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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:
Sheet Pan Lemon Herb Salmon & Veggies
Cajun Shrimp & Cauliflower Rice
Pan Seared Chipotle Lime Salmon
Sheet Pan Greek Shrimp & Broccoli
Sheet Pan Pistachio Herb Crusted Salmon & Asparagus
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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Looks mouthwatering! As soon as I get my hands on wild caught salmon I’m making this!
I hope you love it, Joni! Thanks for the kind words!
Some of the best baked chicken I’ve ever had was at a friend’s house, and she did a pistachio crust. So I already KNOW this is GOOD!
I don’t think there’s a better nut LOL. Thanks, Lindsey!
Such a great recipe! I’m always looking for new ways to prepare salmon and this just looks perfect. Can’t wait to try!
It is crazy yummy! I hope you enjoy it, Jean!
Drooling…pinning…swooning…all the ‘ings’ 🙂
All the good -ings for sure! Thanks, Linda!
SO many of my favorite ingredients here, and perfectly in time for spring. Yay for asparagus. Beautiful recipe!
Thank you so much! <3
Oooh! This looks lovely! I’m pinning it to try.
Thanks, Cathy! I hope you love it!
I would love to try this for one of our weeknight dinners. Wild caught salmon is one of my favorite sources of protein.
I didn’t eat salmon for a long time but now I can’t get enough of it! Thank you, Yvonne!
This is really beautiful. Where do you get your salmon? I am trying to discover a less fishy tasting one because i want to eat more of it!!
Harps is the grocery store I go to for the wild caught frozen filets actually. It’s just a traditional grocery but they have a brand there that I trust. My Whole Foods also sells it fresh. I think the crust really helps eliminate the strong fishy taste though. I personally don’t like fishy fish either and this recipe is definitely not!
I love the idea of pistachio on salmon! Looks like a great and easy meal!
Thank you so much! <3
I love salmon and asparagus pairing! So good together. I am really intrigued by your use of pistachios and basil together.
They’re really good together!