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This easy Sheet Pan Pesto Salmon and Potatoes uses minimal ingredients, but has tons of flavor! A healthy and balanced dinner that can be on the table in 30 minutes!
Happy New Year! It doesn’t seem possible that we’re already at the start of a new year, but boy does it feel good. After indulging in way too many sweets and slacking off on cooking the last couple weeks, I’m happy to be back to my normal routine. This of course involves cooking dinner on a regular basis and making it as easy as possible for both you and me.
This Sheet Pan Pesto Salmon and Potatoes is a great recipe to get you back into the cooking routine. It doesn’t use many ingredients, you’ll only dirty a couple dishes making it and it doesn’t involve much effort on your end.
What Do I Need to Make the Pesto Salmon and Potatoes?
- 12-16 ounces wild caught salmon fillets
- 1 pound baby potatoes or fingerling potatoes
- Basil pesto, this brand is my go-to if I don’t have homemade
- Lemon
- Olive oil
Sheet pan dinners are a great way to cook dinner if you hate dirtying a lot of dishes. If you line your sheet pan with foil or parchment paper, that’s one less thing to wash. Sometimes you can get away with putting everything for your meal on the sheet pan all at once, but I’ve found that often times that leaves you with overcooked vegetables or meat. Below are my tips for ensuring your sheet pan dinner is perfectly cooked.
Tip for Cooking Sheet Pan Meals
- Cut all of your vegetables as close to the same size as possible
- If you are using multiple kinds of vegetables make sure they have similar cooking times.
- Use a commercial grade rimmed half sheet pan. These are sturdier and will ensure even browning and that it doesn’t warp in the oven.
- If you do plan to cook your protein and vegetables all at the same time, make sure that they have similar cooking times. For example, this Sheet Pan Honey Mustard Salmon and Green Beans was all cooked together.
- If you vegetables have a longer or shorter cooking time then the protein then you’ll want to give whichever takes longer a head start in the oven.
- Be sure everything has enough space on the pan. You want to roast and brown what you’re cooking, not steam it. If it’s too crowded, it’s best to use two sheet pans.
If you’ve never had pesto with salmon it’s a delicious combination. Yes, there’s Parmesan cheese in most pesto and I’m usually not in favor of pairing cheese and fish. However, I’ll make an exception for this. It was just the right amount of basil, garlic goodness to go with the flavor of the salmon.
As for the potatoes, if you’ve made my Parmesan Pesto Roasted Potatoes you already know how much I love that combination. After the potatoes have finished roasting in the oven, remove them and immediately squeeze fresh lemon juice over everything. It adds just the right amount of fresh acidic flavor to balance the richness of the pesto and salmon.
This healthy, one pan dinner is both easy to make and a perfect balance of protein and carbs. It will leave you feeling satisfied and not hungry an hour later.
More Sheet Pan Meals
Sheet Pan Parmesan Crusted Chicken and Broccoli
Sheet Pan Spinach Tomato Ricotta Frittata
Sheet Pan Crispy Teriyaki Tofu and Broccoli
Sheet Pan Pesto Salmon and Potatoes
Ingredients
- 12-16 ounces wild caught salmon fillets
- 1 pound potatoes
- 3 tablespoons pesto
- Olive oil kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
- Juice of 1/2 of a lemon plus extra wedges for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray, you can also line it with foil.
- Cut any of the larger baby potatoes in half then dump them onto the sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil, a tablespoon of pesto and season with salt and pepper. Toss the potatoes with your hands until coated and spread into an even layer. Bake for 15 minutes then remove from the oven.
- Move the potatoes to one side of the sheet pan and place the salmon fillets on the other side. Season with salt and pepper and spread a heaping teaspoon of pesto on the top of each fillet. Bake another 8-12 minutes depending on the thickness of your salmon fillets. The internal temperature should be 140° F. when removed from the oven.
- Remove the salmon and potatoes from the oven and squeeze lemon juice over everything. Let the salmon rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
- If you are using wild caught salmon be aware that it cooks faster than farm raised.
- Nutritional info based on 12 ounces of salmon
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
