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?
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45 Comments
Alexis @ Hummusapien
April 24, 2014 at 5:03 pmThree ingredients is my jaaaaaam. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve come home from the store with every bean and green under the sun only to plop on the coach with a plate of scrambled eggs. If C doesn’t want you, I’ll gladly date ya. We can BUI whilst eating special brownies and not feel bad about it.
Nikki @ The Road to Less Cake
April 24, 2014 at 4:00 pmSometimes the simple things are best!
Alicia S
April 24, 2014 at 3:57 pmYou are so funny! Sending this post to my sister, she loves salmon and this is super simple with only 3 ingredients! I agree with you that salt & pepper are like oxygen…you don’t count it 🙂
Kelly - LEFT SIDE OF THE TABLE
April 24, 2014 at 2:37 pmI don’t think you need a laundry list of ingredients to make a wonderful dish!! Plus it can be annoying to purchase 10 weird ingredients you never use to make 1 stinking dish!! Thanks for the lovely salmon recipe. Isn’t salmon awesome?!? I LOVE it grilled 😀
Britt@MyOwnBalance
April 24, 2014 at 1:02 pmI do the EXACT same thing. I sometimes even end up throwing things out. I am the worst! This salmon looks so good and easy!
Christine@ Apple of My Eye
April 24, 2014 at 11:55 amMhmm 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 ;).
Cailee @ http://hellohealthyeating.com
April 24, 2014 at 11:13 amThis 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!
Dixya @ Food, Pleasure, and Health
April 24, 2014 at 10:36 ameven though they are technically an ingredient, salt and pepper are just automatically assumed right..this is a legit three ingredient dish 🙂 i likey.
Brittany
April 24, 2014 at 9:57 amHell 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.
Erin @ The Almond Eater
April 24, 2014 at 9:27 amHaha ohhh C.. what a dream crusher! Salt and pepper totally do NOT count as ingredients. This looks delishhhhhhh.
Megan @ The Skinny-Life
April 24, 2014 at 9:17 amAgree! 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.
Meghan @fitnesscrEATures
April 24, 2014 at 9:16 amSalmon 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………