Easy Instant Pot Salmon Recipe (Fresh or Frozen)

Instant Pot Salmon served with a delicious lemon-dill sauce will be on your dinner table in less than 15 minutes. Plus, you can cook your salmon in the pressure cooker from fresh or frozen – perfect for last minute dinner planning!

Salmon is one of my go-to proteins when I’m looking to fix a dinner that’s on the lighter side. Traditionally I’ll bake it in the oven on a sheet pan with some veggies arranged around it, which makes for the perfect easy dinner with minimal cleanup.

Favorite Salmon Dinners

• Sheet Pan Salmon with Pickled Ginger Butter Sauce
• 5-Ingredient Sheet Pan Salmon
• One Pan Miso Glazed Salmon and Vegetables

But, I wanted to change up my salmon routine and put one of my favorite appliances to the test in making it – the Instant Pot.

I know that I’ve got a lot of dedicated pressure cooker fans out there. In fact, out of my top 10 recipes on the blog, five of those are instant pot recipes.

So friends, this recipe is for you.

Instant Pot Salmon with Lemon Dill Sauce.

How Do You Make Instant Pot Salmon?

• It’s super easy to cook salmon in the instant pot. Just add a cup of water to your pressure cooker, place a rack on top, and then add your salmon. I like to season it with some salt and pepper and place a few lemon slices on top for added flavor.

The rack ensures that the salmon is elevated above the water, so that it won’t get water logged.

I recently discovered this Silicone Pressure Cooker Rack by OXO. I love that because it’s made from silicone, the food doesn’t stick to the rack. Plus, it’s super easy to clean, and dishwasher safe. It can also be used as a trivet, which essentially means you’re getting two kitchen tools in one.

Lemon butter sauce is the perfect accompaniment to the pressure cooker salmon, and you can make it on the stovetop in the same amount of time that it will take to cook your salmon.

Lemon Sauce Ingredients

• White Wine (can swap chicken or vegetable stock)
• Shallot (can swap garlic or green onion)
• Lemon Juice
• Butter (unsalted is best)
• Fresh Dill (or dried – optional)
• Salt and pepper (to taste)

How to Make Lemon Butter Sauce for Instant Pot Salmon

This sauce comes together in less than ten minutes. Simply stir your ingredients together in a saucepan and keep an eye on the flavors. Don’t be afraid to taste your sauce while you cook to ensure your flavors are well balanced!

Create sauce base

First, boil wine, the shallot and lemon juice in a small saucepan over high heat until the mixture is reduced to 1/4 cup. This should take about 6 minutes.

Add butter

Next, reduce the heat to low and add in butter, one piece at a time, whisking until melted before adding more.

Final seasonings

Finally, remove pan from heat and stir in the dill. Then, season to taste with salt and pepper, and enjoy!

Making sauce in the Instant Pot

If you don’t feel like dirtying one more pan, you could also make this sauce in the pressure cooker using the SAUTE function. Just remove the cooked salmon to a plate, empty the cooking liquid, and proceed to make the sauce in the pressure cooker.

More Sauces for Salmon

This salmon would also be delicious topped with one of these sauces:

• Chimichurri sauce
• Mojo sauce
• Mango salsa
• Pineapple salsa
• More → Sauces for Salmon

FAQ

Can You Cook Frozen Salmon in the Instant Pot?

• You can cook frozen salmon in the pressure cooker – all you need to do is add two minutes to the cook time. So, instead of cooking the salmon for 3 minutes in the pressure cooker, you’ll cook it for 5 minutes.

Can You Cook Instant Pot Salmon with Vegetables?

I prefer to cook my vegetables separately from the salmon in the pressure cooker.

Why? First, I find that vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower or carrots tend to have a strong aroma when pressure cooking. That means the salmon ends up tasting like the veggies.

Second, vegetables will cook much faster than the salmon, meaning that your vegetables will become mushy if cooked for the same amount of time as the salmon.

But, there is a workaround for all this!

After your salmon has finished cooking, remove it to a plate. Then arrange your vegetables in a steamer basket, like this one, and add them to the pressure cooker.

Using the same cooking liquid from the salmon (since it’s already hot), seal the lid and set the cook time to ZERO minutes. The pressure will build again (but quicker this time since the liquid is already hot) and then the timer will go off.

Be sure to release the pressure right away, and then serve the vegetables alongside the salmon.

Wine Pairings

• Pinot Gris has a nice acidity to it and its notes of citrus will pair well with the lemon-dill sauce.
• Want a red wine? A light Pinot Noir or young Beaujolais would also work well here. With a bit of acidity and a hint of earthiness, they make a great match for this dish.
• 8 MORE —> salmon wine pairings

What to Serve with It

• White Rice
• Brown Rice
• Arugula Salad
• Sous Vide Asparagus
• Roasted Sweet Potatoes
• More → Side Dishes for Salmon
• More → Sauces for Salmon

More Healthy Seafood Recipes

• Salmon with Ginger Butter
• Sriracha Salmon
• Sheet Pan Salmon (only 5-ingredients!)

More Instant Pot Recipes 

• Instant Pot Refried Beans
• Instant Pot Corn on the Cob
• Instant Pot Bean Soup with Pesto
• Instant Pot Pork Carnitas 
• Instant Pot Weight Loss Soup 
• Instant Pot Minestrone

Did you Make This Instant Pot Salmon?

If you loved this pressure cooker salmon recipe I would appreciate it so much if you would give it a star review! Also, be sure to snap a picture of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #platingsandpairings and tagging me @platingsandpairings.

For more great Platings and Pairings recipes, be sure to follow me on Pinterest, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

Note: This recipe also works with trout. Learn more about trout vs. salmon here.

Instant Pot Salmon Recipe

Pressure Cooker Salmon served with a delicious lemon-dill sauce will be on your dinner table in less than 15 minutes. You can cook from fresh or frozen.

5 from 20 votes

Print Pin

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 3 minutes minutes

Time for pressure to build: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 people

Created by Platings and Pairings

1x2x3x

Ingredients

Pressure Cooker Salmon:

• 1 cup water
• 4 5-6 ounce salmon filets (3/4 to 1 inch thick, skin on )
• 1 lemon (thinly sliced)
• Salt and pepper

Lemon Dill Sauce:

• 3/4 cup dry white wine
• 3 Tablespoons chopped shallot
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (cut into 6 pieces)
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• Salt and pepper (to taste)

Special Equipment:

• Cooking Rack

Instructions

• Pour water into pressure cooker and place rack on top.
• Place salmon, skin side down on rack, in a single layer.
• Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cover with lemon slices.
• Put lid on pot, and lock into place. Set valve to sealing.
• Cook on MANUAL (high pressure) for 3 minutes (5 minutes for frozen). It will take about 10 minutes for the pressure to build, then the countdown timer will begin.
• Once the timer goes off, press the CANCEL button, and quickly release the pressure.
• While the salmon cooks, make the lemon dill sauce.
• Boil wine, shallot and lemon juice in medium saucepan over high heat until reduced to 1/4 cup, about 6 minutes. Reduce heat to low; add butter, 1 piece at a time, whisking until melted before adding more. Remove pan from heat. Stir in dill. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Serve salmon fillets with lemon-dill sauce spooned on top. Enjoy!

Did you make this recipe?Mention @platingsandpairings or tag #platingsandpairings!

Nutrition

Calories: 255kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 61mg | Sodium: 10mg | Potassium: 94mg | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 710IU | Vitamin C: 17.8mg | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 0.4mg