This Sheet Pan Pistachio Herb Crusted Salmon & Asparagus is an incredible restaurant quality meal in about 20 minutes! The crust is crunchy, salty, and very lemony. You’re going to want it on everything.

Update: This recipe was originally published in 2018 and has been republished with all new photos.

Nothing beats a quick sheet man dinner on a busy weeknight. And this one is special. It’s really worth enjoying on a date night too! (I think I remember those happening occasionally pre-kids.)

I’m a pretty picky seafood eater so when I say that this is the best salmon of my life that really means something, friend. It’s the very best.

It’s really all about that crust. You’re going to want to slather it on all the things. The first time I made it I loved it so much that I decided to create my Pistachio Lemon Pesto for just that very purpose!

While the crust is what makes the salmon truly phenomenal, the asparagus is cooked simply with just salt and olive oil. Asparagus is such a perfect veggie to pair with seafood since it cooks so quickly!

For this recipe you’ll need (full list of ingredients and instructions are in the recipe card below):

  • Salmon
  • Pistachios
  • Basil
  • Lemon juice
  • Asparagus
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper

To make this delicious meal, you’ll first combine all Pistachio Herb Crust ingredients in a high powered blender or food processor. It doesn’t need to be perfectly smooth. It will have a consistency almost like a thick paste.

Spread the crust on top of each salmon filet. Bake. Then add the asparagus to the sheet pan with oil and salt. Bake again.

And you’re done! A simple meal that always impresses!

Why salmon is good for us

Salmon has lots of omega-3 fatty acids which do amazing things for the brain, heart, and joints. Studies indicate that foods with lots of vitamin D (like wild salmon) reduce our risk of cancer. Sign me up for that.

Wild salmon vs farmed salmon

You’ve probably heard before that you should select wild salmon instead of farmed salmon whenever possible. There are some great reasons for that!

Farmed salmon is fed a processed feed that’s high in fat in order to yield very big fish. This dramatically changes the nutritional content for the salmon you eat. Farmed salmon may have a little more Omega-3 and a lot more Omega-6 (most people today eat too much Omega-6 already) but it also has more calories, fats, and sodium. The big thing for me is that farmed salmon  contains 10 times more toxins than wild salmon. Yikes! So go wild, friends.

I’m taking off my food nerd hat now. There are obviously so many incredible benefits to including wild caught salmon in our diet. I vote that you do just that with this dish.

I promise you’re going to go pretty wild yourself over this particular recipe. Trust me. My son went back for seconds because he was such a fan. If this wins over seven year old boys it can win over anyone.

More seafood recipes like this:

Garlic Shrimp Stir-Fry

Sheet Pan Lemon Herb Salmon & Veggies

Cajun Shrimp & Cauliflower Rice

Pan Seared Chipotle Lime Salmon

Sheet Pan Greek Shrimp & Broccoli

5 from 25 votes

Sheet Pan Pistachio Herb Crusted Salmon & Asparagus

This Sheet Pan Pistachio Herb Crusted Salmon & Asparagus is an incredible restaurant quality meal in about 20 minutes! The crust is crunchy, salty, and very lemony. You're going to want it on everything.
Print Pin Rate
Yield: 4 people
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients 

Salmon

  • 4 salmon filets, wild caught

Pistachio Herb Crust

  • 1/3 cup shelled pistachios
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil
  • 2 tbsp olive oil, extra virgin
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper

Asparagus

  • 1 lb fresh asparagus, trimmed
  • 1 tbsp olive oil, extra virgin
  • salt to taste

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  • Place salmon skin side down on a non-stick baking sheet or on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
  • Add all Pistachio Herb Crust ingredients to a blender and blend until it’s almost smooth. You just want to make sure you don’t have any large chunks of pistachio. (You can also finely chop the basil and pistachios by hand if you prefer. Stir in the other ingredients until it forms a paste-like consistency.)
  • Spread your Pistachio Herb Crust over the top of each salmon filet. You’ll want to use every single drop. (It’s really good!)
  • Bake for 5 minutes.
  • Remove from oven. Add asparagus to baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Salt.
  • Place back in oven for an additional 8 – 10 minutes. Bake until salmon is cooked through. Salmon should flake easily with a fork and asparagus should be slightly wilted but still crunchy.

Nutrition

Serving: 1filet + asparagus, Calories: 417kcal, Carbohydrates: 7g, Protein: 38g, Fat: 26g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 93mg, Sodium: 368mg, Potassium: 1175mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 1125IU, Vitamin C: 10.4mg, Calcium: 64mg, Iron: 4.3mg
Did you make this recipe?Tag @thewholecook and hashtag it #thewholecook on Instagram.

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