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Home » Blog Recipe Posts » Dinner

Instant Pot Lemon Butter Salmon

November 21, 2019 by Sandy 20 Comments

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Instant Pot Lemon Butter Salmon is delicious, with a buttery lemon and garlic sauce. An easy Instant Pot recipe that can be done in 30 minutes. Pressure cooker salmon with lemon butter sauce is wonderful served with rice, or vegetables that you can cook at the same time!

Pressure Cooker Lemon Butter Salmon with vegetables on black plate next to fork

 

Instant Pot Lemon Butter Salmon

Living in the Pacific Northwest I have access to a lot of seafood, which we eat often. Salmon is a favorite fish of our family (and Gizmo, our Pug)!

Did you know that you can cook salmon in the Instant Pot? It turns out moist and perfectly cooked. Instant Pot salmon is a quick and healthy meal.

There are many ways to cook salmon, and I would say that pressure cooker salmon comes closest to poached, but with more flavor, thanks to the lemon butter sauce.

Pressure Cooker Lemon Butter Salmon with vegetables on black plate with gold fork

Pot-In-Pot Cooking in the pressure cooker

The best method for making Instant Pot salmon is using the PIP (or Pot-in-Pot) method. That's when you cook the food in an oven safe dish within the pressure cooker's pot, on a trivet/rack.

The water is below, in the stainless liner pot, with the dish of salmon and sauce on a trivet/rack above the water, so the sauce won't get diluted.

This method is good for cakes, cheesecakes, and food that you don't want to get watered down, as you need water to make the steam that brings the pot up to pressure.

PIP also works for thick foods that would not work well cooked directly in the main stainless liner, as they would burn.

uncooked salmon in pot prepared and ready to cook
Layer the ingredients on the salmon filets like so: salt, pepper, garlic, then the dill on the salmon, followed by the lemon slices, then the butter pats go on top.

*This post contains Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.*

I have two preferred pans for making Instant Pot salmon in. The first is the ekovana Stackable Stainless Pans (affiliate). This pan set is great for making salmon with a sauce.

Image showing Pot in pot method to put both salmon and veggies in pressure cooker at the same time

Since the pans stack, you can cook some veggies in the lower pan and make a complete meal at once. Stack the pan with the salmon on top of pan with the veggies. The veggies will cook slower in the sealed pan, so they will be perfectly cooked!

These are in a set of 2, and each pan is just shy of 2 quarts, making it perfect for other foods besides salmon. There are other sizes available to fit all the pots!

The other pan I like to use is the Fat Daddio's Square Cake Pans (7 x 2 Inch) (affiliate). This is a shallower (2" tall) pan that is perfect for pressure cooking foods with sauces. There are other sizes available to fit all the pots!

two images showing how veggies go in a separate pan under the pan with the salmon
This photo shows the vegetables in the pan that you cover. The pan (uncovered) with the salmon will go on top of this one.

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Pin This Instant Pot lemon butter salmon Recipe

Instant Pot Lemon Butter Salmon and veggies on black plate as well as the title and Simply Happy Foodie.com logo

If you make this delicious Instant Pot salmon recipe, please leave a comment and a star rating below. I'd like to know how you liked it!

4.8 from 5 votes
Instant Pot Lemon Butter Salmon and Vegetables on black plate
Print
Instant Pot Lemon Butter Salmon
Prep Time
12 mins
Cook Time
5 mins
Total Time
17 mins
 

Instant Pot Lemon Butter Salmon is a quick, healthy and delicious meal that is so easy to make!

Course: Dinner
Cuisine: American
Keyword: pressure cooker lemon butter salmon
Servings: 2
Calories: 326 kcal
Author: Sandy Clifton
Ingredients
  • 1 cup Water (for the pressure cooker) 2 cups for 8 qt pot
  • 2 (5-6 oz) Salmon Filets (with skin)
  • ¼ tsp Salt
  • 1 pinch Pepper
  • 2 cloves Garlic (pressed or grated/minced)
  • 1 Tbsp Fresh Chopped Dill (or 1 ½ tsp dried)
  • 4-6 Fresh Lemon Slices (thinly sliced)
  • 2 Tbsp Butter (sliced into 4 pats)
  • 2 Tbsp Water (or white wine)
  • 2 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice
Instructions
  1. Pour 1 cup of water into the inner liner of the pressure cooker. Then set the trivet/rack inside.

