My smoked salmon pasta uses spaghetti noodles (or your favorite pasta!) along with hard smoked salmon and quick cooking yet flavorful veggies like mushrooms and peas. For a gourmet finish, you’ll toss in a light lemon cream sauce with a sprinkle of fresh dill and parmesan. This easy salmon dinner recipe is fast enough for a quick weeknight meal.
Welcome to one of my new absolute favorite salmon recipes! If you’re looking for a pasta with smoked salmon recipe that doesn’t feel heavy or overly rich, this is the one. The sauce has cream in it but done in a delicate way, with just enough lemon to add brightness without dominating the entire dish. The real trick is using some of the starchy pasta cooking water to loosen the sauce, which makes it silky and creamy without weighing it down.
The dill pulls everything together with a pop of freshness that seamlessly pairs with the earthy mushrooms and sweet peas.And since the salmon is pre-cooked, the whole dish comes together in just 25 minutes, putting it firmly in the weeknight dinner rotation. Among all the smoked salmon pasta recipes out there, this one stands out for being genuinely quick without cutting corners on flavor.
I used my epic homemade smoked salmon recipe but store bought is totally fine. If you have leftover salmon and dill, use them up on my avocado smoked salmon toast the next morning!
I tried the recipe with penne noodles and found that spaghetti or fettuccini worked better. Having more surface area means the creamy sauce clings to every inch of the noodles rather than pooling at the bottom of the bowl. So after a few rounds of testing, salmon spaghetti turned out to be the clear winner.
Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
Now Let’s Make It!
Steps
- Boil the pasta and sauté those onions, mushrooms and garlic.
- Add the cream and melt in the parmesan.
- Add that cream and parmesan.
- Stir in peas.
- Add noodles, reserved pasta water and toss.
- Fold in the salmon.
- Plate the smoked salmon pasta and top with parm and dill and serve while it’s warm!
Recipe Tip
- Don’t overheat the salmon! Overheating can make hard smoked salmon tough and bring out “fishy” flavor.
25 Minute Lemon Cream Smoked Salmon Pasta with Peas
Equipment
- 1 Large pot
- 1 spatula or flat sided wooden spoon
- 1 Cup for the pasta water (or re-use measuring cup)
Ingredients
- ½ lb. noodles 8 oz. spaghetti, penne, fettuccini, etc.
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 shallot thinly sliced (can substitute onion)
- 4 ounces cremini mushrooms sliced
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic 2-4 cloves depending on size
- ½ cup dry white wine like a sauvignon blanc or dry pinot gris
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- ¾ cup finely grated parmesan cheese divided
- ½ cup peas fresh or frozen
- 1 Tablespoon lemon zest
- ½ teaspoon salt adjust to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ cup reserved pasta water see step 1 in recipe
- 8 ounces smoked salmon use hard smoked, broken into bite size pieces with bones removed
- 1 Tablespoons fresh dill chopped
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (I use ½ to 1 Tablespoon of salt). Add pasta and cook according to package instructions (usually 10-12 minutes). Before draining the noodles, use a handled glass or measuring cup to scoop out about ½ cup of the starchy pasta water to use later on in the recipe.
- While water comes to a boil and pasta cooks, bring a large skillet to medium heat. Once hot, add oil to pan.
- Sauté mushrooms and shallot in oil for about 5 minutes until shallot is soft and mushrooms have released most of their water and most of the excess liquid is cooked off.
- Add garlic and sauté for another 30 seconds to a minute.
- Add white wine, deglazing the pan and scraping up any cooked on pieces of mushroom and onion while it cooks down (about 1 minute).
- Slowly pour in heavy cream and stir to coat veggies. Once cream is warm, add in about ¼ cup of parmesan, stirring to melt in. Once melted, add in another ¼ cup of parmesan and stir or whisk in. Save the remaining ¼ cup to garnish the top of each serving.
- Stir in peas, lemon zest, salt and pepper and stir for about a minute until peas are mostly cooked.
- Reduce heat to low and stir in lemon juice while whisking to prevent curdling.
- Add cooked pasta into pan with veggies and sauce, stirring to coat noodles.* Add reserved pasta water, 2-3 tablespoons at time, stirring between each addition.
- Slowly fold in smoked salmon and serve, topping each bowl with the reserved parmesan, a heavy sprinkle of fresh dill and fresh cracked black pepper on top.
Notes
Nutrition
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