Salmon is one of those foods that works perfectly for a keto lifestyle. It’s full of protein, packed with healthy fats, and it tastes great. But sometimes plain salmon can get a little boring, especially if you eat it often.

That’s why I wanted to share this recipe with you. It takes regular salmon fillets and turns them into something much more exciting with a simple cream cheese sauce.
The sauce is creamy, cheesy, and full of flavor. It makes the salmon taste restaurant quality, but you can make it right in your own kitchen.
For those of you who are following the keto diet, this recipe fits in perfectly. Everything in it is low carb and high fat, which is exactly what you want.

The cream cheese and parmesan give the sauce a rich taste without adding any unwanted carbs. And the salmon itself is one of the best proteins you can eat on keto.
It fills you up, gives you energy, and tastes amazing. If you’ve been looking for new keto dinner ideas, this is a great one to add to your list.
👍 Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Super Easy to Make: This salmon recipe is one of the easiest recipes you will ever make. You don’t need to be a professional chef or have years of cooking experience to get it right.

Ready in Under 30 Minutes: When you’re hungry and want to eat soon, this recipe is perfect. From the moment you start cooking to the moment you sit down to eat, it takes less than thirty minutes.
Perfect for the Keto Diet: If you’re following a keto diet, this recipe was made for you. Everything in it is low in carbs and high in fat, which is exactly what keto is all about.
✨ Recipe Ingredients
- Salmon Fillets
- 4oz Cream Cheese (full fat)
- 3 tablespoons Parmesan Cheese (grated)
- 1/2 cup Chicken Stock (I recommend using this chicken stock– amazon link)
- 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
👨🍳 How To Make
Follow this easy recipe:
Step 1
Rinse the salmon fillets and pat them dry (super important).
Step 2
Add butter to a cast iron pan. Once melted and the pan is hot, cook the fillets for about one minute on each side (or 2 minutes if the fillets are farily thick).
Step 3
To make the delicious sauce, add all the remaining ingredients to a small pot and whisk at medium heat. Once the sauce is creamy – it’s ready.
Step 4
Add the sauce to your salmon fillets and serve.
💡Tips
1. Always Pat Your Salmon Dry
This might seem like a small step, but it makes a huge difference in how your salmon turns out. Before you cook the salmon, you need to pat it dry with paper towels.
Get both sides and make sure you remove as much moisture as possible from the surface. The reason this matters is because wet salmon will not get that nice sear on the outside.
When there’s water on the fish, it creates steam in the pan instead of letting the salmon actually touch the hot surface. Steam makes your fish soggy and pale instead of golden and slightly crispy on the outside.

2. Make Sure Your Pan is Hot Enough
One of the biggest mistakes people make when cooking salmon is putting the fish in a pan that isn’t hot enough. You want your pan to be properly heated before the salmon goes in.
Here’s how to know if it’s ready. Add your butter to the pan and let it melt completely. Wait until the butter starts to bubble and foam a little bit. That’s when you know the pan is at the right temperature.
If you put the salmon in too early when the pan is still cool, the fish will stick to the surface and it won’t cook evenly.

3. Let the Salmon Rest Before Serving
After you finish cooking the salmon, let it rest for about one to two minutes before you add the sauce and serve it. This might seem unnecessary when you’re hungry and ready to eat, but resting makes a difference.
When salmon cooks, the juices inside get pushed toward the center of the fish. If you cut into it or add sauce right away, those juices will run out onto the plate instead of staying in the fish.
When you let it rest for a minute or two, the juices redistribute throughout the salmon, making every bite moist and flavorful.

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FAQ
Why is my sauce lumpy and how do I fix it?
A lumpy sauce usually happens because the cream cheese didn’t melt smoothly into the other ingredients. This is a common problem, but it’s easy to fix and even easier to prevent.
The main reason cream cheese gets lumpy is if it’s too cold when you add it to the pot, or if you don’t whisk enough while it’s heating. To prevent lumps, let your cream cheese sit at room temperature for about fifteen to twenty minutes before you start cooking.
Room temperature cream cheese is softer and melts much more smoothly than cold cream cheese straight from the fridge. Also, make sure to whisk constantly while the sauce is heating.
Keto Salmon & Cream Cheese Sauce
Print RecipeIngredients
- Salmon Fillets
- 4 oz Cream Cheese full fat
- 3 tablespoons Parmesan Cheese grated
- 1/2 cup Chicken Stock (I recommend using this chicken stock– amazon link)
- 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Rinse the salmon fillets and pat them dry (super important).
- Add butter to a cast iron pan. Once melted and the pan is hot, cook the fillets for about one minute on each side (or 2 minutes if the fillets are farily thick).
- To make the delicious sauce, add all the remaining ingredients to a small pot and whisk at medium heat. Once the sauce is creamy – it’s ready.
- Add the sauce to your salmon fillets and serve.
Yummy! Really tasty sauce.