Chestnut Free Basil-Pesto Salmon Fillets
Bright, herbaceous, and genuinely impressive on the plate, this salmon dish delivers restaurant-level flavor with a surprisingly short ingredient list. The star is a creamy avocado-basil pesto blended with garlic, lemon juice, and a hint of ground ginger — it's vivid green, silky, and completely free of tree nuts, which means traditional pesto's pine nut swap is already handled without any substitution gymnastics. Store-bought pestos can be a minefield for anyone avoiding chestnuts or other tree nuts, so blending your own in a food processor puts you fully in control of every ingredient. The technique here is smart: a quick stovetop sear locks in a golden crust before the oven finishes the fillets gently, keeping the flesh tender and flaky all the way through. Spooning the pesto over the salmon just before it goes into the oven lets the sauce meld into the fish as it roasts, building deep, layered flavor rather than just sitting on top. A squeeze of lemon at the table ties everything together and makes the basil pop even more. It's the kind of weeknight dinner that looks like you tried much harder than you actually did.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the pesto
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
- ½ medium avocado, pitted and scooped
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
For the salmon
- 4 salmon fillets (about 6 oz each), skin-on
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
For serving
- lemon wedges, for serving (optional)
- fresh basil leaves, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C).
- 2
Combine the basil, avocado, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and ground ginger in a food processor or blender. Pulse several times to break everything down, then stream in the 1/4 cup olive oil with the motor running until the pesto is smooth and bright green. Taste and adjust salt if needed. Set aside.
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