Everything bagel spice, salmon and pre-cut broccoli make this a quick, healthy 30-minute meal with little effort and minimal cleanup.
Lately, I’ve been looking for a way to easily meal prep lunches for the week and created this simple everything bagel salmon and broccoli bake as a way to cook four days worth of lunches in just 30-minutes.
Easily Prep & Bake
To simplify the process, I buy bags of pre-washed, chopped broccoli florets so I can save time. I toss the broccoli in a mixture of olive oil, dijon mustard (optional!), apple cider vinegar and whatever herbs I have on hand (recently it’s been rosemary and thyme) then roast them in the oven for 15-minutes.
About halfway through the roasting process, I smear my salmon filets with more dijon, sprinkle them with Everything Bagel spice then nestle the salmon into the broccoli and bake everything another 10 to 12 minutes until the broccoli is crispy around the edges and the salmon is cooked through.
If you aren’t a fan of fish this method also works great with boneless, skinless chicken thighs. You may have to cook the chicken an extra 3-5 minutes to ensure it’s fully cooked through to 165F.
The result is a deliciously flavorful, healthy meal that you can easily portion out for four workday lunches or as a quick weeknight dinner. When making this meal I typically dirty one big bowl for prepping the broccoli then line my sheet pan with foil so it’s easy to clean up.
Everything Bagel Salmon and the Office Microwave
For those of you concerned about heating and eating fish in the office (because we all know fish smells when warmed in the microwave!) I actually remove the salmon and just heat up the broccoli and eat the fish cold. It’s still delicious. However, if you have a toaster oven in your office, heating the fish and broccoli in the toaster oven for about 15-20 minutes on 350F would be a good way to heat the meal in a non-smelly manner. Your coworkers will thank you.
- 1 pound center-cut salmon, cut into four filets
- 6 cups broccoli florets, washed
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup dijon mustard, separated
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, dill, sage..)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- 4 teaspoons everything bagel spice
- Preheat the oven to 425F and line a very large baking sheet* with parchment paper or foil (for easy clean up). If using foil, lightly grease the foil to ensure your food doesn't stick then set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, 2 tablespoons of dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, herbs, salt, and pepper. Add in the broccoli and toss to coat.
- Spread the broccoli in a single layer on the prepared baking pan and roast for 15 minutes.
- While the broccoli is roasting, prepare the salmon.
- Spread the remaining 2 tablespoons of dijon mustard on top of the salmon filets then sprinkle 1 teaspoon of everything bagel spice on top of the mustard. Set aside.
- After the broccoli has roasted for 15-minutes, remove it from the oven, give it a quick stir then nestle the salmon filets into the broccoli.
- Return the pan to the oven and cook another 10-12 minutes until the salmon is cooked through or reaches 145F and the broccoli is browned and crispy around the edges.
- Remove the pan from oven and serve immediately or allow everything to cool completely before paking into 4 containers for meals later in the week. Store in the refrigerator.