So everyone’s had spinach artichoke dip — some of it pretty questionable! — but have you tried spinach artichoke salmon yet?
This dish is where comfort food in the form of a creamy, dreamy dip-inspired sauce meets a healthy dinner with salmon & greens for the win!
While it looks and feels super indulgent, there’s a lot of goodness in this skillet spinach artichoke salmon.
Which is great, because if you’re anything like me, you’re gonna have trouble not spooning the sauce directly into your face. Just a heads-up.
Use the best quality artichoke hearts you can get your hands on for this one, because their flavor is so very important in this dish. I find the frozen ones from Trader Joe’s have the truest-to-fresh artichoke flavor, while the canned and jarred varieties can be hit or miss.
If you’re going to use marinated artichoke hearts, they tend to have a better, less chemical-esque taste than the canned, but you’ll likely want to rinse them off well because they can be heavy on the vinegar and seasonings.
If you want to make this spinach artichoke salmon a one pan dinner, sear the salmon first off in the skillet you’re going to use to make the sauce, then rest it on a plate until it’s ready to finish cooking in there.
As I’ve written the recipe, you’ll dirty up a second pan just to sear the salmon, but that saves you a little time because the searing can happen at the same time as the sauce is warming through. Whichever way works best for you!
Looking for more comfort food recipes? Try my Creamiest Dairy Free Turkey Stroganoff or Nightshade Free White Chicken Chili!
PrintSaucy Spinach Artichoke Salmon
This spinach artichoke salmon takes a speedy spin on classic flavors, turning pantry & freezer staples into a comforting yet healthy weeknight dinner.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
- Category: weeknight, dinner
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: Dairy free, gluten free, paleo, AIP reintroductions
Ingredients
- 4 5 oz / 140 g skinless salmon fillets, to total about 1 1/4 lbs / 565 g
- 1 cup / 140 g raw cashews
- 1/2 yellow or non-sweet onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled & minced or crushed
- 2 cups / 480 ml chicken broth, divided
- 1 tbsp / 4 g non fortified nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 8 oz / 225 g quartered artichoke hearts, see notes
- 3 packed cups / 105 g fresh spinach, or 4 oz frozen spinach, see notes
- 1 tbsp / 15 ml avocado oil or similar, neutral flavored oil
- Juice of 1/2 – 1 lemon, to taste
- Handful of fresh chopped basil or dill
Instructions
DRY: Remove the salmon from the refrigerator & transfer the fillets to a paper towel lined plate. Pat the pieces dry with a paper towel, season with salt & pepper to taste and let sit at room temperature while you make the sauce.
SOAK: Measure the raw cashews into the bottom of a blender pitcher and cover with just-boiled or very hot water. Leave to soak, with the lid on, while you get the sauce base going.
SOFTEN: Heat a high sided skillet or 4.5 quart dutch oven over low medium and add the avocado oil. When the oil is hot, add the diced yellow onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until it starts to soften but not brown, about 5 – 10 minutes or so. Add the garlic and cook for a minute or two, until the garlic is fragrant but not browning, then add 1 cup / 240 milliliters of the broth. Reduce the heat to low and cover with a lid while you make the cashew cream.
BLEND: Strain off and discard the water from the cashews through a fine mesh strainer, then return the drained cashews to the blender pitcher. Add 1/2 cup / 120 milliliters of very hot or just-boiled water and blend on high until thick, creamy & smooth. Add the remaining chicken broth 1/2 cup / 120 milliliters at a time, blending until smooth and creamy. Sprinkle in the non fortified nutritional yeast, salt, black pepper & red pepper flakes, then blend one last time. The cashew mixture should look and pour like traditional dairy milk at this point, see notes.
SIMMER: Preheat a cast iron skillet or similar for the salmon on a separate burner over medium high heat. Stir the cashew cream through the broth in the dutch oven a little at a time until it is smooth and glossy. Add the artichokes and spinach, tossing the spinach through the sauce if it using fresh so that it wilts a little. Cover and adjust the heat so that the sauce is at a gentle simmer, with just a few bubbles here and there.
SEAR: Coat the cast iron skillet with the avocado oil. Once hot but not smoking, add the salmon fillets top side down and cook until it has a nice golden crust, about 1 1/2 – 2 minutes. Gently flip & turn the salmon over with a spatula and cook the underside of the salmon until the the fillets are lightly seared, but the middle is still pink, about 1 minute or so. Remove the salmon from the heat & transfer to a plate.
COOK: Uncover the sauce in the dutch oven and add the juice of 1/2 lemon, stirring the wilted spinach through until it’s combined and creamy. The sauce should still be a little on the loose side, so add another splash or two of broth or water only if needed. Gently nestle the salmon fillets into the sauce, cover and adjust the heat so that the sauce bubbles gently and continues to cook the salmon through, about 5 – 7 minutes, depending on the thickness of your salmon. I like to cook salmon to about 125 F internal temperature for a lightly medium rare in the middle, using a meat thermometer to test the temperature. If you like your salmon firmer, I wouldn’t let it cook past 135 F, since it will dry out too much. Remember, your salmon will continue to cook as it rests and sits in the sauce, too.
FINISH: Remove the pan from the heat and plate the salmon. Stir the fresh herbs through the sauce, then taste and add additional lemon or salt if needed. Spoon each fillet with the spinach artichoke sauce and serve right away.
Equipment
Buy Now → 
Buy Now → 
Buy Now → 
Buy Now → 
Buy Now → 
Non Fortified Nutritional Yeast
Buy Now →Notes
- AIP reintroductions: cashews, black pepper, red pepper flakes
- If you have a very high powered blender like a Vitamix, you will not need to be quite so labored when making the cashew cream. You should be able to blend the drained cashews with all of the water & chicken broth at once, just process until creamy and smooth. My instructions here are aimed at people whose blenders aren’t as powerful, in which case using hot water and adding the broth a little at a time help ensure a smooth rather than gritty result.
- If using frozen artichokes, you may need to thaw them out first if they are watery. Trader Joe’s don’t need draining at all. If using jarred marinated artichoke hearts or canned artichoke hearts, I recommend rinsing and draining them well before adding them to the sauce, especially if they are marinated as they can be particularly salty or vinegar heavy.
- Again, if your frozen spinach is particularly watery, you may need to thaw and squeeze it out before adding it to the sauce. I found that Trader Joe’s & Earthbound Farm frozen spinach don’t need that step in my testing.
Made this for a delicious early mothers day dinner – Had to swap out with curly kale (kind of cut julienne, not sure if there’s another name for that with greens) as that was what I had on hand and it was delicious!!