Chimichurri Salmon

Delicious salmon slathered in flavorful chimichurri sauce! Use any cooking method, including roasting, grilling, or air frying!

Hi friends!

Many of you may know that I’ve been on a serious chimichurri sauce kick these last few months!  Maybe it’s the pregnancy?  I’ve always LOVED chimichurri sauce but these days, nothing sounds better or fresher than a batch of perfectly lemony and bright chimichurri sauce.  

First, I shared with you my go-to chimichurri chicken thigh recipe, but since then, I’ve experimented with shrimp, flank steak, and now salmon!  For me, I always get sick of salmon leftovers really fast.  And pregnancy seems to decrease tolerance of leftovers even further.  In general, I love leftovers, but during pregnancy, they gross me out.  All this to say, I ate these salmon leftovers four days in a row and could have kept eating them.  It was THAT good!  I couldn’t say that my kids shared the same sentiment, but I LOVED it.  I swear there is nothing chimichurri sauce can’t touch that it doesn’t make better.  

Plus, chimichurri salmon is about as anti-inflammatory as you can get from a meal!  It’s inflammation-fighting herbs like parsley, cilantro, onion, garlic, and lemon juice slathered on top of omega-3-rich salmon. (See a full list of anti-inflammatory foods here!) I honestly might have to create a whole second anti-inflammatory meal plan program just to include this recipe!  Enjoy, friends, and let me know if you try it!

How to Make Chimichurri Salmon

To make chimichurri salmon, you first must make some chimichurri sauce! You can find more about chimichurri sauce in this post (including freezing info, swaps, etc.) Essentially it’s just throwing all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.  

Just looking at that makes my mouth water, so much flavor in one little package! And here is the neat thing, you can then use the sauce on the salmon and cook the salmon however you would like!  I chose to roast mine, but you could also grill or air fry it.  

I sprinkled my salmon with salt and pepper to “prep it.”  You could skip that step if you wanted to, but I did it out of habit. 

Side Note: To marinate or not marinate? I did not marinate my salmon.  Honestly, this sauce is so flavorful you don’t need to worry about imparting the flavor to the meat of the salmon.  But you could use this chimichurri sauce as a marinade if you wanted to.  

I skipped marinating and spooned the chimichurri sauce over the salmon, being careful not to contaminate the main batch so I could freeze the leftovers for later use. How much per piece?  About 1-2 tablespoons.  

Next, I used a brush to spread the sauce evenly over the salmon. 

Then I popped it in the oven at 425 for 12 minutes!  You’ll want to do 8-15 minutes, depending on how “well done” you like your salmon.  We like ours more on the cooked side over here, but I’m getting used to a little less well-done over the years.  

Swaps and Substitutions

For swaps and substitutions within the sauce, check out this post.  

For the salmon, you can use any salmon you want, including any variety and wild or farmed.  Like most of Europe, I typically buy wild or farmed from countries with strict farming practices.  You can use fillet pieces as I did or one of those huge giant cuts from Costco.  Could you swap other types of fish?!? Certainly.  I don’t think there is a piece of protein or a vegetable that doesn’t taste delicious with this chimichurri sauce, but that’s all personal bias.  

How to Store and Freeze

Store: Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days, and reheat in the microwave.  

Freeze:  Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months.  You could marinate raw (not previously frozen) fish in the sauce and freeze that, defrost it under refrigeration, and cook.  Or, you could cook and freeze it in a freezer-safe container, defrost it under refrigeration, and reheat it in the microwave.  It would be helpful if you also froze some sauce to add some on top since the freezer/reheat process typically dries protein out a bit.  

More Chimichurri Recipes:

• Chimichurri Sauce
• Chimichurri Chicken Thighs
• Chimichurri Flank Steak
• Easy Chimichurri Shrimp 
• Chimichurri Burgers

More Salmon Recipes:

• Honey Chipotle Salmon
• Honey Dijon Cedar Plank Salmon
• Lemon Dill Garlic Herb Butter Salmon
• Sweet and Spicy Salmon and Veggies
• Barbecue Salmon Foil Packets

What to Eat with Chimichurri Salmon:

• Easy Roasted Broccoli 
• Air Fryer Tumeric Cauliflower 
• Buttermilk Cauliflower Mash 
• Cheesy Cauliflower Rice