Baked Lemon Salmon with Creamy Dill Sauce

March 1, 2014

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This Lemon Dill Salmon is topped with a creamy yogurt dill sauce that even my three-year-old loved! This easy salmon recipe comes together in 25 minutes and requires just a handful of ingredients. 

Lemon Dill Salmon topped with yogurt dill sauce

Baked Lemon Dill Salmon

I can still remember the first time I started to like salmon. I always hated it as a kid, but things did change one day. My grandparents lived with us for a few years when I was little and my grandpa was a big fisherman.

So, of course he had to do the dream fisherman vacation and go to Alaska on a fishing trip. Let’s just say his fishing trip was successful and he brought home at least a year’s supply of salmon.

I was never excited when I’d hear it was salmon for dinner, until one day my grandma breaded it and deep fried it into these little chicken nugget-type salmon bites. That was when I first started liking salmon. Wonder why? :)

Now salmon is one of my favorite foods. I don’t make it as often as I’d like because my husband doesn’t like salmon, so it creates a challenge for me. I have to make the salmon especially good and extra flavorful so he’ll like it.

It can’t taste all fishy or he’d totally snub it. This lemon dill salmon recipe was a big success with my family. My husband loved it, as did my five-year-old, and I even got my super picky three-year-old to eat it.

My daughter kept asking for more of the yogurt dill sauce. I love adding a sauce to salmon because it just gives something more and adds a little pizazz.

The flavor of this sauce is similar to a Greek tzatziki sauce, yet it’s a little creamier thanks to the small amount of mayonnaise (and it’s less chunkier of course since there’s no cucumber, like you find in a traditional tzatziki sauce).

You’ll love all the vibrant flavors of this salmon with its abundance of fresh herb and citrus. If you are going to spend the money for a slightly higher priced dinner, you better make it good, right?

This super simple salmon recipe definitely should not disappoint! Enjoy! close up of lemon salmon garnished with yogurt sauce and lemon slices in baking dish

Lemon Dill Salmon Ingredients

For the lemon salmon, you’ll need:

  • Salmon fillets
  • Olive oil
  • Lemon zest and juice
  • Salt and pepper

And for the dill sauce for the salmon, you’ll need:

  • Plain Greek yogurt
  • Mayonnaise
  • Garlic
  • Fresh dill
  • Milk
  • Honey
  • Salt and pepper

How to Bake Salmon

  • In a bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice and zest.
  • Place salmon fillets in baking dish and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle lemon mixture over top.
  • Let salmon rest at room temperature for 10 minutes, then bake until cooked through.
  • To make the yogurt dill sauce, simply whisk the ingredients together in a small bowl.
  • Serve lemon dill salmon with a dollop of yogurt sauce.

Is There a Mayonnaise Substitute I Can Use?

If you don’t have any mayo on hand, you could achieve a similar tasting yogurt dill sauce with sour cream instead. You might even be able to use more Greek yogurt instead of the mayo, but the sauce wouldn’t be as rich and creamy.

Can I Use Dried Dill in This Recipe?

No, fresh dill is a must. Fresh dill cuts through the yogurt sauce nicely without overwhelming the salmon. Plus, I think dried dill would make the sauce an odd texture.

Tips for the Best Baked Salmon

  • If you think you’ll have leftovers, wait to top the salmon with the dill sauce until you’re ready to eat it.
  • The yogurt dill sauce will last for a few days in the fridge. It makes a great veggie dip too!
  • Salmon is best within a day or two of purchasing it, so I’d make this recipe fairly soon after your weekly grocery run.

More Easy Salmon Recipes You’ll Love:

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5 from 12 votes

Baked Lemon Dill Salmon with Yogurt Sauce

This Lemon Dill Salmon is topped with a creamy yogurt dill sauce that even my three-year-old loved! This easy salmon recipe comes together in 25 minutes and requires just a handful of ingredients. 
Servings: 4 Servings
Prep10 minutes
Cook15 minutes
Ready in: 25 minutes

Ingredients

Creamy Dill Sauce

Instructions

For the salmon:

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon zest and lemon juice. Grease a 13 by 9-inch baking dish and place salmon fillets in baking dish.
  • Season tops of salmon with salt and pepper then rotate to opposite side. Drizzle tops evenly with lemon mixture and gently rub over salmon, then season tops with salt and pepper.
  • Let rest at room temperature 10 minutes, then bake in preheated oven 12 - 16 minutes, or until salmon has cooked through (cook time will vary based on thickness of fillets and how well done you liked them). Serve warm topped with Creamy Dill Sauce.

For the sauce:

  • In a bowl, mix together Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, garlic, dill, honey, and enough milk to reach desired consistency.
  • Season with salt and pepper to taste. Store in refrigerator, allow to rest at room temperature 20 minutes before serving (just so it's not ice cold over warm salmon).

Notes

  • The yogurt dill sauce will last for a few days in the fridge. It makes a great veggie dip too! 
  • Recipe Source: Cooking Classy
Nutrition Facts
Baked Lemon Dill Salmon with Yogurt Sauce
Amount Per Serving
Calories 390 Calories from Fat 225
% Daily Value*
Fat 25g38%
Saturated Fat 3g19%
Cholesterol 98mg33%
Sodium 148mg6%
Potassium 856mg24%
Carbohydrates 2g1%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 35g70%
Vitamin A 70IU1%
Vitamin C 4.1mg5%
Calcium 42mg4%
Iron 1.4mg8%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition values are estimates only. See full disclaimer here.

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94 Comments

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      Sorry that isn’t loading for you I’d try refreshing the page.
      Here are the amounts.
      1/3 cup fat free plain Greek Yogurt
      3 Tbsp mayonnaise (full fat)
      1 clove garlic , finely minced
      1 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
      2 – 3 tsp milk
      1/2 tsp honey
      Salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • Kim

    Probably the best salmon recipe! My husband hates salmon. After he ate this recipe he said “this is a make again!”. We both loved. So easy too.

  • Avra

    Despite the warning that fresh dill is a must, I used a teaspoon of dried dill and thought it was great. Did not make an “odd texture” as you feared. You also said “fresh dill cuts through the yogurt sauce nicely without overwhelming the salmon”; I didn’t make it with fresh dill to compare, but I don’t see how this same statement can’t be made for dried dill.

    Thanks for a great recipe!

  • Kimberly R. Magee

    Simple. Delicious! The dill sauce is fantastic and also great over a baked potato or vegie dip.

    • Sal Pusateri

      I cooked the salmon on a baking stone to 130 degrees and let it sit for 10 minutes…served over a plain Spinach Salad, using the Dill sauce as the Dressing…Everything turned out wonderful!!!

  • Farial

    I never comment on recipes but this one deserved a thumbs up. My husband went nuts for this recipe, particularly because dill is one of his favorite herbs (that’s how I found this recipe). My (almost) 4 year old gave it an enthusiastic thumbs up too. Modifications included the following: we didn’t have Greek yogurt so we used regular full fat plain yogurt (and so omitted the milk) and were more generous with the dill than called for in the recipe [you know, given what I wrote above :)] Definitely goes into my rotation for the future. Thanks!

  • Leah Regimbal-Kung

    I this with a couple modifications as I needed to make five servings. The in-laws really enjoyed it!