This Salmon Pasta with a creamy dill and capers sauce is ready in around 20 minutes and is one of those dishes you can serve as a lazy weeknight dinner or as a more elevated dish for when you have friends over.
Salmon pasta always reminds me of my childhood. My Mum used to make smoked salmon pasta at least once a week and I loved it. For this salmon pasta recipe, you could totally use smoked salmon, however, I love using salmon fillet, searing it, and then using a fork to gently pull apart the flakes of meaty salmon. It's SO good and great for every occasion.
I've got over 25 creamy pasta sauce recipes for you to choose from if you're looking for more inspo!
My personal favorite pasta recipes are the ones below:
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Why you'll love this recipe
Made by someone you can trust: for those of you who are new here, my name's Emily and I'm an ex-chef, turned food content creator/recipe developer. I adore testing and creating new recipes and sharing them with you. I don't use AI, I take inspiration from magazines, travel, restaurants, books, friends, and turn my thoughts into dishes that I think you'll love and want to make over and over again. So, I hope you love this dish, if so, then check out more of my recipes to make in the future!
Customizable: this salmon pasta is on the simpler side which means it's great to customise! I love adding peas or sliced courgettes into the dish to up the vegetable count. Or you can swap out the salmon for thinly sliced extra firm tofu marinated in celery salt for a vegetarian option! You can really make it your own.
Quick: there's nothing better than a speedy pasta recipe that also looks beautiful. This recipe is ready in around 20 minutes and requires very little prep!
Main ingredients
Capers: these add a lot of seasoning and flavor to our pasta so I'd highly recommend including them. They're salty and delicious. If you're not a fan, make sure to season the pasta with a touch more salt.
Cream: I'm using light/single cream for this recipe. You can totally use heavy/double cream, but I don't feel like it needs it.
Chicken stock: to add flavor and liquid, we're using chicken stock. Feel free to use vegetable stock or fish stock if you'd like.
Pasta: I found a really fun pasta shape that is a combination of bucatini and fusilli!!! Spaghetti, linguine, or bucatini would all work really well.
Salmon: smoked salmon is commonly used in salmon pasta, so feel free to use that if you're looking for a lower effort version of this dish. However my preferred way to prepare salmon pasta is by searing a side of salmon (salmon fillets) until medium cooked and then break the salmon apart into flaky chunks using a fork. Love salmon? Make sure to save my butter salmon curry, smoked salmon pasta bake, or stuffed salmon for another dinner option!
For the full ingredients list with measurements and instructions, scroll down this blog to the recipe card.
How to make creamy salmon pasta (with step by step photos)
Step 1: Place a large skillet on medium heat and drizzle with olive oil. Once hot, add in the garlic and shallots. Fry for a couple of minutes until softened and aromatic.
Step 2: Next up, add in the capers and fry for a further 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Season with ground black pepper.
Step 3: Pour in the cream and the chicken stock.
Step 4: Once the mixture is simmering, add in the pasta and cook according to packet instructions (probably around 8-12 minutes). Stir the pasta to avoid sticking to the base of the pan.
Step 5: Meanwhile, season your salmon with ground black pepper, salt, and paprika.
Step 6: Place a non-stick pan on medium heat and drizzle with olive oil. Once hot, add in the salmon skin side down and fry for 3 minutes. Then flip the salmon over and cook for a further 3 minutes until golden (I personally love my salmon when it's not fully cooked in the middle, but feel free to cook the salmon until cooked all the way through).
Step 7: Remove the salmon from the pan and transfer to a plate. Remove the skin. Leave to rest while your pasta finishes cooking. Then using a fork, gently break up the salmon creating large flaky chunks.
Step 8: Divide the pasta between 4 bowls and top with the seared salmon, drizzle over a spoonful of extra pasta sauce from the pan, and garnish with fresh dill and a lemon wedge. Enjoy!
Tips for success!
- Don’t overcook the salmon. The salmon will continue to cook slightly as it rests, so remove it from the pan as soon as it reaches your preferred doneness. Keeping the centre tender and juicy makes a huge difference to this creamy salmon pasta.
- Cook the salmon in one large piece. Rather than cutting the salmon into cubes before frying, sear the side of salmon whole and then gently break it into large flakes with a fork. You’ll get much juicier pieces of salmon throughout the pasta.
- Start the salmon skin-side down. Cooking the salmon skin-side down first protects the flesh from the direct heat of the pan and helps it cook more evenly. Once cooked, the skin should also peel away easily before you flake the salmon.
- Add the chicken stock gradually if needed. Different pasta shapes absorb different amounts of liquid, which is why I give a range of 500–700ml. Start with around 500ml and add more stock as the pasta cooks if the sauce becomes too thick before the pasta is tender.
