Creamy Salmon Pasta

This creamy salmon pasta is perfect for date night. Think of your favorite kind of pasta smothered in a creamy garlic white wine sauce with baked flaky bite-sized salmon chunks and fresh spinach, lemon and capers.

Today we’ll be making a fun and delicious creamy salmon pasta. Think of this as a creamy version of the crowd-favorite light lemon garlic pasta with salmon. While the lighter version relies on high-quality olive oil as a kind of ‘sauce’, this slightly more decadent twist has a light creamy sauce, fresh spinach and the bright and zesty flavors of lemon and capers. And while it sounds pretty fancy, it’s really easy to make.

There are also plenty of ways to customize this. Switch it up with your favorite kind of pasta, substitute spinach with fresh basil or asparagus, make it kid-friendly by leaving out the white wine, bake the salmon with more spices to add some contrasting flavor, or try adding some red pepper flakes to the sauce for some heat.

This one is perfect for date night or an easy but comforting weeknight meal and leftovers heat up well. If you feel like skipping the carbs and just want some creamy salmon, try this recipe for creamy garlic butter salmon instead. In the meantime, let’s start cooking!

Ingredients in Creamy Salmon Pasta

How To Make Creamy Salmon Pasta (1 Min Video)

CREAMY SALMON PASTA RECIPE TIPS

Pasta – Add a drizzle of olive oil and salt to the pot while cooking the pasta. The oil prevents sticking and the salt evenly seasons each noodle from the inside out. It makes a difference! Also, feel free to substitute linguine with any other kind of pasta. You can use spaghetti, angel hair, pappardelle, farfalle, or any tube-type pasta.

Salmon -Use either fresh or frozen salmon at about 5-8 oz. each. Make sure to season generously with salt and pepper. I like to use coarse sea salt because it’s more forgiving. In this recipe, we bake the salmon but if you don’t feel like heating up the whole house, you can pan-fry it over the stovetop. You can also customize the salmon by adding more seasonings like onion and garlic powder, paprika, or chili powder.

Lemon -One medium-sized lemon should be enough to get the zest you need. I used a microplane to zest up a lemon and then cut the leftovers into wedges to serve on the side for folks that like adding more lemon juice to the sauce.

Garlic – Four medium-sized cloves are roughly equal to about 1 tablespoon of minced garlic. I find it easier to use either a garlic press or a mini grater to mince the garlic.

White wine – Use a dry white wine like pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc since you want the wine to add acidity and not sweetness. Leave out the white wine to make this kid-friendly or substitute it with chicken stock or more heavy cream.

Add more flavor – Feel free to add more garlic or capers to your taste. You can also add red pepper flakes to the sauce for a hint of heat.

Toppings – Serve with either shaved Parmesan chunks, freshly grated Parmesan, or the green shaker Parmesan. Add some lemon wedges on the side for freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Leftovers – Heat up leftovers by adding any leftover heavy cream you might have or milk to the pasta. Stir and microwave for a few minutes.

Sides – Serve this with a side of salad, some garlic bread, or some easy Parmesan garlic knots.

And that’s about it. We loved this meal so much and had a ton of fun eating it. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did! Let me know about what substitutions you made and how you liked the recipe in the comments below.

MORE SEAFOOD RECIPES TO TRY

• Creamy Garlic Butter Salmon
• Light Lemon Garlic Pasta with Salmon
• Lemon and Parmesan-Crusted Salmon
• Salmon Piccata
• Lemon Garlic Butter Baked Shrimp

Print