Low Carb BBQ Rubbed Salmon

This low carb bbq rubbed salmon is easily made indoors or outside on the grill. And it has a creamy garlic herb sauce to top it off. A low carb bbq rub on the salmon is spicy and sweet and the creamy sauce is a cooling complement to create this tasty dish. Each filet with sauce has just 2.3 grams of net carbs and is very high in protein!

You might also like this slow cooker low carb bbq chicken recipe.

Ok, so originally I was going to make this low carb bbq rubbed salmon on the grill. However when I went to grill the fillets, I found out we were out propane. So I used my grill pan and made them on the stove and they worked out fine.

Which is kind of nice because now I can make this easy low carb dinner all year round. I used a combination of common spices to make a bbq rub and then smothered the salmon fillets with it. I also made a creamy and cool herb sauce to counter balance the spices from the rub.

All in all it was a very easy keto dinner for use and my family loved it! As a matter of fact my husband and son ate it all and I was hoping to have some leftovers for lunch the next day. So if you need a deliciously easy weeknight dinner try this rubbed salmon. And you can grill it in summer or grill it on the stove.

Recipe ingredients I used and substitutions.

All I used for this simple recipe was fresh salmon fillets and for the homemade spice blend or rub I used smokey paprika, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, Swerve brown sweetener, salt and black pepper. For the creamy herb sauce I used sour cream, fresh garlic cloves, salt and fresh herbs.

Spices
I think all of the spices are common ingredients in most pantries except for the smokey paprika. You can use regular paprika if you want. The smoky flavor of the one I used is good for bbq flavor and you can buy it at Trader Joe or sometimes in bigger grocery stores if you are interested.

Salmon Filets
I bought a whole salmon at Aldi and cut it up into filets and it had the skin on the bottom. You can use frozen salmon or some without the skin. The timing on the cooking might be a bit different but either will work.

Swerve Brown Sweetener
If you don’t care about carbs you can just use regular brown sugar in the spice rub. Other sweetener substitutes would be Lakanto golden monkfruit or really any brown sugar substitute. And if you are in a pinch you can use regular sweetener but the brown sugar flavor really adds to the blend.

Sour Cream, Herbs and Garlic
I used a mixture of herbs from our garden an ended up with mostly fresh basil and cilantro but you can use whatever combination of fresh herbs you want like parsley, cilantro, thyme, oregano, chives, etc.

And for the sour cream you can try some Greek yogurt instead of the sour cream but it is tangier so you might have to taste test and add a bit of sweetness if it’s too tart. And lastly the fresh garlic is a must.

How to make low carb bbq rubbed salmon.

I used a dry rub on this bbq salmon instead of a sauce because I thought the sauce would over power the fish. I do have a low carb barbecue sauce if you are looking for one though.  

Step 1: To make the herb sauce add the fresh garlic cloves to a food processor or high speed blender. Pulse until finely minced. Then add the herbs and pulse again until finely minced. Lastly add the sour cream and pulse until everything is well combined. Spoon into a bowl and refrigerate to chill the sauce until the fish is ready to serve.

You an also do this by hand just make sure to finely mince everything.

Step 2: Get out a small bowl and mix together all the bbq spices to make the rub. Note you may not use all of the spice blend. Just store it in a baggie or jar and use for other recipes.

Step 3: Cut the fresh salmon into equal pieces. Spray with cooking spray on both sides or rub a little bit of olive oil so that the spices stick. Rub the seasonings on all sides of the salmon flesh and place on a plate.

Step 4: If making on a grill pan inside: Get out the grill pan, spray with nonstick cooking spray and heat to medium high heat. Once it’s hot place the pieces of salmon skin side down and turn the heat down to medium heat.

Step 5: Cook for about 7-9 minutes and then flip it over and cook for about 5 minutes more. Let them sit and rest for about 5 minutes. Note cooking time may vary depending on the thickness of the filets.

When ready to eat, place the salmon on a platter and serve the herb sauce on the side. That way people spoon the sauce over top our use it as a dipping sauce. You can also garnish with fresh parsley or any other fresh herb you want.

Store leftovers in an airtight container. Please scroll down to view the printable recipe card.

If you are grilling this fish outside on the grill.

As I mentioned above, I wanted to do this on a gas grill. If you decide to do that, spray your grill before heating it and then lay it on the grill skin side down. Cook it until it’s cooked about ⅓ of the way up the fish from the skin, then flip for a few more minutes. Let rest for a few minutes before serving.

More great summer side dishes to go with this recipe.

I have so many low carb side dishes and here is a post for 77 summer side dishes to check out. However my favorite recipes to go with this particular dish are:

• keto cucumber slaw with margarita dressing
• keto cauliflower rice pilaf with peppers
• low carb cheesy broccoli and cauliflower rice
• keto green beans and bacon
• low carb sautéed zucchini with feta cheese
• low carb broccoli salad without mayo

This bbq spice rubbed salmon is good with or without the herb sauce but I’m a sucker for a creamy sauce. It really balances all the spices in the rubbed salmon. I hope you like it as much as my family did. The nutritional information for 1 filet and 1 tablespoon of sauce is:

1 tablespoon sauce = 30 calories / 2.5g fat /0.6g carbs / 0g fiber / 0.5g protein = 0.6g net carbs

1 filet = 350 calories / 10.1g fat / 4g carbs / 2.3g fiber / 58.3g protein = 1.7g net carbs

Here are 34 keto salmon recipes you might also like to try!