Low Carb Orange Butter Roasted Salmon w Vegetable Medley

This delectable meal is great for sharing with another or having two savory meals to enjoy throughout your busy week. Meaty salmon filets are graciously seasoned and roasted in the oven. Multiple bastings of a quick-made orange butter are what heightens this salmon to chef-worthy status. The final Keto touch? A generous topping of crunchy pork rinds (in lieu of bread crumbs). Served on the side is a seasonal vegetable medley. This vegetable medley is from the original Carb Manager Cold Weather Vegetable Medley recipe. If the vegetables you see listed aren’t available to you at this time, you can read further down for substitutions or other vegetable ideas. This is a great Keto recipe because it has just the right amount of fat in all the right places without any overbearing sauces or heaviness.

Making This Meal Work For Any Season

Asparagus, zucchini, and butternut squash are vegetables typically seasonal to colder months. The butternut squash is especially difficult or impossible to find in warmer seasons. Depending on where you live, main grocery store chains will likely have asparagus and zucchini year-round, but you can make some substitutions as necessary. Broccoli and cauliflower are always great go-to Keto vegetables that are low in carbs. Green beans, mushrooms, or brussel sprouts are also veggies you can almost always find to replace any seasonal produce that might not be available. If you really can’t find zucchini during spring or summer, look for yellow summer squash as your substitution.

When To Splurge On High-Quality Ingredients

This Keto recipe is one that can really impress your guests or just yourself. Since the salmon is the highlight of the meal, this is one of those times it may be worth to splurge on the “good stuff.” Avoid using frozen salmon for this recipe and opt for the freshest fillets you can find. Red sockeye salmon will look particularly impressive on your dinner plate and will be so beautiful under layers of orange butter. While this recipe does call for frozen butternut squash to cut down on prep time, make sure your other vegetables are fresh. Bright green or purple asparagus with in-season zucchini will really make your main course look restaurant-worthy. You can serve the meal with fresh herb garnished or wedges of lemon.

Jessica L.

Net Carbs

11.8 g
Fiber

4.4 g
Total Carbs

16.3 g
Protein

59.7 g
Fats

44.1 g

681 cals

Quantity

Serving Size

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Salmon Sockeye Raw

1 lb
Seasoned Salt

¼ teaspoon
Black Pepper

⅛ teaspoon
Thyme, Dried

¼ teaspoon
Oregano, Dried

½ teaspoon
Onion Powder

¼ teaspoon
Garlic Powder

¼ teaspoon
Olive Oil

2 teaspoon
Unsalted Butter

1 tablespoon
Orange Juice

2 tablespoon
Fried Pork Rinds

½ ounce
Asparagus, Raw

3-½ ounce
Zucchini

5 ounce
Olive Oil

2 teaspoon
Salt

¼ teaspoon
Black Pepper

⅛ teaspoon
Garlic

1 teaspoon
Onion Powder

¼ teaspoon
Nutmeg Ground

⅛ tsp
Thyme, Dried

¼ teaspoon
Rosemary, Dried

¼ teaspoon
Squash Butternut Frozen Unprepared

3 ounce
Unsalted Butter

1 tablespoon
Arugula

1 ounce
Pecans, Raw

1 ounce

Step 1

Preheat an oven to 400 degrees. Arrange 8-oz salmon fillets on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper. Season each filet with the seasoned salt, pepper, thyme, oregano, onion powder, and garlic powder. Drizzle about 1 tsp of olive oil over each salmon filet before baking in the oven for just 10 minutes.
Step 2

While the salmon is baking, combine melted butter and orange juice in a small dish. After 10 minutes, remove the salmon from the oven and brush the filets with about ⅓ of the orange butter using a marinade or pastry brush. Bake for another 10 minutes. Repeat the butter-basting and 10-minute baking intervals 2 more times. The salmon should have baked for a total of 40 minutes with 3 rounds of butter-basting.
Step 3

After the 40 minutes in the oven, press about 1 ½ TB of ground pork rinds onto the top of each salmon filet. Bake the filets for a final 25 minutes. During all this baking time, you will be preparing the vegetable medley side dish. You may wish to allow the salmon filets to rest for 5 minutes before serving at the end of the recipe.
Step 4

To make the vegetable medley, first, blanch the asparagus. Cut fresh asparagus stalks in half as you bring a pot of water to a boil. Drop the asparagus in the boiling water and cook for just 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, transfer the asparagus to an ice bath to halt the cooking.
Step 5

Chop zucchini into ¼-inch thick pieces. Combine the zucchini with the asparagus in a large mixing bowl with the olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, onion powder, nutmeg, thyme, and rosemary. Heat a large non-stick pan or skillet to high heat and pour in the seasoned vegetables. Let the asparagus and zucchini cook undisturbed until they are charred on one side.
Step 6

Toss the asparagus and zucchini in the pan and reduce the heat to medium. Add in THAWED butternut squash to the pan. Occasionally toss while cooking until all the vegetables have darkened edges and the seasonings char to your liking. Then, reduce the heat to very low and melt the butter in the pan. Toss the ingredients until all the vegetables are coated in butter.
Step 7

Take the pan off the heat and stir the arugula into the vegetables. The heat from the pan should naturally wilt the arugula. Transfer the cooked vegetables to a serving dish. Return the hot pan to the stove over low heat. Add chopped pecans to the pan and let them cook for about 60 seconds or until you can smell they’re toasted. Sprinkle the toasted pecans over the finished dish and serve the vegetable medley with your salmon.