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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, and a simple wire whisk is useful for making the quick roux.
  • I like to toss the pasta easily with a pair of cooking tongs and 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
4.83 from 87 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.
  • This recipe can also be found on page 31 of the Salt & Lavender: Everyday Essentials cookbook.

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! Iโ€™m Natasha.

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4.83 from 87 votes (8 ratings without comment)

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251 Comments

  1. James Michael Bergstrom says:

    4 stars
    This dish was good to begin with, but got better in subsequent days. My problem was that I had 18 oz. of salmon and had to make the recipe for 8. We only have three diners, so it was served as leftovers two days later (with additional cream and also some milk to reclaim the texture of the dish), and I finished off the remains a day after that. The biggest problem I had was mixing the salmon into the pasta. It seemed to want to hang around the edges of the pasta and not mix in much. I’ll very likely make this again, and may return to Salt & Lavender to try some of the other recipes. Thank you!

    1. Natasha says:

      You’re welcome, James!

  2. Sandy H. says:

    5 stars
    Absolutely delicious!

    1. Natasha says:

      Thanks so much, Sandy!

  3. Mary Aretz says:

    5 stars
    This recipe is next level delicious – it feels like youโ€™re eating out in your own home!! And itโ€™s so easy to make!! I have yet to come across a Salt and Lavender recipe that I donโ€™t love, but this may be my favourite of hers yet โค๏ธ

    1. Natasha says:

      That makes me so happy!! ๐Ÿ˜€ Thank you, Mary!

  4. DALE LEAVITT says:

    5 stars
    Simple and truthful. I made this today because my son baked his own baguettes this morning and he saved one for me. The perfect accoutrement.

    1. Natasha says:

      I love that!

  5. Abby says:

    Really good! I added red pepper flakes for some kick! Husband loved it too.

    1. Natasha says:

      Excellent!

  6. Valecia Marshall says:

    5 stars
    This salmon pasta recipe is wonderful you can do many things to it to suit different taste

    1. Natasha says:

      Thank you!!!

  7. Phee says:

    This was delicious! My husband thought it was restaurant quality and requested it go on our rotation. I think you could add just about any protein, and it would always be a hit!

    1. Natasha says:

      That’s great!! Thank you!

  8. Adrian says:

    5 stars
    Very simple and easy to put together . Great flavor just needed a bit more salt and pepper for my taste.

    1. Natasha says:

      Glad you liked it, Adrian!