This Italian salmon recipe features a fresh herb marinade that’s full of Mediterranean flavor. Use it to cook salmon on the stove for a healthy, low carb, Whole30, high protein meal!

Roasted salmon with Italian seasoning on a plate, served with roasted potatoes and asparagus.

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Italian Salmon Recipe

Salmon is high protein fish that’s rich in heart-healthy, Omega-3 fats. For the nutritional benefits alone, it’s worth serving it as part of a healthy meal plan.

Most of the flavor in this meal comes from a simple Italian dressing marinade. In fact, it is just one of several salmon marinade recipes that you can use to add flavor to any seafood.

This allergy-friendly dish is a snap to make on the stove, and it fits perfectly into these lifestyles, diets, and eating plans:

Pescatarian
High protein
Paleo
Whole30
Low carb/keto
Gluten-free
Dairy-free
Nut free

Why This Recipe is Worth Making

It makes a one-pan dinner. Prepping the ingredients is a snap, and because you’ll be cooking salmon on the stove in a skillet, clean up is a breeze!
Incredible flavor, with a few simple ingredients. When you take your first bite of Italian salmon, you’ll enjoy flavorful, flaky and moist fish!
Special enough to serve to dinner guests. The rich Italian flavors make the meal taste fancy. You’re the only one who will know just how easy it really is to make.

Are you a fan of Italian dinner recipes with easy clean-up? If so, you’ll probably also enjoy Slow Cooker Italian Lamb Shoulder and One-Pan Italian Chicken Breasts with Potatoes & Asparagus.

A close-up of roasted, Italian-seasoned salmon with herbs and spices, accompanied by roasted potatoes, served on a plate with a fork.

Ingredients and Substitutions

olive oil – This oil is a staple in Italian dishes. If you want or need to use a substitute, avocado oil is a good choice.
lemon – All you’ll need is 1 large lemon, for a couple of tablespoons of fresh lemon juice. For a different citrus flavor, swap the lemon for a lime, orange, or even grapefruit.
Italian seasoning – My recipe for homemade Italian seasoning is easy to make, but store-bought works fine, too. You can use either a packet of Italian dressing mix or an Italian seasoning blend.
minced garlic – For the best flavor, I suggest mincing fresh cloves of garlic. But, to save a little time, feel free to substitute with the ready-to-use minced garlic.
fresh parsley – Nothing you can get from the spice aisle matches the bright flavor of fresh herbs! If you need a substitute, you can use dried parsley. If you plan to do this, keep in mind that the flavor of dry herbs and spices is concentrated, so use half the amount of dried herbs for fresh.

Marinade ingredients in small bowls for an Italian salmon recipe.

How to Make My Italian Salmon Recipe

There are just three simple steps involved: Prepping the ingredients, marinating, and cooking the salmon.

Make the Italian marinade.

Just whisk the marinade ingredients together in a nonreactive bowl. A nonreactive material is one that doesn’t react negatively to acidic ingredients (like lemon juice and tomatoes). If the material isn’t nonreactive, over time, the acids can cause it to corrode and break down.

Good examples of nonreactive materials are stainless steel, ceramic, and glass.

Marinate the fish.

Use paper towels to dry off the fillets, then put them in a glass baking dish or heavy-duty zip top bag.
Pour the marinade over the salmon, then flip them over so there’s a nice coating on both sides.
Leave the fish in the marinade, and allow it to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Or, you can cover or seal the container and refrigerate it for up to 2 hours.

Why can’t you marinate salmon in Italian dressing overnight?

Unlike beef and pork, fish doesn’t have any fibrous connective tissue to break down. So, fish marinades are really only used for adding flavor. Unless it’s a thick and meaty fillet, like tuna steak, the fish only needs 15-30 minutes of marinating time to take on the flavors.

In fact, if you marinate fish for too long, it’s likely to become mushy.

Not only that, but there’s an acidic ingredient (lemon juice) in this Italian dressing marinade. If you let the fish sit much longer than an hour or so, the acids in the citrus juice will begin to cook the fish, similar to how ceviche is made.

Cook salmon on the stove.

Before you add the fish to the skillet, be sure the oil is hot. Otherwise, the oil will soak into the fish, causing it to have a greasy mouthfeel.

Let it cook undisturbed in the skillet for 5 minutes, then flip it over and cook on the other side for 5 minutes.

Italian salmon fillet with herbs on a plate, accompanied by roasted potatoes and asparagus.

Helpful Tips

The best way to get the perfect flavor is to use all fresh ingredients. Freshly squeezed lemon juice will have a lot more flavor than a bottle of concentrated juice.
For an easy meal prep idea, freeze the salmon in the Italian marinade. It will keep in the freezer for up to 4 months!
To create extra crispy skin on the salmon, avoid the moving the fish around in the skillet.
Want to bake salmon in the oven instead? If you don’t want to cook salmon on the stove, you can follow the cooking instructions in my Marinated Lemon Garlic Salmon recipe.

Other Quick Skillet Dinner Recipes

Easy Italian Salmon Recipe

This Italian salmon recipe features a fresh herb marinade. Use it to cook salmon on the stove for a healthy, flavor-packed, high protein meal!

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Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 8

Marinating Time: 30

Total Time: 48

Servings:

Author: Madison Wetherill

Ingredients

Italian Marinade

3 tablespoons olive oil or avocado oil
1½ tablespoons Italian seasoning
1½ tablespoons lemon juice from 1 large lemon
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tablespoon minced parsley or 1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 pinch salt and pepper or more/less, as desired

For Cooking Salmon

2 tablespoons olive oil or avocado oil
12 ounces salmon fillets two skin-on fillets, about 6 ounces each

Instructions

Add all marinade ingredients to a small nonreactive bowl (see Note 1) Whisk well to combine.
Note: You can do this up to a day in advance. Cover and store the marinade in the refrigerator until you're ready to use it.

Marinate the Salmon

Pat the salmon fillets dry with paper towels. Transfer to a glass baking dish or heavy-duty zip top storage bag.
Pour the marinade over the fish, then turn it over to fully coat both sides.
Marinate in the container at room temperature for 30 minutes, or set the covered or sealed container in the refrigerator to marinate for up to an hour.
Alternatively, you can seal the bag or container and freeze the salmon in the marinade for 3-4 months.

Cook Salmon on the Stove

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Remove fish from marinade, shaking off any excess. When the oil is hot, set the salmon fillets in the pan, skin side down.
Cook the fish, without moving the fillets around in the skillet, for 3-4 minutes. Then, use a large spatula to carefully turn the salmon fillets over.
Continue cooking fish for another 4 minutes. To prevent the salmon from being dry, do not press the fillets down as they cook.
When the salmon is flaky and cooked through to an internal temperature of 145℉, remove the fillets from the pan.
Plate and serve while warm.

Notes

A nonreactive bowl is made from a material that won’t react with acidic foods like citrus juice and tomatoes. Nonreactive materials include stainless steel, ceramic, or glass. Acids will corrode and cause damage to reactive materials.
Reusing the salmon marinade is not recommended. Uncooked fish, meat, and poultry contain bacteria that transfer to the marinade. Per USDA recommendations, it is not considered safe to reuse for any purpose.