Baked Pesto Salmon

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my Privacy & Disclosure policy.

My Baked Pesto Salmon recipe is going to be your new quick and easy way to cook salmon fillets. With a yummy basil pesto crust, this recipe only has 5 ingredients, and that includes the salmon & olive oil!

Plus it’s done in 20 minutes! Winner!

As far as recipes go – this one is super fast! All you have to do is mix up some basil pesto, panko breadcrumbs and parmesan, this is going to form our crust. Top your salmon fillets with this crust mixture, then bake. 

Ingredients for oven baked salmon with basil pesto crust

• Fresh salmon fillets – skinless
• Basil pesto
• Panko breadcrumbs
• Fresh parmesan cheese
• Olive oil

How to make baked pesto salmon

• Place basil pesto, panko breadcrumbs and finely grated fresh parmesan cheese in a bowl – see Image 1.
• Mix to combine well – see Image 2.

• Brush the top of the salmon fillets with a little olive oil, then top the salmon fillets with the pesto crust mixture, pressing down well – see Image 3.
• Place the fillets on to a baking tray, and brush the sides of the fillets with a little more olive oil – see Image 4.

• Then bake for 10 minutes (depending on the thickness of your fillets) or to your liking.

My top tips for making baked pesto salmon

• It’s always a good idea to give your salmon fillets a quick once-over, feeling for any pin bones that may have been missed that need to be removed.
• If you are one of my regular readers, this is going to come as no surprise when I say that I recommend that you make your own basil pesto. It seriously only takes a few minutes, and the flavour is amazing! I promise you won’t go back to store-bought! This pesto crusted salmon will still taste great even if you don’t make your own pesto though!
• The cooking time will depend on the thickness of your salmon fillets. My fillets were 3cm / 1.25″ at the thickest part, and they took 10 minutes.
• Panko breadcrumbs are Japanese style breadcrumbs – see this post for more info.

Other basil pesto recipes you make like

Creamy Pesto Chicken – chicken breast fillets topped with a combination of basil pesto and cream cheese, then oven-baked until golden.

Pesto Grilled Cheese Sandwich – caprese style grilled cheese with fresh tomatoes, basil pesto, lots of fresh mozzarella cheese all wrapped in prosciutto then grilled until crisp!

Basil Pesto Crusted Lamb – moist, succulent lamb rack with a golden crunchy crust of breadcrumbs flavoured with parmesan cheese and basil pesto.

Other salmon recipes you may like

Salmon with Avocado Salsa – spiced and grilled salmon topped with fresh avocado and orange salsa. A quick and tasty low carb dinner.

Lemon Parsley Salmon Pasta – a creamy sauce of chilli, garlic & lemon coating gorgeous chunks of still-pink salmon.