This creamy salmon pasta is the best weeknight pasta dish you could make! Perfect for when you have no desire to cook dinner, and ready in absolutely no time, you can get dinner on the table in only ten minutes without compromising on taste and flavour! This creamy salmon pasta recipe is perfect for busy family meals. Made with fresh herbs and smoked salmon, this one pan pasta dinner is your next favourite meal.
Why you're going to love this recipe
Not only is this recipe super speedy to make, it's also light enough for a summer dinner, but hearty enough for a winter meal! Here's why you're going to love this recipe:
- one pan dinner
- quick and easy to make
- ready in 10 minutes
- delicious citrus flavor adds to the salmon to make it taste amazing
- combination of creme fraiche and lemon juice makes a no effort creamy sauce
- flavours the whole family loves
- nice break from pasta sauces made with tomatoes
What goes into the recipe
- pasta- I've used a spaghetti in this recipe as it cooks quickly. If you want a quick dinner, then choose a thin spaghetti that cooks in 5 minutes to al-dente. Be sure to add salt to the pasta water when cooking, but don't ever add olive oil!
- creme fraiche- is available in most supermarkets, if you can't find it you can sub with sour cream if you need to. Heavy cream won't work in this recipe.
- lemon- we are using lemon zest and lemon juice in this recipe. To best utilise your lemon, make sure it is at room temp.
- fresh dill- if you can't find fresh dill, use dried! The dill really adds to the flavour. you can also do half fresh parsley if you like. Fresh basil doesn't work though and entirely overpowers the salmon.
- rocket- if you don't like the pepper taste of the rocket (it adds punch to this pasta) then switch for baby spinach
- smoked salmon- I've used smoked salmon for this recipe, but, if you prefer you can also use the same amount of salmon fillets, and cook it and then flake through the pasta. By the same token you can also use prawns/ shrimp that are cooked.
- breadcrumbs- I've used homemade sourdough crumbs, but use whatever you've got.
How to make this recipe
This pasta is so quick to get ready, it really only takes the pasta cooking time plus 5 minutes to stir through!
First step, bring your water to boil, and cook and drain your pasta following the pack instructions (I normally cook mine over medium-high heat- basically a high simmer). Make sure you reserve a cup of the pasta water!
Add the pasta back to the pot and add all the other ingredients. Mix well whilst over a medium heat to combine. (If you want to, you can whisk the pasta water, lemon juice and zest and creme fraiche together first)
Serve immediately.
Expert Tips and FAQs
For this version of the recipe I've used smoked salmon. Don't scrimp on the rocket or the dill, they are the flavour infusers in the recipe and most definitely don't add parmesan cheese!
Yes! It's delicious, they enjoy it and when you're making this pasta- it's relatively cheap. They would it eat straight out of the pack if I let them. Salmon is also a nutrition powerhouse, and contains many good vitamins and minerals including vitamin D, potassium and calcium.
Unfortunately no! It's one of the few things on the blog that you can't freeze. The rocket and dill which are both fresh and delicious won't freeze well and the creme fraiche will curdle when reheating from frozen. This is such a quick meal to make though, that it doesn't really matter!
You need to switch to gluten free pasta and also gluten free breadcrumbs.
Pop them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for storage. You can reheat the pasta in the microwave but be sure to add a splash of water first as it will dry out.
Dry white wine works well in place of the pasta water that gets added back into the pot. You can also add some red pepper flakes to the end product if you want a hit of spice.
More delicious pasta ideas
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Creamy Salmon Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 400 grams smoked salmon cut into slivers
- 3 handfuls of rocket
- zest of one lemon
- juice of one lemon
- 3 heaped tablespoons of dill
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- 200 mls creme fraiche
- 500 grams pasta of your choice spaghettini cooks in 5 minutes!
Instructions
- Cook the pasta as per the cooking directions and reserve a cup of the water from cooking before draining.
- Add the pasta back to the cooking pot with all of the other ingredients, stirring to combine.
- Stir and serve!
Notes
Recipe video
Nutritional Information
This recipe was originally published in 2015, and republished in 2023.
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