One Pan Garlic Butter Salmon and Swiss Chard
Any meal that comes together in only 20 minutes in only one pan is a huge win in my book. This One Pan Garlic Butter Salmon and Swiss Chard is the PERFECT healthy meal for busy people. It’s simple, uses only 5 ingredients, and is gluten-free, paleo, and whole30 compliant.
I was extra excited about this recipe because I GREW THE SWISS CHARD. In my garden! With my own two hands! This was the first proper “meal” I’ve made out of my garden harvest- I had a few radishes come up, and of course some herbs… but I was so excited to plan an entire recipe around this yummy vegetable.
That, coupled with the fact that the wild caught salmon was on sale for only $10/lb. at my grocery store, made me a VERY happy girl.
You don’t need many ingredients for this recipe- just a ton of Swiss chard (preferably double what’s pictured above- my harvest was limited), salmon, garlic, butter, and lemon (whoops- forgot to add that to the photo!).
And for an easy paleo/whole30 compliant substitution, you can use ghee instead of butter.
Swiss Chard is an easy vegetable to cook and it’s ridiculously healthy. It’s one of those “hearty” greens, similar to kale or collards, but it doesn’t take a long time took. It’s packed with vitamins K, A, and C, as well as fiber and other nutrients. And the best part is that the stems can be eaten as well as the leaves! Since the stems take a bit longer to cook, this recipe calls for sautéing them for a few minutes in the pan before adding the leaves.
If you’ve never worked with it before, here’s a great tutorial on how to easily separate the stems from the leaves and slice the leaves beautifully.
The chard has a delicate, slightly bitter flavor, similar to other leafy greens. Seasoned simply with lemon, garlic, salt, and pepper makes it tangy and bright and wonderful. I enjoyed getting a little bit of chard and a little bit of salmon with each bite- the two pair beautifully together in this recipe.
This Garlic Butter Salmon and Swiss Chard is an easy meal to make for a casual weeknight, but it’s also great for company. If you want to make this meal go a bit further for very hungry people, I recommend cooking up some quinoa or brown rice to serve with it, making sure to spoon all the juices from cooking the chard/salmon on top of it.
A note on equipment: if you are an experienced cook, you can use a stainless steel skillet (like the one pictured) to make this- just be warned that it may be a bit tricky to flip the fish without it sticking if you don’t sear it properly. But if you are a beginner, or if you just want to make your life a bit easier, I recommend using a nonstick skillet. Full disclosure: I used a nonstick skillet to cook this, then transferred everything to a stainless steel skillet for the photos because it looked brighter and prettier :-)
Love salmon? Try these other easy recipes:
- Garlic Butter Sheet Pan Salmon and Veggies
- 15-Minute Perfect Poached Salmon with Chive Butter
- Orange Glazed Salmon
- Salmon, Arugula, and Feta Frittata
- Chipotle Salmon Tacos with Cilantro Lime Crema
- Seared Salmon with Scallion Butter
- Seared Salmon with Avocado, Lemon, and Garlic Aioli
- Garlic Poached Salmon with Creamy Lemon Caper Sauce
- Oven BBQ Salmon
Here’s the printable recipe!
One Pan Garlic Butter Salmon and Swiss Chard
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Equipment
- Large Skillet
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter or ghee, divided
- 1 lb. salmon filet
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 lbs. swiss chard leaves and stems separated, leaves chopped, and stems cut into 1-2 inch pieces and reserved (about 2 bunches)
- kosher salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- juice of one lemon
- chopped fresh parsley for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Season both sides of salmon liberally with salt and pepper.
- Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium high heat.
- When the pan is hot, add the salmon skin side up. Sear for 4-5 minutes, or until salmon easily releases from the bottom of the pan. Sear skin side down for 4-5 minutes, or until salmon is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork. Remove salmon from pan to a plate and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.
- Add remaining 1 tablespoon butter to pan and melt over medium heat. Stir in minced garlic (2 cloves) and sauté until fragrant and beginning to toast, stirring consistently, about 30 seconds.
- Add the chard stems and season with salt and pepper. Stir to coat. Cover the pan and allow to cook for 3-4 minutes, or until tender. You can add a little water to the pan if things are sticking too much.
- Add the chard leaves and stir, cooking until wilted, about 1-2 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice.
- Serve salmon on top of chard garnished with fresh parsley, if desired.
Notes
- Make it paleo/whole30/dairy free: Be sure to use ghee or even olive oil instead of butter for a dairy free, paleo, and whole30 compliant version of this recipe.
- Depending on the thickness of your fish, and also the variety and whether it's wild caught or farm raised, all may have an effect on the cooking time. You may need to cook it a bit longer than I did.
- The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
Very taste, loved the use of the chard stems. I added lemon zest to the chard stems a bit after and I liked the added flavor. I suggest adding to the instructions to cool down the pan a bit before doing the garlic. Also, if you have fresh salmon, you can cook it less if you like a tender middle. I only did 2 mins on skin side.
Love all these tips, thanks so much! Glad you liked it!
There may be an error on the amount of Swiss chard, 2 lbs is A LOT of chard. Perhaps 2 cups would be the correct amount. That aside, sounds delicious and what is on my menu for dinner tonight!
I’ll take a closer look at the amount of chard next time I make this! Thanks for bringing this up. Like spinach, chard cooks down a lot. And honestly, you can use whatever amount you want here – it won’t affect the recipe too much – depending on how chard-ey of a mood you’re in lol. Hope it turned out well for you!!
Quick and easy, and delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
So glad you liked it!
Grew Swiss chard for the first time. Looking for a way to use it up when I came across this post. Made it as is. Absolutely delicious! Couldn’t stop smacking our lips!
So glad you liked it!
So easy, elegant, and tasty!
So glad you liked it!
My husband said “This is delicious. And not like – this is delicious for salmon. This is just delicious.” Finally a salmon recipe he loves! He was even shocked it was only seasoned with salt and pepper. It was full of flavor! This was my first time making Swiss chard and it was so good. I loved this recipe! Thank you!
So glad you and your husband liked it!
Fast, one pan, and just delicious. Thank you – I’ll be repeating this.
Thanks! So happy you liked it!
We loved it, here, too! I served the dish over some organic creamy grits, made with coconut milk,, a little lemon juice, salt and pepper, and lemon zest. To.die.for! In fact, I’m making your recipe for chard, tonight, to go with another meal. Thank you!
So glad you liked it – LOVE the idea of serving over grits!
Nice simple recipe. Beautiful colors. I had to cook the fish longer than stated in the recipe, and I added shallot to the chard. Yum
Thanks so much, and I’m so glad you liked it! Depending on the thickness of your fish, and also the variety and whether it’s wild caught or farm raised, all may have an effect on the cooking time. I’ll add a note to the recipe card that explains this now :-)
Would cod work well with this?
Absolutely! Sounds delicious! It might take a little longer to cook, so keep an eye on it. When it flakes apart easily with a fork you should be good to go!
Easy, fast and one pan. Will definitely make it again. We used one pound of mixed leafy greens because that was in the fridge and it worked well.
Yay! Glad you liked it! This would work with any leafy green really if you don’t have chard.
2nd time making this. The salmon pairs so nicely with the chard. This has become my husband’s favorite Salmon recipe.
So glad you and your husband like it! :-)
What a healthy and delicious meal! You are so lucky to have chard in your garden!
Thanks so much! This is the first year I’ve grown vegetables of any sort, and I’m having so much fun with it :-) Chard turned out to be one of my favorites, and easy to grow!