Tuscan Salmon in Cream Sauce

Ready in just 30 minutes, this easy delectable Tuscan Salmon in Cream Sauce will impress the whole family any night of the week.

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This Tuscan Salmon recipe is a true luxury! Flaky salmon in a decadent cream sauce with spinach and cherry tomatoes. My favorite part is that the sauce isn’t too rich – it’s crazy how delicious this dish is! It really makes you feel like you ordered dinner from your favorite Italian restaurant!

This recipe is made using pan-searing. For a complete guide and tips, see my Seared Salmon post.

Salmon Buying Guide

Whether you are buying wild-caught or farm-raised, look for shiny cuts with a mild ocean scent and avoid dull-looking flesh with a fishy smell. Be sure you get fillets of the same size and uniform in thickness so that they all have the same cooking time.

Ingredient Notes

• Salmon – I’ve put salmon fillets in the recipe because it’s the most commonly used, but don’t be afraid to buy less expensive cuts from the belly—it’s rich and full of flavor.
• Tomatoes – Cherry tomatoes are perfect for this recipe as they don’t break down too much. You can use any baby tomatoes or chopped plum tomatoes.
• Spinach – Use fresh baby spinach or chopped leaf spinach.
• Cream – As we allow the sauce to reduce, you can use heavy cream, whipping cream (double cream), half and half, or single cream.
• Parmesan Cheese – I know many people have a problem with adding cheese to anything with fish. I get it. Depending on the dish, I often feel the same way. I tried this recipe without it, and I like it better with the cheese, but it’s optional.

Step By Step Instructions

Remove the salmon from the refrigerator 30-30 minutes before using. Then just before you start to cook, pat dry, season the fish on both sides with salt and pepper.

Preheat the pan with two tablespoons of oil over high heat until it starts to shimmer and smoke slightly.

Once the oil is hot, reduce the heat to medium-high and add the salmon to the pan. Cook undisturbed for three to four minutes.

You want to cook the salmon about 90% through on the first side. Once you see the flesh on the sides change from a translucent pink to an opaque whitish-pink, it’s time to flip and finish cooking on the other side until cooked.

In the same skillet, add the remaining olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent.

Add the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, and cook until tomatoes begin to burst, then add minced garlic and cook for about a minute.

Pour in the stock, bring to a boil and allow the sauce to reduce by half. Then stir in the heavy cream.

Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and until sauce is slightly reduced and thickened (about 5 minutes).

Add in the spinach and allow it to wilt in the sauce, and add in the parmesan cheese and basil.

Cook simmering until cheese melts into the sauce. Add the salmon back to the pan, and spoon the sauce over each filet. Cook until just heated through (you don’t want to overcook the salmon).

Taste your Tuscan Salmon for seasoning and add salt as needed. Finish with lemon before serving.

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Let’s Make Tuscan Salmon

Pan-seared salmon in a mouthwatering creamy sauce loaded with garlic, onions, cherry tomatoes, spinach, and parmesan cheese. A restaurant-quality dish made at home.

4.94 from 15 votes

Prep10 minutes minutes

Cook20 minutes minutes

Total30 minutes minutes

Serves: 4

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Ingredients

• ▢ 3 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 24 oz salmon fillets, boned with skin
• ▢ black pepper to taste freshly ground
• ▢ salt to taste
• ▢ 1 small yellow onion diced
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ ⅓ cup chicken stock
• ▢ 1 pint cherry tomatoes hlaved
• ▢ ½ cup heavy cream whipping cream, double cream, or half & half
• ▢ 2 cups fresh spinach
• ▢ ⅓ cup Parmesan cheese freshly grated
• ▢ fresh basil chopped
• ▢ ½ lemon about 1 tablespoon of juice

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

• Season the salmon filets on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat the olive and butter in a large skillet over high heat.
• Sear the salmon starting with the flesh side in the hot pan on each side undisturbed for 3 minutes, or until cooked to your taste. Once the salmon filets are cooked, remove them from the pan and set aside.
• In the same skillet, add the remaining olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Cook until tomatoes begin to burst, then add minced garlic and cook for about 1 minute.
• Pour in the stock, bring to a boil and allow the sauce to reduce by half.
• Stir in the heavy cream and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, simmering until sauce is slightly reduced and thickened, 3-5 minutes.
• Add in the spinach and allow to wilt in the sauce, and add in the parmesan cheese and basil. Cook simmering until cheese melts into the sauce.
• Add the salmon back to the pan, and spoon the sauce over each filet. Cook until just heated through (you don’t want to overcook the salmon).
• Remove from heat, squeeze in the juice of half a lemon, taste for seasoning, and add salt as needed before serving.

Tips + Notes

• Pat the salmon dry before searing for a crisper result.
• Season the salmon just before searing – Seasoning fish too early will remove moisture from the salmon. 
• Leave the skin on – the skin protects the salmon from drying out and overcooking. It’s also much simpler to remove the skin when it is cooked! When the salmon is ready, slide a knife between the flesh and skin to remove it. 
• If you like crisp skin, start with the skin-side down and let it crisp up, then serve with the sauce on the plate instead of adding the fillets with crispy skin to the sauce, which can result in a gummy unappealing texture.
• Be sure to preheat your pan and make sure the skillet is good and hot, and the oil starts to shimmer.
• Stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container, leftover Tuscan Salmon will last up to 3 days.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 570 (29%)| Carbohydrates: 12g (4%)| Protein: 40g (80%)| Fat: 40g (62%)| Saturated Fat: 15g (94%)| Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g| Monounsaturated Fat: 16g| Trans Fat: 1g| Cholesterol: 148mg (49%)| Sodium: 317mg (14%)| Potassium: 1305mg (37%)| Fiber: 2g (8%)| Sugar: 6g (7%)| Vitamin A: 2735IU (55%)| Vitamin C: 42mg (51%)| Calcium: 184mg (18%)| Iron: 3mg (17%)

Nutritional Data Disclaimer

Erren’s Kitchen is written and produced for informational intentions only. We are not certified nutritionists, and the nutritional information found on this site has not been assessed or authorized by a nutritionist or the FDA. The nutritional information found in our recipes is offered as an estimate and should not be considered a guarantee or fact. The estimated data is provided as a courtesy and calculated through a third-party online nutritional calculator, spoonacular API. Although we do our best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered rough estimates. Many factors, such as brands or products purchased and the nutritional fluctuations that naturally occur in fresh produce, can alter the effectiveness of the nutritional information in any recipe. Furthermore, various online calculators provide different results depending on their particular algorithms and nutrition fact sources. To obtain the most precise nutritional information in a provided recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the exact ingredients you are using when preparing the recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.

Author:Erren Hart

Course:Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine:Italian

Keyword:Tuscan Salmon, Tuscan Salmon Recipes

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