  2. Place the salmon filets into the pan, skin side down.

  3. Sprinkle the filets with the salt, pepper, and the garlic.

  4. Place the dill on the salmon, followed by the lemon slices, then the butter pats on top.

  5. Add the water and lemon juice to the pan.

  6. Place the pan into the pressure cooker, onto the trivet.

  7. Close the lid and set the steam release knob to the Sealing position.

  8. Press the Pressure Cook/Manual button or dial, then the +/- button or dial to select 5 minutes. High Pressure.

  9. When the cook cycle has finished, immediately turn the steam release knob to the Venting position to Quick Release the steam/pressure.

  10. When the pin in the lid drops back down, open the lid and carefully remove the pan.

  11. Serve immediately with some of the lemon butter sauce over the filets.

Recipe Notes
  1. Larger (thicker) filets and frozen will need additional cook time.

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RESOURCES TO MAKE Instant Pot Lemon Butter Salmon recipe and more

This post contains Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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  1. Louis Lachance

    October 29, 2020 at 8:43 am

    CAN A SPRINGFORM PAN BE USED FOR THE SALMON? THANKS ,LOU

    Reply
    • Sandy

      November 25, 2020 at 10:55 pm

      if you line it with foil, the butter and lemon juice won't run out. Give it a try!

      Reply
  2. Neil

    March 29, 2020 at 5:02 pm

    Sandy, do you have any recipes for the instant pot steammed veggies?

    Reply
    • Sandy

      March 30, 2020 at 1:24 pm

      Nothing specific right now. I just use what I have on hand. I will look into some specific recipes, knowing that you would like some!

      Reply
      • Neil

        April 04, 2020 at 7:28 pm

        Cool. Thanks!

  3. Janet Winters

    March 09, 2020 at 9:44 am

    Can you make this in a 3 qt pot

    Reply
    • Sandy

      March 16, 2020 at 1:22 pm

      Yes. You just need 6 inch diameter pans instead of 7 inch.

      Reply
  4. wanda henson

    January 07, 2020 at 8:27 pm

    love all your recipes I dug out my xl instant pot because I had put it away didn't know how to use it right but since I started using your recipes every thing is turning out great!!!!! Thank you The only thing I am not sure about is the pip Can one use a glass pie pan say for the salmon? Thanks Wanda

    Reply
    • Sandy

      January 08, 2020 at 11:36 am

      I have used oven safe glass dishes with no issues, but can't officially recommend them.

      Reply
  5. Holly

    January 01, 2020 at 6:09 pm

    I love your recipes. They have all turned out perfectly. For this one, I did cook the filet longer because I had a larger filet than what the recipe calls for. My husband ate his and the little bit of mine I couldn’t finish.

    Reply
  6. razzy 7

    December 02, 2019 at 10:10 am

    Hi Sandy,
    I made this recipe on Saturday and we LOVED the salmon. I never thought I'd like fish cooked in a pressure cooker, but this salmon was a game-changer and I'm thinking of other fish I'd like to cook in my Instant Pot.

    I was going to also cook broccoli in the pot with the salmon but read somewhere that the smell of a strong vegetable like broccoli might affect the taste of the fish. I paid too much for the salmon to risk it, so just did the broccoli on the stove.

    Next time I might change the lemon butter so it's more of a sauce that will "stick" to the salmon rather than run off. A nice Hollandaise might be good.

    Reply
  7. Jeanie

    November 22, 2019 at 7:03 am

    Can you tell us more about the veggies?

    Reply
    • Sandy

      November 22, 2019 at 7:47 am

      Hi, yes, if you scroll down in the post you can see the photo with the pan of veggies. I just use what I have. That day I had broccoli, a parsnip, and part of a red onion. I put them in the pan, added 2 Tbsp of water, and a pinch of salt & pepper. Then you either cover the pan with foil, or put the veggies in the bottom of the stackable pans. The ideal cook time will be between 5 and 7 minutes (the size of your salmon filet will determine that), with a quick release. Experiment with different veggies. If they are not cooked enough, cut them smaller. If too soft cut them larger.

      Reply
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Hi there! I’m Sandy - foodie with a passion for cooking and sharing my tasty recipes. My hubby Paul, our Pug Gizmo, and I live in Washington.

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