Oven-baked Salmon Basil Pesto with Roasted Carrot

This oven-baked salmon basil pesto is one of the easiest recipes that always come in handy when I am in the middle of busy week. Not only it is delicious and healthy, but also it just needs very few ingredients. For the salmon itself, just needs 4 ingredients – salmon, basil pesto, parmesan cheese and olive oil!

In this post, I am pairing the salmon basil pesto recipe with a yummy side dish – roasted carrot since it cooked about the same time. Moreover, it also needs just as few ingredients – carrot, garlic powder, olive oil, salt and pepper! It’s the most stress-free meal, don’t you agree?

I thought this salmon basil pesto paired with roasted carrot would be a great recipe to share especially for the beginning of the year. Many people usually will start the year by eating healthy after all those holiday treats. Moreover, this is a very good meal for those of you who is going on a diet such as whole30, paleo and so on. However, if you are on a ketogenic diet, this roasted carrot might not be a good side-dish for you as it contains higher carb counts, but you can pair it with spinach tomato salad, tuna salad or other kind of salad instead.

Tip: To check if the salmon is done cooking, try to test it with a fork. When the salmon flakes easily when touch with fork, then it should be done.

Ingredient

• 12 oz salmon fillet
• 3 tablespoon basil pesto
• ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 1 cup baby carrot – cut diagonally about ½ inch thick
• 3 tablespoon olive oil – set a bit aside for brushing the foil
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• A pinch of salt and pepper

Direction

• Pre-heat the oven to 400F
• Clean the salmon and divide evenly into 3 pieces
• Cover an aluminum foil onto the baking sheet.
• Line another large-enough aluminum foil to wrap the salmon without touching the top and brush it with olive oil.
• Place the salmon onto the second foil, spread the basil pesto onto the salmon. One tablespoon basil pesto for each salmon fillet. Wrap the salmon and seal the foil without touching the pesto.
• In the meantime, add the cut carrot into a bowl. Then, add a pinch of garlic powder, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Mix and toss them evenly.
• Place the carrot on the other side of the baking pan.
• Bake it for 15 minutes. Take it out, open the wrapper of the salmon foil. Then, sprinkle each salmon fillet with shredded parmesan cheese. Be careful since it is hot.
• Leave the wrapper open and, along with the carrot, put it back into the oven of 400F. Bake it for another 5 minutes.
• Let it cool a bit for 2-3 minutes before serving.