Delicious baked salmon recipe with complex flavors but not complicated at all! Learn how to bake this easy pesto-crusted salmon with a layer of pesto, topped with another layer of seasoned Panko crumbs.
Clean and halve the salmon fillets. Remove the skin from the fillets.
Mix ½ teaspoon chili powder and ¼ teaspoon salt. Season the salmon with the mixture.
Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil and spread evenly on the fillets.
Prepare the crust
Mix ½ cup of breadcrumbs, ½ teaspoon chili flakes, ¼ cup parsley, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper in a small bowl.
Crust the salmon
Place the salmon fillets on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
Spread about 2¼ teaspoons of pesto on each fillet using the back of a spoon.
Take handfuls of the breadcrumb mixture and spread on the fillets. Press with your hands until they stick to the fillets.
Bake pesto crusted salmon
Spray the remaining olive oil on the crusted salmon fillets. Place the tray in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
If using red chili pesto, reduce the amount of chili powder (for seasoning the salmon) to ¼ teaspoon.
Use Panko breadcrumbs that give a crispier crust than regular ones.
Blend the pesto into a coarse paste rather than smooth. This adds more texture to the crust, making it crunchier.
In this recipe, the salmon is about 1-inch thick. If your salmon fillet is thicker, increase the baking time accordingly.
The rule of thumb is to bake salmon for 5 minutes at 200°C/ 390°F for every ½ inch thickness. If the fillets are not of uniform thickness, take the thickest part into consideration.
The preparation time mentioned here does not include the time needed to make pesto. It depends on what pesto you use and the time required to make each one is different.