Served with lemon and Greek yogurt, this colorful spinach-stuffed salmon recipe has fresh salmon filets stuffed with roasted red peppers, capers, and Greek yogurt. Its gluten-free, packed with nutrients and bold Mediterranean flavors.
This recipe for spinach-stuffed salmon is perfect for a weeknight meal because it’s quick, healthy, and tasty. Putting together roasted red peppers, capers, garlic, lemon, and spinach takes me right away to my favorite place in the world, where I can enjoy a cold white wine, fresh fish, and a view of the Mediterranean.
I don’t serve spinach salad or creamed spinach as a side dish. Instead, I make a spinach filling with my favorite flavor boosters. The fragrant filling then pulls double-duty by infusing the salmon as it bakes.
To balance out the richness of the fish, I chose capers and lemon. But I went one step further and added preserved lemon for an even more vibrant flavor and burst of umami. Finally, a dollop of Greek yogurt adds creaminess. Aleppo pepper adds a mild heat, and fire-roasted red peppers add a smoky sweetness.
This meal, like my stuffed tomatoes with tuna, tastes as special as my favorite dinners in Barcelona, but I can make it in a little more than 30 minutes. No transatlantic flight needed!.
Aleppo pepper comes from the Halaby chili pepper. It has a mild earthy spice to it with a touch of sweetness. The spice is named for the Syrian city of Aleppo, where the peppers were once grown in abundance. Now, however, the chili peppers are mostly grown in Turkey, often using Syrian seeds. A lot of people in the Middle East and North Africa use Aleppo Pepper, but like many other Mediterranean spices, it’s often brought to new places! Read our guide on “What is Aleppo Pepper and How do You Use It?” to learn more, or buy some pepper from our shop and use it in your cooking! Aleppo pepper is great in this stuffed salmon recipe, but it’s also great sprinkled over sliced tomatoes with crumbled feta and a drizzle of olive oil, added to Turkish Red Lentil Soup, or used to make a Mediterranean Chickpea Salad taste better.
Stuffed salmon is a popular seafood dish that combines flaky omega-3 rich salmon with a creamy, cheese-based filling. At first glance the indulgent cheese and cream ingredients packed into the fish may seem at odds with its reputation as a healthy choice. However, with the right fillings and cooking methods, stuffed salmon can be a nutritious part of your diet.
The Benefits of Salmon
Salmon is prized for its high levels of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3s are essential fats with powerful anti-inflammatory properties that have been tied to reduced risk for heart disease, diabetes, dementia, depression, and autoimmune disorders.
Salmon is also one of the best dietary sources of vitamin D and the antioxidant selenium, providing 50% of the recommended daily intake in just a 3 ounce serving. Vitamin D promotes strong bones while selenium protects cells from damage and infection
In addition to essential nutrients, salmon is a high quality protein containing all 9 essential amino acids needed for growth and maintenance. Compared to other animal proteins, salmon is lower in artery-clogging saturated fat.
Choosing the Healthiest Fillings
Salmon is tasty on its own, but creative fillings can make it even better for you. Some healthy ingredients to stuff your salmon with include:
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This leafy green is good for you because it has 5 grams of fiber per cup and is high in iron, magnesium, vitamins A, C, and K. It’s a nutrition powerhouse.
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Feta cheese – Provides calcium for bone health. Choose pasteurized feta made from sheep or goat’s milk for easier digestibility.
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Sun-dried tomatoes are a great way to get the antioxidant lycopene, which is good for your heart and may help protect you from cancer.
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Roasted red peppers – Red peppers contain even more vitamin C than oranges, an essential vitamin for immunity and skin health.
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Lemon zest – Brightens flavor while preserving the vitamin C and antioxidants in lemons.
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Fresh herbs – Herbs like parsley, basil, cilantro add nutrients like vitamin K, iron, and plant compounds with antioxidant and antimicrobial effects.
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Beans or lentils – Provide a hefty dose of plant-based protein and fiber. Try white beans, chickpeas, or cooked lentils.
Healthy Cooking Methods
Baking is a safe, easy way to cook stuffed salmon without adding extra fat or calories. Place stuffed fillets on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake at 400°F for 15-20 minutes until the salmon reaches an internal temperature of 145°F.
