How many times have you prepared Salmon with Pistachio Crust in the oven? A thousand? Well, double that, and then think of me who, until this morning, kept the old photo of this dish on the blog. Then add another 100 preparations and recipes published last year, and you’ll realize that I am an unforgivable food blogger. I love this dish and make it so often that I always forget to change the photo, yet I’m always quick to complain that this recipe is never read. Now we all know why!

As already mentioned, I love this fish main course for a simple reason. Salmon pairs divinely with the pistachio crust; you don’t need many ingredients, and the cooking time is relatively short. I prepare it often because it’s very versatile; in fact, I can serve it both as an appetizer by cutting it into smaller pieces and as a main course. It’s perfect for the Christmas Eve Dinner; by now, it’s my personal tradition to serve Pistachio Salmon among the Christmas appetizers.

I must say that it’s a dish also appreciated by children; the pink of the salmon and the green of the pistachio make it an attractive dish to their eyes. This way, I managed to get the little ones to eat it without great sobs or tantrums.

Of course, you can use fresh salmon, but if you don’t have time to clean it, you can do as I do. In fact, I use frozen salmon fillets so I don’t find bones or scales; I’ll just let them thaw, and I’ll be ready to cook this delicious dish.

Before moving on to Salmon with Pistachio Crust, I’ll leave you some salmon recipes already published on the blog. You’ll find several first courses with smoked salmon, easy, quick, and delicious, and a second that I adore just as much, Baked Salmon with Mustard, irresistible!!! All the blue links below will take you directly to the recipe you wish to read.

Additionally, in the box below the recipe, you’ll find all the social profiles of the blog so you can follow all my recipes and content every day. I’ll also see you in the group and the Facebook fan page of Le Ricette di Bea with the Recipe of the Day!!!

Difficulty: Very easy
Cost: Cheap
Preparation time: 5 Minutes
Portions: 2 people
Cooking methods: Oven
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: All seasons

557.40 Kcal

calories per serving

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Energy 557.40 (Kcal)
Carbohydrates 31.70 (g) of which sugars 5.21 (g)
Proteins 28.65 (g)
Fat 36.61 (g) of which saturated 6.85 (g)of which unsaturated 20.97 (g)
Fibers 5.08 (g)
Sodium 512.94 (mg)

Indicative values for a portion of 200 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA^* and FoodData Central^** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.

^* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ^** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov

Ingredients for Salmon with Pistachio Crust

2 fillets salmons (about 7 oz each)
60 g pistachio (or pistachio crumbs)
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
5 leaves marjoram (or dried marjoram)
to taste chopped parsley (or dried parsley)
1 pinch salt
1 pinch black pepper
1 teaspoon white wine

Tools for Pistachio Crusted Salmon

1 Plate
1 Mixer
1 Spoon
1 Teaspoon
1 Oven
1 Parchment paper

Steps of the Salmon with Pistachio Crust Recipe

If you use fresh salmon fillets, you can skip this first step and proceed to the next point. However, if you chose frozen salmon fillets, do this. Take the salmon out of the freezer the night before if you’re making this dish for lunch, or in the morning as soon as you wake up if you’re making it for dinner. Let the salmon thaw in the refrigerator, not at room temperature. When the salmon is soft and ice-free, you can proceed.
From this point on, we all proceed together. Turn on the oven and bring it to 356°F (static mode). Take a mixer or chopper, with a not too large bowl since we are preparing a crust for two people with a small amount of pistachio crumbs. Obviously, if you chose pistachio crumbs, proceed in the same way; you’ll just spend less time mixing the crust ingredients together. Pour the pistachios into the mixer bowl; in my case, they were whole. Add the two tablespoons of breadcrumbs, the teaspoon of white wine, and the tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Then sprinkle with salt and black pepper, add some marjoram leaves, and chopped parsley. Start the machine and let it work for a few moments. You’ll get crumbs not too powdery but well combined, perfect for the crust of our baked salmon.
Pour the crumbs obtained onto a nice wide plate, take the two or more salmon fillets (it depends on the number of people) and pass them several times through the bread and pistachio. Apply slight pressure on the entire surface of the fillet so that the crust perfectly adheres to the fish.
Place a sheet of parchment paper in a baking tray and position the pistachio and breadcrumb-crusted salmon fillets on top. I didn’t add any more extra virgin olive oil; the one added earlier to the crust should suffice. Bake the pistachio salmon and let it cook for 10 to 15 minutes per side. Total cooking time is 20 to 30 minutes, obviously depending on the size of the fish fillets you have chosen. In my case, 25 minutes were more than enough. I then turned the fish only once to achieve a nice external browning and excellent crispiness.
You can choose to serve the pistachio-crusted salmon fillet with slices of lemon or add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil raw. Choose a good side dish, maybe fresh and light like a fennel salad if in season or a leafy green with chunks of green apple. All that’s left is to serve the salmon at the table! I remind you that I look forward to seeing you here in my kitchen every day with many easy, quick, and delicious recipes like this one! I wish you a good appetite, and I hope you enjoyed this recipe!

Storing the Baked Salmon with Pistachio Crust

You can store the pistachio-crusted salmon in the refrigerator after letting it cool completely at room temperature for a few days. You can also freeze it only if the fish was previously fresh; if you used frozen salmon fillets like I did, I suggest not doing it, even if you performed the cooking, it’s always better not to refreeze a defrosted ingredient.