Salmon Piccata

This Salmon Piccata is quick, classic, and full of bold flavor. A simple but restaurant-quality recipe that feels special every time you make it.

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Salmon Piccata Is Easier Than It Looks!

“I don’t usually comment but I wanted you to know that this is an amazing dish! I love salmon, in any recipe. The lemon and caper sauce marry everything together. I plan to make this dish for family and friends. The other beautiful part of this dish . . . it comes together so quickly and easily! Thank you for the wonderful recipe!”

—Donna

Salmon Piccata is one of those dishes that looks impressive, tastes even better, and secretly teaches you a lot about cooking. Culinary students make some version of piccata (chicken, veal, fish) almost constantly, because it’s a master class in pan-searing and sauce-building in one skillet.

This salmon piccata recipe brings together everything we love about the classic dish: deeply golden salmon, a bright lemony sauce, briny capers, and just enough butter to bring it all together.

If you’re looking for a dinner that feels special without being fussy, this one delivers every single time.

Salmon Piccata Recipe Ingredients

A full recipe card, including exact ingredient amounts, appears at the bottom of this post.

• salmon fillets – thicker, center-cut pieces of salmon are best for piccata (not thinner, tail-end pieces). Skinless salmon is best for this recipe.
• flour – we’ll be lightly dredging the salmon in flour to make it nice and crispy.
• butter – unsalted butter will thicken and add flavor to the sauce.
• olive oil – a little oil helps with browning and flavor.
• garlic – we call for 4 minced garlic cloves below, but measure it with your heart.
• chicken broth – this is the backbone of this piccata sauce.
• white wine – this adds a bright, acidic note to the sauce. We use pinot grigio! The alcohol will cook off during the simmer.
• lemon juice – one of the star flavors of this fish piccata! Make sure you are using juice from fresh lemons, not bottled juice.
• lemon zest – this adds an extra punch of lemon to the sauce.
• capers – you’ll need a full 1/4 cup for this recipe for salmon piccata. We buy the kind packed in brine, and drain and rinse them before using. You can also buy the salt-packed ones and rinse them really well, but we prefer the brine kind.
• thyme – we think a fresh herb works really nicely in this dish, and thyme is our favorite.
• salt and pepper – essential for seasoning the fish and balancing the sauce.
• parsley – we like to finish this lemon piccata salmon with finely chopped fresh parsley for color, but this is optional.

How To Make The Best Salmon Piccata Recipe

1. DREDGE. Dry the salmon with paper towels if necessary. Season the salmon with salt and pepper and then lightly dredge it in flour.

2. SEAR. Sear the salmon in butter and olive oil in a large hot pan until it’s a nice deep golden brown. Then, take the salmon out of the pan and put it on a plate covered with foil to keep it warm while you make the sauce.

3. SAUCE. The sauce starts by very quickly sauteeing some garlic just to release its flavor, and then adding the broth, wine and lemon juice, scraping the bottom of the pan as you add the liquid. Simmer until the liquid reduces by half and starts to take on more of a sauce consistency.

4. FINISH. Finish the sauce with capers, thyme, lemon zest, a bit more butter, and salt and pepper. Transfer the cooked salmon back to the pan and give it a few turns until it’s nicely glazed in the sauce. Garnish with parsley and serve!

What To Serve With Salmon Piccata

We love to serve this salmon piccata with orzo. The recipe makes a generous amount of sauce, so we spoon sauce over the orzo, too.

This works with other varieties of pasta, too. Turn this dish into a salmon piccata pasta by making some fettuccine or linguine, breaking up the salmon, and tossing everything together.

If we’re not doing a pasta, we like to serve this with Mashed Potatoes With Heavy Cream and Balsamic Asparagus. Other side dish options that work well here are Seasoned Rice, Homemade Garlic Bread and Roasted Glazed Carrots.

Piccata Salmon Storage And Reheating

• Refrigerate: If you have leftovers, transfer them to an airtight container and place them in the fridge uncovered for a few hours until they are fully chilled, then cover them with the lid and keep in the refrigerator up to 2 days.  
• Reheat: Gently in a skillet over low heat, with a splash of broth or water to loosen the sauce.
• Freeze: Not recommended, as the butter-based sauce will separate when thawed.