For a crispy top, finish under the broiler for just 1-2 minutes. Cooking just until done prevents the salmon from drying out.
Stuffing salmon and baking it in foil packets is another healthy option. The fish gently steams in its own juices inside the packet. Substitute heavy cream or sour cream with low-fat plain Greek yogurt or soft cheese for a lighter, tangy filling.
Watch the Portions
While the salmon itself is nutritious, stuffed salmon delivers a one-two punch of protein and fat between the filling and the fish. A 3 ounce salmon fillet provides 170 calories and 10 grams of fat. Cheese-based fillings can add another 100-200 calories per serving.
Practice portion control by keeping servings of stuffed salmon around 4-6 ounces, and rounding out the meal with lower calorie plant foods like salad greens, roasted veggies, or cauliflower rice. You can also stretch a little salmon further by stuffing thicker fillets.
The Bottom Line
Overall, stuffed salmon can be a nutritious choice when using a light hand with rich fillings, selecting healthier ingredients like veggies and beans, and keeping portion sizes in check. The omega-3s in salmon offer potent anti-inflammatory effects, and creative fillings provide additional nutrients and health benefits. Just be mindful of excess calories, fat, and sodium when making this decadent fish dish.
Frequency of Entities:
Spinach – 5
Omega-3 – 4
Salmon – 19
Fiber – 2
Vitamin – 5
Protein – 2
Filling/Fillings – 10
Fat – 4
Calories – 3
Healthy – 8
Nutrients/Nutritious – 4
Herbs – 1
Portion – 2
Vegetables – 1
How to Make Stuffed Salmon with Spinach
- Get ready. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Use about 2 teaspoons of olive oil to grease a baking sheet with a rim.
- Get your seasonings ready. Cut two roasted red peppers into small pieces. (If you want to roast them yourself, use this guide.) Peel and finely dice 1 shallot. Mince 3 garlic cloves. Drain and roughly chop 2 tablespoons capers. Finely chop 1 preserved lemon (peel and pith included).
- Prepare the spinach. Put the two teaspoons of olive oil in a nonstick pan and heat it over medium-low heat. Add the shallot and stir it around with a wooden spoon for two to three minutes, until it gets soft and clear. Add the garlic and 5 ounces of baby spinach. Cook, stirring every now and then, for about 3 minutes, or until the spinach wilts.
- Dry the spinach mixture. Scrape the wilted spinach into a fine-mesh strainer. With the spoon, press the spinach against the strainer a few times to drain the extra water. Place the strainer over a small bowl or over the sink.
- Make the filling. Put the spinach mixture on a cutting board and cut it up into small pieces. Then, put the pieces in a medium-sized bowl. Put in the roasted red peppers, capers, preserved lemon, 2 tablespoons of Greek yogurt, ½ teaspoon of Aleppo pepper, ¼ teaspoon of salt, and a good grind of black pepper. Stir to combine.
- Make a pocket for the filling. Pat the salmon dry. If you have a whole salmon filet, cut it into four equal pieces, each about 6 ounces. Then, use a sharp knife to make a slit down the side of each piece without going all the way through to the other side. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the salmon all over, even inside the pockets.
- Stuff and bake. Arrange the salmon skin-side down in the pan. If you want the filets to be a little hotter, sprinkle them with more Aleppo pepper and squeeze the juice of half a lemon over them. Spoon a quarter of the filling into each pocket. Twelve to fourteen minutes, or until the fish is fully cooked and flaky.
- Serve. Serve right away with extra lemon wedges on the side to squeeze.
Most of these ingredients are always in my pantry, but you can change this stuffed salmon recipe to use what you have on hand or your favorite flavors.
- If you don’t have preserved lemons, use 1 teaspoon of lemon zest instead. It will still taste deliciously lemony, but it won’t have the same salty, briny taste.
- It’s okay to use half of a small onion of any color, but I like red. You could also use a couple of sliced scallions instead of the shallot.
- Capers: Instead of capers, you can always use green or black olives.
- Roasted red peppers: Use umami-rich sundried tomatoes.
- You can use Swiss chard, rainbow chard, beet greens, or even kale instead of spinach.
