Cajun Salmon
Cajun salmon is a quick and easy dinner recipe that is bursting with flavor. Cajun seasoned salmon is quickly seared until blacked, then a little cream (or dairy-free cashew cream) is added to the pan to make a creamy cajun sauce. It's delicious!
Turn this Cajun salmon into a meal by serving with our garlic butter asparagus. Or season some roast potatoes with our homemade cajun seasoning to keep the theme going!
Cajun salmon
You're looking at our new favorite way to cook salmon. The flavorful, Cajun-spiced salmon is blackened to perfection then served with the easiest ever creamy cajun sauce.
In just 20 minutes, you can sit down to a healthy fish dinner that's better than anything made in a restaurant.
And you can easily adjust the heat level to make it as spicy or mild as you'd like. Win win!
How to make cajun salmon
This salmon recipe is made in three easy steps.
- Mix the spices. Put the eight spices in a bowl and stir them together. Easy!
- Blacken the salmon. Sprinkle the top of the salmon with some of your cajun seasoning mix and then sear it to get that delicious blackened cajun salmon taste. Then flip the salmon over to cook the other side.
- Pour the cream into the pan and add the rest of your spice mix. You can use the real-deal whipping cream or some dairy-free cashew cream. Your choice! The cream will create the most beautiful sauce to pour over your salmon.
Full recipe in the recipe card below.
What is the best cajun seasoning for salmon
We use our favorite cajun seasoning in this recipe. You'll find a generous amount of paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder in here. There's also some thyme, oregano, salt, and pepper for lots of flavor. And when we want it spicy, we add cayenne.
What to serve with this blackened salmon
We could (and have!) made a meal out of this salmon with some garlic butter asparagus. It's a great combo!
The creamy sauce is delicious spooned over some basmati rice or cauliflower rice. Roasted broccoli also goes well with this recipe. And cajun sweet potato fries are always a hit!
Favorite cajun recipes
- Cajun Seasoning
- Spicy Cajun Shrimp Skillet
- Rotisserie Chicken and Chorizo Jambalaya
- Cajun Shrimp Boil Skewers
Popular easy salmon recipes
- Smoked Salmon Pasta
- 8 Minute Baked Salmon
- Slow Baked Asian Salmon
- Cashew Coconut Salmon Curry
- Crispy Coconut Salmon and Curried Cabbage
Easy Cajun Salmon Recipe
If you love this recipe as much as we do, let us know with a 5-star rating!
Ingredients
- 4 5-ounce salmon fillets, see notes
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil, we like avocado oil
- ā cup heavy cream or cashew cream, see notes
- Minced parsley, to serve
Cajun Seasoning
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 Ā½ teaspoons EACH: onion powder and garlic powder
- Ā½ teaspoon EACH: thyme, oregano, salt, pepper, and cayenne (see notes)
Instructions
- Mix the seasoning ingredients together in a small bowl. Reserve about Ā½ tablespoon of the seasoning then sprinkle the remaining evenly over the top of the salmon.1 tablespoon paprika, 1 Ā½ teaspoons EACH: onion powder and garlic powder, Ā½ teaspoon EACH: thyme, oregano, salt, pepper, and cayenne (see notes)
- Heat the oil in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add the salmon to the pan, top side facing down. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the side of the salmon that is facing the pan is well-browned (blackened). Flip the salmon over and continue to cook for another 3-4 minutes, or until the salmon is fully cooked. It should reach an internal temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove the salmon from the pan.1 tablespoon cooking oil, 4 5-ounce salmon fillets
- Add the cream and the reserved Ā½ tablespoon of cajun seasoning to the pan. Simmer for about 1 minute, or until the cream reduces slightly. Serve the salmon with the cajun cream sauce poured over the top and a little minced parsley for color.ā cup heavy cream or cashew cream, Minced parsley
Notes
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Thank you for this recipe. Im looking forward to incorporating some or all of the ingredients in some canned salmon. Im planning on making salmon patties. I might try putting ingredients in salmon patties or making this sauce to put over the salmon patties. If i ever get some fresh or frozen salmon id like to make this sauce to put on it.
I live on the coast and I make a LOT of fish. This recipe made my humble rockfish filets soooo sexy. The sauce was glossy and luxurious and the spice was spot on. This is my new go-to fish recipe. Thanks!
Can I sub coconut milk for the cashew cream? I have the So Delicious boxed kind in the fridge.
No unfortunately that won’t work. Cashew cream thickens when it’s cooked, which creates the thick cream sauce. So Delicious will remain thin and watery. So if you use that, you’ll have to thicken it. A cornstarch slurry should work fine.
Fantastic recipe, quick, easy and great flavor! ?
We really enjoyed this recipe! My husband isn’t huge on heat so I only added half of the cayenne pepper and it was perfect! I also wanted more sauce and had extra spices left over so I doubled the heavy cream. The sauce is amazing, I think it would be great with chicken and a pasta!