This Salmon Pasta is absolutely divine, loaded with amazing flavors that come from perfectly roasted salmon. It’s creamy salmon pasta, yet not totally drenched in fat and cream, but full of comforting flavors.
Ready in about 30 minutes, it’s fit for a regular everyday dinner, yet it turns up fancy and gorgeous enough to be fit for a date night meal.
You will find chunky, flaky perfectly seasoned and cooked salmon pieces generously scattered over ziti, with cherry tomatoes and asparagus in a delicious creamy garlicky sauce.
Pasta is your answer if you are looking for quick meals that satisfy the whole family. We have some great pasta recipes on GypsyPlate.
Mix shrimp and sausage together for Jambalaya Pasta, or try our quick and very popular Gigi Hadid Pasta for some easy meals with amazing flavors.
And if you happen to have some good looking salmon, try this great seafood pasta recipe… Salmon pasta, ready on the table in no time.
Why I Love this Salmon Pasta
1. Salmon is healthy. Salmon is one of the most nutritious foods on the planet. It’s very low in saturated fat, and a good source of protein, along with essential nutrients like omega 3 fatty acids. This pasta is a great way to incorporate salmon in an innovative and comforting way.
2. It’s super easy and quick to make. This pasta dish is yours in about 30 minutes. All you are doing is baking the salmon in the oven. While it’s baking, cook pasta, make a quick garlic cream sauce, and then simply mix the pasta with sauce and top it with chunky salmon pieces.
3. Fancy meal feel. You don’t have to settle for boring dinners for your everyday meal night. You can cook restaurant quality, fancy looking meals for your family, or impress your guests, with a few simple ingredients.
4. No more cook your salmon with just salt and pepper. Yes… Go beyond, and get amazed at different new flavors.
Ingredients for Creamy Salmon Pasta
- Salmon – Use any kind of salmon available. Fresh, wild-caught salmon would be very delicious. We love sockeye salmon when it is in season.
- Pasta – You can use any bigger shapes like ziti, rotini or penne for this dish. Long string pasta like pappardelle, spaghetti, fettuccine, or linguine can work too.
- Rub for salmon – Onion powder, dried parsley, smoked paprika, paprika, red chili flakes, lemon juice, honey, salt and pepper.
- Veggie Power – Cherry tomatoes and asparagus.
- Creamy Garlic Sauce – Olive oil, butter, garlic, thyme, heavy cream, red chili flakes, cayenne, lemon juice, parmesan cheese.
How to Make the Best Creamy Salmon Pasta
1. Bake the Salmon: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Pat dry the salmon and place it on a baking pan. Squeeze ½ lemon juice on top, and then add honey all over. Mix dried parsley, onion powder, smoked paprika, paprika, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Generously spread this rub all over the salmon.
Drizzle olive oil on top and bake for 20-25 minutes. Let it cool down and break it into large flaky chunks.
2. Boil the pasta: While the salmon is baking, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add pasta (we used ziti) and cook until al dente, about 10-11 minutes. Drain and set aside in the pot. Drizzle in a little olive oil and toss it together to keep the pasta from sticking together.
3. Make creamy garlicky sauce: Heat olive oil and butter in a pan over medium high heat. Add garlic and thyme and cook for 2 minutes, or until fragrant. Add in cherry tomatoes and asparagus and sauté for a couple of minutes.
Reduce heat to low and add heavy cream, cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes. Cook for 5 minutes. Add in half of the lemon juice and parmesan cheese, and stir till cheese is melted.
4. Add pasta and salmon: Toss pasta in creamy garlic sauce until it is well coated.
Add salmon to the pasta. Garnish with additional red pepper flakes and grated parmesan on top, along with lemon wedges.
Variations
- Make it creamier by adding more cream. Alternately, make it lighter by using half and half instead of heavy cream. You can thicken up the sauce by adding a little cornstarch slurry.