- To make this recipe dairy-free: Skip the Greek yogurt. It will still be creamy if you use 2 tablespoons of unsweetened plant-based sour cream or 1 tablespoon of tahini instead.
- Change the seasoning. For weeknight dinners, I like dinners with lots of flavor and few ingredients. But that doesn’t mean you can’t make the filling with more herbs and spices. You can also season the salmon by rubbing it with herbs and spices. My favorites are sumac, harissa paste, dill, and tarragon.
Ingredients for This Stuffed Salmon with Spinach
As a baker, my job usually has me surrounded by sweets during the day. So for dinner, I can’t get enough of anything savory, refreshingly bright, and briny!.
- Choose a thicker filet of salmon so that you can fit more of the spinach stuffing inside.
- Shallot: Shallots are sweet flavor-builders that are milder than onions. The spinach filling fits just right in their smaller size. If you’d rather, you can use yellow or green onions instead.
- Garlic: Garlic makes almost everything better. By sautéing the garlic, you can temper its spiciness and get a sweet, nutty flavor that you can’t resist.
- Spinach: Baby spinach is milder and sweeter than regular spinach.
- roasted red peppers: For an extra smoky flavor punch, I like to use fire-roasted red peppers, which you can make yourself or buy at the store. You can also use roasted red peppers or piquillo peppers.
- Capers: Tiny capers have it all. They taste savory, salty, and briny, and go well with lemon, like in chicken piccata.
- When you pickle lemon in salt water, you get preserved lemon. It tastes like savory pickles and is smoother and more complex than fresh lemon. Sometimes you can find it in the international section of your grocery store. You can also order it online or make your own. You can also substitute with 1 teaspoon of lemon zest.
- If you add a few spoonfuls of full-fat Greek yogurt, it makes the filling tangy and creamy and helps it stay together without watering down the other flavors.
- Aleppo pepper: If you crush Aleppo pepper, it has a less spicy taste and a more fruity and tart flavor. You can order Aleppo pepper from our store, find it in some grocery stores stocked with spices, or use chili flakes instead.
- Lemon juice: It cuts through rich salmon and makes it taste better. Adding a squeeze of lemon juice right before baking is my favorite thing to do. I also like to serve extra lemon wedges with the salmon.
- Salt and pepper: Salt brings out the flavors of other foods, and freshly ground black pepper gives food depth and a lively spice.
Stuffed Salmon Recipe | Easy Salmon Recipe #onestopchop
FAQ
How many calories are in stuffed salmon?
What is the healthiest way to eat salmon?
What is stuffed salmon made of?
Is Spinach stuffed salmon good for You?
Spinach stuffed salmon is not only delicious—it offers good-for-you ingredients too! In addition to the health benefits of the salmon itself (salmon is rich in omega-3s, protein, potassium, and more), spinach is packed with fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Spinach is my favorite for stuffed salmon since it wilts quickly and has a mild flavor.
Is salmon fattening or good for health?
No one food has the ability to be fattening by itself. It is the entirety of a person’s regular diet that can contribute to weight gain. While salmon itself is not fattening, some fatty fish like salmon are uniquely rich in both healthy omega-3 fats as well vitamin D. Both are nutrients that are essential to health. Consumed 2-3 times per week, salmon is a healthy choice. There are a variety of ways to eat salmon; cooked from fresh, canned, smoked, and raw in sushi. Wild salmon is generally the healthier choice, however, some fish farms are becoming more sustainable and provide quality products. For those looking for wild salmon only, canned red or sockeye salmon sold in supermarkets is typically more affordable than fresh. It cannot be farmed and is all wild.
What can I eat with stuffed salmon?
Store leftover salmon in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. In general, rice, pasta, vegetables, and salad are great options for serving with stuffed salmon. I suggest My Go-To Balsamic Roasted Vegetables, Pesto Quinoa Salad, Roasted Sweet Potato Salad, and/or The BEST Vegan Kale Caesar Sala d.
What is the best stuffing for salmon?
Olive Oil: Provides a good base for cooking, adding subtle flavor and helping to keep the salmon moist. Stonyfield Greek Yogurt: A quarter cup brings creaminess and a tangy punch to the stuffing, complementing the fish, with the added benefit of being organic and from pasture-raised cows.