This website may contain affiliate links and advertising so that we can provide recipes to you. Read my disclosure policy.

Creamy Tuscan garlic salmon is an easy 30-minute restaurant-quality meal. The pan-seared salmon gets smothered in the most amazing creamy Tuscan garlic sauce with sun-dried tomatoes and spinach. This is one unforgettable meal!

We love Tuscan-inspired recipes at our house. They are some of the top searched recipes on the site! Be sure to also try this Creamy Tuscan Garlic Chicken, Stuffed Tuscan Garlic Chicken, and Creamy Tuscan Garlic Shrimp ASAP!

A pan with creamy tuscan garlic salmon all cooked.

A Reader’s Review

My new go-to recipes when I want to impress. Also great with shrimp and chicken. Had my g’friends over and they all but licked their plates. No leftovers to take home!

-Judy

Tuscan Garlic Salmon Recipe

I feel like my collection of salmon recipes is now complete with the Tuscan garlic salmon. It’s crispy and flaky salmon and smothered in a creamy garlic sauce. This helps keep the salmon fillets tender, flaky, and moist. Tuscan recipes are always some of the top searches on this site and I think it’s because the sauce is finger-licking good!

My favorite part about this recipe is that you can get a restaurant-quality meal RIGHT AT HOME! This meal is ready in under 30 minutes and is better than any restaurant I have had. This meal is one that you will make over and over again! Cook it with some pasta and a delicious salad and it will be the perfect meal.

Ingredients in Creamy Tuscan Garlic Salmon

This salmon looks at tastes like it’s from a restaurant but the ingredients used are actually very simple! Check out the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact measurements.

  • Salmon Fillets: These will be the star of the show!
  • Olive Oil: You will sear your salmon in the olive oil to get a nice golden edge.
  • Garlic Cloves: If you don’t have fresh garlic cloves on hand then you can used minced garlic. 1/2 teaspoon equals about 1 clove of fresh garlic.
  • Heavy Cream: The heavy cream stands out and give the sauce that delicious creaminess that you want in this recipe!
  • Chicken Broth: This will be the base of the sauce and gives some additional flavor.
  • Garlic Powder: Can you ever have too much garlic? I don’t think so!
  • Italian seasoning: I like to make my Italian seasoning at home using this recipe because it’s so delicious. But you can use store bought as well!
  • Parmesan Cheese: This adds to the taste and texture of the sauce.
  • Cornstarch: The cornstarch will help your sauce to thicken.
  • Spinach: I use fresh spinach that I have chopped up.
  • Sun-Dried Tomatoes: This is th best flavor that you can add to the dish in my opinon!
Uncooked salmon fillets.

How to Make Creamy Tuscan Garlic Salmon

  1. Sear the Salmon: To start,To start, add oil to a large skillet and salt and pepper your salmon. Pan sear the salmon by placing skin side down and turn to medium low heat. 
  2. Cook and Flip: Let it cook for about 7 minutes and then flip the salmon over and then cook for an additional 3 minutes until it is barely pink in the center. Set aside on a plate.
  3. Make Sauce: Add minced garlic to your pan and cook for a minute and then stir in the heavy cream, chicken broth, garlic powder, Italian seasoning and parmesan cheese to make the cream sauce.
  4. Add Spinach and Tomatoes: Whisk in the cornstarch and then let it sit at a gentle simmer for 1-2 minutes. Add spinach and sun-dried tomatoes and let simmer until spinach starts to wilt. Then, add the salmon filets back to the pan. Serve over some pasta (like spaghetti noodles).
Salmon fillets being cooked in a frying pan getting ready for the creamy Tuscan garlic sauce.

When is Salmon Fully Cooked?

This creamy Tuscan garlic salmon is cooked with the fat liquefies and runs out. Cook the salmon further only to get the degree of doneness that you desire. When flakes separate easily but the meat is translucent, it’s rare but edible. The internal temperature of fully cooked salmon should be 135-145 degrees Fahrenheit.

4 pictures showing how to cook salmon fillets in the sauce.

Variations

This creamy Tuscan garlic salmon recipe is so easy and is ready in under 30 minutes! Here are some tips and variations to make yours the best of the best.

  • Simmer, don’t boil: To get your sauce nice and creamy and avoid having it separate, you want to keep the sauce simmering and don’t let it boil.
  • Broth: You can substitute the chicken browth for water or vegetable broth.
  • Fish: If you prefer to use another type of fish, you can try trout, cod or tilapia instead.
A closeup of creamy tuscan garlic salmon.

