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This 30-minute salmon pasta with a creamy garlic sauce is quick and makes an easy and impressive meal! It has restaurant flair that you can duplicate in your own kitchen.

You could also try this Creamy Garlic Salmon or Boursin Salmon next.

extreme close-up of serving tongs twirling creamy salmon spaghetti

Why you’ll love it

This is one of those dishes that tastes like a lot of effort was put in, but it’s actually simple enough to make without a lot of fuss when you’re starving after a long day at work. Quickly pan searing salmon makes it extra tasty! And the best part is that you can finish off the bottle of wine while you’re cooking this. Just kidding. Sort of.

You’ll savor every single bite of this irresistible restaurant-quality salmon pasta. The delicious creamy sauce is loaded with garlic, and this easy pasta is going to be your new favorite date night meal.

What you’ll need

  • Pasta – You can use any kind of pasta for this dish. I’d recommend a longer one like fettuccine, linguine, or spaghetti, but any kind you have in your pantry will work.
  • Salmon – I prefer skinless, but if you can’t find it, you can easily remove it during the cooking process
  • Onion powder – to infuse more flavor directly onto the fish
  • Olive oil and butter – for pan searing
  • Flour – to thicken the sauce
  • Garlic – we’re generous, but add more if you’re a garlic afficionado
  • White wine – for an elegant touch. Use a dry white wine like sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio.
  • Heavy cream – for a touch of richness
  • Lemon juice – it brightens up the sauce and is a signature pairing with salmon
  • Parmesan – grating your own parmesan cheese is key for texture of the sauce since it melts better than the bagged kind
  • Parsley – a pop of freshness
process shot of ingredient quantities in dishes for making creamy salmon pasta with a garlic sauce

Tools for this recipe

Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!

  • Mince the garlic with one squeeze of a garlic press. You don’t even have to peel the cloves first.
  • Parmesan is so much better when grated from a block with a zester like this Microplane.
  • I like to toss the pasta easily with a pair of cooking tongs.
  • A simple wire whisk is useful for making the quick roux.
  • Store uncooked pasta in an airtight spaghetti keeper.

How to make creamy salmon pasta

This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.

pan searing salmon fillet in a cast iron skillet and making the sauce for creamy salmon pasta in a skillet

While the pasta is boiling, pan sear the seasoned salmon in olive oil and butter. Transfer the salmon to a plate. Add flour to the skillet to make a quick roux, followed by the garlic and white wine. Whisk in the cream and lemon juice.

adding salmon back into the sauce for creamy garlic salmon pasta and then mixing in spaghetti with tongs

Stir in the parmesan, and then add the salmon back to the skillet, breaking it up with a spoon. Drain the pasta and add it to the skillet along with the fresh parsley. Enjoy immediately!

Pro tips

  • The sauce is fairly lemony, so if you’re on the fence about how much to add, halve the amount of lemon. You can then always squeeze more in when you’ve given it a taste if you think it needs more. I love the stuff, so I usually add even more than I suggest in recipes when I’m cooking for myself, but it’s totally up to you.
  • This pasta serves 2-4 people, but you can make it with less pasta to make it even richer for two people. Or up the salmon to 3/4 pounds.
  • You can easily double (or triple) this recipe for when you have guests over!

Substitutions and variations

  • I don’t recommend substituting the heavy cream for anything else. The sauce may break because of the acidity from the lemon juice.
  • If you’re unable to use the wine, simply swap it out for chicken broth and a touch of Dijon mustard.

Leftovers and storage

  • Leftovers of this salmon pasta will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days. However, it’s best eaten right away.
  • Reheat on your stove over low heat slowly so the sauce doesn’t separate, and you can add a splash of cream if necessary.
  • Recipes with cream generally don’t freeze well, so I don’t recommend doing that.
close-up of a bowl of creamy garlic salmon pasta

If you made this lemon salmon pasta with a creamy garlic sauce, leave a star rating and review. Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below!

extreme close-up of serving tongs twirling creamy salmon spaghetti
4.81 from 72 votes

