This Tuscan Salmon boasts a bacon tomato cream sauce flavored with basil and vodka. It's an easy recipe that delivers sophisticated flavor from common ingredients and requires just one pan. It’s a beautiful low carb recipe and perfect for any lchf or ketogenic diet.
What happens when a meat lovin’, Southwestern gal marries a fish lovin’ guy from the East Coast? She learns to like fish! Marriage is a compromise, but it’s also a culmination of two separate entities - producing something better than they are separately. Just like this dish, the salmon and bacon are delicious on their own, but putting them together makes them memorable.
You know this isn’t any old tomato vodka sauce, no! This is a BACON and salmon cream sauce with tomato, vodka, and basil. I mean, come on! We’re talking flavor so unreal your taste buds will do a happy dance.
Speaking of salmon…
Fish has gotten a bad wrap the last several years with valid concerns about sustainability and contamination. So, I did a little research on Fishpeople Seafood before I agreed to partner with them. They offer wild caught fish from American waters, caught by independent fishermen fishing only for sustainable species.
But, I have another must when it comes to seafood -- one that's as important to me -- the recipe! I want a terrific recipe that’s going to let that fish or seafood shine. So, let’s get back to this amazing Tuscan salmon recipe.
I understand that some folks don’t know how to cook fish and are afraid of messing it up. Well, have no-fear because this recipe is easy to prepare and calls for regular ingredients.
Did you take a peep at the ingredients in the photo? There aren't many. And since this dish cooks in one pan, clean-up's a breeze. Serving with lemony zucchini noodles (or lemony rice for my brother!) is perfect, but sauteed spinach or lemony asparagus is just as appropriate.
The cooking technique is simple.
This salmon recipe builds flavor on-top of flavor in the pan, resulting in an amazingly rich sauce. The whole thing is ready in 20 minutes!
I don’t know about you, but a dynamite salmon entrée ready in 20 minutes is pretty exciting.
So, get this recipe on your menu planner quick!
Each serving of Salmon with Bacon Tomato Cream Sauce is 4 net carbs
Keto Tuscan Salmon
Ingredients
Fishpeople Seafood Salmon
- 2-6 ounce filets Sockeye or Keta salmon
Bacon Tomato Vodka Cream Sauce
- 2 slices bacon, diced
- 1 teaspoons of bacon grease or olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, sliced
- 1 ounce onion, sliced (about ¼ of a medium onion)
- ¼ cup vodka (2 oz/ 60 ml)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste (15 g)
- ⅓ cup heavy cream (2 ½ oz/ 75 ml)
- 2 tablespoons water (1 oz/ 30 ml0
- 1 tablespoon vodka (½ oz/ 15 ml)
- 10 leaves basil, chiffonade
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest, grated
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Preparation
- Let the Salmon come to temperature on the counter for 15 minutes. Gather all of the ingredients. Dice the bacon.
Bacon
- Place a medium-sized frying pan over medium heat. Add the bacon and 1 teaspoon of bacon grease and stir, coating the bacon. Let cook about 2 minutes. Meanwhile, slice the onion and garlic, chiffonade the basil, and grate the lemon zest. (To chiffonade, stack the basil leaves, roll them lengthwise then cutting crosswise, slice into thin ribbons.) Give the bacon in the pan a stir and cook until browned and crisp. Remove the bacon leaving the fat in the pan.
Salmon
- Pour out all of the bacon fat from the frying pan except about 2 tablespoons and return pan to the stove over medium heat.
- Very lightly salt each salmon filet and lay them in the pan, pretty-side down (or skin-side up - I removed the skin on my pieces). Let cook undisturbed for about 3-4 minutes depending on thickness. You'll see the salmon become lighter where it has cooked, this will let you judge if it's time to flip. (You'll want that color change almost half-way before flipping.)
- Flip the fish with a spatula and cook again for approximately 3-4 minutes. Remove the salmon to a plate and tent gently with a piece of foil to keep warm.
Sauce
- Return the pan to the stove, keeping the heat set to just below medium. Add the onions and garlic and stir until they begin to soften - about 1 ½ minutes. Move the pan off of the burner, and while STANDING BACK - slowly add the vodka. Return the pan to the heat stirring to lift up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Let the vodka reduce by half.
- Add the tomato paste and stir it around the onions to warm it up and help break it down. Add the heavy cream and water, stirring to combine. Let it simmer gently for a minute to thicken up a little. Add the bacon, 1 tablespoon of vodka, and lemon zest. Stir the sauce until the sharp smell of alcohol has dissipated. Add the basil. Taste and add a pinch of salt and pepper to your taste. Turn off the heat.
