Easy Pan Seared Salmon

pan seared salmon on a black plate surrounded by lemon wedges

5 from 3 votes

This simple pan seared salmon is perfectly crispy on the outside and tender on the inside every time! You only need 20 minutes to make this restaurant-worthy yet easy dish at home.

Prep Time5

Cook Time15

Total Time20

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: pan fried salmon, pan seared salmon recipe, pan seared salmon with skin

Servings:

Author: Natasha Bull

Ingredients

1 pound salmon cut into 4 pieces
Salt & pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter

Instructions

Take the salmon out of the fridge 15-20 minutes before starting the recipe if you can. Cut the salmon into 4 equal pieces and pat it dry with paper towel. Season each piece generously with salt & pepper.
Add the olive oil and the butter to a skillet over medium-high heat. Let the skillet heat up for a few minutes.
Cook the salmon (skin-side down) for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to medium and flip it over and cook for another 2-4 minutes or until it's cooked through (it'll take a little longer if your salmon is more than 1" thick, and less if thinner than 1"). Keep in mind the salmon will continue to cook a bit even after taking it out of the skillet, so don't overdo it.
To serve, it's delicious with fresh lemon juice squeezed over top, and there's more suggestions in the blog post. If you're not a fan of the skin (it's crispy and delicious if you eat it right away), it's easy to peel off once it's cooked.

Notes

I used Atlantic salmon that was about 1" thick for this recipe.
If you're wanting to cook more than a pound of salmon, I recommend cooking it in batches so it's not crowded in the pan and it gets a nice sear. Add more oil/butter as needed.
See blog post for more tips and process photos.
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.

Nutrition