20 Minute Baked Pesto Salmon. Steamed in foil packs, this Paleo, low calorie, gluten free meal is a healthy twist on a dinner favorite! Gluten Free + Low Calorie + Paleo
Fast. Easy. Healthy 20 minute dinners! That’s my jam during the week. I may work from home, but I’m still too busy to play Martha Stewart every night. Between school, freelancing, running this website and coaching clients, life is busy and now I’m sharing that time with a guy too.
Last week I made this 20 Minute Baked Pesto Salmon dinner. Everything bakes together in foil packs. I love using them because it steams to food to perfection. My favorite way to eat salmon!
I already had the pesto and salmon ready to go in the foil packs when he texts me saying he doesn’t love pesto can he get it on the side. Who doesn’t love pesto? I explained this wasn’t the kind of pesto he was used to. This pesto is made with avocado and parsley.
Super creamy, with a little spark of heat. Not oily and completely nut free. You know what he said? “It’s fake pesto!” Still, he was reluctant to try so I left the pesto off his salmon. But I needed to make him try it somehow.
You see, I’m the queen of sneaking healthy food into people’s diets. I used to hate healthy food so I know what it feels like to look at an avocado and think there’s no way I’m gonna eat that. Now it’s my ultimate challenge when someone tells me they don’t like a food to find a way to get them to eat it.
So when he wasn’t watching, I boiled quinoa pasta and stirred in avocado pesto. He didn’t know it was there and ate every bite of it! Muahahaha!!!
So I got him to eat the pesto but then, he didn’t eat his asparagus. Whomp…whomp. Who doesn’t eat asparagus? Ugh! Guess we have some work to do in the vegetable department.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering. He’s a good cook. A few days earlier he made chicken fajitas. Of course, he consulted with me before making said dinner, but he did good. Such a treat having someone else make dinner while I was finishing homework and a zillion other things, and who loves me in my yoga pants! Who is this guy and how has he snuck into my life?
But enough about him! This 20 Minute Baked Pesto Salmon goes down as a success. I was busy seeing clients until he arrived and this was a simple way to get a healthy and delicious meal on the table without a lot of effort. From oven to table in 20 minutes. Now who’s gonna complain about that?
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20 Minute Baked Pesto Salmon {GF, Low Cal, Paleo}
Ingredients
For the Salmon Packs:
- 9 ounces salmon or 3 filets
- 1 bunch asparagus ~6 cups
- 3 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
For the Pesto:
- 1 medium avocado ripe
- 1/2 bunch fresh parsley ~1 cup
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 375 F. Prepare a baking sheet by place 3 sheets of tin foil on them. Make sure the tin foil pieces are large enough to cover 6-7 asparagus & salmon each.
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In a food processor or blender, add all ingredients for the pesto except for the extra virgin olive oil. Blend on high until creamy then slowly drizzle in the extra virgin olive oil to emulsify.
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Next place 6-7 asparagus on one foil drizzle with 1 tsp of extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with salt & pepper. Top the asparagus with a salmon fillet. Then smooth 1 tablespoon of the pesto over the top of the salmon.
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Close the foil over the salmon and asparagus by bringing the two sides together and crinkling the edges together. Crinkle the top and bottom as well until it is closed completely.
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Repeat the process for the remaining 2 salmon fillets.
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Place the foil packets on the baking sheet. Bake at 375 F for 20 minutes.
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Serve immediately with extra pesto on the side!
Recipe Notes
Pesto makes approximately 1 cup or 16 tablespoons. The nutritional value reflects one tablespoon used for each salmon fillet.
Pesto nutritional value is:
37 calories per 1 tablespoon
Custom Meal Plans
Work with Megan to develop a custom macro or standard meal plan to reach your goals.
What I Used For The Recipe
P.S. I got my salmon from Sizzlefish. They deliver it frozen to your front door which makes it easy to eat those healthy omega-3’s!
How do you sneak healthy food into your family’s meals?
I love cooking salmon this way! I used to do this all the time with mustard, and I’ve definitely done it with pesto. Easy clean up too!
Mustard sounds really good! I haven’t done that in awhile.
I love foil packet cooking! The best easiest ever and salmon works so well in it! Love the pest on it, very spring.
With all this heat, I’ve been forced into warm weather cooking. You can’t go wrong with foil packets!
I love the combo of salmon and pesto — better yet if the pesto is made with avocado! Sounds delicious, healthy, and fresh. And can’t beat that easy clean-up!
It is light and filling. Perfect for these hot days we’re having in Arizona!
Literally anything covered in pesto makes me really happy. This looks SO delicious! Must try for dinner soon 🙂
Oh yes, pesto on everything so good!
Can this be made for one serving with the same cooking instructions?
Oh yes, just store the extra pesto in the refrigerator.
could I use frozen asparagus in this recipe without changing any of the process. TIA
I’m guessing you can. It needs to be thawed and dried really well and probably will need to bake for less time otherwise it will be really soggy so I suggest you bake on a sheet pan and not with the salmon in the foil pack.