Salmon oreganata with garlicky seasoned breadcrumbs, flaky salmon, and lemon is a wonderful dish that is sure to become a favorite in your home. This dish comes together quickly and can be ready in less than 30 minutes making this perfect for busy weeknights but impressive enough to be served to dinner guests, especially around the holidays!
Salmon is one of our favorite fishes to cook with.
Its high-fat content makes it hard to overcook, and its rich flavor is unmistakable!
And salmon oreganata is a wonderful dish to prepare because it’s easy and the salmon flavor is complemented by the garlic, lemon, oregano, and parsley in the breadcrumbs.
A simple white wine and butter sauce at the end pulls the whole dish together.
Serve with garlic-sauteed spinach and you’re left with a beautiful meal that’s perfect for both weeknights, and holidays.
We especially love salmon oreganata for Christmas Eve’s Feast of the Seven Fishes along with shrimp oreganata, calamari salad, baccala Napoletana, and mussels in white sauce.
How to make it
Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.
- Preheat your oven to 400f and set one rack to the middle level and the other to the second highest level. Mince 4 cloves of garlic and a 1/4 cup of flat-leaf Italian parsley. Slice 1 large lemon into wedges and set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the garlic and parsley with 1/2 cup of plain breadcrumbs, 2 teaspoons of dried oregano, 1 pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt, 2 teaspoons of lemon juice, and a 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil. Mix until combined and then taste test, adjusting salt and pepper as needed.
- In a large baking dish (9×13 is perfect), arrange 4 8-ounce salmon fillets, skin side down, and pat them dry with paper towels. Season the salmon with a touch of salt along with pepper to taste.
- Spoon the breadcrumb mixture on top of each salmon slice, packing it down to create a thin layer. If the breadcrumb mixture is too dry, drizzle a touch more extra virgin olive oil to each slice. Sprinkle up to two more tablespoons of the breadcrumb mixture into the dish. If you still have remaining breadcrumbs, you can reserve them for another purpose. You can see in pic 4 from above that we had plenty leftover.
- Pour 1 cup of low-sodium chicken stock and a 1/4 cup of dry white wine around the salmon slices.
- Bake the salmon for 15-20 minutes on the middle rack until cooked through. When cooked, the salmon will be flaky when pulled apart with a fork. If you desire a more golden top, move the baking dish to the higher rack and broil for 1-2 minutes but watch very carefully to prevent burning.
- Move the salmon to a serving platter and whisk 3 tablespoons of cold butter into the sauce at the bottom of the baking pan until melted. Note: If there is any salmon skin stuck to the bottom of the dish, remove it before whisking in the butter.
- Pour the sauce around the salmon pieces on the platter and serve with the lemon wedges. Enjoy!
Top tips for perfect baked salmon oreganata
- Salmon. We used salmon fillets for this recipe but you can definitely use salmon steaks too. Since we didn’t sear the salmon skin for this recipe, you may wish to not eat it, or remove it prior to cooking. You can also ask your fishmonger to remove it as well. Leaving it on though, helps the salmon hold together a bit better for serving.
- Breadcrumbs. Plain breadcrumbs were used here and we seasoned them ourselves. If you prefer to use seasoned breadcrumbs, you can do so and simply add your own fresh garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil. If you find the breadcrumb mixture is too dry, drizzle more olive oil on top before putting the salmon into the oven. You want to make sure the breadcrumbs are moist enough so they don’t dry out when broiling.
- The sauce. The salmon oreganata sauce is wonderful to serve drizzled on top of the salmon and is so good we recommend serving with some crusty bread to mop it up!
More seafood recipes
Here are some of our favorite seafood recipes. We hope you enjoy!
- Zuppa di pesce – a rustic seafood stew with clams, mussels, squid, shrimp, and cod in a tomato, white wine, and fennel broth.
- Clams oreganata – clams stuffed with a garlicky breadcrumb mixture.
- Swordfish with olives and capers – pan-seared swordfish with wonderful Mediterranean flavors.
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Salmon Oreganata
Ingredients
- 4 8-ounce salmon fillets about 2 pounds total
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken stock
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 3 tablespoons cold butter for whisking into the sauce
- 1 large lemon cut into wedges, for serving
For the seasoned breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup Italian flat-leaf parsley minced
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400f and set one rack to the middle level and the other rack to the second highest level.
- Mix the seasoned breadcrumbs ingredients together. Adjust salt and pepper if needed and set aside.
- Arrange the salmon pieces skin side down in a large baking dish (9x13 works wells) and pat dry with paper towels. Season salmon with salt and pepper to taste.
- Pack a thin layer of the breadcrumbs onto the top of each piece of salmon. If the breadcrumb topping is too dry, drizzle a bit more olive onto each piece. Sprinkle up to 2 more tablespoons of the breadcrumbs into the dish. The remaining breadcrumbs can be saved for another purpose. Pour the chicken stock and white wine around the salmon.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through (the salmon should be flaky when pulled apart with a fork). If a more golden top is desired move the baking dish to the higher rack and broil for 1-2 minutes. Watch carefully to avoid burning!
- Place salmon into a serving platter. Whisk the butter into the sauce and pour around the salmon pieces. Serve with lemon wedges. Enjoy!
Notes
- The breadcrumbs should be moist and drizzled with olive oil so that they don't dry out during the broiling process.
- The sauce is excellent spooned on top of the salmon and/or great for bread dipping.
- Leftovers can be saved for up to 3 days and can be reheated in the oven or microwave.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Simple to make and very tasty- the salmon stayed moist and flaky. I cooked it without the skin and had no problem with the filets falling apart. Bonus- I used up some stale bread, lightly toasted, to make the breadcrumbs.
This is a keeper! I thought the amount of liquid poured around the fish was a bit much and I didn’t want to cover the fish. I used about 3/4 of it and it worked out well.
I also didn’t have parsley but I had arugula and said, why not! Good substitute!
This was the best way I ever made salmon. I am sometimes not the biggest fan of it because it’s fishy but this was absolutely delicious. I don’t think I’ll ever make it another way. Thank you.
Hi Sandy, we’re so happy you enjoyed and thanks for the comment!
I made this last night and it was delicious!! I will definitely make it again. 🙂
Love this…..I do something similar but add lemon zest and chopped walnuts to breadcrumbs.
I also smear Dijon mustard on salmon, helps crumbs stick…or apricot jam and Dijon mixed…delicioso!
I made the recipe last night for dinner.
It was super easy and quick to make.
My family has already requested it for Christmas eve. Well, this shows how much it was appreciated. Thank you for all your recipes.
Hi Anu, thanks for the comment and so happy your family enjoyed enough to request for Christmas Eve!