Herby Salmon with Red Pepper Cream Sauce
with Garlicky Couscous & Roasted Zucchini
- Milk
- Wheat
- Fish
Fishing for a new twist on salmon? Or even a hearty brunch idea? We’ve got just the thing! Crispy skin-on fillets—seasoned with a spicy Italian spice rub—are coated in a creamy sauce made of red pepper jam, onion, tangy sour cream, and rich butter. On the side, springy, garlicky Israeli couscous and golden roasted zucchini and sliced onion—if that doesn’t lure you in, we don’t know what will!
Ingredients
1.5 tablespoon
Sour Cream
(Contains: Milk)
¾ cup
Pearl Couscous
(Contains: Wheat)
1 unit
Onion
1 unit
Zucchini
2 tablespoon
Cream Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
1 unit
Chicken Stock Concentrate
½ unit
Red Pepper Jam
1 clove
Garlic
0.17 tablespoon
Tuscan Heat Spice
10 ounce
Salmon
(Contains: Fish)
Not included in your delivery
1 tablespoon (tbsp)
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
1 teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
1 teaspoon (tsp)
Olive Oil
2 teaspoon (tsp)
Cooking Oil
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
-
Adjust rack to top position and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and dry produce.
-
Peel and mince or grate garlic. Trim and halve zucchini lengthwise; cut crosswise into ½-inch-thick half-moons. Halve and peel onion; slice half into ¼-inch-thick wedges. Finely chop remaining onion until you have 2 TBSP (4 TBSP for 4 servings).
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Heat a drizzle of oil in a small pot over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until softened and fragrant, 30-40 seconds.
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Stir in couscous, 1 cup water (2 cups for 4 servings), and ¼ tsp salt (½ tsp for 4); bring to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer and cover. Cook until couscous is tender, 6-8 minutes.
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Keep covered off heat until ready to serve.
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While couscous cooks, toss zucchini and onion wedges on a baking sheet with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, and pepper.
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Roast on top rack until golden brown and tender, 14-16 minutes.
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Meanwhile, pat salmon* dry with paper towels and season all over with ¼ tsp Tuscan Heat Spice (½ tsp for 4 servings), salt, and pepper. (You’ll use more Tuscan Heat Spice in the next step.)
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Heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add salmon to pan, skin sides down; cook until skin is crisp and fish is almost cooked through, 6-8 minutes.
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Flip and cook until fish is opaque and cooked through, 2-3 minutes more. Turn off heat; transfer to a plate. Wipe out pan.
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Melt 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4 servings) in same pan over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3-5 minutes. Add ½ cup water, cream cheese, stock concentrate, half the jam, and ¼ tsp Tuscan Heat Spice. (For 4, use 1 cup water, all the jam, and ½ tsp Tuscan Heat Spice.) Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened, 2-3 minutes.
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Remove from heat and stir in sour cream until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
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Divide couscous, roasted veggies, and salmon between plates. Drizzle salmon with spicy red pepper cream sauce and serve.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Sep 2026- Flavor: The red pepper cream sauce is a standout — sweet, creamy, and deeply loved by most who tried it. Some found the overall dish mild; adding more Tuscan Heat Spice or using all the red pepper jam boosted flavor noticeably.
- Ease of prep: Most found the recipe straightforward, though juggling the oven, stovetop, and sauce simultaneously made timing tricky for some.
- Suggestions: Reduce the water in the sauce — many found half a cup made it too thin and runny; start with less and add gradually. A few cooks added cornstarch to thicken it, and one reviewer suggested making the sauce in a separate pan so the salmon stays warm.
- Leftovers: The couscous soaks up the sauce on reheating, so store them separately and add a splash of water when warming.
- Portions: Several reviewers wished for more zucchini — one small zucchini felt light for two people; adding a second one is an easy fix 🥒.
Reviews from our home cooks
This recipe was to die for! The red pepper sauce is creamy and delicious, not spicy which is perfect for me! It has a little sweetness to it due to the jam and it is one of my favorite recipes yet! 10/10 recommend!
Great portions, I loved the flavor of the salmon and the sauce. Easy to cook. Overall it was a 10/10 meal.
This was very good and I am not a fan of salmon BUT the sauce took much longer to thicken. By the time it was thickened the couscous and veggies were not very warm.
This meal was so delicious! The red pepper cream sauce was so tasty, the couscous was a perfect side, and the salmon was very flavorful. Loved it!
The cream sauce didn't work. I also roasted the salmon in the oven alongside the zucchini and also added cherry tomatoes to the vegetable mix plus some parmesan cheese on the veg which was delicious! I mixed the couscous with the vegetables and it was very tasty. I'm unsure why the cream sauce failed for me! I cook frequently and I think too much water in the sauce but just a guess.
You all are KILLING it lately with these salmon recipes! We've tried three of the newest and they are delicious. And the salmon quality is absolutely amazing!
One small zucchini is not enough vegetables for 2 people and onions should not count as a vegetable. I added a diced up red pepper and it was much better.
One of my absolutely favorite meals. The sauce is incredible I love to cover the couscous in it and add bites of salmon.
Salmon was delicious! Couscous were good. Don't particularly like zucchini when it is slimy, though. Is there a better way to cook it?
Not a couscous fan but sauce made it good. I changed the recipe to cook onions and zucchini on the stove with some of the seasoning/olive oil. Then I used some of those onions, chopped, and used for the sauce. Gave more flavor, quicker, and I don't like using the oven especially for only 1 dish. Used all the red pepper sauce and could have been more since the couscous soaked it up
