This meal is a staple in our home all year, but especially in the spring and summer. I am obsessed with cilantro and often find myself including cilantro and lime into as many meals as possible. Adding cilantro and lime to salmon (or any seafood) is a the perfect combo. We started making this cilantro lime salmon a few years ago while living in Orange County. This was the perfect dinner to bring wrapped in tinfoil and cook over an open fire at the beach. Paired with a fresh tomato and corn salad…heaven! My girls are obsessed with it and get so excited when they see me pull the ingredients out to make it!
I’m all about simple, tasty meals that are easy to make for a family of 5. Something with minimal prep and clean up, but tastes straight out of an authentic restaurant. The prep time for this meal is about 20 minutes, making it easy for the kids to help with or to throw together last minute. I feel like we’ve made this meal often enough that we’ve perfected the recipe and fine-tuned the ingredients. We’ve adapted this meal a bit over the years and found it’s just as great on the grill and in your oven. ps..my TOP is LINKED HERE
HOW TO MAKE CILANTRO LIME SALMON INGREDIENTS
SALMON – I buy a filet at Costco, because we have a big family. You can find smaller portions at Trader Joe’s and your grocery store. I recommend getting a fresh filet and not frozen.
OLIVE OIL- light drizzle across the filet
SALT, PEPPER & ONION SALT– just a pinch of each. Truthfully, I sometimes forget these and it doesn’t make much of a difference.
GARLIC – if you saw this TOMATILLO SALSA video, you know I LOVE garlic. I buy pre-minced. Eyeball it. I probably used two tablespoons for the whole filet but you can add as much or as little as you would like. If you don’t have freshly minced garlic, use a little garlic powder instead!
SRIRACHA – A little heat adds a great element to this dish. Drizzle this generously over the fish.
HONEY – the sweet breaks up the heat a bit. I only add a little drizzle of this. Again, eyeball It. But, about a tablespoon works perfect.
LIMES – I used about 1-2 limes. I squeeze the juice over the salmon and then slice the lime and lay across the filet. In this post, I used one.
CILANTRO – One whole bunch. Chop the bunch and sprinkle half over the fish. Save the other half to garnish after.
DIRECTIONS
Pre- heat your oven to 400 degrees. Rinse your salmon filet in water and pat dry. Line your cookie sheet with tinfoil and lightly spray foil with a non-stick spray. Place the salmon on the foil and top it with the ingredients in the same order as listed above. Next, bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until the salmon flakes. I don’t recommend cooking longer than 15-20 mins or you will have dry salmon. After about 15 mins, I turn the oven onto broil and let the top brown just a bit for 3 minutes or so. Top with some freshly chopped cilantro. That’s it! So simple and so delicious.
FRESH TOMATO CORN SALAD
This is one of my favorite salad recipes! It’s a quick, delicious side or topping to add to the cilantro lime salmon. It’s also super versatile. Interchange any of the ingredients or have fun exploring adding new ones!
INGREDIENTS
FRESH CORN – I use 4 ears of fresh raw corn. Do not cook it. Cut the kernels off of the ear, raw.
TOMATOES- I prefer a cherry tomato or bite size heirloom tomatoes for variety of color. Slice the tomatoes half. I use a whole carton.
FETA CHEESE – I prefer fat-free, already crumbled feta. I use about 1/3 of a cup, but use more if you’d like.
OLIVE OIL – about 2 tsp total
LIMES– 2-3 limes freshly squeezed
CILANTRO – 1 bunch, chopped
SALT & PEPPER – to taste
OPTIONAL – Sometimes I add avocado and/or cucumber. Also red onion. It’s so fun to explore with new ingredients and find out a variation you love.
DIRECTIONS
Slice, chop, squeeze, season and toss. That’s all. You can make this side dish in less than 5 minutes! It’s so fresh and clean. This is the easiest, most delicious recipe! It also pairs great next to tacos, carne asada or chicken. I also thinking adding some protein, rice and beans into it could make it a yummy bowl!
We bought our wooden serving bowls Hawaii. I found the exact same ones online: SERVING BOWL – SERVING SPOONS
MORE RECIPES:
SHRIMP CEVICHE – PROTEIN GUACAMOLE – TOMATILLO SALSA – LEMON CHICKEN SOUP – PROTEIN FUDGE – BRUSSELS SPROUTS SALAD – WHITE CHICKEN CHILI –PROTEIN BALLS – CHICKEN TOMATILLO SOUP – PROTEIN DATE SHAKE – AIR POPPED POPCORN
Yum! This looks amazing, we loved salmon, limes, and cilantro over here too! Can’t wait to try!
This looks insanely good!!
On my meal prep next week. Thanks!
I’m going to make this tonight. Looks so good.