- Stir the pasta regularly. Because we're cooking the pasta directly in the creamy sauce rather than boiling it separately, give it a good stir every couple of minutes. This prevents it sticking to the bottom of the pan and helps release starch from the pasta, creating an extra creamy salmon pasta sauce.
- Don't worry if the sauce initially looks thin. The cream and chicken stock will look quite liquid when you first add the pasta. As the pasta cooks, it absorbs the stock and releases starch, naturally thickening the sauce. Remember that the sauce will continue to thicken as it cools too.
- Keep the sauce at a gentle simmer. Once you've added the single cream, avoid aggressively boiling the sauce. A gentle simmer will cook the pasta while keeping your creamy sauce smooth.
- Fry the capers before adding the liquid. Giving the capers a couple of minutes in the pan with the garlic and shallots intensifies their flavour and adds a lovely salty, slightly tangy contrast to the rich cream and salmon.
- Add the salmon at the very end. Instead of stirring the salmon through the sauce while the pasta cooks, flake it over the finished pasta. This keeps the salmon in beautiful large pieces and prevents it from becoming dry or breaking down too much.
- Finish with plenty of fresh dill and lemon. Cream, salmon and pasta are all quite rich, so fresh dill and a squeeze of lemon bring some much-needed freshness. I especially recommend serving each bowl with a lemon wedge so everyone can add as much acidity as they like.
Recipes FAQs
I use light/single cream because it gives the sauce a lovely creamy texture without making the pasta feel too heavy. You can also use heavy/double cream, but you may need to add a little extra chicken stock to loosen the sauce.
Most pasta shapes work well, but I especially like linguine, tagliatelle, spaghetti or orzo. Long pasta is great for coating in the creamy salmon sauce, while shorter shapes are perfect for catching little pieces of caper, shallot and flaky salmon.
Yes. Leftover cooked salmon works really well in creamy salmon pasta. Simply flake it into large pieces and add it towards the end of cooking so that it warms through without becoming dry.
You can, although the flavour will be quite different. Smoked salmon is much saltier, so I would reduce the amount of added salt and consider using fewer capers. Stir the smoked salmon through the pasta right at the end rather than frying it.
The sauce should naturally thicken as the pasta cooks because the pasta releases starch into the cream and stock. If the sauce is still too thin once the pasta is cooked, simmer it gently for another minute or two. Remember that it will also thicken slightly as it cools.
Simply add a splash of chicken stock or hot water and stir until the sauce reaches your preferred consistency. Add the liquid gradually so you don't accidentally make the sauce too thin.
Cooked salmon should flake easily with a fork and become opaque on the outside. The exact cooking time will depend on the thickness of your salmon. If you prefer your salmon completely cooked through, continue cooking it until the centre is opaque at 145°F (63°C), rather than translucent.
Reheat it gently in a frying pan over low heat with a splash of chicken stock or water to loosen the sauce. Avoid overheating the salmon, as this can make it dry.
Spinach, peas, asparagus, courgette/zucchini and broccoli all work really well. Spinach or peas can simply be stirred into the sauce during the final few minutes of cooking.
More fishy recipes you might enjoy!
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Creamy Salmon Pasta (20 Minute Meal)
Ingredients
- 3 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 2 shallots sliced
- 2 tablespoon capers
- 270 ml cream single or light
- 500ml-700ml chicken stock I used 1 chicken stock cube with 500-700ml boiling water
- 300 g pasta
- 500 g salmon I bought a boneless side of salmon but you could cook 500g worth of salmon fillets
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 lemon sliced into 4 wedges
- 10 g fresh dill for garnishing
Instructions
- Place a large skillet on medium heat and drizzle with olive oil. Once hot, add in the garlic and shallots. Stir fry for a couple of minutes until softened and aromatic.
- Next up, add in the capers and fry for a further 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Season with ground black pepper.
- Pour in the cream and the chicken stock.
- Once the mixture is simmering, add in the pasta and cook according to packet instructions (around 8-12 minutes). Stir the pasta occasionally to stop it from sticking to the base of the pan. Feel free to add in more stock if the sauce seems too thick/dry.
- Meanwhile, season your salmon with ground black pepper, salt, and paprika.
- Place a non-stick pan on medium heat and drizzle with olive oil. Once hot, add in the salmon skin side down and fry for 3 minutes. Then flip the salmon over and cook for a further 3 minutes until golden (I personally love my salmon when it's not fully cooked in the middle, but feel free to cook the salmon until cooked all the way through).
- Remove the salmon from the pan and transfer to a plate. Remove the skin. Leave to rest while your pasta finishes cooking. Then using a fork, gently break up the salmon creating large flaky chunks.
- Divide the pasta between 4 bowls and top with the seared salmon, drizzle over a spoonful of extra pasta sauce from the pan, and garnish with fresh dill and a lemon wedge. Enjoy!
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