15 Minute Baked Creamy Salmon & Asparagus

This quick, fresh and zesty 15 minute baked creamy salmon & asparagus makes the perfect springtime inspired supper treat for the whole family.

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Amazing Asparagus

After a chilly and rainy start to the year, the spring sunshine has finally arrived here in England!

When the weather heats up and the flowers are in bloom, I like to get myself into the kitchen and cook up some deliciously fresh and healthy spring seasonal recipes.

In the UK, early May is that glorious time of year when fresh, homegrown asparagus is available in the shops. So it’s the perfect time to celebrate this gloriously crunchy, buttery vegetable with some asparagus recipes! That’s exactly why I’ve created this healthy and delicious 15 minute baked creamy salmon and asparagus.

Although asparagus season is short, there’s so much you can do with this versatile veg. For me, one of the main selling points is that asparagus is so quick to cook. You can fry it off in a pan in a matter of minutes to give it a soft, buttery outside whilst keeping a fabulously crunchy centre. It also bakes really well in the oven.

I’m always looking out for health benefits in my quick recipes and asparagus packs a seriously healthy punch! It’s low calorie but extremely nutrient dense, containing generous amounts of vitamins C, K and A, as well as minerals like potassium and phosphorous.

So including this gorgeously green veg in this 15 minute baked creamy salmon & asparagus recipe makes perfect sense.

Scrummy Salmon

Speaking of healthy, let’s take a moment to appreciate the gorgeous fish that is salmon!

Salmon is my absolute favourite fish for so many reasons. It cooks really quickly which is obviously a big bonus. It has such a delicious flavour that you can combine with so many other ingredients to create a huge range of wonderful recipes.

So it’s no surprise that you’ll see this lovely pink fish featuring in so much of my quick cooking.

Check out some of my other salmon-based quick recipes for further inspiration, including this 15 Minute Miso Salmon with Spinach, these 10 Minute Salmon and Sweet Chilli Fishcakes, this 5 Minute Dairy-Free Smoked Salmon Pate, this 10 Minute Dairy Free Creamy Salmon & Spinach Pasta and of course, this 15 Minute Smoked Salmon & Asparagus Puff Pastry Squares where the salmon buddies up with some lovely asparagus!

When I think of asparagus, I can’t help but think of this gorgeous pink fish as the two are so delicious together. Truly a match made in heaven! This 15 minute baked creamy salmon and asparagus recipe really makes the combination sing.

Fabulous Flavours

So what about the other flavours to pair with our salmon and asparagus?

There are many possible combinations that would work brilliantly well. For me, nothing quite tops that classic combo of garlic and lemon juice. This peppery and zesty duo are even more delicious when paired with a dollop of creamy crème fraîche and a drizzle of sweet honey. These flavours help this 15 minute baked salmon and asparagus recipe really come alive.

Tasty Tomatoes

Although the salmon with asparagus is perfectly delicious enough, I’ve chosen to add cherry tomatoes to this quick recipe.

This not only adds a pop of gorgeous crimson colour, it also adds some extra juicy sweetness to the dish which is just delicious.

I’m no stranger to using tomatoes in my quick recipes! Of course, tomatoes can be used entirely without cooking which makes them a brilliant quick ingredient or if you do choose to cook them this takes very little time.

In this quick 15 minute baked salmon and asparagus dish I’ve chosen to use cherry tomatoes. This is for a few reasons. Firstly, they don’t require any chopping so you can just chuck them straight in the roasting dish which saves you valuable time. Keeping them whole also stops the juices oozing out during the cooking process (which can otherwise make things a bit watery). Finally, cherry tomatoes are just so cute and have a particularly sweet flavour. I think they’re lush!

15 minute baked creamy salmon & asparagus – step by step method

Now lets have a look at a useful step by step guide to making the perfect quick baked creamy salmon & asparagus dish.

Serves 4

1. Start by putting preheating your oven to 200c (400f) conventional / 180c (350f) fan.
2. Place 4 skinless salmon fillets into a large roasting tin, spaced apart. This is because you are soon to be surrounding them with lovely veg so there needs to be space! Note you can use salmon with the skin still on but your diners will then have to remove it themselves. I prefer to save them that job if possible and if you don’t want to have to remove the skin yourself, you can usually buy skinless salmon fillets.

3. Next, take 250g (9 oz) of medium thickness asparagus tips and scatter them around evenly in the roasting dish, surrounding the salmon. You can usually buy asparagus tips straight from the supermarket which makes things quicker as you don’t need to prep them yourself. However, if you can only find whole asparagus spears, it’s super easy to get the tips off them; just gently bend the asparagus spear in half and it should ‘snap’ exactly where the delicious tip is. You can then discard the bottom bit (or use it for something else).

4. Now take 250mg (9 oz) of cherry tomatoes and also scatter these around the other ingredients in the roasting tin.

5. Time to create your lovely creamy sauce! In a medium bowl, combine 125g (4.5oz) of creme fraiche, 2 tablespoons of light olive oil, the juice of 1/2 a lemon, 2 teaspoons of runny honey, 2 cloves of garlic that have been peeled and finely grated straight into the bowl (I love grating garlic – much quicker than chopping it) and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Finally, add in around 5g (0.2 oz) of roughly chopped fresh dill that you can either snip into the bowl with scissors or rip apart with clean hands – both methods are nice and quick! Stir the sauce ingredients together until smooth.
6. Using a pastry brush, paint the salmon and vegetables in the tin with the creamy sauce until everything is nice and coated and the sauce is all used up. You can drizzle any sauce that’s left straight into the roasting dish.

7. Bake in the preheated oven for around 10-12 minutes (depending on the thickness of the salmon fillets) until the fish is flaking and cooked through but still moiste. Remove from the oven and serve! Goes wonderfully with some fresh, crusty bread or if you have a little more time, some boiled and buttered new potatoes.