This lemon pepper salmon bowl is an easy 30 minute weeknight dinner that is indulgent but well balanced. Topped with an easy lemon chive compound butter and paired with lemon garlic rice and veggies, your whole family will love this salmon bowl!
Looking for more easy 30 minute meals? Try my Veg and Pork tenderloin Stir Fry, Burst Cherry Tomato Pasta, or my Sauce Vierge on Lemon Steamed Salmon.
The best parts about this recipe
- Indulgent but well-balanced
- 5 minute Lemon Chive Butter
- Comes together in 30 minutes!
Table of Contents
- Ingredient Notes
- How to make Lemon Pepper Salmon Bowl Step by Step
- Recipe and Cooking Tips
- Storage and Reheating
- Additions and Substitutions
- FAQ
- Video Tutorial
- The Recipe
- Looking for more similar recipes?
Ingredient & Component Notes:
Salmon – I use skinless Atlantic or King salmon and cut them into 5-6 ounce portions. It’s important to use fresh salmon here, and I buy my salmon either the day of making the recipe, or the day before.
Lemon Chive Butter – Made with just lemon zest, minced garlic, lots of black pepper, and fresh chives. This can be made ahead of time, and stored in the freezer. One bunch of chives will make a quite a bit, so take advantage of this and make some for future dinners!
This lemon chive butter would also be delicious on bread, halibut, steaks, lamb, you name it. It’s versatile and elegant.
Vegetables – I use green zucchini, but feel free to use yellow squash, peppers, or any other veggie you have on hand. In addition to zucchini, I also like to fold in a leafy green vegetable like spinach at the end.
Lemon Garlic Quinoa Rice – Start the meal by making this, and everything else should come together in the time this takes to finish! I use 2/3 white rice and 1/3 quinoa, and add butter, lemon zest, and lots of black pepper.
How to make the Lemon Pepper Salmon Bowl – Step by Step:
Make the lemon garlic rice:
Step 1: Mince all 3 cloves of garlic.
Step 2: Add the rice, quinoa, and salt to a small 2 qt pot. Toast for 30 seconds, then add the butter and ⅔ of the minced garlic. Give everything a stir, then add the 1.25 cups of water (I don’t rinse my rice in this case – the toasting will help with the starch). Bring up to boil, then cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes on low heat. After 20 minutes, turn off the heat and let sit for 10 minutes.
Step 3: Once finished, add in juice of half a lemon, taste and another pinch of salt if you’d like.
Prep the vegetables:
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400F.
Step 2: Prep all the vegetables and garnishes. Slice the zucchini, ½ a lemon into thin slices, and chop the chives.
Step 3: Set aside the sliced zucchini and place the chives into a small bowl. You can save some chives for garnish at the end.
Make the Lemon Chive Butter and Salmon:
Step 1: Soften the 2 tablespoons of butter and add in the remaining minced garlic, lemon zest, pinch of salt, chives, and black pepper. Give everything a mix, then set aside.
Step 2: Portion the salmon and season on both sides.
Step 3: Place the salmon on a parchment lined sheet tray, then top with a small dollop of the lemon chive butter. You can divide the butter between the portions of salmon, using about 1 teaspoon per portion. Top with a couple lemon slices and more black pepper. Roast at 400F for 8-12 minutes (depending on the thickness of your salmon and how well you like it cooked).
Saute the zucchini and spinach:
Step 1: While the salmon is roasting, heat a pan on medium high heat. Add a tablespoon of neutral oil, then add the zucchini. Stir and cook for 2 minutes, then add in 2 large handfuls of baby spinach. Cook for another 1-2 minutes, and season with kosher salt and black pepper.
Assemble the bowl:
Step 1: Assemble the bowl by making a base of the lemon garlic rice and sauteed zucchini. Top with a piece of salmon and garnish with more chopped chives and a lemon wedge.
Recipe & Cooking tips:
Tip 1 – Make sure to soften the butter before you try and mix the compound butter together. From the fridge, I microwave the butter for 5 seconds, and this gives it the perfect texture!
Tip 2 – Season the salmon on both sides to ensure there is flavor throughout the fish. Spread the lemon chive butter over the top of the salmon, and this will melt and turn into a luscious sauce!
Tip 3 – For the lemon garlic rice, reduce the heat to low once the liquid comes to a boil. This ensures the best texture of rice, and you can let this simmer and cook while you work on the rest of the bowl.
Make ahead tip:
Make a 4* batch of the lemon chive butter (using 1 whole stick of butter), and keep the rest in the freezer for the next time you make this! This cuts down on the ingredients you need to buy for this recipe and saves time.
Storage and Reheating
Storage: Store this in an airtight container for up for 3 days in the refrigerator.
