Salmon Piccata

Juicy, flaky salmon is lightly dusted in flour and seared with butter. The sauce is made with white wine, capers, garlic, and lemon. 
5 from 2 votes
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Beautiful Salmon Piccata dish made with a burst of lemon flavors and white wine sauce. Juicy, flaky salmon is lightly dusted in flour and seared with butter. The sauce is made with white wine, capers, garlic, and lemon. It’s a beautiful refreshing dish to be served with pasta, potatoes, or roasted vegetables. 

Salmon Piccata in a cast iron pan

SALMON PICCATA

Salmon Piccata is a take on a classic chicken dish that’s made with lemon, capers, and white wine sauce. I simply replaced chicken with salmon for a different taste and to be honest, salmon is so much better than chicken. 

Lemon and capers are the perfect mates for salmon so this dish has flavors that beautifully compliment each other. You can serve this salmon with just about anything. My favorite way is to serve it with a side of garlic roasted asparagus. 

Salmon Piccata makes a great weeknight dinner because from start to finish, it will take about 20 minutes to prepare. Depending on the thickness of salmon, it could add a few more minutes but no more than that. You will just have to take in consideration the time for salmon to warm up before cooking. 

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lightly dusted salmon with flour on a plastic cutting board

HOW TO MAKE SALMON PICCATA

If pulling cold salmon out of refrigerator, let it rest on the cutting board first for about 30 minutes to warm up. Salmon skin should be removed. You can do that yourself of ask the person in the seafood section to remove it for you when buying salmon. 

Pat salmon dry with a paper towel and season fillets with salt and pepper on all sides. Spread flour in a wide, shallow bowl and dip salmon in flour on all sides. Gently tap (not rub) on salmon fillet to remove the excess flour. 

Preheat a cast iron skillet (or another cooking pan) over medium before adding salmon. Add butter and once butter is melted, add salmon fillets. Sear salmon for about 4-5 minutes of each side, depending on thickness of the fish. Take salmon out of the pan and set aside. 

Add butter to the same pan and let it melt. Once butter is melted, add garlic and saute until fragrant. Pour in wine and let it simmer. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spatula and stir. Pour in stock and lemon juice and add salt, pepper, and capers. Bring the  mixture to simmer and add lemon slices. 

Add salmon back to the pan, sprinkle minced parsley over the top, and let it simmer with the sauce for just a couple of minutes. Serve salmon right away.

cooking salmon in a cast iron pan

sauce for salmon piccata in a cast iron pan

HOW TO MAKE SALMON PICCATA GLUTEN FREE

I make this dish in a gluten free version all the time and it really comes down to one simple substitution. Swap regular flour for a gluten free all purpose flour when coating salmon. All other ingredients as well as cooking method stays the same.

If you wish, you can omit flour all together. Personally, I don’t mind if salmon is not battered but my family likes to have salmon lightly battered in Salmon Piccata. That can be a personal call. 

HOW TO SERVE SALMON PICCATA

Pasta – Salmon Piccata is great over fettuccine. Once salmon is done, take it out of the pan and add cooked fettuccine to the sauce. Mix pasta and sauce and serve it with salmon on top. 

Potatoes – you can serve this salmon with a side of roasted potatoes or steak fries. 

Vegetables – roasted asparagus is the perfect vegetable to serve with Salmon Piccata, but green beans and broccoli are close second. Simply season vegetables with some salt, pepper, and garlic powder and roast them in the oven at 425° until tender. 

easy salmon piccata in a cast iron pan

HOW TO REHEAT SALMON

If you have leftover salmon, you can reheat it or use it cold. Salmon is great cold in salads or made into salmon patties. 

To reheat salmon, use a cooking pan or reheat it at lower temperature in the oven just until it’s heated through. 

Reheat salmon on the stove – place salmon in the cooking pan and heat it over medium-low heat, covered with a lid, until just heated through.

Reheat salmon in the oven –  Preheat oven to 275° and place salmon either on a rimmed baking sheet or oven-safe cooking pan. Cover salmon loosely with aluminum foil to help keep moisture inside. Reheat it for 13-16 minutes, depending on the size of salmon pieces. 

Salmon piccata in a cast iron skillet

SOME MORE RECIPES TO TRY

Cajun Baked Salmon

Crispy Skin Salmon

Salmon Florentine

Salmon Patties

Creamy Tuscan Salmon

Smoked Salmon Dip

salmon piccata with lemon and capers in a cast iron skillet

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Salmon Piccata

Juicy, flaky salmon is lightly dusted in flour and seared with butter. The sauce is made with white wine, capers, garlic, and lemon. 
5 from 2 votes
Print Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Resting time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Servings: 4
Calories: 443kcal
Author: Lyuba Brooke

Ingredients

Salmon:

  • 1.5 lbs salmon fillets skin removed
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • salt
  • fresh cracked black pepper
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter

Sauce:

  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth
  • 1 lemon - juice only
  • 1/2 lemon - slices
  • 3 tbsp capers drained (can add more if you wish)
  • salt
  • fresh cracked black pepper
  • 1 tbsp minced fresh parsley

Instructions

  • Before cooking, let salmon rest on the cutting board first for about 30 minutes to warm up.
  • Pat salmon dry with a paper towel and season fillets with salt and pepper on all sides.
  • Spread flour in a wide, shallow bowl and dip salmon in flour on all sides. Gently tap (not rub) on salmon fillet to remove the excess flour.
  • Preheat a cast iron skillet (or another cooking pan) over medium heat before adding salmon. Add butter and once butter is melted, add salmon fillets.
  • Sear salmon for about 4-5 minutes of each side, depending on thickness of the fish. Take salmon out of the pan and set aside. 
  • Add butter to the same pan and let it melt. Once butter is melted, add garlic and saute until fragrant.
  • Pour in wine and let it simmer. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spatula and stir. 
  • Pour in stock and lemon juice and add salt, pepper, and capers. Bring the mixture to simmer and add lemon slices. 
  • Add salmon back to the pan, sprinkle minced parsley over the top, and let it simmer with the sauce for just a couple of minutes.
  • Serve salmon right away.

Notes

All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe. Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have a slight variation.

Nutrition

Calories: 443kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 124mg | Sodium: 416mg | Potassium: 960mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 505IU | Vitamin C: 25.7mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 2.6mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @willcookforsmiles or tag #willcookforsmiles!

Salmon piccata with lemon and capers in a cast iron skillet collage

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All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.

5 from 2 votes (1 rating without comment)

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2 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Delicious! However, I have a question please. You list 2 tbs butter. The recipe calls for butter at two different stages. How much butter should be used for searing the salmon and how much for making the sauce? Thank you.

    1. Hi Pat,

      It is 2tbs of butter in each the sauce and the salmon as posted in the ingredient list, sorry if that was confusing! I hope you love it! 🙂

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