Pistachio Crusted Salmon

Amethyst · November 30, 2025, 11:29pm

Pistachio Crusted Salmon

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 10

Ingredients:

⅔ cups pistachios, shelled and roasted
3 lbs whole salmon fillet, with skin on the bottom side
2 TB freshly squeezed lemon juice, from 1 medium-sized lemon
2 TB pure honey
3 TB whole grain mustard, with seeds
½ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 TB olive oil

Directions:

Do ahead: crush pistachios into a texture similar to coarse ground/finely chopped nuts. Use a blender, or place nuts in a large plastic Ziploc bag and use the flat side of a meat tenderizer to quickly pound nuts. Crushed nuts can be kept in an airtight container for several days ahead of time.

Arrange the rack in the middle position in the oven. Preheat oven to 375°F. Lay foil down on a rimmed baking sheet.

Cut the salmon fillet into the desired number of even pieces (alternatively, you can leave the salmon whole.) Use paper towels to soak up excess moisture on all sides of the salmon. Place salmon skin side down on a baking sheet.

In a bowl, combine lemon juice, honey, mustard, salt, and pepper. Use a hand whisk to incorporate well. Brush mixture evenly onto top of salmon fillets.

Combine olive oil with crusted pistachios, mixing to coat well. Press mixture firmly and evenly on top of salmon fillets.

Bake 12-15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the pieces. If desired, you can remove thinner fillets earlier and keep them warm while thicker pieces finish cooking.

Let cooked salmon sit at room temperature for 5 minutes – this helps your fish to finish cooking while it cools a bit, as well as retain moisture.

Notes:

Here are our time-saving tips for making this pistachio-crusted salmon easy enough for busy weeknights:

Crush pistachio nuts ahead of time. They keep very well in an airtight container for several days, so crush away on the weekend for a seamless weeknight baked salmon.

If you don’t want to dirty your food processor or blender (that’s me), you can use a large zip-up baggie and a meat tenderizer. Rolling pins don’t work particularly well for breaking up nuts. I use the flat side of this meat tenderizer to quickly “chop” nuts in a bag; not only is it effective, but it’s also quite cathartic. Just be sure to have a thick cutting board underneath for the well-being of your countertop

Nutritional Facts:

Recipe courtesy of Chew Out Loud.com