Creamy sauce, moist salmon, and a sneaky serving of veggies, this spinach stuffed salmon is impossible not to love. Plus it’s easy to make, and a beautiful dish to impress dinner guests with. Sear or bake, you decide. Here’s how to make cream cheese stuffed salmon.
Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email below and we’ll send it straight to your inbox. Plus you’ll get great new recipes from us every week!
Stuffed Salmon Ingredients
These simple ingredients melt together into a creamy, tangy, flavor-packed dish. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Salmon: I prefer skinless salmon, but skin on will also do. Opt for wild salmon over farm raised whenever possible, it has a lower level of contaminants.
- Cream cheese: Philadelphia cream cheese is my fave–it has the best texture for blending into sauces and fillings such as this one.
- Spinach: The key is to remove as much liquid as possible from your frozen spinach–do this by thawing it completely and squeezing it in paper towels.
- Artichoke hearts: well drained and diced. A little tang and a lot of flavor.
- Tabasco adds depth to the cream cheese base, without too much heat.
- Parmesan cheese: finely grated. Helps to bind everything together with a bit of salt and delicious flavor.
Variations + Tweaks
We love this stuffed salmon recipe as is, but it’s easy to adjust if you’re missing an ingredient or craving something a little different. Here are some ideas for you:
- More heat? Add a few extra dashes of Tabasco.
- Different cheese? Sure can, how about cheddar or even pepper jack.
- Other veggies? Why not. Dice them up and toss them in.
- Skip the stuffing? If slicing a pocket in your salmon is just not working out, feel free to do as I did with this crab stuffed salmon and top your filets with filling instead. If doing this, you’ll want to follow the baked salmon instructions instead of searing.
- Different vehicle? If salmon isn’t your thing, this filling can be used to make stuffed chicken breast, stuffed mushrooms, or stuffed mini peppers.
How to Make Stuffed Salmon
Not much to it! Here’s how to slice up your salmon and bake it to perfection:
- Slice a pocket in your salmon – do this by using a sharp knife, and placing your hand on top. Only slice through the thick part of your salmon, and try not to pierce through the other side (although that wouldn’t be the end of the world).
- Mix the filling until well combined.
- Stuff the salmon.
- Sear on each side until the salmon is golden and cooked through. Make sure you get your pan nice and hot, then reduce it to medium for the second side. Psst–this is my favorite way to cook salmon and keep it moist without needing a salmon marinade or foil.
If you have extra filling, which I always do, I highly recommend making a sauce with a bit of heavy cream and water–The amount of liquid you add will depend on how much filling is leftover–I usually use 1/4 cup of heavy cream and 1/4 cup of water.
More Ways to Cook Salmon
I prefer pan seared salmon for this dish, however, you can also make broiled salmon or air fry it. I don’t recommend grilling this stuffed salmon recipe unless you do so on a pan in your grill.
How to Serve It
This spinach stuffed salmon is great on its own, or with a few sides to bulk it up. Keep it low carb with a side of roasted vegetables and zucchini noodles. Or serve it over a bed of butter noodles or your favorite baguette.
More Salmon Recipes
If you’ve been around LPK long, you know I’ve got quite a collection of salmon recipes that prioritize moist, flavor packed filets. Here are some of our family favorites:
Stuffed Salmon
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 4 salmon fillets skinless
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt divided
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper divided
- 6 ounces cream cheese room temp
- 4 ounces artichoke hearts well drained + chopped
- 4 ounces spinach thawed + liquid removed
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon tabasco
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese finely grated
Instructions
- Pat salmon dry on a cutting board and season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Cut a pocket 3/4 of the way through the center of your salmon, I find it easiest to place one hand on top while doing this to keep the fish in place and only cut through the thick part of the filets.
- Combine the spinach, cream cheese, artichoke hearts, tabasco, parmesan, garlic, remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper together in a small bowl.
- Fill each salmon pocket with the spinach combo. If you have extra (I always do!), feel free to make a sauce of it, using 1/4 cup of water and 1/4 cup of heavy cream heated in a small saucepan.
- To bake: Preheat oven to 400 F, and place filets on a rimmed baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper on top. Bake in preheated oven for 15-18 minutes, or until the salmon is cooked through. To sear: Heat 2 tablespoons of avocado or vegetable oil in a large pan on high. Add the salmon, skin side down first, and sear until the salmon flips easily and is golden. Reduce heat to medium and sear the second side until cooked through.
- If using the sauce, ladle on top before serving, and enjoy!
Fans Also Made These Healthy Recipes:
Lindsey’s Tips
- Salmon: I prefer skinless salmon, but skin on will also do. Opt for wild salmon over farm raised whenever possible, it has a lower level of contaminants.
- Cream cheese: Philadelphia cream cheese is my fave–it has the best texture for blending into sauces and fillings such as this one.
- Spinach: The key is to remove as much liquid as possible from your frozen spinach–do this by thawing it completely and squeezing it in paper towels.
- Artichoke hearts: well drained and diced. A little tang and a lot of flavor.
- Tabasco adds depth to the cream cheese base, without too much heat.
- Parmesan cheese: finely grated. Helps to bind everything together with a bit of salt and delicious flavor.
Leave a Reply