This 30 minute macadamia crusted sriracha ranch salmon is a Whole30, paleo, and keto dish that’s both easy and flavorful. It’s the perfect combination of richness, crunch, and spice!
Looking for a baked salmon recipe with a little more pizzazz? Make my Macadamia-Crusted Sriracha Ranch Salmon, a Nomster favorite from the “Kinda Ready” section (page 198) of our yellow cookbook, Ready or Not!
The macadamia nuts add a buttery richness to the salmon, while the sriracha ranch sauce adds a tangy and zippy kick. You can whip up this recipe in less than 30 minutes, making it perfect for a busy weeknight or a special occasion. Trust me, you’ll want to make this again and again!
Tips on the best baked salmon
- Have your Sriracha Ranch Dressing ready to go in the fridge! It’ll make this dish come together in no time at all!
- Pick a fresh salmon filet that has an even thickness! It’ll cook uniformly and each bite will be moist and delicious!
- Use a meat thermometer to check for doneness! You add the sauce and nuts when the salmon is about 85% of the way cooked, so a trusty meat thermometer will help you make perfectly cooked salmon with a golden brown crust!
No sriracha?
Or don’t like spicy? No problem! Just make the ranch dressing and leave out the sriracha—your macadamia crusted salmon will still taste amazing!
Ingredients
- Sriracha Ranch Dressing: I told you this flavor booster makes everything taste better!
- Skin-on salmon filet: I love using center cut wild king salmon or coho salmon for this recipe because they’re fattier and more buttery tasting. If I can’t find fresh salmon, I will use steelhead trout as a substitute.
- Dry-roasted and salted macadamia nuts: my favorite brand is Mauna Loa. Other nuts that work well are hazelnuts, pistachios, and almonds. Nut allergy? Use crushed plantain chips!
- Ghee, avocado oil, or extra virgin olive oil
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Freshly cracked black pepper
- Fresh dill or Italian parsley
How to make Macadamia-Crusted Salmon with Sriracha Ranch
Make or grab your jar of Sriracha Ranch Dressing from the fridge!
Heat the oven to 400°F with the rack in the upper middle position. Pop a rimmed baking sheet in the oven and let it heat up as the oven gets hot.
Carefully remove the little pin bones from the salmon, and pat dry both sides of the filet with paper towels.
When the baking pan is hot, take it out of the oven. Don’t forget to use an oven mitt! Spoon the ghee (or fat of choice) onto the sheet, and swirl to coat the pan.
Sprinkle some salt evenly on the pan.
Put the fish, skin-side down on the pan.
Brush the top of the salmon with the melted ghee (or fat of choice).
Generously sprinkle pepper and more salt on the top of the salmon filet. Return the pan to the oven.
Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until the salmon is just cooked through. The center of the fish should measure 125°F when done, and the center should still be slightly translucent.
Take the tray of salmon out of the oven. Spoon and spread the Sriracha Ranch Dressing on top of the fish.
Sprinkle the chopped macadamia nuts evenly on top of the salmon, and pop the tray back into the oven.
Bake for 2 to 3 minutes or until the crust is golden. (You can broil for 30 to 60 seconds to brown the top more, but keep a close eye on it.)
Plate, garnish with herbs and serve!
Watch me cook this dish on Tastemade!
When our second cookbook came out, I flew to Los Angeles to shoot a few recipes from the book with my pals at Tastemade, and one of them was this tasty salmon dish paired with Roasted Ginger Sesame Broccoli—also from our new book.
Seriously: Watch how easy I made this fantastic weeknight supper on Tastemade!
(Yes, those are my very own fingers and un-manicured nails in the video. Who knew I could add “hand model” to my resume?)
More paleo salmon recipes
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2022).
Macadamia-Crusted Sriracha Ranch Salmon
Ingredients
- ¼ cup Sriracha Ranch Dressing
- 1½ pounds center cut wild king salmon filet
- 1 tablespoon ghee avocado oil, or extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt divided
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup dry-roasted and salted macadamia nuts roughly chopped
- ¼ cup minced fresh dill or Italian parsley
Instructions
- Make or grab your jar of Sriracha Ranch Dressing from the fridge!
- Heat the oven to 400°F with the rack in the upper middle position. Pop a rimmed baking sheet in the oven and let it heat up as the oven gets hot.
- While the oven is heating, carefully remove the little pin bones from the salmon, and pat dry both sides of the filet with paper towels.
- When the baking pan is hot, take it out of the oven. Don’t forget to use an oven mitt! Spoon the ghee (or fat of choice) onto the sheet, and swirl to coat the pan.
- Sprinkle half of the salt evenly on the pan. Put the fish, skin-side down on the pan.
- Brush the top of the salmon with the melted ghee (or fat of choice) from the pan.
- Generously sprinkle pepper and the remaining ½ teaspoon salt on the top of the salmon filet. Return the pan to the oven.
- Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until the salmon is just cooked through. The center of the fish should measure 125°F when done, and the center should still be slightly translucent.
- Take the tray of salmon out of the oven. Spoon and spread the Sriracha Ranch Dressing on top of the filet.
- Sprinkle the chopped macadamia nuts evenly on top of the salmon, and pop the tray back into the oven.
- Bake for 2 to 3 minutes or until the crust is golden. (You can broil to for 30 to 60 seconds to brown the top more, but keep a close eye on it.)
- Plate, garnish with herbs, and serve!
Video
Notes
-
- Have your Sriracha Ranch Dressing ready to go in the fridge! It’ll make this dish come together in no time at all!
-
- Pick a fresh salmon filet that has an even thickness! It’ll cook uniformly and each bite will be moist and delicious!
-
- Use a meat thermometer to check for doneness! You add the sauce and nuts when the salmon is about 85% of the way cooked, so a trusty meat thermometer will help you make perfectly cooked salmon with a golden brown crust!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Just made this for dinner and it was FANTASTIC!!!! My husband agreed, this will definitely become a rotation in our dinners. Thanks for a unique, but relatively easy dinner.
Looks awesome! I would love to know the brand of baking dish you’re using.
Does the salmon need to have the skin on or can I use skinless fillets?
I have made this twice. Second time i baked the salmon on a sheet pan and added broccoli for the last 10 min. 1 pan delicious dinner.
I had a macadamia crusted salmon at a restaurant many years ago and it is something I still crave! Thank you for this recipe, it looks amazing.
This looks amazing! Can you recommend any other types of nuts that would work in terms of flavour? What about almonds or cashews (my partner has a macadamia allergy. Thank you!
Almonds or cashews will work just fine!