Salmon Piccata

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Salmon Piccata is a delicious, simple adaptation of traditional piccata. Fillets of salmon are dredged in almond or all purpose flour and pan-fried to perfection. Piccata sauce is a zesty, lemony butter sauce that complements most meats and fish perfectly. This light, healthy recipe is a very easy to make, family friendly dinner that is great for busy weeknights.

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Piccata recipes are typically made with thin sliced cuts of veal or chicken. My first piccata recipe was actually for Keto Chicken Piccata and I love it so much that I’ve made a couple more variations, including Pork Piccata, Cod Piccata and now this Salmon Piccata.

Piccata is an easy, but incredibly flavorful, classic Italian dish. You would typically dredge the meat or seafood in regular all purpose flour, but I switched it out for almond flour to keep this recipe lower in carbohydrates and gluten free. You can absolutely still use regular flour without having to alter the recipe at all.

Salmon is loaded with so many benefits, including healthy fats like Omega-3’s and protein, plus it cooks quickly making it a great choice when you’re short on time.

The sauce is a simple combination of lemon, butter, white wine and capers. Shallots, garlic, and fresh parsley are added for even more flavor. It really is an amazing combination of flavors.

Why This Recipe Works

This is a quick, 15 minute, one pan recipe that you can make on just the stove top. It’s a very easy, family friendly dish that is the perfect busy weeknight dinner, yet still impressive enough to serve guests when entertaining, as well.

It’s zesty, fresh, and delicious and is sure to be a new favorite seafood dinner. 

You can enjoy this healthy recipe if you are following a low carb, keto, or even gluten free diet. There are only 6 net carbs. See the notes section of the recipe card at the bottom of this post for ways to reduce the carb count even more.

How to Make Salmon Piccata

Ingredients

• Salmon: use the highest quality salmon possible for the freshest flavor. Any type of salmon will work. My personal favorites are king salmon and coho salmon.
• Produce: lemon juice, garlic, shallot and capers give this dish its signature flavor. Be sure to use fresh squeezed lemon juice and fresh garlic.
• Almond Flour or All Purpose Flour: Use blanched almond flour for the best texture. If you are not low carb or gluten free, you can use regular all purpose flour for a more traditional piccata texture.
• Butter and Olive Oil: both are used to cook the salmon and add even more flavor to the dish.
• White Wine: you can use chicken stock, if you’d rather not use alcohol.
• Salt and Pepper

This recipe is made entirely on the stovetop. Most cuts of salmon will work just fine, but if your fillets are thicker, you may have to finish cooking them in the oven (in an oven-proof skillet, of course!).

Chef’s Tip: To lower the net carbs in this recipe even more, you can eliminate the shallot and/or almond flour. The salmon can be prepared with just salt and pepper (no flour) in the same manner as instructed in the recipe.

The entire recipe and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. You can print the recipe from the card, if needed.

For the last couple of years, I have gotten all of my salmon from Sitka Salmon Shares. Sitka is a kind of like a CSA for seafood. I’m a premium member and have never loved seafood as much as I do now.

If you want to check them out, they will give you $25 off of your first premium share, just use code DLB. If you don’t like it, simply cancel. You are definitely not locked into anything.

Prep!

This recipe comes together really quickly, so be sure to do all your mincing, dicing, and juicing before you begin.

If you are using frozen salmon, be sure it is fully thawed before you begin. Remove any skin and/or pin bones. Cut whole fillets of salmon into individual serving sizes before preparing.

Create!

Mix together the almond flour, salt and pepper on a plate. Dredge the salmon in the flour mixture and place on a plate.

Heat the butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high.

Once the butter-oil mixture is hot and sizzles when drops of water are sprinkled over it, add the salmon.

Cook until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes, then flip carefully with a fish spatula, if you have one, and cook an additional 3-4 minutes or until the fish is opaque throughout and easily flakes with a fork.

Remove to a clean plate.

Chef’s Tip: it’s important to make sure the butter and oil are hot before adding the salmon. This is to ensure that the flour coating stays on and doesn’t get soggy, which can be a bit challenging when working with fish that flakes as it cooks, like salmon.

To make the sauce, reduce the heat to medium and add the remaining butter to the pan. Once melted, add the shallots and garlic and cook until softened, about 2 minutes.

Slowly pour in the wine, raise the heat, and bring to a boil. Reduce by half, scraping up any browned bits. Add the lemon juice and capers and stir.

Present!

Place the salmon back into the pan to warm through.

Top the fish with the sauce, and garnish with fresh parsley, if desired.

Tips and Techniques

• To lower the net carbs in this recipe even more, you can eliminate the shallot and/or almond flour. If you eliminate the almond flour, simply cook the salmon seasoned with salt and pepper in the skillet, or bake it, if preferred.
• You can use chicken stock or, even better, chicken bone broth instead of white wine. 
• Store leftovers separately in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Use within 3-4 days.

FAQ’s

What Do You Serve With Salmon Piccata?

Classic piccata is often served over pasta. If you’re gluten free, you can simply use gluten free pasta or serve it over rice. To keep the recipe low carb, you can serve it over roasted spaghetti squash or with a simple side of low carb veggies such as broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, or even Brussels sprouts.

Is Salmon Piccata Low Carb?

Piccata is not typically a low carb dish. It’s dredged in wheat flour and often served over pasta. However, this particular recipe uses almond flour to greatly reduce the carb count making it not only low in carbs, but also keto friendly.

What Are Capers?

Capers are actually flower buds from a plant that is native to the Mediterranean area of the world. They are pickled in a brine that gives them their signature salty, tangy taste and adds zesty, briny flavor to recipes.

More Salmon Recipes

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