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This 20-minute garlic butter salmon pasta recipe is super easy to make and uses only a handful of ingredients. It’s perfect for dinner on a busy weeknight!
Try my Garlic Butter Chicken Bites or Easy Canned Tuna Pasta next.
Why you’ll love it
Butter, garlic, a little chicken broth, and lemon juice are really all you need to make a fabulous sauce for this easy salmon pasta recipe. It’s basic yet bright, and each bite has perfectly flaky pan seared salmon that’s tossed in that buttery, velvety sauce!
Regular readers know I’m a big fan of salmon, and it doesn’t need a whole lot of dressing up to shine in this easy salmon pasta. There’s lots of savory flavor, and I bet you have most of the ingredients in stock in your kitchen on the regular for this quick and simple meal.
What you’ll need
- Pasta – use your preferred shape. I like penne or spaghetti!
- Salmon – you can buy either skin-on or skin-off fresh salmon
- Flour – for dredging and getting an irresistible crust on the fish
- Olive oil and butter – for pan frying and the base of the sauce
- Chicken broth – another layer of flavor
- Lemon juice – a pop of freshness and acidity for balance
- Garlic – savory goodness
Pro tip
Salmon skin is fine to eat, but some people don’t like it. If you buy a piece with the skin on but don’t want to eat it, I suggest peeling the skin off in the step when you’ve taken the salmon out of the pan — it should peel off easily.
How to make garlic butter salmon pasta
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Cook the pasta until al dente. Season the salmon with salt & pepper, then dredge in the flour. Heat up the oil and butter in a skillet, then add in the salmon. Cook it for a couple of minutes on both sides, then transfer it to a plate. Add in the broth, garlic, and lemon.
Reduce the heat, and let it simmer for a bit. Return the salmon, and break it apart with a spoon. Let it cook through. Toss with the drained pasta. Garnish with the optional toppings of fresh parsley, crushed red pepper flakes, parmesan, etc. if desired.
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- Two great cast iron skillet options are my Le Creuset and this budget-friendly Lodge one.
- I love my garlic press! No sticky garlic fingers here.
- This is my butter dish. It has convenient measurement markings right on it.
Substitutions and variations
- You could use leftover salmon (like from grilling or if you happen to have cooked salmon on hand), but I suggest cooking it for even less time. Just let it warm through.
- Throw in some additional herbs from the garden for extra fresh flavor.
- I highly recommend reading through the comments section below to see readers’ creative twists for inspiration — there’s some good stuff there!
Leftovers and storage
- I’m one to eat seafood sooner rather than later, but this pasta will keep in the fridge for a couple of days in a tightly covered container.
- Warm it up on the stove in a saucepan over a low heat, adding a bit of broth/lemon juice for moisture if needed.
- Freezing leftover salmon pasta isn’t recommended because the texture of the fish is liable to change.
If you made this simple salmon pasta recipe, please leave a star rating and review below! I’d love to see your photos on Instagram as well.
Garlic Butter Salmon Pasta
Ingredients
- 4 ounces uncooked pasta
- 1/2 pound fresh salmon
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Flour for dredging
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup chicken broth or veg broth
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3-4 cloves garlic minced
- Optional garnish: fresh parsley, red pepper flakes, parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Boil a salted pot of water for your pasta. Cook it al dente according to package directions. I suggest starting the sauce once the water’s boiling.
- Sprinkle the salmon with salt & pepper and coat it in the flour.
- Add the oil and butter to a skillet over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the salmon and cook it for 2 minutes/side, then take the fish out of the pan and set it aside (if you bought salmon with skin and don't want to eat it, you can easily peel the skin off at this point if you wish).
- Add the chicken broth, garlic, and lemon juice to the pan. Reduce the heat to medium and let it simmer for about a minute.
- Add the salmon back into the pan and break it up with your spoon into bite-size pieces. Cook it for a few more minutes until it’s cooked through and the sauce has reduced a fair bit.
- Drain the pasta and add it to the skillet (you can add a little pasta water if you wish). Toss it & serve immediately with parsley, red pepper flakes, and parmesan cheese if desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This recipe was originally published on May 8, 2019. It’s been updated with new photos and better instructions but is the same great recipe!
This was simple and outstanding. One of the secrets is to use a reasonably thick portion of salmon and do NOT overcook it. TOO may restaurants do that, where it’s a hard flake with that white stuff around the edges. Give it a good crust but the inside should be tender. Even if it is not yet ready, the final cooking will get it to the perfect point.
I finished this off with some super high quality EVOO. A nice finish to an excellent dish!
Agreed! Glad you enjoyed it!
This was a big hit tonight! I added peas for some vegetables. Everyone liked it and it was really quick. We’re a bit lactose intolerant, so it was nice to find a salmon pasta recipe without the heavy cream.
Awesome!!
Hey! So keen to try! Looks gorgeous! Might swop out some of the dairy and gluten options! But looks divine.
Just wondering can I freeze this meal?
Hi! I hope you enjoy it, Abs! In general, I don’t like freezing cooked fish as it can really dry out once you’ve thawed it. I also am not sure you’d be left with much sauce since it’s just a buttery sauce.
I have to say that I’ve never left a review on a recipe before but wow this one truly deserves it. I didn’t have a lot of faith in it at first because usually this type of sauce tends to leave you with a dry pasta but it’s definitely not the case with this one. My whole family absolutely loved it (even my 19-month old!). I followed the recipe as best as I could. I only added baby spinach at the end right before adding the cooked pasta. I topped it with Parmesan – and omg, just delicious, light, and healthy!! Loved it. Will probably make every other week.
Also thank you for the website’s feature that lets you add more servings and the recipe automatically alters the ingredients quantity.
I’m so happy it was a hit!! I appreciate your review. 😀
Loved this recipe! I had linguine, so I used that. I may add a few capers next time. I squeezed a half a lemon into the sauce which worked out wonderfully!
Thank you so much!!
This was divine! I added dried dill
To it with the Parmesan cheese. It’s going into the dinner rotation! So simple but flavorful
So happy it’s a new favorite, Susanne! Thank you for letting us know. 🙂
If you use leftover salmon, should you still do the step with flour?
I would skip that step. Hope you enjoy the recipe, Elly! 🙂
Good flavor and easy
Appreciate the review, Richard! Glad to hear it 🙂
Simple & delicious, freezes well. A new favorite in our home.
I’m so glad it’s a hit for you guys!
I’ll admit, I questioned this recipe all the way through, but wow, was I wrong to do that! It was so freakin’ tasty. I added onions and mushrooms to it and also cooked up some shrimp with the salmon. And I only used oil to cook the shrimp and salmon and reserved the butter to mix in with the chicken broth. Lastly, I omitted the flour just ’cause I didn’t have any on-hand. Will definitely be making this again.
So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