Dill Cream Sauce for Salmon

This easy dill cream sauce is the perfect topping for salmon! Whether it’s grilled, pan-fried, or baked, your salmon will taste amazing with this creamy dill sauce.

For more delicious baked salmon recipes, head on over to my posts for Baked Salmon with Creamy Avocado Sauce, Best Oven Baked Salmon, and Baked Honey Cilantro Lime Salmon in Foil. 

You ever find a food you really like and then you just basically don’t stop eating it? That’s where I am with salmon right now in my life. These days I’m eating salmon weekly at the very least. I’ve always been fond of seafood and in particular salmon, but lately I can’t. get. enough. This baked salmon is so perfectly seasoned and so tender it will just fall apart with the touch of a fork. And the sauce…a creamy lemon and dill sauce you’ll want to smother over all of your food from here on out. 

Why This Recipe Works

That salmon – Salmon is as easy to back as it is to eat. The key is to pay attention to how to cook salmon in the oven. You don’t need to overbake salmon, only 15 minutes at 400 degrees in the oven (with a little extra broil at the end if you like those crispy edges) is all you need for the most perfect baked salmon. 

That sauce – And let’s not forget the creamy dill sauce for salmon. The salmon is amazing, but the sauce takes the whole dish to another level. Plus, the sauce is so easy to make, and it keeps in the fridge, too, so you can go ahead and double the recipe, so you have enough sauce to pour over all the things all week long. This really is the best sauce for salmon!

Easy clean up – The key to the easiest clean-up is to line your baking sheet with foil first before laying down the salmon and baking it. Then, when you’re all done all you have to do is roll up the foil, dispose of it and maybe give the pan a quick rinse. Or it might be totally spic-and-span. Either way, it’s a win! 

Great for leftovers – If, and that’s a big “if,” you have any leftovers, this baked salmon is great the next day too! I like to mix up how I eat it though…it’s great on salads, in sandwiches, on top of eggs, and more! 

Here’s How You Make It 

Ready to make an amazingly delicious dill sauce for salmon? Let’s do it!

1. First, go ahead and preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Then, take out a large, rimmed baking sheet and line it with nonstick foil. Add salt and pepper to both sides of the salmon, then add the salmon to the prepared pan. Fold the foil up around the salmon to create “walls” so that none of the juices spill out. 
2. In a bowl, whisk together the melted butter, lemon juice, honey, garlic, and dried dill. Pour this sauce over the salmon on the pan. Add the sliced lemons on top of that. 
3. Pop the baking sheet in the oven for 15 minutes. Then, switch the oven to “broil” for 3-5 minutes to darken the edges of the baked salmon. 
4. While the salmon bakes, you can go ahead and make the creamy dill sauce. Simply stir together the Greek yogurt, mayo, lemon juice, dill, and pepper. Then, add the milk just 1 tablespoon at a time until mixture is very smooth.
5. When the salmon is done baking, pull it out of the oven and spoon the juices that are in the pan over top of the salmon. When serving pieces of the baked salmon, top with the creamy dill sauce. Garnish with more pepper, lemon wedges for squeezing, and fresh dill if you like. 

Expert Tips

• The creamy dill sauce for salmon can be made ahead of time and stored in airtight container in fridge up to 24 hours in advance. 
• This baked salmon will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. 
• You do not need to add the broiling step if you don’t want those crispy baked salmon edges. However, you’ll want to make sure the salmon is cooked all the way through before taking it out of the oven (though it can still be somewhat lighter in the middle and still be safe). If you’re not sure if your salmon is done cooking or not, leave it in the oven to bake until a meat thermometer reads 145 degrees. 
• If you are using a slab of salmon that still has the skin on, it’ll be easy to remove the skin from the baked salmon after it cooks. You can cut the salmon and remove the skin before serving or lift the whole piece up and pull the skin right off and discard before serving.