What is Tuscan Style Food?

It is a blend of garlic, Italian-style herbs, and can include spinach and sun-dried tomatoes. It is great served as a pasta dish.

A plate with a salmon fillet with creamy sauce and a fork cutting into it.

Pin this now to find it later

Pin It

Insanely Good Creamy Tuscan Garlic Salmon

5 from 23 votes
By: Alyssa Rivers
Creamy Tuscan Garlic Salmon is an easy 30-minute restaurant-quality meal. The pan-seared salmon gets smothered in the most amazing creamy Tuscan garlic sauce with sun-dried tomatoes and spinach. This is one unforgettable meal! 
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 4 Servings

Ingredients 

Instructions 

  • To start, add oil to a large skillet and salt and pepper your salmon. Pan sear the salmon by placing skin side down and turn to medium low heat. 
  • Let it cook for about 7 minutes and then flip the salmon over and cook for an additional 3 minutes until it is barely pink in the center. Set aside on a plate.
  • Add minced garlic to your pan and cook for a minute and then add the heavy cream, chicken broth, garlic powder, Italian seasoning and parmesan cheese. 
  • Whisk in the cornstarch and let simmer for 1-2 minutes. Add spinach and sun-dried tomatoes and let simmer until spinach starts to wilt. Add the salmon back to the pan.

Video

Notes

Originally Posted on October 14, 2018
Updated on June 12, 2022

Nutrition

Calories: 371kcalCarbohydrates: 14gProtein: 8gFat: 33gSaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 91mgSodium: 372mgPotassium: 611mgFiber: 2gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 1796IUVitamin C: 11mgCalcium: 221mgIron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: American, Italian, Italian American, Mediterranean
Tried this recipe?Mention @alyssa_therecipecritic or tag #therecipecritic!

About Alyssa Rivers

Alyssa Rivers is the author of 'The Tried and True Cookbook', a professional food photographer and experienced recipe-developer. Having a passion for cooking, her tried and true recipes have been featured on Good Morning America, Today Food, Buzzfeed and more.

More Ideas

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




62 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I love this Recipe!!
    I didn’t have a few of the ingredients like the sundries tomatoes & cornstarch, so I used cherry tomatoes and cream cheese instead of corn starch & it came out great. Once I had all of the ingredients I followed the recipie exactly & I was happy with the results.
    Thanks for posting this.

  2. 5 stars
    I was under a 30 minute time crunch and I was able to prepare and serve just in time. It was a hit with the whole family. My flaw was adding the corn starch directly to the pan, it left little corn starch lumps. I should have reserved a bit of heavy cream and mixed it well with the corn starch prior to adding to the ingredients in the pan. Tiny detail, but it had zero effect on the taste. Due to my time constraint, the sauce topped the salmon as opposed to having time to rest in the pan with the sauce. I am sure placing the salmon in the sauce only improves the flavors. Also, I always prefer to sear salmon face down first. I always rinse off the meat, but feel the flesh is cleaner than the skin. All in all a tasty quick and easy recipe. Lastly, I cooked the salmon in one pan while making the sauce in another. I bet the flavor ia better as a one pan dish. I definitely will cook it up again soon.

  3. 5 stars
    This recipe got a thumbs up from our picky teen! The sauce is so good that it can handle substitutions. I did not have heavy cream (used milk and butter combo in its place) and put in frozen carrots and peas in the last step instead of spinach and tomatoes. I know that’s not very Tuscan, but it was still quite tasty, and our picky teen said we can add it to the regular dinner rotation (almost a miracle).

  4. I don’t eat fish but I made this for friends and family and they all said that this was restaurant quality amazing.Fast and easy, this is now in the recipe book as a keeper.

  5. 5 stars
    I made this tonight for a dinner party and the guests can’t stop talking about it. I don’t eat fish but the way thay were gushing almost made me try it. I did try the saue seperateley and it was amazing! Quick, stunning and will make again, thank you somuch xoxo

  6. 5 stars
    Not a Salmon person. But I have to keep my potassium up for my chemo. And salmon has it along with Spinach is loaded with it. So I thought this recipe will cover the taste of the Salmon and it was really really good. Will make this again.

  7. Made a half re open and was so good! When I make it next time I will back off the Italian seasoning – was a bit too much for our tastes! Otherwise easy and flavorful!

  8. I posted the wrong names of the recipes I am so happy to get. They were supposed to be Creamy Chicken Marsala, Tuscan Garlic Chicken and the Insanely good Tuscan Creamy Garlic Salmon, Thanks again for these Can’t wait to try them.