Dinner on the table in 15 minutes! Creamy Dill Sauce for salmon or trout is made with sour cream so it’s light and refreshing, and loaded with lovely fresh dill and lemon flavours.
Clocking in at just 397 calories per serving, and that’s with extra sauce for dipping your veggies in!
Everyone needs an arsenal of super quick meals in their back pocket. Fish with some kind of sauce is a great one because fish cooks so quickly.
Today I’m sharing a Creamy Dill Sauce which is no cook so it literally takes minutes to make. Just sour cream, mustard, lemon, garlic plus a good amount of fresh dill, and you have yourself a lovely fresh sauce. Delicious for dipping in bread and veggie sticks, and dolloping on salmon (or trout!).
Unlike many creamy sauces, Dill Sauce is not rich and heavy. It’s light and tangy so it goes really well with salmon and trout because they are both quite oily and rich.
Plus of course – dill. It’s one of the classic herb flavour pairings in this world. Tomato and basil. Rosemary and lamb. Salmon and dill. 👌🏼
I’d describe this Creamy Dill Sauce as a less tangy version of tzatziki. If you use yoghurt instead of sour cream, it would actually taste quite similar to tzatziki. I prefer to make this with sour cream because I find it smoother.
I alternate freely between salmon and trout in my cooking as I find them quite similar, though I think trout is slightly juicier (in Australia). I actually cooked 4 trouts, and I have no idea why I failed to take a single photo of all 4 of them. 🤦🏻♀️
Actually, maybe it was because my subconscious realised that if I only photographed 2 trouts, then I’d have half the sauce leftover to dunk bread into while I was shooting? 🤔
I served this with some bread and my lazy Zucchini Salad – I’ve popped the recipe in the notes. With these simple sides, this really is a complete meal you can get on the table in 15 minutes – without running around like a lunatic! – Nagi x
PS. More quick ways with salmon! Honey Garlic Salmon and Asian Glazed Salmon. Or for a variation of this creamy sauce, Salmon with Creamy Garlic & Herb Sauce. Then there’s this incredible Christmas Baked Salmon: Easy & Make-ahead, a super-easy and eye-catching Christmas (or anytime) centrepiece.
Also check out Japanese Salmon on my mother’s site, RecipeTin Japan. Don’t ask me to choose a favourite. I can’t!
PPS I made this Dill Sauce for salmon / trout, but it is also a fab dip for veggie sticks and bread. And you can thin it out more with lemon juice / milk, and use it as a salad dressing too!
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Creamy Dill Sauce with Salmon or Trout
Ingredients
Dill Sauce
- 3/4 cup sour cream (1)
- 2 tsp Dijon or hot English mustard (2)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder or 1 small garlic clove , minced
- 2 1/2 tbsp fresh dill , finely chopped
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 - 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp milk (or olive oil, for richness)
- 1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp white sugar
Fish
- 1/2 - 1 tbsp oil
- 4 salmon or trout fillets (125g / 4oz each)
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Mix the Dill Sauce ingredients together (Mix well to loosen the sour cream). Adjust consistency with milk and tartness with lemon juice. Set aside for 10 minutes if you can - if using fresh garlic, set aside for 20 min.
- Pat fish dry with paper towel. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat. Place fish in skillet skin side down. Cook for 2 minutes, then flip and cook the other side for 1 1/2 minutes.
- Remove from skillet onto serving plates. Serve with Dill Sauce on the side, garnished with fresh dill and lemon wedges if desired.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
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LIFE OF DOZER
That’s not for YOU Dozer, that trout is for the homeless man!
Made this tonight using salmon, it turned out really really well! I got compliments on how creamy and thick the dill sauce was. I will definitely make this again!
Exactly what I was looking for to use up dill from the garden. Worked very well on salmon.
So so good. Used fresh dill from the patio flower pot. I used scissors to cut dill fine. Great on cedar plank salmon! Will make again and again. 🙂
I made this with reduced fat sour cream to top tilapia. It was excellent! I would cut down on the lemon juice next time since it was just a little too tangy. Thank you!
We were having company for dinner and I was rushed to buy dinner supplies. I wasn’t paying attention and mistakenly bought rainbow trout instead of salmon. Normally I find trout to be rather bland. This recipe changed everything. I pan fried the fish and spooned the dill sauce on the fish as I dressed the plate. It was delicious.
Flamin’ delicious, as always. Honestly, every single thing I’ve made using one of your recipes has turned out superbly. Thank you!
P.S. How long would you store this in the fridge?
Oh, and by ‘this’, I mean the dill sauce! Thanks.
Hi Lexi – the fresh dill won’t hold up for long so I would use it within a day. N x
My Sauce – and Salad Dressing suggested – lasted 1 week in the refrigerator- bet you could use an Amazing- Organic Dried Dill and it Last SO MUCH LONGER- ESPECIALLY THE SALAD DRESSING SUGGESTED INSIDE THE RECIPE.
Your recipes never let me down! I did crispy fried fish and adapted this sauce with fennel and lime and it was magical as is everything I make from your site 🥰
Great tasty, quick and easy, I did add fried garlic green beans to bring crunch to the plate.
where’s the zucchini salad recipe?? i don’t see it in notes!
Hi Cat – it’s there written in note 3. N x
This is delicious! Followed the recipe as directed except I left out the lemon zest. Served with rice pilaf and fresh, steamed green beans. Serve this fish, you will be beloved.
You may need to turn the oven up slightly – if it runs cool, the sauce will not caramelise and the meat stew slightly. N x
Delicious… I actually heated it up a bit… yummy either way!
https://featherstonewinery.ca/product/featherstone-12-brix-verjus/
GREAT LAZY SALAD!! USED
THIS LOCAL VQA ONTARIO PRODUCT. FABULOUS
Made this today and had with salmon. This was delicious, definitely a keeper. Thanks
I made this recipe using Mayo instead of sour cream to go on top of Salmon burgers. Omitted the milk too, to keep it thicker like a mayo. Everyone LOVED it. Very good!
Traditionally I have chopped boiled eggs in this sauce recipe, it works well with the fish. P.S I have recommended recipetineatsn to so many people, the recipes are fabulous
Nagi, if I become homeless as well and live out of a car will you feed as well? 😉
Another lovely recipe – this is one of my go-to recipes now as I eat salmon more than any other meat.
There’s enough food for all!! N x
Sorry, forgot rating! 5 stars!
Thanks Dee!
Perfect accompaniment with fish. I made it with Greek yogurt. Thanks Nagi for yet another amazing recipe!
I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
Hello Nabi,
Thanks for the awesome recipe as usual. I have a question please, you said we can thin the sauce and used it as a salad dressing so what type of salad do you recommend will go with this dressing?
Used dried dill, and 2/3 sour cream 1/3 plain yoghurt, and half a lime (= what I had at hand), and it was great. Really, this sauce became my favourite part of the dinner. Thank you for posting it, Nagi!