Plate:
- Place a salmon filet on a serving plate and top with half of the sauce. Garnish with more basil if desired.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Rebecca
I have fresh lemon basil that I grow. Do you think I could use this in lieu of regular basil and perhaps leave out the lemon zest?
Kim Hardesty
I haven't tried it with lemon basil, Rebecca. It may be really nice. -Kim
Lea Eppich
Tease! Where is the lemony zucchini noodles recipe? This looks fantastic together, and I would love to make the noodles to go with the salmon, but there is no link.
Kim Hardesty
Hi Lea! Sorry about the tease! I just quickly sautéed zucchini in butter and added lemon juice to taste. I shared this recipe several years ago so I don't remember the exact proportions. -Kim
Poonam
It was Suuuuperbbbb . Loved it .
Jeremy Mlazovsky
The sauce is great!!!
Anita White
I try to cook something different occasionally, just to try to expand on the basics I cook all the time. I cooked this last Saturday night. I have to admit, I was afraid I had been a little too adventurous as I began to prepare this dish. The ingredients were not ones I had combined before. I was afraid my husband would not eat it. I plated it with roasted Pesto red potatoes. I have never prepared either dish. He is very hard to please and he ate everything. He kept licking the the sauce off of the fork, lol. I loved it as well.
Thank you
Kim Hardesty
I love comments like this, Anita. I am so happy that your husband liked the meal you prepared and that you looked like a star! Have a great day. -Kim
Mandy Sullivan
This looks so amazing it reminds me of my Marsala sauce. Quick question. My husband and I are not fans of the taste of alcohol so I was wondering if this has a vodka taste to it and if so could I use a replacement like Marsala wine?
Kim Hardesty
HI Mandy. Great question. The alcohol burns off so you can't taste it, but it also provides a unique flavor that cuts the richness of the sauce. It is really nice. I say go for it. You could buy 1-2 of the really small bottles most liquor stores sell so you don't have to buy a big bottle. I have several spirits (vodka, brandy, dry sherry, dry vermouth, jin, rum, dry white wine and red wine) that I use only for cooking. The bottles last me a few years. -Kim
Roberta
Could marsala wine be substituted for the vodka?
Kim
Hi Roberta. The vodka acts as a great counter balance to the bacon and cream. You can use a dry Marsala wine. It would taste different, but probably still good. -Kim
Antoinyce Mathis
I'm horrible with leaving comments (even though my husband and I use at least one of your recipes per week lol... I will get better)!! I'm making this tonight and promise to come back with my results!! The comments made me so excited that I decided to comment BEFORE and after haha.
We're on a keto salad binge this week for lunch, so I think this will accompany one of our salads :)
Kim
Thank you so much, Antoinyce! Enjoy the recipe. -Kim
Sylvie
I made this twice and WOW this recipe is amazing.I WOWED my husband and my best friend with this recipe. Thank you so much.
Fiona M Young-Brown
This was absolutely wonderful - a definite keeper. The resulting meal looked and tasted as though I'd been in the kitchen for hours but it was just 20 minutes!
Kim
I'm so glad, Fiona. Thank you for taking the time to come back to let me know you liked the recipe. Enjoy the rest of your week. -Kim
Wendy
After 32 years of marriage to a man that is a great cook I have taken 2019 as my year to eat and prepare healthy meals. Bravo to you and your site. I have enjoyed your recipes and this salmon tonight did not disappoint. Thanks for making me look like I know what I am doing. Your easy to read recipes are fabulous!
Kim
Wendy, I am thrilled that you enjoyed the recipe and glad you looked like a star! You deserve it. Happy 2019! -Kim
Kelly
This recipe is solid. I'm a super picky cook and I loved it. Its easy, doesn't take much time and the only thing I had to add was red pepper flakes. Thanks so much!
Crystal
I made this for dinner tonight, except I substituted cod loins for the salmon.
O. M. G. Loved it!!!!! Even my picky husband loved it. ! This is seriously one of the best fish dishes I've ever had! Thank you so much!
(I want this sauce on everything now!)
Marie
Superb!!! Did add a few crushed capers and dill - wow....this is now my go to salmon recipe! Thank you!
Kim
I love the addition of the crushed capers and dill, Marie. I'm sure it balanced nicely with the rich sauce. Thanks for taking the time to come back and comment. Enjoy your week. -Kim
Mary Kay
This was hands down the best salmon dish I have ever eaten! It tasted luxurious! Thank You for sharing it!
Yazmin
This sauce was incredibly tasty! There wasn't a lot of it, which I was worried about at first, but it was so rich and flavourful that we ended up deciding that any more of the sauce would have ruined it. Will definitely be making it again!