Reheating: I recommend reheating the salmon gently in a pan with a splash (about 1 tablespoon) of water. Heat the rice and veggies in a separate pan, as this will take less time to heat up than the salmon. If you’re in a pinch, cover a bowl with all the ingredients with a damp paper towel and microwave for 2 minutes.
Freezing: I don’t recommend freezing this dish cooked. The veggies will tend to get soggy, so I recommend eating this fresh or from the refrigerator.
Additions and Substitutions
Additions:
- To add some spice to this dish, add some red pepper flake to both the compound butter and the sautéed zucchini and spinach.
- For the lemon garlic rice, feel free to add some more veggies here – frozen peas would be really nice here, or even chopped kale.
Substitutions:
- Vegetables – Instead of zucchini, you could use celery or peppers. For celery, I cook this a bit longer than zucchini, about 5-6 minutes vs the 3-4 minutes for zucchini.
- Dairy – feel free to use dairy free butter.
- Chives – if you can’t find chives, you can use the green parts of a scallion or use dried chives.
- Quinoa Rice – if you’re not a fan of quinoa rice, you can do a lemon garlic rice, couscous, or any type of pasta here instead.
- Salmon – if you’re not a fan of salmon, you can make this with halibut, arctic char, or even branzino (have your fish monger butterfly it for you).
FAQ
Yes! You could freshly make the lemon chive butter and add this on top of the defrosted cooked salmon. Bake the salmon until warm, about 5 minutes at 400F, then take out and serve with the bowl.
Yes! Since the store-bought lemon pepper seasoning has a good amount of salt, replace the salt, lemon zest, and black pepper with about 1/2 teaspoon of the seasoning. You can also add 1/2 teaspoon of the lemon pepper seasoning to the lemon chive butter.
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VIDEO TUTORIAL:
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Recipe
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Lemon Pepper Salmon Bowl
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 2–3 servings 1x
Description
This lemon pepper salmon bowl is an easy 30 minute weeknight dinner that is indulgent but well balanced. Topped with an easy lemon chive compound butter and paired with lemon garlic rice and veggies, your whole family will love this salmon bowl!
Ingredients
For the Lemon Garlic Rice:
- 2/3 cup white rice
- 1/3 cup quinoa
- 1/2 lemon, zested
- Black pepper
- 1 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1.25 cups water
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
For the Lemon Chive Butter:
- 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, softened (can microwave for 10 seconds)
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 6 ground of fresh black pepper
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 1/2 lemon, zested
- 1 tablespoon of cut chives
For the Lemon Pepper Salmon:
- 1 lb salmon
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Black pepper
- 1/2 lemon, thinly sliced
For the Sauteed Zucchini and Spinach:
- 2 zucchini, cut into half moons
- 3 ounces of baby spinach
- Neutral oil
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
Instructions
Make the lemon garlic rice:
- Mince all 3 cloves of garlic.
- Add the rice, quinoa, and salt to a small 2 qt pot. Toast for 30 seconds, then add the butter and ⅔ of the minced garlic. Give everything a stir, then add the 1.25 cups of water (I don’t rinse my rice in this case – the toasting will help with the starch). Bring up to boil, then cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes on low heat. After 20 minutes, turn off the heat and let sit for 10 minutes.
- Once finished, add in juice of half a lemon, taste and another pinch of salt if you’d like.
Prep the vegetables:
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Prep all the vegetables and garnishes. Slice the zucchini, ½ a lemon into thin slices, and chop the chives.
- Set aside the sliced zucchini and place the chives into a small bowl. You can save some chives for garnish at the end.
Make the Lemon Chive Butter and Salmon:
- Soften the 2 tablespoons of butter and add in the remaining minced garlic, lemon zest, pinch of salt, chives, and black pepper. Give everything a mix, then set aside.
- Portion the salmon and season on both sides.
- Place the salmon on a parchment lined sheet tray, then top with a small dollop of the lemon chive butter. You can divide the butter between the portions of salmon, using about 1 teaspoon per portion. Top with a couple lemon slices and more black pepper. Roast at 400F for 8-12 minutes (depending on the thickness of your salmon and how well you like it cooked).
Saute the zucchini and spinach:
- While the salmon is roasting, heat a pan on medium high heat. Add a tablespoon of neutral oil, then add the zucchini. Stir and cook for 2 minutes, then add in 2 large handfuls of baby spinach. Cook for another 1-2 minutes, and season with kosher salt and black pepper.
Assemble the bowl:
- Assemble the bowl by making a base of the lemon garlic rice and sauteed zucchini. Top with a piece of salmon and garnish with more chopped chives and a lemon wedge.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Quick and easy
- Method: Stovetop, oven
- Cuisine: American
This is delicious. Salmon is tender and juicy. I’ll certainly make it again.