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Baked Cilantro Chimichurri Salmon

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Baked Cilantro Chimichurri Salmon is full of delicious, fresh ingredients and it’s ridiculously easy to make. Perfect for a busy weeknight, and definitely beautiful and impressive enough for a weekend dinner party.Fillet of Cilantro Chimichurri Salmon on rice in black bowlYou can whip Baked Cilantro Chimichurri Salmon up in about 15 minutes. Start to finish.

Serve it over rice and sautéed vegetables and you’ll be a star. Really, it’s an incredibly delicious, healthy and gorgeous dish.

cilantro chimichurrin in a small white bowl

What’s in Baked Cilantro Chimichurri Salmon?

Cilantro Chimichurri and salmon. That’s it!

Of course there are a few delicious ingredients in the chimichurri:

  • cilantro
  • garlic
  • red wine vinegar
  • lemon juice
  • cumin, paprika, crushed red pepper, salt
  • extra virgin olive oil

You can read more about Chimichurri and its origins here.

three raw salmon fillets with dollops of chimichurri on thme

How to Bake Salmon

There are dozens of ways to bake salmon. This is my way. It’s simple, tried and true.

  • Try to purchase evenly sized salmon fillets. This way, they’ll all be finished cooking at the same time.
  • The oven should be preheated to 375°F before you bake the salmon.
  • You can leave the skin on or off. It’s will slide right off after it’s baked.
  • It’s best to line your baking dish with foil.
  • With or without the skin, and with or without foil, drizzle a light coating of olive oil in the pan before adding the fish.
  • Typically, a good rule of thumb is about 10 minutes per inch of thickness.

Three raw fillets of salmon with chimichurri spread over them

How can you tell when salmon is done cooking?

  • For most fish, and definitely salmon, it’s done when it’s still slightly translucent in the center. If you take it out of the oven at this stage, it’s likely to be perfect. A moment more and it could be on the dry side.
  • It should literally flake apart when poked with a fork. If it doesn’t, it’s either still too raw, or it’s overcooked.
  • Please take a look at the image below of the bite of salmon on the fork. Notice how it changes color? It’s more opaque on the edges and more of a bright orange towards the center, where it’s less cooked.

Baked Cilantro Chimichurri Salmon in baking pan

What to Serve With Baked Cilantro Chimichurri Salmon

I would suggest serving this with Coconut Cilantro Rice. It’s subtly sweet and perfect to soak up any of the chimichurri sauce that escapes the salmon. I serve it with this almost every time I make it.

Along with the rice, almost any sautéed green vegetable is great.

These three together make for a perfect bowl.

One bite of Chimichurri Salmon on fork

Not a cilantro fan?

I know, you love it or hate it. I happen to love it, but know a few people who don’t.

Here are a few alternatives you can use, following the same instructions in this recipe:

Recipe Tips

  • This recipe calls for 6 (8-ounce) salmon fillets. This is 3-pounds. You don’t have to cut it into portions — this recipe can also be made in larger or smaller fillets, even one very large fillet.
  • Always ask the fish monger (even in your grocery store!) to portion your fish for you. More often than not, they’ll do it.
  • You can make the Cilantro Chimichurri up to four days ahead of time!
  • Whether you make it ahead or not, you can save the fifteen minutes and buy jarred chimichurri. I doubt you’ll find cilantro chimmichurri, but there are some good brands out there.

I hope you love it!

5 from 10 votes
Fillet of Cilantro Chimichurri Salmon on rice in black bowl
Print
Baked Cilantro Chimichurri Salmon
Prep Time
3 mins
Cook Time
12 mins
Making the Chimichurri
15 mins
Total Time
30 mins
 

Baked Cilantro Chimichurri Salmon is full of delicious, fresh ingredients and it’s ridiculously easy to make. Perfect for a busy weeknight, and definitely beautiful and impressive enough for a weekend dinner party.

Please note that the chimichurri should be made before you're ready to bake the salmon. It can be made just prior, or up to four days ahead of time. Here's the recipe.

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Argentinian
Keyword: fish for dinner party, light and healthy recipes
Servings: 6
Calories: 338 kcal
Author: Valentina K. Wein
Ingredients
Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F, and drizzle a 9 x 13 x 2-inch baking pan lightly with olive oil.

  2. Evenly divide the Cilantro Chimichurri among the salmon fillets. Spread it thinly over the entire top surface.

  3. Place the salmon in the baking pan and bake in the preheated 375°F for about 10 to 12 minutes, depending on its thickness. It should still be slightly transluscent in the center. If you're not sure it's done, just cut into the thickest part with a very sharp knife. It should almost flake apart.

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Comments

  3. Mimi says

    I’m a huge cilantro fan, and I love chimichurri. When we were in Peru last year there were so many varieties of chimichurri, and I had to taste them all! Like some were red. Anyway, love this salmon dish.

    Reply

    • valentina says

      Red chimichurri! I’m so intrigued and hope to come across it someday. I might just have to plan a trip to Peru. Actually, it’s high on my list of places I’d love to visit. Thanks, Mimi. 🙂 Valentina

      Reply

  4. Eha says

    A simple and delightful meal indeed ! Coriander is immensely popular in Australia already because of its prevalence in our Asian dishes and chimichurri sauce must be used here as often as it is in its native Argentina. Brown nutty rice and steamed bok choi, surely our most used vegetable, would round this for a taste sensation . . . . . .

    Reply

    • valentina says

      Thank you, Eha. I adore corriander! In almost any form and in any cuisine. I hope you’re having a lovely weekend! 🙂 ~Valentina

      Reply

  5. David Scott Allen says

    This is definitely a recipe I want to try soon. As soon as I saw it, I thought I was going to make it for guests this weekend… However, one of the guests is one of “those” people who cannot abide cilantro. Sigh. So perhaps just for Mark and me.

    Reply

    • valentina says

      Ha! You just made me laugh. It’s a funny (and I think somewhat scientific) thing with people loving or hating cilantro. Hope you and Mark are enjoying the weekend. 🙂 ~Valentina

      Reply

  7. Dawn - Girl Heart Food says

    Wow! This looks like it would pack a punch in the ol’ flavour department!! Perfect for a weeknight dinner or entertaining. I’m sure it would go over so well, especially when paired with a glass of wine 🙂 Happy Monday!!

    Reply

  9. Flavia says

    I just made this salmon with chimichurri today and it’s delicious!!! I made also the rice with coconut water, soooo good!!!

    Reply

  10. Ron says

    We love salmon and have Asian salmon rice bowl weekly, so this is a perfect new twist on a recipe we love. Fresh cilantro is a bit tricky here, but I have frozen in the freezer and will give that a try.
    A fantastic tutorial for the proper baking of salmon, my favorite fish. I never order salmon in restaurants because it’s inevitably overcooked. Well done.

    Reply

    • valentina says

      What an excellent tradition — I think we need to have an Asian salmon rice bowl weekly, too. Great idea. Hope you love this one, Ron. Thank you for visiting and checking out the recipe. 🙂 ~Valentina

      Reply

  11. David @ Spiced says

    We’ve been eating a lot of fish recently, and I’ve totally rediscovered a love for salmon! However, you have to mix it up still, and adding the cilantro chimmichurri on top is a great idea. Talk about flavor explosion! Thanks for the tip, Valentina!

    Reply

    • valentina says

      It’s my favorite side to have with it. The rice is subtly sweet which is great with the little bit of heat in the chimichurri. Thanks so much, Kelly, as always. 🙂 ~Valentina

      Reply

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