- Add in other veggies like bell peppers, spinach, peas, green beans or mushrooms for great flavors with this salmon pasta.
- You can sear the salmon in a pan with olive oil instead of baking it in oven, in order to not heat up your kitchen.
- Try using other seafood like shrimp, or even other protein like chicken.
Tips for Making the Best Salmon Pasta
- Do not overcook the salmon. Perfectly roasted salmon is flaky, and the middle is no longer translucent. We recommend using a meat thermometer, and baking it till the internal temperature raises to 145 degrees F.
- Salt your pasta water by adding about 1 tablespoon salt to boiling water. This simple step adds so much flavor to the pasta! Drizzle a little olive oil over cooked pasta and toss it together to keep the pasta from sticking together.
- If you like a crispier salmon with good color, broil the salmon for 2-4 minutes after it’s fully cooked for a nice crispy top!
Storing and reheating the leftovers
You can refrigerate this creamy salmon pasta in an airtight container for up to 3 days. To reheat it, heat the leftovers in a pan on the stove over medium heat until warm. We recommend adding a splash of cream, broth or just a little water to make it saucier again.
You can also reheat salmon pasta in the microwave.
We do not recommend freezing this salmon pasta recipe, due to the cream-based sauce. The cream and the water will separate, and it will not reheat very well.
There you go, one more cracker seafood recipe coming your way. Make this easy and delicious salmon pasta the next time you want to create a tasty restaurant worthy meal in your very own kitchen.
Treat that salmon little differently, and make this creamy salmon pasta for dinner tonight!
Salmon Pasta, on our Gypsy Plate… enjoy!
Try these other great Pasta Recipes!
Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
Mediterranean Pasta
Creamy Sausage Pasta
Scallop Pasta
Clam Linguine
Shrimp fra Diavolo
Rasta Pasta
Salmon Pasta
This Salmon Pasta is absolutely divine, loaded with amazing flavors that come from perfectly roasted salmon. All ready in about 30 minutes!
Ingredients
- 1lb salmon
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp red chili flakes
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 1 lemon, divided
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- 8oz ziti, or pasta of your choice
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 bunch asparagus
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
Creamy Garlic Sauce
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 4 garlic, finely chopped
- 1 Tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
- 1.5 cups heavy cream (see note 1)
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp red chili flakes
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Pat dry salmon and place it on a baking pan. Squeeze juice of half of the lemon on top and then add honey all over. Mix dried parsley, onion powder, smoked paprika, paprika, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Generously spread this rub all over salmon. Drizzle 1 Tbsp olive oil on top and bake for 20-25 minutes. Let it cool down and break it into large flaky chunks.
- While salmon is baking, pasta as per package instructions. Drain pasta and keep it aside.
- Heat butter and 1 Tbsp olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. Add garlic and thyme and cook for 2 minutes, or until fragrant. Add in cherry tomatoes and asparagus and sauté for a couple of minutes.
- Reduce heat to low and add heavy cream, cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes. Cook for 5 minutes. Add in juice of remaining half lemon, along with parmesan cheese and stir till cheese is melted.
- Toss pasta in the creamy garlic sauce until they are well coated. Add salmon to the pasta. Garnish with additional red pepper flakes and grated parmesan on top.
Notes
- For a lighter version, you can use half and half, though the sauce would be thinner.
Nutrition Information
Yield 4 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 684Total Fat 42gSaturated Fat 16gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 22gCholesterol 131mgSodium 502mgCarbohydrates 42gFiber 4gSugar 8gProtein 36g
Nutrition information calculated by Nutritionix.
Welcome to GypsyPlate! I'm Alpana, former wordwide tour manager and professional caterer, now full time blogger. I love exploring cuisines from around the world, and my recipes have been featured on sites such as MSN, Parade, Brit + Co, CNET and AOL. You can explore my entire collection of sortable recipes in my Recipe Index or learn more about me here.
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