Creamy Salmon Pasta {in 15 minutes}
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You’ll be surprised with how much flavor is packed into this 15 minute, creamy salmon pasta recipe. Flaky, tender salmon, a rich yet bright sauce, and the classic pairing of linguine makes for the best weeknight meal.
Table of Contents
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Quick and Easy Recipe: I’m sold on any recipe that packs this much flavor into a short amount of time. Thanks to the airfryer, the salmon is cooked in just 8 minutes. Meanwhile, we can tend to the simple creamy sauce.
- Mouthwatering Flavors: the trifecta of sun-dried tomatoes, green olives and garlic give this creamy salmon pasta the best flavor base. We also have the more traditional flavor additions of white wine and lemon, which are always a winner when paired with salmon.
- Creamy Comfort: I had to go down the creamy route when developing this pasta with salmon recipe.
- Indulgent Texture: perfectly al dente linguine, finished in the rich sauce makes for the best end result and texture of this dish.
If you’ve got a taste for salmon after trying this yummy salmon pasta dish, consider making one of the following recipes: Cook Frozen Salmon in the Air Fryer, Easy Salmon Fishcakes (with tinned salmon!), The BEST Air Fryer Salmon Bites (Less than 10 minutes!)
What Salmon to Use
If you can, I recommend something wild caught and sustainable like Pink Salmon or Sockeye Salmon.
You can tell with wild caught salmon that the white lines are thinner, due there being less fat on the salmon. This also makes the salmon and pasta recipe slightly lighter and less fatty, if that’s something you want to consider.
You can also use frozen filets, one large skin on filet from the butcher, or leftover salmon…anything works. For this lemon salmon pasta, I tend to choose fillets that are more thick than wide, so that they don’t over cook easily.
Ingredients
The main ingredients that make this Salmon Pasta recipe fantastic are the following:
Salmon filets
Thick, narrow salmon fillets make for the most tender end result, as you’re less likely to overcook them.
Cream
I use full fat single cream here, but if you’re wanting to reduce calories or make this salmon with pasta lighter, you could use half and half cream.
Linguine
I love the way the sauce clings onto linguine. It’s a classic seafood/fish pairing, but feel free to go with your preferred pasta shape.
Sun-dried tomatoes
They pack so much flavor without a lot of time or effort- the perfect short cut ingredient!
See the recipe card for full information on all ingredients and quantities.
Variations/ Adaptations
No white wine? No problem! you can combine 1 tbsp white wine vinegar with 3 tbsp water. Or simply add more lemon juice.
If you don’t have an air fryer, you can cook salmon on the grill, in the oven or in a skillet.
Instead of cream, you could use a dollop of creme fraiche.
How to make Salmon Pasta
- Line the air fryer basket with foil and place 2-4 fillets in the basket. Coat the tops of the fillets with 1 tbsp of the olive oil, salt, pepper, and paprika. Air fry the salmon at 200°C/400°F for 8 minutes (Image 1).
- While your salmon is cooking, bring a pot of heavily salted water to a boil and add your linguine. Cook the pasta for two minutes less than the packet instructions (Image 2).
3. Heat a large frying pan over low to medium-low heat. Add the remaining tbsp of olive oil to the pan and gently fry the garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, lemon zest, and red pepper flakes or pepper (Image 3).
4. Pour the white wine into the pan and cook 2 minutes over medium heat (Image 4).
5. Pour the cream into the pan (Image 5).
6. Mix the cream with ingredients in the pan and season with salt and pepper (Image 6).
7. Add a generous portion of linguine into the sauce mixture in the pan and continue to cook the pasta until cooked through (Image 7).
8. Add the salmon and a squeeze of lemon. Top with fresh parsley and black pepper before serving (Image 8).
Satisfy creamy pasta cravings with these other recipes: Sausage and Fennel Pasta, Creamy Chicken and Broccoli Pasta, Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta
Tips for the best result
- Season the pasta water generously- you need it as salty as the sea for this salmon cream pasta!
- Remember to reserve lots of pasta water! This sauce will thicken a lot when we add the linguine into the sauce, so we need to have the pasta water on hand to thin it out.
- The lemon juice could potentially make the cream split. In order to prevent this, take the cream off the heat and add the lemon juice slowly while whisking the cream vigorously.