I only had lim Smirmoff vodka, which worked really well with the combination of flavours. I was pretty terrified to cook with vodka as all the youtube videos of doing this showed an eruption of flames from the pan, so my hubby took over this bit, although the pan didn't flame up like we both expected. Probably because we have an electronic stove.
Kim
Yay! I'm so glad you gave this recipe a try and that you and your husband liked it. It's a stand out for flavor, that's for sure. Thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know how you enjoyed the recipe and for rating it. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. -Kim
Carol Cross
Combination of flavors was perfect and delicious. Seeing I made a double batch of sauce I tried it on a chicken Maryland and was not disappointed with the taste a perfect match as well. Thank you for a sauce that is full of flavor.
Kim
What a nice comment, Carol. I will have to google chicken Maryland and see what it's about! Thanks for taking the time to comment and rate the recipe. I appreciate it. Enjoy the rest of your week. -Kim
Danielle
This was absolutely delicious! Loved the flavor combo of bacon and salmon together. Thanks!
Kim
Great! I'm so glad you liked it, Danielle. That sauce was so good I licked some of it up with my finger. Gross, but good. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. Enjoy your week. -Kim
Janice
Add me to your recipient list!
Kim
Done! -Kim
Gypsie
Holy moly I made this for dinner. Didn't have vodka so used white wine. It was absolutely Devine! And my picky husband loved it. He said he likes it better than grilled. Actually he said it tastes like a French dish. Now that is the nicest compliment he has given me for my cooking in 45 years! I can just imagine this sauce over shrimp! Thank you thank you!
Kim
Gypsie, thank you for bringing this fantastic comment from Facebook to the blog. I appreciate it very much. And, what a wonderful comment! I'm so glad you and your husband enjoyed the recipe. Have a wonderful week! -Kim
Judy Kennedy
This sounds so good, going to try it! Thanks for sharing.
Georgina Bomer
Wow! I am seriously drooling over this!
Taryn
That vodka sauce sounds SO good!
Kim
It's delicious, Taryn. Thanks! -Kim
Tasha
That sauce looks incredible! I can't wait to try this one!
Kim
Tasha, you won't be disappointed! Thanks for commenting. Have a great week! -Kim
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Wow, this looks absolutely gorgeous! Those pictures are so beautiful. I can practically taste this salmon through the screen. That sauce looks so delicious and creamy!
Kim
Maya, thank you so much! It's a great recipe if I do say so my self! Have a great day! -Kim
Shannon
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe! I made this last night and it's just as good, or better, as it looks! I felt like I was eating a $30 entree in an upscale restaurant. Left out the basil, as I'm not a fan, but the only other change I made was to double the recipe... and I'm glad I did because we KILLED it. As someone who has eaten LC for almost 3 years, and planning to forever, I really appreciate your recipes, Kim. Makes it much easier to stay on track when I can mix it up occasionally.
Kim
Shannon, thanks for leaving such a nice comment. I'm pleased that you and your husband enjoyed the recipe and it's my extreme pleasure to share with you, what we're eating at my house. Thanks for taking the time to let me know how you liked the recipe. Have a wonderful Sunday! -Kim
Kathy @ Beyond the Chicken Coop
I usually make my husband prepare any kind of fish. He does such a great job. This looks like one that we'd love! You just can't go wrong with bacon! :)
Kim
Thanks so much Kathy. This was such a nice recipe. Enjoy! -Kim
allison
Oh boy this looks so good!! One dish and ooh that sauce paired with Salmon?? Yes please!! Looks so elegant yet looks so simple. Just what I love!! Cant wait to try this one!
Kim
Thank you Allison. I appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment. You're the best. I hope you enjoy it! -Kim
Stacey
Oh wow, this looks flipping delicious! Bookmarking this one ?
Kim
Thanks Stacey! Enjoy. -Kim
Carole
This is a scrumptious recipe! I stopped just short of licking my plate because the sauce was so delectible. My husband and I rated it five stars. I can't wait to try this sauce on zoodles. Thank you, Kim, for another winner!!!
Kim
Oh, Carole! I am so glad you guys liked it. I know. It was a plate-licker for us, too! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. -Kim
Michele
Can;t wait to try this. Looks delicious!
Kim
Michelle! Thank you so much. Enjoy. -Kim
Matt
That is an awesome sauce! Bacon and vodka? They're not just for breakfast anymore!
Kim
Thanks Matt! :) Yeah, they were a great combination. Thanks for your comment and enjoy your weekend. -Kim