So glad you enjoyed it!
I made this recipe exactly how it was specified and I thought it was delicious. This was my first time using kumquats and I loved how they got caramelized but still had a tart burst of citrus flavor. They offset the richness of the salmon and sweetness of the shallots and potatoes. Thanks! My husband went fishing in Alaska and came back with 100 pounds of salmon, rockfish, cod and halibut. It’s been fun trying new fish recipes and this one is a keeper!
Oh Great! Glad you liked and how lucky for you…so much fish to experiment with!
Love this recipe. I have made it in the past and I truly loved all the flavors. I have a kumquat tree and the kumquat are ready to be picked for this recipe again. Thanks
Looks delicious, but where are the vegetables? What greens would you recommend to eat with this?
Thanks!
I would serve this with a large salad!
I don’t doubt a salad would be lovely with this but I made Sylvia’s coconut creamed spinach, and diced butternut roasted while the oven was on, which made for a very happy and delicious plate of food.
Awesome Katherine!