Seeds Free Basil-Pesto Salmon Fillets
Bright, herbaceous, and genuinely stunning on the plate, this salmon dish delivers restaurant-level results 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 — no pine nuts, no sunflower seeds, no pepitas, just clean, vibrant flavor that coats each fillet beautifully. Traditional pesto recipes almost always call for pine nuts, which makes seed-free and nut-free cooking tricky, but swapping in avocado gives the sauce its richness and silky body without any compromise. The technique is just as satisfying as the flavors: a quick stovetop sear locks in a golden crust before the oven finishes the job low and slow, keeping the fish tender and flaky all the way through. Spooning the pesto over the fillets right before roasting lets it meld into the salmon rather than just sitting on top, so every bite is deeply seasoned. A squeeze of fresh lemon at the table brightens the whole dish and cuts through the richness of the avocado. Whether you're cooking for a weeknight dinner or something that needs to impress, this one is hard to beat.
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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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