Salmon with beurre blanc sauce is the ultimate date-night-in dinner! We’ve taken a classic French beurre blanc sauce, enhanced it with a touch of white truffle, and spooned it over a thick, tender broiled salmon fillet. It’s rich, buttery and decadent! And if you have access to fresh truffles, this is the way to use them.

Salmon with white truffle Beurre Blanc sauce and garnished with a slice of truffle and Frisée greens

Beurre blanc sauce, with its light yet rich and buttery flavor, is naturally a delicious pairing for salmon. Infuse the sauce with gratings of white truffle and this immediately becomes an elevated dinner for two.

This Salmon Beurre Blanc is:

incredibly flavorful
creamy and delicious
a low-carb and keto-friendly dinner
a versatile main course that will work with a variety of sides
simple to make (only five minutes of prep time!)

If you like this salmon berre blanc recipe you will also like our black truffle butter or our eggs Benedict with truffle sauce.

What is a Beurre Blanc Sauce?

If you’ve never made beurre blanc, don’t be intimidated by its fancy French name. 😉 The classic cream sauce is made with simple ingredients like shallots, butter and cream, and is easy to modify with other herbs and aromatics.

It’s savory, light and luxurious, with a buttery flavor that makes it a wonderful choice for seafood dishes. In fact, here are a few other recipes we’ve shared featuring a classic beurre blanc sauce:

Truffle-infused beurre blanc is especially tasty, as it gives the sauce a touch of that earthy and slightly garlicky flavor that white truffles are known for.

This sauce tastes wonderful on salmon but you can also serve it with any seafood or even beef. Try it with Wolffish or baked sablefish or put it on top of a perfectly cooked ribeye steak.

Truffle Beurre Blanc Sauce

Here in the Pacific Northwest, fresh Oregon truffles are seasonal from December to February. In the past, we’ve been fortunate enough to attend the Oregon Truffle Festival to purchase truffles, but you can also find them in the produce section of high-end grocery stores (like Central Market, Town and Country, or Whole Foods).

Sometimes, the gourmet section of a grocery store might have preserved whole truffles packed in oil. And, if you shop TJ Maxx or Home Goods check out their section of food items as they often have tiny jars of preserved truffles for a reasonable price. There are also plenty of online gourmet food stores that sell them too.

Honestly, truffles are a pricey ingredient regardless of where you buy them. But a little bit goes a long way and we have several truffle recipes here on the blog to help you make the most of this wonderful ingredient!

Three Oregon White truffles in dish of uncooked rice

How to Make Salmon Buerre Blanc

For the salmon, we keep things pretty simple so the beurre blanc can really shine. Thick salmon fillets are prepared with butter, lemon, salt and pepper, and then broiled before topped with the white truffle beurre blanc sauce.

Ingredient list

For the white truffle beurre blanc sauce, you will need:

olive oil
shallot, finely minced
dry white wine
heavy cream
butter, cut into small cubes
small truffle (fresh or preserved)
white pepper

And here is the ingredient list for the rest of the salmon beurre blanc:

salmon fillets (about 1-inch at the thickest part)
butter, melted
fresh lemon
salt and pepper

Beurre Blanc sauce with grating of white truffle

The Recipe:

It’s easiest to prepare the white truffle beurre blanc sauce before the salmon- keep the sauce warm while the salmon cooks under the broiler.

Here’s a look at the steps to preparing this beurre blanc salmon:

Sauté the shallots for the beurre blanc: Brush olive oil on the bottom of a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add the shallots and sauté until soft but do not let them brown. Pour the wine into the pan and reduce until it’s a thin film on the bottom. Stir in the cream and reduce until the sauce is thick.
Add the butter: Remove the pan from the heat and whisk the sauce while adding 1-2 cubes of butter at a time until all is incorporated, sliding the skillet on and off the heat at 10-second intervals to control the heat and prevent the butter from separating. Remove the pan from the heat, add the white pepper and grate the truffle into the sauce, whisking to combine. Cover the sauce to keep warm while the salmon cooks.
Prep the salmon: Preheat the broiler. Heat a cast iron skillet or griddle.
Cook the salmon: Place the fillets, skin side down, on the hot skillet. Brush each fillet with melted butter and squeeze lemon juice over them. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Transfer the pan to the oven and broil for 6 to 10 minutes.
Serve: Ladle spoonfuls of the white truffle beurre blanc onto each salmon fillet. Top with desired garnish and serve with your choice of vegetables (we love this dish paired with asparagus).

asparagus, salmon and Beurre Blanc sauce, salmon bite on fork

Tips for Making Salmon with Beurre Blanc:

We’ve found a few tips and tricks helpful for making the white truffle beurre blanc (and some ideas to help troubleshoot as well!):

The cream in the beurre blanc is optional but it will keep the sauce from separating.
To prevent the sauce from getting too hot, move it on and off of the burner in 10 second intervals. I’ve also had great results leaving a quarter of the skillet sitting on the edge of heat while whisking in the butter. It doesn’t get too hot but there’s still enough heat to melt the butter at a steady rate.
If your sauce begins to separate, stop adding butter and add a teaspoon or two of wine or another liquid as you whisk the mixture vigorously. Once it comes together again, finish whisking in the butter a cube at a time.

