Christmas Salmon
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This Christmas salmon is a festive and flavorful main for the holidays! It’s individual salmon fillets, baked in a sweet pomegranate sauce, served with fresh rosemary and pomegranate seeds. It tastes as beautiful as it looks, and it’s ready in just 18 minutes!
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and when I’m looking for a holiday main that feels festive without being heavy, this Christmas salmon is what I make. It’s easy, elegant, and looks absolutely beautiful on the table—perfect if you’re ready to switch things up from the usual holiday fare.
I make a simple spiced sauce with pomegranate molasses, maple syrup, melted butter, vanilla, dried rosemary, salt, and pepper. If pomegranate molasses is new to you, think of it like a sweet-tart glaze similar to balsamic, but fruitier and brighter. I spread the sauce over individual salmon fillets, then bake them until just cooked through and glossy.
To serve, I arrange the salmon on a platter, tuck in a few rosemary sprigs, and scatter fresh pomegranate seeds over the top for that classic red-and-green holiday look. It smells incredible when it hits the table and pairs beautifully with salads, roasted vegetables, rice, or whatever sides you’re serving. Light, festive, and deceptively simple, this is a holiday main I come back to year after year.
Recipe FAQs
What’s the best type of salmon to use?
If you’re new to cooking salmon, steelhead trout is an excellent option because it has a mild flavor and doesn’t dry out as easily as other salmon. (Technically, steelhead is an ocean-going rainbow trout, but it looks and tastes like salmon.) Sockeye salmon is another excellent option, but any variety of fresh, wild-caught salmon is also a good choice.
How long do leftovers keep?
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
What to serve with Christmas salmon
This festive salmon is a delicious way to swap traditional holiday foods for something lighter. Enjoy it as a special dinner on Christmas, or anytime throughout the holiday season. I love this recipe served with my holiday roasted vegetables and a crispy kale salad. Here are a few more festive sides that pair well with salmon:
Christmas Salmon Recipe
Ingredients
- ¼ cup pomegranate molasses
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- ¼ teaspoon EACH: salt and pepper
- 6 pieces salmon (see notes)
- Pomegranate seeds and rosemary sprigs (to serve)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium-sized frying pan over medium-high heat, bring the pomegranate molasses, maple syrup, butter, vanilla, rosemary, salt, and pepper to a boil. Continue to boil for 4 minutes then remove the pan from the heat and let it cool. Once it's cool to the touch, it should have the consistency of molasses.¼ cup pomegranate molasses, ¼ cup maple syrup, 1 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon vanilla, 1 teaspoon dried rosemary , ¼ teaspoon EACH: salt and pepper
- Lay the salmon on the baking sheet and spread the thick pomegranate sauce on top – don't worry if it doesn't spread easily, it will once it's in the oven.6 pieces salmon
- Bake the salmon for 8-9 minutes, just until the salmon reaches 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Spoon some of the sauce that has run onto the pan over the salmon.
- Serve the salmon with sprigs of rosemary surrounding it and pomegranate seeds over the top.Pomegranate seeds and rosemary sprigs
Notes
Nutrition
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More Christmas mains
Looking for more inspiration? Check out all of our Christmas recipes!
This recipe sounds lovely! I can’t find pomegranate molasses anywhere though. Any ideas on how I could substitute for it? I was thinking about using pomegranate juice and maple syrup instead, hat do you think?
Best wishes and merry early Christmas to everyone!
That’s a great question — and yes, I think it would definitely work! You can make pomegranate molasses by boiling pomegranate juice until it’s syrupy and then sweetening it to taste with maple syrup. 💛
I really loved this recipe! It was delicious and my family liked it too. It was however a tad too sweet for my taste so next time I think I’ll try with less maple syrup. My sister also said that this might also be good with chicken for those who don’t like salmon. I’ll definitely try that too 🙂
I’m so happy you and your family loved it! Using a little less maple syrup next time sounds perfect — and I love your sister’s idea to try it with chicken. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and tweaks! 💛
I’m sorry I don’t get the vanilla? Sounds very odd with salmon, what’s the secret?
It adds a touch of sweetness (which always goes well with salmon) and a hint of a wonderful vanilla flavor. It’s delicious!
Can i marinate the fish before hand with the sauce? And then grill it instead of roasting?
Definitely! Because pomegranate is a bit acidic, I wouldn’t marinate it for more than an hour. Also, I would use either a cedar plank (as another commenter suggested) or a bbq mat so they marinade doesn’t mess up your BBQ.
How do you think this would work grilled, possibly on a cedar plank?
I think it would work really well on a cedar plank! You could even grill it as a whole side of salmon.