Pasta Alla Salmone

Name: Pasta Alla Salmone
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 8 oz Fettuccine Noodles ((1/2 lb or 2 cups of dry pasta)); 3/4 pound Cooked Salmon (Boneless, skinless) (or about 2 cups cooked and flaked); 2 Tbsp Butter (salted is fine); 1 cup Heavy Cream (30-36% M.F.); 3 cloves Garlic, minced; ½ cup Fish or Chicken Broth; ¼ cup Lemon Juice; 5 oz Shredded Parmesan Cheese (Approx. 2/3 cup); 1 Tbsp All-Purpose Flour; 2 Tbsp Capers; 2 Tbsp Parsley, finely chopped; Salt and Pepper to taste

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Creamy rich sauce, sweet morsels of tender salmon and piquant capers make up this delicious Italian style pasta alla salmone. This easy salmon recipe comes together fast (under 30 minutes!) with just a few simple ingredients and a foolproof cream sauce. (GF option included)

Black bowl of white and pink fettuccine noodles with cream sauce and flaked salmon in a black bowl on a white tablecloth. Overhead view with lemon slices to the bottom right.

Why I made this recipe

Creamy pasta dishes are some of my favorite fancy meals. A rich bowl of pasta and seafood is something special and celebratory. Found on many Italian restaurant menus, this salmon dish makes a wonderful Christmas eve dinner or a fancy (but easy to make) New Years eve supper. Capers and lemon keep this tasting fresh and bright.

This was partly inspired by my Easiest Seafood Alfredo, another great holiday dinner for pasta lovers. If you are a salmon lover like me, check my other salmon recipes like Miso Baked Salmon, Salmon Carpaccio and Easy Furikake Salmon. Mediterranean Cauliflower Salad or Fresh Fig Salad would make great side dishes along with your favorite bread for mopping up all the sauce.

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Why I made this recipe
Recipe Ingredients
Substitutions + Variations
How To Video
Step-by-Step Instructions
Expert Tips
Recipe FAQs
Related Recipes
Recipe

Recipe Ingredients

An easy recipe, these fresh ingredients come together fast for a silky and luxurious salmon pasta.

Labelled ingredients for recipe including fettuccine noodles, cream, a block of Parmesan cheese, broth, parsley, cooked salmon, garlic and butter.

Salmon - The star of this dish, fresh, boneless, skinless salmon is good for this recipe. I've stirred in cooked salmon but there is a quick tutorial for cooking it if you're starting with raw salmon. Wild salmon is my choice for this simple recipe. Sockeye, chum, spring or coho, whichever is in season is best. Leftover chopped salmon is great too.
Parmesan Cheese - Parmesan adds so much depth of flavor and adds to the creamy richness of this sauce. This recipe isn't technically alfredo sauce but it uses many of the same ingredients and tastes quite similar.
Capers - Along with lemon, capers add tiny bursts of refreshing acidity to this rich pasta recipe. I love the complex flavor of capers and use them often with smoked salmon dishes and in salads that need a little something extra.

See recipe card for quantities.

White round bowl of creamy fettuccine with pink pieces of salmon, dark green capers, chopped parsley sprinkled over and a small wedge of lemon beside.

Substitutions + Variations

Gluten-Free - This recipe is easily made gluten-free by swapping the flour for cornstarch. Use the same amount and stir it through the cheese before adding to the hot cream mixture. Be sure to buy GF pasta to serve it over.
Canned Salmon - Although using canned salmon will not be as good as using fresh salmon (it will turn out a little dryer in texture), it does make a pretty decent substitute. Be sure to drain any oil or water from the tinned salmon before using.
Smoked Salmon - Swap an equal amount of your favorite smoked salmon for the plain. I think the lemon and capers make this a natural with smoked salmon. Got smoked salmon? Check out 35+ Best Smoked Salmon Recipes.
Cheese - Asiago or grana Padano or both excellent substitutions for Parmigiano.
Acid - For a more grown-up flavor, swap lemon juice for an equal amount of white wine. Choose a bright, unoaked white wine like Sauvignon blanc or Chablis or similar.

How To Video

Step-by-Step Instructions

Preheat the oven before putting your pasta water on. This way, the salmon will be cooked by the time your pasta has finished cooking.

Cook the salmon

Place salmon fillet on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush with 2 teaspoons olive oil, sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper, and bake at 400º for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and use a fork to gently flake the salmon.

Half a fillet of raw, bright orange salmon on parchment with a lemon slice and parsley beside.

Half fillet of salmon on parchment paper has been cooked and the parchment has browned in spots.

Salmon has been flaked apart and is in a pile on the same browned parchment it was baked on. 2 forks are beside it.

Make the pasta sauce

This sauce for this pasta al salmone differs from a true alfredo by adding chicken or fish stock and lemon juice. The addition of stock requires a little flour (or cornstarch) to achieve a silky thick sauce.

To start, bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt generously and cook fettuccine noodles as per package instructions until al dente. Drain and set aside. Top Tip: Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water and use it to thin your sauce as needed at the end.

Cream colored pot with yellow butter melting in the bottom of it.

Step 1. Meanwhile melt the butter in a heavy saucepan.

Minced garlic sautéing in the melted yellow butter in large pot.

Step 2. Add minced garlic cloves and cook, stirring occasionally for about 30 seconds until garlic is fragrant and translucent.

Cream colored pot now has cream and broth added, making a cream colored liquid.

Step 3. Add cream, chicken broth, and lemon juice (or white wine if desired) to the butter and garlic. Stir to combine and heat over medium low heat until sauce begins to steam, do not let it come to a boil.

In a separate small pot, flower is added to the shredded Parmesan cheese.

Step 4. In a separate bowl, combine shredded parmesan cheese with flour (or cornstarch if making this gf).

The shredded cheese and flour are now mixed well in the small pot.

Step 5. Toss the cheese and flour together well.

Note: Tossing the flour with the grated cheese makes it easy to incorporate the flour into the sauce without worrying about lumps.

Cheese and flour mixture has been dumped into the cream and broth in the pot and is not stirred in yet.

Step 6. Add cheese mixture to cream and broth. Keep heat at medium-low. Stir frequently until cheese is melted and sauce thickens.

Sauce is thick and light colored with flaked salmon added.

Step 7. Add flaked salmon...

Pot of creamy sauce and salmon now has the dark green capers added.

Step 8. and capers....

All ingredients are now stirred into and are coated by the creamy white sauce.

Step 9. and stir to combine.

***If you feel your sauce is too thick at this point, add in a little of the reserved pasta water until it is the consistency you want.

Fettuccine is getting stirred into the thick creamy sauce with a large metal spoon.

Step 10. Stir in fettuccine, and serve, topped with fresh parsley.

Expert Tips

Italian cuisine favors fresh ingredients and fresh herbs make this Italian dish sing. I've used fresh parsley but chopped chives, tarragon or even dill are delicious sprinkled on top. Love lemon? Grate a little lemon zest before juicing your lemon and sprinkle it in with the salmon and chives.

Recipe FAQs

Can I use a different type of pasta for pasta alla salmone?

Yes. Thinner linguine or wider tagliatelle or even pappardelle work well for this. I you want a noodle that will grab more sauce, penne pasta or fusilli are a popular choice.

What wine goes with salmon pasta?

The creamy sauce with briny capers pairs well with a few types of wine. A crisp pinot grigio or Sauvignon blanc are light and refreshing choices. For a deeper, richer wine, an oaked chardonnay plays well with the butter and cream.

Can I use all cream?

Yes, you can replace the chicken broth with additional cream if you prefer. If you opt too use all heavy cream, omit the flour or cornstarch addition.