30-Minute Baked Salmon Pinwheels

Ingredients

For the Spinach Cream Cheese Filling:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 5 ounces baby spinach
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• ¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
• Kosher salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the Salmon:

• 2½ pounds fresh salmon, skin removed and patted dry
• 2 tablespoons Creole seasoning, plus more to taste
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 8 small pieces
• 2 lemons, thinly sliced into rounds

For Garnish:

• Fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat the Oven Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). While the oven heats up, get all your ingredients prepped and ready to go since this recipe moves quickly.
2. Make the Spinach Filling Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Once shimmering, add the finely diced onion and sauté for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent. Add the minced garlic and fresh baby spinach to the pan. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring regularly, until the spinach has completely wilted down. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and let it cool for about 5 minutes. You want it cool enough that it won't melt the cream cheese when you mix them together.
3. Finish the Filling Once the spinach mixture has cooled slightly, add the softened cream cheese and chopped sun-dried tomatoes to the bowl. Mix everything together until completely combined and smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt and pepper if needed. The filling should be creamy, savory, and packed with flavor.
4. Prep the Salmon Lay the salmon fillet flat on a clean cutting board, skin side down. If your salmon is very thick on one side, you can gently butterfly it (slice it horizontally almost all the way through and open it up like a book) to create a more even thickness for rolling. Pat the salmon completely dry with paper towels. Season both sides generously with the Creole seasoning. The seasoning on the underside is important since that will be the outside of your pinwheels!
5. Spread the Filling and Roll Spread the cream cheese filling evenly over the top surface of the seasoned salmon, leaving about a ½-inch border on the far edge so the filling doesn't squeeze out when you roll. If the filling seems too soft or is sliding around, place the salmon with the filling spread on top in the freezer for 10 minutes to firm everything up. This makes rolling so much easier! Starting from the short end closest to you, roll the salmon up as tightly as possible without tearing it. Secure the roll with toothpicks or kitchen twine placed every inch or so to keep it together.
6. Slice into Pinwheels Using a very sharp knife, slice the salmon roll into 1½-inch thick pinwheels in one smooth downward motion (avoid sawing back and forth). You should get about 6 beautiful pinwheels showing off that gorgeous spiral of pink salmon and creamy green filling. If the roll is soft and hard to slice cleanly, pop it back in the freezer for another 5-10 minutes.
7. Arrange in the Pan Lay the lemon slices in an even layer on the bottom of a large cast-iron skillet or oven-safe baking dish. Arrange the salmon pinwheels upright (spiral-side facing up) on top of the lemon slices. Scatter the pieces of butter over the tops of the pinwheels. Sprinkle a little more Creole seasoning over the top.
8. Bake and Broil Place the skillet in the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes until the salmon turns a beautiful light pink and feels firm when gently pressed. Then switch your oven to broil on high and broil for 3-5 minutes, watching carefully, until the tops are golden brown and slightly caramelized. The butter will melt over the pinwheels and combine with the lemon juice released from the slices below, creating an incredible buttery lemon sauce.
9. Garnish and Serve Remove the skillet from the oven and let it rest for 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle generously with freshly chopped parsley. Serve the pinwheels directly from the cast-iron skillet for maximum visual impact, spooning some of that incredible lemony butter sauce from the bottom of the pan over each serving!