This Garlic Butter Pan-Seared Salmon is a restaurant-quality meal made right on your stovetop in under 20 minutes. Each salmon fillet gets a golden, crispy skin and is basted with a rich, garlicky butter sauce that’s finished with fresh lemon juice and parsley for a zesty lift.
Perfect for busy weeknights or date-night dinners at home, this recipe delivers impressive flavor with minimal effort. No oven required, no complicated steps—just juicy, flaky salmon with a glossy garlic butter finish you’ll want to spoon over everything.
With only a few ingredients and one pan, this low-carb, gluten-free dish is proof that weeknight dinners can feel elegant without extra fuss.
Ingredients for Garlic Butter Pan-Seared Salmon
How to Make Garlic Butter Pan-Seared Salmon
Prep Ingredients:
Cut butter into chunks. Juice half the lemon (about 1½ tsp), and cut the other half into wedges. Mince garlic and chop parsley.
Season Salmon:
Pat salmon fillets dry with a paper towel. Season evenly with kosher salt.
Sear the Salmon:
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Place salmon skin-side down and sear for 3½–4½ minutes, until golden and crisp.
Add Garlic & Butter:
Flip salmon, reduce heat to medium, and add butter and garlic between the fillets. Baste with melted butter for 2–4½ minutes until salmon is cooked through (140ºF internal).
Finish & Serve:
Transfer salmon to a plate. Stir lemon juice and parsley into the pan sauce. Taste and adjust salt. Spoon sauce over salmon and serve with lemon wedges.
For best results, use center-cut salmon fillets and pat them very dry before searing. Use a cast iron or nonstick skillet and avoid overcrowding the pan. Leftovers keep well in the fridge for up to 2 days and are great on salads or rice bowls.
To reheat without drying out, warm gently in a skillet over low heat.
[cooked-sharing]
4 servings
1 fillet with sauce
- Amount per serving
- Calories475
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 35.4g46%
- Saturated Fat 9.7g49%
- Trans Fat 0g
- Monounsaturated Fat 16g
- Polyunsaturated Fat 8g
- Cholesterol 110mg37%
- Sodium 485mg22%
- Total Carbohydrate 3g2%
- Dietary Fiber 0.7g3%
- Total Sugars 0.6g
- Includes 0g Added Sugars0%
- Protein 35.2g
- Vitamin A 300mcg34%
- Vitamin C 9mg10%
- Calcium 30mg3%
- Iron 1mg6%
- Potassium 700mg15%
- Vitamin D 5mcg25%
- Vitamin E 2mg14%
- Vitamin K 4mcg4%
- Thiamin 3mg250%
- Riboflavin 4mg308%
- Niacin 12mg75%
- Vitamin B6 7mg412%
- Folate 5mcg2%
- Vitamin B12 9mg375%
- Biotin 1mcg4%
- Pantothenic Acid 3mg60%
- Phosphorus 10mg1%
- Iodine 7mcg5%
- Magnesium 6mg2%
- Zinc 5mg46%
- Selenium 8mcg15%
- Copper 1mg112%
- Manganese 1mg44%
- Chromium 0mcg0%
- Molybdenum 0mcg0%
- Chloride 2mg1%
* The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Leave a Reply