Overhead view of asparagus, salmon and Beurre Blanc sauce, salad, napkin and lemon water in background

Elegant and sooo flavorful, this delicious salmon beurre blanc makes the perfect choice for any upcoming special occasion or an impressive date night in. Serve it with a glass of white wine and finish off the evening with a luxurious dessert (hello Raspberry White Chocolate Mousse!) for one epic multi-course meal!

Some More Recipes You Will Love

Chicken Francese: A classic Italian-American recipe of golden-crusted chicken breasts in a rich, savory lemon-wine sauce.

Miso Butter Salmon is fast and easy. The miso butter adds a savory, umami flavor and makes a great sauce.

Pan Fried Cod with Lemon-Garlic sauce: Flaky cod fillets with a tangy lemon-garlic sauce spooned over a lightly crusted, pan roasted cod fillet. The savory lemon-garlic sauce adds a rich elegance to this easy entrée.

Ginger-Miso Glazed Salmon: Salmon fillets marinated in fresh ginger root, white miso, soy and lemon. A touch of honey gives a char of a rich caramelized crust on top.

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Broiled Salmon with White Truffle Beurre Blanc Sauce

A classic French beurre blanc sauce is enhanced with gratings of white truffle and spooned over a thick broiled salmon fillet. This is a decadent date-nite dinner for two.

5 from 3 votes

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Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 20

Total Time: 25

Servings: Servings

Calories: 360kcal

Author: Pat Nyswonger

Ingredients

For the White Truffle Beurre Blanc Sauce:

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 medium shallot finely mince
⅓ cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons heavy cream
8 tablespoons 1 cube butter, cut into small cubes
1 small truffle fresh or preserved
Pinch of white pepper

For the Salmon:

2 6-ounce salmon fillets, about 1-inch at the thickest part
1 tablespoon butter melted
½ fresh lemon
Salt and pepper

Instructions

For the White Truffle Beurre Blanc Sauce:

Brush the olive oil on the bottom of a small skillet set over medium-low heat. Add the shallots and sauté until soft, do not let them brown.
Pour the wine into the pan and let it reduce to where it is just a film on the bottom of the pan. Stir in the cream and reduce until thick.
Slide the pan from the heat and begin adding 1-2 cubes of butter while whisking the sauce. Slide the skillet on and off the heat at 10-second intervals to control the heat while whisking the butter. If the sauce becomes too hot the butter will separate and loose the emulsion.
Continue adding butter, whisking and sliding the pan on/off the heat until all the butter has been incorporated and the sauce is smooth and creamy.
Remove the pan from the heat add the white pepper and grate the truffle into the sauce, whisk to blend.
Cover the sauce to keep warm while the salmon fillets broil.

For the Salmon

Preheat the broiler with the oven rack 4 to 6 inches from the heat. *See Notes
Let the griddle get hot before you cook the salmon.
Place the fillets, skin side down, on the hot cast iron griddle. Brush each fillet with melted butter and squeeze lemon juice over the tops then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Broil 6 to 10 minutes or to the desired degree of doneness.

Notes

Adding the cream to the beurre blanc sauce is optional but it will keep the sauce from separating.
Keep the heat on low. Slide the skillet on and off the heat at 10 second intervals to control the heat while whisking the butter. If the sauce becomes too hot the butter will separate and loose the emulsion.
I have had great results with leaving 1/4 of the skillet sitting on the edge of the heat while whisking the butter. There is just enough heat to melt the butter at a steady rate.
If your sauce begins to separate, stop adding butter and add a teaspoon or two of wine or other liquid while whisking vigorously. Once it comes together again, finish whisking in the butter a cube or two at a time.
Place the top rack of your oven high enough so when you place a cast iron griddle or skillet with the salmon filets on it there will be 2-inch distance from the heat for every 1/2 inch thickness of salmon. For 1-inch thick fillets they should be 4-inches from the heat. This prevents thicker cuts from overcooking on the outside before the center is completely cooked.
To determine how long to cook your salmon, rare is 110°F. Medium rare is 120-125°F. Medium is 130°F and well done is 140°F