This crispy Keto Baked Parmesan Salmon is so easy to make and will yield a delicious and nutrient-dense dinner recipe! Prepared, cooked, and served in under 30 minutes, this is a great low-carb, gluten-free, egg-free, coconut-free, and nut-free dish to serve on busy weeknights.
Be sure to read through the blog post for the answers to frequently asked questions before you move on to the recipe card and begin making this recipe. You will find step-by-step photos within the blog post (located above the recipe card) that will help you to successfully make this salmon recipe.
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Keto friendly recipe for Parmesan crusted salmon
This Parmesan crusted salmon without breadcrumbs is much lower in carbs than other similar crispy salmon recipes. Breadcrumbs are quite high in carbs so, to replace them and still have the resulting texture we’re looking for, pork rinds are used. Pork rinds are an extremely versatile and keto-friendly ingredient that I love using in my recipes (here are all of the recipes on Real Balanced that use pork rinds as an ingredient).
Keto baked Parmesan salmon recipe FAQs
Before you begin make this salmon, I recommend reading through this FAQ section and reviewing the step-by-step recipe instruction photos.
What ingredients are required?
- Salmon
- Pork rinds
- Grated Parmesan cheese
- Dried dill
- Salt
- Pepper
- Butter
- Minced garlic
- Lemon wedges (optional garnish)
- Fresh parsley (optional garnish)
Are there any ingredient substitution options?
- Salmon: If you don’t have any salmon fillet on hand, then you can try these fish as a salmon substitute: amberjack, arctic char, bluefish, mackerel, mahi-mahi, milkfish, ocean trout, sea trout, steelhead trout, striped bass, and tilefish.
- Pork Rinds: You can try using crushed baked chicken skin cracklings, or replace the 3/4 cup of pork rinds the recipe calls for and sub in grated Parmesan at a 1:1 ratio (in addition to the grated Parmesan the recipe calls for). Alternatively, you can altogether omit the pork rinds; note that if you choose to omit pork rinds and its alternatives, the salmon will not be as crispy as the original recipe intends.
- Dried Dill: You can use fresh dill with the ratio being 1 tablespoon fresh dill for every 1 teaspoon dried dill. So, for this recipe, you would need 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp de-stemmed fresh dill.
- Parmesan Cheese: Hard cheeses such as Americana Grana, Grana Padano, Dry Jack, Pecorino, and Reggianato make for a good substitute for Parmesan cheese. Finely grate them and sub in for grated Parmesan at a 1:1 ratio.
How to crush pork rinds?
The most efficient way to do this is in a blender or food processor; pulse them until fine, almost to a flour-like consistency. Alternatively, you can put the pork rinds in a sealed storage baggie and crush them using your hands.
Should you leave the skin on salmon when baking?
Unless you’re going to poach your fish, it would be best to leave the skin on your salmon since it helps protect the meat from burning. Not to mention, the skin tastes fantastic when it’s baked to a crisp!
How do you bake salmon without drying it out?
You’ll want to cook your fish until skin-side down, until the meat turns from a translucent pink to opaque white. Room temperature salmon would take about 15 minutes to cook in the oven. You also should not cook it longer than this recipe intends, because overcooking = dry fillet.
Which type of salmon should be used in this keto baked Parmesan salmon recipe?
For this particular recipe, I used Atlantic salmon as that was what my grocery store had in-stock. You can absolutely use a different variety, but note the cooking times might vary slightly, especially depending on the thickness of the salmon.
Chinook salmon, also commonly referred to as king salmon, is often considered the best tasting salmon variety. It is specifically great for ketogenic diets as its fat content is quite high.
Sockeye is another variety of salmon that is readily available at grocery stores. Compared to Chinook salmon, sockeye is much smaller and often thinner, which can sometimes affect cooking times of recipes.
What keto side dishes pairs well with this dish?
What diets is this recipe compliant with?
- Keto and Low-Carb: This Parmesan salmon recipe is perfect for those on a keto or low carb diet, as each serving only contains 1.4 grams of net carbs.
- Gluten-Free and Grain-Free: This recipe is gluten-free and grain-free.
- Nut-Free: This Parmesan salmon does not include any tree nut or peanut ingredients.
- Coconut-Free: This recipe does not use coconut products.
- Egg-Free: There are no eggs in this recipe.
- Primal: This baked salmon recipe adheres to primal diet guidelines.
- Sugar-Free and Sweetener-Free: This recipe does not require added sugar or sweeteners.
How many grams of net carbs per serving?
There are 1.4 grams of net carbs per serving in this recipe. One serving is equivalent to one 5 oz piece of salmon (weight is measured after cooking with toppings included).
The full nutrition information, including calories, fat, protein, and total carbs, is listed in the nutrition label below the recipe instructions within the recipe card.
How should the salmon be stored after cooking?
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator and eat within 3-4 days.
How to reheat refrigerated cooked salmon?
Preheat oven to 275 degrees and line baking sheet with foil. Coat foil in nonstick cooking spray. Place salmon skin-side down on pan and bake until salmon reaches internal temperature of 120 degrees. The bake time may be upwards of 15 minutes (bake time is dependent on how cold the refrigerated fish was).
How to make keto baked Parmesan salmon from scratch
Preheat oven to 450 degrees and line baking sheet with foil. Generously coat foil in nonstick cooking spray before placing salmon skin-side down.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together pork rinds, grated Parmesan, dried dill, salt, and pepper. Add melted butter and minced garlic.
With an electric mixer, mix together until are ingredients are well-combined.
Pour mixture atop salmon and, using fingers, press and massage mixture into salmon.
Transfer baking sheet to oven to bake until internal temperature of salmon reaches 120 degrees, about 15 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to top rack of oven, turn oven broiler on, and broil salmon until topping is slightly golden and crispy and internal temperature of salmon reaches 145 degrees, about 1-2 minutes.
Serve salmon hot with lemon wedges and a sprinkle of fresh parsley.
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Keto Baked Parmesan Salmon
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ lbs Atlantic salmon
- ¾ cup ~45g finely crushed pork rinds
- ⅔ cup 80g grated Parmesan cheese
- 3 tbsp dried dill
- ⅛ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp pepper
- ¼ cup 2 oz melted unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp 15g minced garlic
Optional Garnishes:
- Lemon wedges
- 1 tbsp roughly chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees and line baking sheet with foil. Generously coat foil in nonstick cooking spray before placing salmon skin-side down.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together pork rinds, grated Parmesan, dill, salt, and pepper. Add melted butter and minced garlic, and, using an electric mixer, mix together until are ingredients are well-combined. Pour mixture atop salmon and, using fingers, press and massage mixture into salmon.
- Transfer baking sheet to oven to bake until internal temperature of salmon reaches 120 degrees, about 15 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to top rack of oven, turn oven broiler on, and broil salmon until topping is slightly golden and crispy and internal temperature of salmon reaches 145 degrees, about 1-2 minutes.
- Remove baking sheet from oven. Cut salmon into pieces and serve hot garnished with lemon wedge and sprinkle of fresh parsley.
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