Quick & Easy Salmon Piccata

This salmon piccata is my go to weeknight dinner and is SO easy to make. It’s packed with flavor, perfect with rice or orzo and your favorite green veggie. It’s gluten free and ready in 30 minutes.

My gluten free chicken piccata is one of my go to easy weeknight dinner recipes, but I am also such a salmon girl so thought it was time for salmon piccata! The piccta sauce is a made of a base of butter, white wine and chicken broth, capers and lemon juice. It has a bright, lemony flavor with tang from the capers and savory flavors from the both and white wine.

We’ll pan fry the salmon to get it nice and crispy, and then let it simmer in the sauce to absorb all of the good flavors. Serve with rice, orzo or just a simple side salad! If you love this recipe and need more simple dinners, try my salmon stir fry noodles or baked pesto salmon next!

Tips before we get cooking!

• If using previously frozen salmon, make sure it is fully thawed before proceeding with the recipe. The flour and spices will not stick to the salmon if it is still frozen.
• I used chicken bone broth here, but if you want to keep this pescatarian, you can use veggie broth. I used regular sodium.

How to make salmon piccata

In a shallow bowl, combine the flour, salt, pepper and paprika. Whisk to combine. Dredge each piece of salmon in the flour mixture on both sides.

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add the salmon, skin side up and cook for 3 minutes, then flip and cook for another 3 minutes. Set aside. It doesn’t need to be fully cooked right now as it will finish cooking in the sauce.

To the same pan, melt the butter. Once melted, add the garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Add in the white wine and simmer until reduced by half, about 3-4 minutes.

Mix in all remaining sauce ingredients and simmer for about a minute. Add the salmon back into the pan and coat with the sauce. The flour from the salmon will help the sauce thicken. Let simmer until the salmon is your desired temperature. Garnish with fresh parsley and enjoy! Try my lemon pepper salmon or harissa salmon bowls next!

Key ingredients & swaps

Salmon. You need four, four ounces salmon filets. If they were frozen, just make sure to thaw fully before cooking. This recipe works best with smaller filets and not one large piece of salmon.

Flour. I used gluten free flour of course, but if you are not GF just sub for regular all purpose flour. This will help crisp the salmon and thicken the sauce.

Butter and oil. I like using butter in the sauce but oil for the salmon, but you can definitely use butter for both. I don’t suggest oil for the sauce becuase butter is a key part of the flavor.

Broth. I used chicken bone broth, but you can really use whatever you like here!

White wine. This is optional, but I do think it adds a lot of depth of flavor. I don’t recommend any subs, so you can just omit it if you prefer to cook without wine.

Lemon. Fresh lemon juice is one of the key components of a salmon piccata.

Capers. Three tablespoons of capers will add that signature flavor to the sauce. It gives a salty and tangy flavor that balances the butter and lemon in the sauce.

Serving suggestions

Chicken piccata is often served with pasta, but I find with salmon I particularly like orzo. You can also serve it with rice, quinoa or cauliflower rice for a lower carb option. As far as veggies go, I love blanched asparagus, green beans or broccoli which I will then toss with butter, salt and pepper. A fresh and simple arugula salad with lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper would also be delicious on the side!

Should I keep the salmon skin on?

Yes! While we are cooking the salmon, you want to keep the skin on which will ensure it doesn’t fall apart while cooking. You can absolutely eat salmon skin but if you aren’t a fan, it should glide right off when it is done cooking and you can discard it. Fish is delicate, so we want to help preserve it as much as possible and keeping the skin on helps with that!

More easy dinner recipes!

• Honey Sriracha Salmon Bowls
• Spicy Peanut Chicken Noodles
• Air Fryer Tilapia
• Gluten Free Alfredo
• Greek Salmon Bowls

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