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    Home » Recipes » Seafood/Fish

    Grilled Italian Pesto Salmon 30 Minutes Start to Finish

    Published: Jun 25, 2022 by Marisa Franca · 79 Comments

    Jump to Recipe
    Grilled Italian Pesto Salmon is an easy seafood dinner that you make 30 Minutes Start to Finish. An easy lemony pesto sauce compliments the salmon without overpowering the rich delicate fish. This delicious seafood dinner is ideal for a company seafood dish. You can use the same sauce on baked fish too. #pestosauce, #grilledsalmon, #fishsauce, #sauceforfish, #sauceforseafood

    Grilled Italian Pesto Salmon or baked is such a quick and easy recipe. The recipe takes a few ingredients, and it's on the table in 30 minutes. The salmon is a beautiful pink color with flaky meat and a delicious buttery taste. All you need are five ingredients and half an hour to impress your family or guests with your pesto salmon. Use store-bought or homemade pesto.

    Grilled Italian Pesto Salmon is a quick and easy dish complete in 30 minutes @allourway.com
    Jump to:
    • Wild caught or farm-raised salmon
    • Making the decision
    • Grilling the Italian pesto salmon
    • More tasty fish recipes
    • Grilled Italian Pest Salmon 30 Minutes Start To Finish
    • 📖 Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

    Wild caught or farm-raised salmon

    You plan on making Grilled Italian Pesto Salmon, and now you're at the grocery store trying to figure out what kind of fish to buy.

    The wild caught fish is almost double the price of the farm-raised variety. It's quite a dilemma, especially since you're trying to stay within your food.

    You're not the only one who's confused. Some experts say there really isn't much difference between the two, while other authorities say that the wild caught is superior.

    Overall, I found, that there are more proponents for wild caught than farm raised.

    Making the decision

    Wild salmon obtain their pink hue from their natural environment by feasting on a diet of krill, which eats red algae.

    Farm-raised salmon gets its color from food additives.

    Farm raised salmon explained on our post Grilled Italian Pesto Salmon 30 minutes start to finish @allourway.com

    One of the most common dyes used in fish feed is called canthaxanthin. This compound may cause eye defects and retinal damage.

    Other issues that cause concern are the toxins and contaminants. They are higher in farm salmon than in wild salmon.

    The antibiotics used in the farm-raised fish stay there and enter your system. There is also the environmental impact the industrial farms have on the surrounding waterways.

    All in all, we prefer wild caught for our pesto salmon, but the decision is yours, of course.

    Grilled Italian Pesto Salmon is on the table in 30 minutes. Easy and delicious @allourway.com

    Putting it all together

    Once you purchase the salmon fillet with skin on the one side, the only other ingredients you'll need is prepared pesto, green onions, fresh lemon juice, and garlic cloves.

    I'll be willing to bet that a lot of you have those ingredients in your kitchen right now.

    One important step before grilling the salmon is to feel the flesh for bones. The bones are easy to pull out with heavy duty tweezers or pliers. We have a special pair of needle nose pliers we keep in the kitchen just for this purpose.

    Grilled Pesto Italian Salmon is on the table in 30 minutes. It's quick and delicious @allourway.com

    Grilling the Italian pesto salmon

    You make the pesto sauce by combining in a small bowl

    •  prepared pesto,
    • onions,
    • lemon juice,
    • garlic

    Put the salmon on the medium heated grill (350F), skin side down. Grill for about 5 minutes, then spoon a little of the pesto mixture over the fish.

    Grill with the lid down about 15 minutes longer or until the fish flakes easily with a fork. Baste the salmon occasionally with the remaining pesto sauce.

    In 30 minutes you have a delicious and nutritious protein that is low in calories, high in vitamins, and a family that thinks you're a genius for creating such a wonderful dish.

    Grilled Italian Pesto Salmon is a quick and delicious dish that is on the table in 30 minutes @allourway.com

    This is a recipe that even non-fish lovers will enjoy. I learned to use pesto with fish, such as our grilled mahi mahi,  from my mamma. It is such an easy way to add flavor.

    We hope you'll sign up for our weekly newsletter so we can share what we're doing in and out of our kitchen.

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    The following are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliate sites. 

    Thanks so much for being a part of All Our Way!

    We keep needle nose plier just like these in our kitchen drawer. I use them to remove small bones in fish or chicken. They are super handy for anything for everything food related. They are inexpensive and certainly saves lots of time.

    What's new? check out my All Our Way Store on Amazon. We'll be adding more items we love and use or wish we had to make cooking fun and easy. 

    Grilled Italian Pesto Salmon a quick and delicious dish ready in 30 minutes @allourway.com

    Grilled Italian Pest Salmon 30 Minutes Start To Finish

    Adding a bit of pesto sauce to salmon or any grilled fish really dresses up the dish. I learned this from my mamma who loved to grill her fish and make this pesto sauce. It can't get any easier and the end result is better than restaurant quality dish. Try it and see if you don't agree.

    If you like this recipe please consider giving it a 5-star rating. This helps others to decide whether to try the recipe.

    📖 Recipe

    Italian Pesto Salmon recipe on a white plate with lemon slices.

    Grilled Italian Pesto Salmon 30 Minutes Start to Finish

    This is quick pesto salmon recipe yields a buttery, flaky, beautifully pink salmon that will become a family favorite. Five ingredients are all that you need for this outstanding Italian salmon dish that is impressive enough for company.
    4.98 from 37 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: main dish, seafood
    Cuisine: American, Italian
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 20 minutes
    Total Time: 30 minutes
    Servings: 6 servings
    Calories: 125kcal
    Author: Marisa Franca @ All Our Way
    As An Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Ingredients

    • 1 salmon fillet 1 ½ pounds
    • ½ cup prepared pesto we used our homemade pesto* see note
    • 2 green onion finely chopped
    • ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
    • 2 garlic cloves minced
    • lemon wedges to serve with salmon

    Instructions

    • In a small bowl, whisk the pesto, onions, lemon juice, and garlic. Add a few grinds of pepper and a pinch of salt.
    • Lightly coat the grill rack with cooking oil or spray. Heat grill to medium high heat (350 F.).
    • Once the grill reaches the proper temperature, place salmon skin side down on the grill rack.
    • Grill covered over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
    • Spoon some of the pesto sauce over the salmon taking care it doesn't flame up.
    • Grill 15 minutes longer or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Baste occasionally with the remaining pesto sauce.
    • Serve with lemon wedges.

    Notes

    Whatever salmon you have left over, use the next day on a salad or mix it with pasta for a delicious pasta dish.
    ROASTING IN OVEN: Preheat the oven 450 F. and place the salmon skin side down on a non-stick baking sheet or non-stick pan (make sure handle is oven-proof). Prepare the salmon as we did for grilling. Bake 15-20 minutes depending on the thickness of the salmon. Finish as we did the original recipe. If you have any other questions please let us know.
    *Here is the link to our homemade pesto recipe without pine nuts. 

    Nutrition

    Serving: 4ounces | Calories: 125kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 206mg | Potassium: 160mg | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 470IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 0.4mg

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      I’m Marisa Franca, a home chef, food writer, and photographer who believes that you can make gourmet quality food at home with simple seasonal ingredients. I’m passionate about family, food, friends, everything Italian, and happy endings.

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