Salmon Pasta with a Creamy Garlic Sauce

This 30-minute salmon pasta with a creamy garlic sauce is quick and makes an easy and impressive meal! It has restaurant flair that you can duplicate in your own kitchen.
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 30 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients 

  • 8 ounces uncooked spaghetti or other pasta
  • 1/2 pound fresh salmon see note
  • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine or chicken broth
  • 3/4 cup heavy/whipping cream
  • Juice from 1/2 medium lemon (about 1 tbsp)
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Instructions 

  • Boil a large salted pot of water for your pasta and cook it al dente according to package directions.
  • Meanwhile, season the salmon with the onion powder and some salt & pepper.
  • Add the olive oil and butter to a skillet over medium-high heat. Once it's hot, cook the salmon for a couple of minutes on each side. Transfer the salmon to a plate and set aside.
  • Reduce the heat to medium. Add the flour to the skillet and cook for about 30 seconds, stirring nearly constantly.
  • Whisk in the garlic and wine (let it bubble for 20 seconds or so), followed by the cream and lemon juice.
  • Once the sauce is smooth, whisk in the parmesan.
  • Add the salmon back in the pan and break it up with your spoon so it's in bite-size pieces. Gently mix it in with the sauce. Cook for an additional 3-5 minutes or so until the sauce is thickened and the salmon is cooked through.
  • Drain the pasta and add it to the skillet, along with about 1 tablespoon of the water you cooked the pasta in (or more if you want to thin the sauce) as well as the parsley. Gently toss the sauce and pasta. Serve immediately with extra parmesan cheese if desired.

Notes

  • If you can’t buy skinless salmon, you can easily peel off the salmon skin just before you add the salmon back into the pan. Or keep it on if you don’t mind it.
  • The sauce is fairly lemony, so if you’re not into that, halve the amount of lemon, then add more in once you’ve tasted it if it’s not lemony enough for you. 
  • Serves 2-4. If you want a really decadent meal for two people, make less pasta (then each person gets more sauce and salmon). For 4 people, I recommend serving this with a side salad or some garlic bread and/or increase the salmon to 3/4 pounds or so.

Nutrition

Calories: 591kcal, Carbohydrates: 47g, Protein: 25g, Fat: 31g, Saturated Fat: 15g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 10g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 111mg, Sodium: 264mg, Potassium: 497mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 959IU, Vitamin C: 4mg, Calcium: 196mg, Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

© 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.

Leave a star rating and comment below!

This recipe was originally published on June 13, 2016. It’s been tweaked to be even easier, tastier, and has new photos!


Hi! I’m Natasha.

Salt & Lavender is a recipe blog with a focus on delicious comfort food using everyday ingredients. Beat the weekday grind with hundreds of easy-to-follow and hassle-free recipes!

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215 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Mine a little off color cause I over cooked my roux but omg it’s soo good I love it and it will definitely become a staple in my house

  2. 5 stars
    Thanks for the recipe! I did feel like it needed more salt & pepper to the final dish (easy fix!) Also blistered some cherry tomatoes I was trying to use up and added crushed red pepper flakes at the end. I used pre-shredded asiago instead of parmesan because that’s what I had. Maybe that’s why I felt it was slightly under-seasoned. Great use of the salmon other than plain salmon & rice.

  3. 5 stars
    Had something like this in a restaurant I worked in 20 years ago, been trying to recreate it ever since. Thank you thank you!

  4. 5 stars
    I love this recipe!! I am camping and this recipe is a hit!! I used the BBQ and a small stove. I didn’t have chicken stock so used the water I cooked the ravioli in, I substituted red wine (didn’t have white), Bisquick baking mix to thicken, and half and half (no heavy cream) and much to my delightful surprise everything turned out great!!

  5. 5 stars
    Delicious. I use real onion and hot smoked lemon and pepper salmon and add at the end to warm. Makes a quick delicious dinner.

  6. Prepared this tonight after looking for a salmon pasta recipe. Our local fishmonger sells “fish pieces” which are offcuts from their premium offerings for $7.99 a pound. We had about 75% salmon and 25% halibut and this combination was perfect with this recipe. Added a little Sauvignon Blanc and the meal was fantastic. We will definitely have again and would prepare for guests in a minute.