This Citrus Thyme Salmon is a simple yet elegant dish that brings out the best in fresh, high-quality ingredients. The vibrant citrus and earthy thyme perfectly complement the rich, flaky salmon, creating a bright and flavorful meal that’s ready in under 30 minutes. Whether you’re preparing a quick weeknight dinner or a special meal, this recipe delivers restaurant-quality results with minimal effort.

A large piece of salmon covered in with citrus slices and herbs.

🌟Why you’ll love this recipe

  • Using a high-quality, flavorful sockeye salmon is key. The quality of the ingredients easily mirrors the quality of the dish. Read more about choosing fish here.
  • The salmon is baked skin side up, helping lock in the moisture and providing an easy method for testing its doneness – if the skin peels easily, it’s done.
  • The beauty of this salmon dish is in its simplicity. It’s as easy as a good quality sockeye salmon filet, seasoned lightly with salt and pepper, then baked with citrus slices and lemon thyme on top. Another simple and delicious salmon is this lemony saffron herb salmon.
  • The lemon thyme adds a layer of citrus flavor that is different from the sweet orange and balances out the sweetness.
Baked salmon cut into pieces over pasta with green sauce.

🥗 What to serve with this recipe

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Salmon over pasta.

Citrus Thyme Salmon (Lemon or Orange)

5 from 9 votes
Citrus Thyme Salmon uses just 5 ingredients to highlight the wonderful, natural flavor of the salmon. Ready in 30 minutes!
Author: Candice Walker
Print Recipe Save
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: 4
Course: Main, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Calories: 258

Ingredients

Citrus Thyme Salmon
  • 1.5 lb. sockeye salmon
  • 1 orange sliced
  • 1 bunch lemon thyme
  • 3 chive flowers optional
  • salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350°F.
  2. In the meantime, cut your orange into ¼ inch slices. 
  3. Season the salmon with salt and pepper. Top with the thyme and then orange slices. Gently flip your salmon onto your baking sheet so it is skin side up with the orange slices under the salmon. Trust me…this way all that delicious fat on the skin side runs into your salmon. Set aside until the oven is preheated.
  4. Cook until desired doneness or until the salmon easily flakes and the white albumin starts to form on the top. This can take anywhere from 10-20 minutes depending on the thickness of the salmon. Because the copper river sockeye so dark in color, the color does not change as much as it does with regular salmon.

Notes

Using a high-quality, flavorful sockeye salmon is key. The quality of the ingredients easily mirror the quality of the dish. Read more about choosing fish here.
The salmon is baked skin side up, helping lock in the mositure and providing an easy method for testing it’s doneness – if the skin peels easily, it’s done.
You can either check the internal temperature and remove it from the oven at 140F, or you can pay attention to signs of it being done: the skin peels easily, the white proteins just barely begin to show in the flesh.
Read more about how to choose fish at the grocery store when you don’t have all the information you need here.

Nutrition

Calories258kcalCarbohydrates4gProtein34gFat11gSaturated Fat2gCholesterol94mgSodium75mgPotassium901mgFiber1gSugar3gVitamin A222IUVitamin C19mgCalcium38mgIron2mg

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🐟 More Salmon Recipes to Enjoy

I love a delicious, easy fish recipe because it cooks so quickly! Here are some salmon recipes I make frequently at home.

3 Comments

5 from 9 votes (9 ratings without comment)

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