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.
If you’ve enjoyed this salmon oreganata recipe or any recipe on this site, give it a 5-star rating and leave a review.
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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.
I make this a lot.
I use panko crumbs and always lemon zest in crumbs (your son was right!)
I also add chopped walnuts to crumbs.
Hi Michael and Sharon, thanks for the comment and glad you enjoy the recipe!
Had to modify because I forgot the fresh parsley (argh!) so zested the lemon into the crumbs for a bit of oomph. I left the 1.5# salmon filet whole instead of portioning it and packed the crumbs on top, baking it about 25-30 minutes at 400*. I skipped the sauce and just roasted it until crispy, and everyone loved it. I’ll absolutely make it again – and will remember the parsley!
Hi Carissa, thanks for the comment and we’re so happy you enjoyed the recipe!
This is the easiest and tastiest salmon dish I’ve tried! Really good! Love the butter at the end to make the sauce. I will definitely be making this again during the week or for a dinner party
Thanks
Hi Miguel, we’re so happy you enjoyed the salmon recipe and really appreciate your comment!
I made this for my wife and I last night with the sautéed spinach as the side. We loved it and my wife said it was restaurant quality. We so enjoy your YouTube channel and I make several of your recipes and they are always great. Thank you so much. PS we also enjoy the interaction among your family.
Hi Mark, thanks for the comment! I’m so happy you’re enjoying the recipes and YouTube channel. I appreciate you following along!
I made it tonight to rave reviews. The topping made the flavor profile very different from my other salmon efforts and it was a delightful change. I’ve learned from the chef that a few tweaks here and there are okay but I’ve also come to realize that sticking with his careful and thorough guidelines is always a pathway to success.
Thanks for the comment, Denise! So happy you’re enjoying the recipes!
I made this tonight and the liquid mostly reduced and yielded very little. What could be the culprit? Other than that, the salmon was perfectly cooked and delicious, thanks as always!
Hi Diane, thanks for the comment and we’re glad you enjoyed the salmon. There really isn’t too much sauce here and you really just need a tablespoon or two for each piece of fish. I’m not sure what could have caused most of it to evaporate but it could be the oven temperature was off a bit. Do you have a convection oven?
Not a convection oven but it is sometimes unreliable with time and temp so I bet you are correct. Thanks for the reply, you and Jim are the best!
This turned out wonderfully! Even my husband who isn’t a big salmon fan liked it.
I didn’t have any white wine so just used chicken broth. I really thought the amount of oregano was going to overpower the fish, but it didn’t. Thank you for a great recipe I’ll use again.
Hi Edna, so happy you enjoyed this one and really appreciate the comment!
The Salmon was delicious! I often use Boursin cheese as the topping, but this is just as good. The timing was perfect. I did broil it for about 2 minutes as some of the bread crumb wasn’t as crunchy as I like.
Hi Karen, thanks for the comment and so happy you enjoyed the salmon!
We’re not salmon lovers, however this recipe looks wonderful. Would this work with haddock, halibut or any other white fish? We live on the coast so many kinds of fish are available. Thanks so much! Your recipes are delicious!
Hi Cindy, yes, this would work perfectly with haddock, halibut, sole, etc. Thanks for the comment and so happy you’re enjoying the recipes!
What did you serve as a side?
Thanks
Denise
P.S. your recipes are amazing. I have tried many.
Thanks, Denise! This would go well with broccoli rabe, spinach, or escarole sauteed in garlic and oil.
This looks delicious and want to make this for the holidays…should I keep ‘cold’ butter in refrigerator or freezer before adding to sauce?
Hi Susan, thanks for the comment. Cold butter can be from the refrigerator. Hope you enjoy the recipe!