This beautiful skillet is full of pan seared salmon nestled in a deliciously creamy tuscan sauce filled with sun dried tomatoes, kale, onions, garlic and wonderfully comforting flavors. This creamy tuscan salmon is just perfect to pair with everything from some buttery pasta to a bowl of crisp mixed greens and once you make it, I am quite confident that you are going to absolutely love it.
Let’s get started…
To begin, gather 4 salmon fillets along with 1 tablespoon of Lawry’s seasoned salt, 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons of butter, 1 medium yellow onion, 6 cloves of garlic, 7 ounces of sun dried tomatoes, 4-6 kale leaves, 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream (or half n’ half), 1/2 cup of chicken stock, 2 teaspoons of cornstarch and a pinch of red pepper flakes (which is optional).
Start by dicing the yellow onion, finely mincing the garlic cloves and thin slicing the sun dried tomatoes and the kale leaves. Now that everything is prepped, place a large skillet over medium to medium high heat with 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and let it get nice and warm, while you season the salmon fillets.
Pat your salmon fillets dry with paper towels and generously season both sides with your favorite seasoned salt. I highly recommend using Lawry’s seasoned salt or my dry barbecue spice blend.
Once the skillet is warm, add the fillets and let them cook undisturbed for 2-3 minutes on the first side. You will know that the salmon is ready to flip when they easily lift from the skillet. Letting the salmon cook undisturbed allows a great golden brown crispy crust to form before flipping and who doesn’t love a crispy salmon?
Once the underside is done, gently flip the salmon and cook to your desired level of doneness. The FDA recommends cooking salmon to an internal temperature of 145 degrees. Once the salmon is cooked through, transfer them onto a plate and set them aside for now.
Reduce the heat to medium and add 2 tablespoons of butter into the skillet. Add the diced onions and cook for about 5 minutes or until the onions begin to soften a bit. Add the garlic and cook, stirring consistently, for 60 seconds and then add the sun dried tomatoes and kale and cover the skillet.
Once the kale begins to wilt a bit, add the heavy cream or half n’ half and stir to combine. When it comes to deciding on which to use, the half n’ half will reduce the calories in the dish, but the heavy cream will result in a creamier sauce. If you like the sound of both, adding a bit of both will work great too.
Note: If you are planning on pairing this creamy tuscan salmon with pasta, I recommend using 2 cups of heavy cream, instead of the 1 1/2 cups that the recipe calls for. This will give you more sauce to toss the pasta in, which is fabulous.
While the sauce is coming to a simmer, combine 1/2 cup of chicken stock with 2 teaspoons of cornstarch until smooth and once the sauce begins to simmer, whisk the cornstarch mixture in until it is fully incorporated.
Once the sauce starts to simmer, reduce the heat to medium low and taste to see if salt, black pepper or some crushed red pepper flakes are necessary. As soon as the sauce begins to thicken a bit, nestle the salmon fillets back into the skillet and spoon some of the creamy sauce over the top of each fillet.
Keep the skillet over medium low heat until the salmon is warmed through and the sauce is creamy and luscious. When you are ready to serve, place the skillet on a heat proof surface and use a slotted spatula to transfer the salmon fillets onto a their plates.
If you are serving this creamy tuscan salmon with pasta, add the cooked pasta directly into the sauce remaining in the skillet and toss it around a bit before scooping it onto your plates.
If you are pairing this dish with mixed greens, steamed veggies or maybe some of my lemon parmesan risotto, once the salmon is plated up, spoon some sauce over each fillet… you’ll be so glad that you did…
If that plate doesn’t make you want to grab a fork and dig in, I don’t know what would!
The salmon is juicy and flaky and the sauce is flavorful, creamy and super comforting.
This creamy tuscan salmon is a simple, yet impressive skillet full of delicious flavors that everyone will love.
Creamy Tuscan Salmon
Ingredients
- 4 salmon fillets, skins removed
- 1 tablespoon of Lawry's seasoned salt
- 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 6 cloves of garlic, finely minced
- 7 ounces of sun dried tomatoes, thinly sliced
- 4-6 kale leaves, stems removed, thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream (or half n'half)
- 1/2 cup of chicken stock
- 2 teaspoons of cornstarch
- a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Instructions
- Add 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet and place over medium to medium high heat
- Pat each salmon fillet dry with a paper towel and season generously with seasoned salt
- Place the salmon into the warm skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes on the first side or until the underside is golden brown and crisp
- Flip the salmon over and cook to your desired level of doneness
- Transfer the salmon onto a plate and set aside for now
- Reduce the heat to medium and add 2 tablespoons of butter into the skillet
- Add the diced onion and cook for 5 minutes
- Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring consistently, for 60 seconds or until very fragrant
- Add thinly sliced sun dried tomatoes and kale, cover the pot and cook 2-3 minutes or until the kale begins to wilt
- Add heavy cream and stir to combine
- Bring the sauce up to a simmer
- In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup of chicken stock with 2 teaspoons of cornstarch until smooth
- Add the cornstarch mixture and a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes (optional) into the sauce and whisk to combine
- Add the salmon back into the skillet and cook over medium heat until it is warmed through and the sauce has thickened a bit
- Serve with rice, pasta or crisp greens
