This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This smoked salmon pasta recipe is simple but tastes fancy! It only takes about 20 minutes to make, and it’s perfect for date night.
When I was growing up, I always looked forward to having smoked salmon. It was usually served when we had guests over. I guess having European parents and growing up in the 90s meant this was a popular choice. I don’t eat it too often nowadays, but I thought that buying some and turning it into a pasta would be something a little different. In a good way. 🙂
The sauce has white wine, dill, chicken broth, lemon, butter, garlic, and a bit of cream, so it’s wonderfully flavorful. There isn’t too much cream in here, so it’s not particularly heavy.
If you like salmon pastas, you may also like my creamy garlic salmon pasta, my lemon and fresh tomato salmon pasta, my garlic butter salmon pasta, or my lemon dill salmon pasta.
What kind of smoked salmon to buy
I buy the thinly sliced, cured, cold smoked variety (look for it in the frozen fish section of your local grocery store). It’s similar to lox that you’d put on your bagels, but lox is not usually smoked.
Smoked salmon isn’t cooked, so when you add it to the sauce at the end it will cook and change texture and color, but it’ll still stay lovely and tender. If you really don’t want it to get cooked, simply toss your pasta with the sauce, plate it, and then add the smoked salmon on top right when you serve.
How to make smoked salmon pasta
- Melt the oil and butter in a skillet;
- Add the garlic and cook until fragrant;
- Stir in the chicken broth, wine, lemon juice, and dill. Reduce the sauce by half.
- Add in the cream and cook for about a minute;
- Add in the salmon and take the pan off the heat. Toss with the pasta and enjoy!
Pro tip: If you don’t want to use white wine for whatever reason, double the chicken broth instead.
I was debating adding capers to this creamy smoked salmon pasta recipe, but I decided not to. I love capers, so I think it would taste great, but I know not everyone likes them. Add some in and let me know if you try it!
I used fusilli pasta, but feel free to use whatever shape you have in your pantry.
Will you give this smoked salmon pasta a try?
Questions? Let me know in the comments!
Easy Smoked Salmon Pasta
Ingredients
- 4 ounces uncooked pasta
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon dried dill or use fresh
- 1/4 cup heavy/whipping cream
- 3.5 ounces smoked salmon torn into small pieces
- Salt & pepper to taste
- For serving: freshly grated parmesan, chopped parsley optional
Instructions
- Boil a salted pot of water for your pasta. Cook pasta al dente according to package instructions. Once the water is almost boiling, start making the sauce.
- Add the oil and butter to a skillet over medium-high heat. Once the butter has melted, add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the chicken broth, wine, lemon juice, and dill to the pan. Cook until the sauce is reduced by half (about 4-5 minutes).
- Add the cream and let it cook for a minute or two.
- Stir in the salmon and take the pan off the heat. The salmon will quickly cook and change color/texture (but it'll still be tender). Season with salt & pepper as needed.
- Drain the pasta and toss with the sauce. Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese and parsley if desired.
Notes
- I used the thinly sliced cold smoked salmon you can find in the frozen/refrigerated seafood section of most grocery stores.
- If using fresh dill, try doubling the amount since it's less concentrated.
© Salt & Lavender Inc. Content and photographs are copyrighted. Sharing this blog post is much appreciated, but copying and pasting full recipes without authorization to social media is strictly prohibited.
This sounds wonderful. Can the sauce be made a day in advance, then add the pasta and smoked salmon when ready to serve
Hi Carol! Thank you! You could try. Just be sure to warm it up slowly over a low heat so the sauce doesn’t break.
Natasha. I am not normally a fan of blog cooking sites because so often I see disasters just reading the recipe, others I made and well often just meh. This recipe however was astounding . Thank you. My normally reliable sites are NYT Cooking, Epicurious, Serious Eats, and Southern Living . I did used fresh dill which I would not make optional. I think the fresh was critical . I saved a bit of cooking water to bind d the sauce. And yes I used capers . I used 1 Tbsp for the two serving size. This was intensely flavored but still light. The two serving portion gave us dinner and enough left overs for a lunc for teo.
Hi Jim!! I’m thrilled you decided to try this one and enjoyed it!! Appreciate your 5-star review! 😀
Servings are way off. I made 12 oz of pasta and it fed 2 to 3 people. I needed to add extra ingredients to the sauce. It was delicious!
I’m glad you enjoyed it! 🙂 So, since people request nutrition info for my recipes, I need to choose a quantity of pasta. Most people don’t measure, but 2 oz (uncooked) is the accepted/recommended serving size per person (many people will eat more than that, though, but then they’re technically eating more than one serving), so that’s why I set it that way.
Absolutely delicious and light. Will definitely make it again!
Thank you so much! Happy you liked it! 🙂
Made your recipe with one substitution & one addition. I didn’t have heavy cream so I used Greek yogurt. And, I added capers because we love capers & think they go with salmon. It was awesome. My husband immediately proclaimed that this was a “KEEPER”!
Thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, and your subs sound delish! Thanks for leaving me a review, Mimi. 🙂
I made this when my mom was coming to dinner. I added capers. Served it with a side of steamed green beans. It was great!
Wonderful!! So glad you liked it. 🙂
Loved it. Fast + so easy. I added onion + mushrooms. So yummy
Excellent! Thanks so much, Kirsti.
This is so fast and so easy . . .but most importantly, so good! Next time I make it I think I’ll add some frozen peas right at the end. My husband asked me to be sure to save the recipe; that’s unusual!
I’m so happy you enjoyed it! ♥️♥️
Haha, my parents also served smoked salmon whenever we had guest over. I think it was the one time my mother was willing to splurge on fancy food! That said I love smoked salmon, especially on something like a Montreal bagel. However I love the look of this pasta, I think my whole family would love this!
Lol right?!
Hey Natasha,
This recipe sounds amazing.
I want to bring this dish for a pot-luck evening at a friend’s house. Do I make the sauce and add pasta later? I’ll bring two separately? Thanks 😊
Hi! Thank you! I think that bringing it separately would probably work best, yes. Maybe do a test run just to make sure it goes as you hope. Let me know if you like it! 🙂