- This sauce thickens a lot as it cools, so kill the heat before the sauce thickens significantly as it’ll thicken more when you serve it.
- If you don’t have any white wine, you can combine 1 tbsp white wine vinegar with 3 tbsp water. Or simply add more lemon juice.
Serving Suggestions
Here are some great vegetables, soups, and more you can pair with this delicious salmon pasta dish:
- Courgette Soup
- Air fryer Zucchini Fries
- Roasted Vegetable Soup
- Crispy Smashed Broccoli with Parmesan
- The Crispiest Halloumi Fries
- Roasted Tenderstem Broccoli
- Simple Tricolore Salad
- Chocolate Tiffin Cake
I also love having a simple bit of garlic bread and a salad with any and all pasta I eat!
Leftover Storage and Reheat Instructions
Refrigerator: you can store this creamy salmon pasta recipe in the fridge for up to 3 days. I like to store the salmon separately to the creamy linguine, so that I can reheat them separately and top with the salmon.
Reheat: the creamy pasta in a non-stick frying pan over a low/medium heat. Add a ladle of boiling water slowly to loosen the pasta, then cook for around 5 minutes, until the pasta is heated through. Reheat the salmon in the microwave for 30 seconds, or in the air fryer for 2 minutes at 170°C.
Freezer: I wouldn’t recommend freezing this recipe as it takes 15 minutes to prepare, so we want to enjoy it fresh. Cream and pasta can defrost with a strange texture, so as it’s an easy salmon cream pasta to make, I’d make it fresh.
Recipe FAQs
Ooo definitely! That would be delicious. I would simply stir through the smoked salmon in the final step (when we’re tossing the pasta with the sauce) to gently heat through.
I personally remove the salmon skin after air frying (it’s a lot easier to remove this way) as it’s texturally not the best with the creamy pasta. But if you love it, feel free to leave it on!
Need something sweet for after? Try these recipes; The BEST Lemon Drizzle Cake Recipe, Chocolate Brownies, Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats
If you tried this Salmon Pasta Recipe, it would mean so much to me if you could leave a review & a star rating to let me know how you found it! I love hearing about your experiences – it motivates me to keep creating more and more recipes for you guys 💛 Let’s get cooking! – Mimi x
Creamy Salmon Pasta
Ingredients
- 2-4 salmon fillets £3.89
- 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped (£0.39)
- Zest of a lemon + juice, grated (£0.30)
- 50 g sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped (£2.80/4= £0.70)
- 120 g green olives, roughly torn (£1.20/2= £0.60)
- 300 ml cream (£1.15)
- 200 ml white wine (£5.98/3= £2)
- 400 g linguine (£0.75)
- Fresh parsley, finely chopped to serve (£0.52)
Cupboard essentials
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper or red pepper flakes
- Sprinkle of paprika
Method
- Line your airfryer basket with foil, then place the salmon fillets inside. Coat with 1 tbsp olive oil, salt, pepper and a sprinkle of paprika. Airfry at 200°C/ 400°F for 8 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add your linguine into heavily salted boiling water. Set a timer to the packet time minus two minutes.
- To a large frying pan, add the remaining tbsp of olive oil. Pop the garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, lemon zest and red pepper flakes/pepper into the pan. Gently fry over a low/medium heat for 4 minutes.
- Pour the wine into the pan and cook for 2 minutes over a medium heat, then pour the cream into the pan. Season with salt and pepper.
- Transfer the undercooked linguine into the pan, along with a generous mug of pasta water. Continue to cook, adding pasta water when necessary, until you achieve a silky sauce.
- Add a squeeze of lemon juice and top with the salmon (broken into flaked chunks with a fork), some fresh parsley and some black pepper. Enjoy!
Notes
- Remember to reserve lots of pasta water! This sauce will thicken a lot when we add the linguine into the sauce, so we need to have the pasta water on hand to thin it out.
- The lemon juice could potentially make the cream split. In order to prevent this, take the cream off the heat and add the lemon juice slowly while whisking the cream vigorously.
- This sauce thickens a lot as it cools, so kill the heat before the sauce thickens significantly as it’ll thicken more when you serve it.
- If you don’t have any white wine, you can combine 1 tbsp white wine vinegar with 3 tbsp water. Or simply add more lemon juice.
- Season the pasta water generously- you need it as salty as the sea for this salmon cream pasta!
Nutrition
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