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Remember that time I recapped how much poor C suffers being in a relationship with me? Well I mentioned how I insisted on reminding him every 10 seconds that the salmon he was eating was fresh. I rarely splurge on fresh fish (when it isn’t on sale), but when I do you better bet I’m gonna tell you allllll about it. What I failed to mention was how when I got home from the store my motivation to cook was at an all-time low.
This is sooooo typical. I spend way too money at the grocery store only to come home and be too lazy to cook. I have high standards so if I know I’m gonna half-ass a meal, I’d rather just order in from one of the 100000 restaurants around me.
But not this time! NO! I was determined to make a minimal effort meal that tasted as legit as it cost. I threw some rice in the rice cooker, chopped up some brocs and then proceeded to stare at the beautiful salmon trying to decide what to do with it for a solid 5 minutes. I decided to squeeze a lemon over it but quickly got sucked in by Game of Thrones and totally forgot about the fish.
An hour later I returned to the kitchen and had a slight freak-out that I forgot about the salmon before ransacking my spice cupboard for what to put on it. My brain power was minimal so I stuck to a basic Italian seasoning blend and was a little heavy handed. 500 degrees and 10 minutes later DELICIOUS salmon!
Not only did I spend the entire meal talking about my fresh fish splurge but also repeatedly patted myself on the back for mastering salmon with just 3 ingredients.
Then C reminded me I used salt and pepper and those technically count as ingredients too. Dreams shattered! Here I was thinking I was the queen of 3 ingredient salmon when in reality it was 5. I’m choosing to ignore salt and pepper for today because that’s basically like counting oxygen as an ingredient. I don’t care what you say, this is 3 ingredient salmon!
Print3 Ingredient Salmon
- Total Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs of fresh salmon (cut into 4 pieces)
- juice ½ large lemon (at least ¼ cup)
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Place salmon a shallow pan and squeeze lemon juice over pieces. Make sure each piece is coated.
- Let marinate in fridge for 1 hour (optional but if you have the time let it marinate)
- Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.
- Place salmon pieces, skin side down on a parchment lined baking sheet or pan.
- Cover each piece with italian seasoning and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Bake for 10 mins.
- Serve immediately.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4
Do salt and pepper count as ingredients? What’s your go-to 3 ingredient meal?
I do the EXACT same thing. I sometimes even end up throwing things out. I am the worst! This salmon looks so good and easy!
Mhmm simple recipes are totally the best, especially with salmon! I feel like if you do too much to the fish, it totally overwhelms it. And I agree, this is definitely a 3 ingredient recipe ;).
This looks amazing! I love love LOVE salmon! Sadly, being in college and on the meal plan, I rarely get it! But when I go home sometimes my mum makes it because she knows how much my brother and I love it! Have you ever tried salmon salad? You can get some from Whole Foods… or make it with leftovers!! It’s sooooo delicious! YUM!
even though they are technically an ingredient, salt and pepper are just automatically assumed right..this is a legit three ingredient dish 🙂 i likey.
Hell nawwww S&P never count! Those are just extras. This is such a classic, and delicious way to make salmon. My mama makes a lot of salmon and this is her go to also. Back when I ate the swimming creature I would opt for this kind of recipe, with the occasional grilled/BBQ salmon. My go to 3 ingredient meal would be some kind of base (rice/quinoa/beans) with tomato and avocado topped with salsa. In this case the salsa does not count. HA. And then with more cayenne…so again..I guess mine is 5 ingredients, but two don’t count! OH and chips on the side to dip…OK I fail.
Haha ohhh C.. what a dream crusher! Salt and pepper totally do NOT count as ingredients. This looks delishhhhhhh.
Agree! Salt and pepper are like adding water to a recipe, besides it’s your recipe you can call it what you want. I love how versatile salmon is. I do mine with garlic powder (instead of Italian seasoning). My other go to for dinners is cod. Toss in the oven frozen and it’s done in 20-30 minutes.
Salmon is my jam and this is actually a recipe I will try because it’s so simple. My tiny little brain can’t handle many more than 3 ingredients. 🙂 Salt and pepper don’t count………
Replace italian seasoning with dill and you have my go-to 3 ingredient recipe 😉 And salt and pepper are up there with using oil to cook something in for a recipe – they’re freebies!
Yum! I would agree that it’s three ingredients. 😉 Thanks for sharing this. I love having more Paleo recipes for my book! 🙂