An easy and festive seafood dish, this Cranberry Balsamic Roasted Salmon takes 15 minutes, 4 ingredients, and is a crowd pleaser for the holidays – paleo and Whole30 approved!
Check out the video to see how easy they come together!
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With so much focus on turkey around this time of year, let’s not forgot about some other delicious main courses you can make! My mom is a pescatarian so we always had seafood at holiday dinners. Most of the time we would roast or grilled salmon, but sometimes would get adventurous with crab stuffed shrimp or mussels.
Fun fact if you didn’t know – I was actually a pescatarian for 5 years myself too! Like mother like daughter?!
So this roasted salmon is dedicated to my mom! Like I said, most of the time my family just topped ours off with some olive oil and spices and threw it on the grill or in the oven, but I wanted to make this one a little special. And nothing says the holidays like cranberries. They are cooked down with balsamic to make a thick sauce that coats the salmon before you roast it. And it’s super easy, I promise.
I feel like a lot of people think seafood is hard to cook. Or they are just not familiar with it. When Michael and I first started dating, he said he didn’t really like seafood. Truth was, he wasn’t brought up eating it, so he didn’t know what he was missing. After a little while dating and him spending time with my family, he came around and we now eat it on the regular.
The key is having fresh, good quality fish. I used wild Alaskan sockeye salmon from Sizzle Fish (which they were kind enough to send me). They make it super easy with individual packed portions and it ships right to your door!
Once you have the fish, the rest is easy! All you need is to make the cranberry balsamic sauce, cover the salmon, and then roast. Start to finish it takes about 15 minutes and makes an easy festive protein. I paired mine with some green beans and white sweet potatoes, but it would also go great with some roasted squash and ginger & brussel sprouts! If you wanna get real crazy, pair it with these paleo holiday green beans!
Make sure to check out the video at the top of the page to see how easy this recipe comes together!
Cranberry Balsamic Roasted Salmon
ingredients
- 3 5-ounce wild caught sockeye salmon filets (deboned)
- 1/2 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 cup cranberries
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- salt and pepper, to taste
instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place small saucepan over medium heat and let it get hot, about 30 seconds. Add avocado oil, cranberries, balsamic, and salt and pepper. Cook for 3-5 minutes until mixture is broken down and thickens. It should coat the back of a spoon.
- Spoon mixture over salmon filets, distributing evenly. Bake for 8-12 minutes* until cooked through.
- Enjoy!
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video
notes
nutrition
Thanks so much Sizzle Fish for providing me with some product and helping make this post possible!
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This was delicious. We did add just a pinch of sugar to sweeten it up a little, but we will definitely be making it again in the fall. Thanks for the recipe.
So glad you enjoyed it Melissa! Thanks for trying it!
Loved this recipe! My little one even tasted the salmon and kept asking for more. It was quick to make which is the only way I seem to be able to cook. Thanks for sharing.
Aw yay! That makes me so happy!! Glad you liked it Amber!
I love salmon and I love cranberry sauce, so excited to try this! Can you clarify step 2? If I heat my saucepan for 30 minutes will not it burn and immediately scorch my cranberries and balsamic? Thank you!
Oh my goodness – I meant seconds not minutes. The pan should just get the olive oil hot. I just updated the recipe and thank you so much for catching that. Let me know if you try it!
I had a cranberry orange salmon in a recent Sun Basket and it was so good! Can’t wait to try this version with balsamic. Looks delish!!
Ohh cranberry orange sounds amazing! Hope you enjoy Chelsea!
I love homemade cranberry sauce and always make sure to whip up a few batches during the holidays but I never would have thought to put it on my favorite fish when I prepare it! Thanks for the idea.
Homemade is the best isn’t it? I am going to start using it in more things. And happy to give you some inspiration 🙂