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This garlic butter salmon pasta is quick, easy, and uses only a handful of ingredients. Perfect for dinner on a busy weeknight!
Try my Tomato Spinach Salmon Pasta or Maple Glazed Salmon next.
I’ve made this pasta a couple of times now, and I love how fast it comes together. If you’re looking for a simple sauce for salmon, butter and garlic make a fabulous combo. I will always stand by that. 😛 Add in the pasta and you’ve got yourself one tasty meal.
The sauce is easily made while the pasta is cooking. I suggest waiting until the water’s boiling before starting the sauce because it doesn’t take much time at all.
If you’re looking for another super quick weeknight pasta, try my popular tuna garlic pasta.
The chicken broth reduces a lot and adds a delicious savory flavor to this dish. This isn’t really a super “saucy” pasta per se, but it’s perfectly buttery, and the lemon juice adds a bit of freshness. The olive oil stops the butter from burning while you’re searing the salmon.
A couple notes on the salmon:
- I used a piece of fresh sockeye salmon that weighed around half a pound. Anything around that quantity will work. You can buy either skin-on or skin-off salmon. The 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 on the step where you’ve taken the salmon out of the pan – it should peel off easily.
- 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.
You can use any kind of pasta in this recipe. I’ve made it with penne and spaghetti, and it’s good either way.
More salmon pasta recipes to try:
- Salmon Pesto Pasta
- Lemon Dill Salmon Pasta
- Salmon Pasta with a Creamy Garlic Sauce
- Creamy Lemon and Fresh Tomato Salmon Pasta
- Cajun Salmon Pasta
I hope you’ll give this easy salmon recipe a try!
Questions? Let me know in the comments below.
Garlic Butter Salmon Pasta
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound fresh salmon
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Flour for dredging
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3-4 cloves garlic minced
- Optional garnish: fresh parsley, red pepper flakes, parmesan cheese
- 4 ounces uncooked pasta
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.
Notes
- Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Really lovely! Not sure what chicken broth really is (presumably more of an Americanism?) so substituted with vegetable bouillon. Finished with roasted courgettes and added chilli flakes/Italian herbs, really delicious meal, thank you.
Yes – it’s similar to chicken stock or bouillon, so that works out great. So glad you enjoyed it!
I am gf, so would dredging in arrowroot starch work?
I’ve never cooked with that ingredient before, but you could definitely give it a try! Or skip it for the dredging but add a bit to the sauce if it’s got strong thickening power like cornstarch.
Have you ever used smoked salmon in this recipe? My husband smoked some last night and I thought I’d put it in a pasta dish. I found yours and I have everything but not sure if the smoke flavor would go with it or not.
Thanks
I think it would be delicious!
Loved it. Really easy to make and delicious. Added some green peas on top.🤩
Great!! Thanks for commenting! 🙂
My husband and I liked this recipe. It was fast and easy. I tweaked it a little by adding some Italian herbs.
I was really tired from working all day. It was awesome to make a home cooked meals in under 30 minutes.
Thank you
I’m so glad that you enjoyed it, Rose! 🙂
Adoro sus recetas, esta es mi segunda con salmón y fue otro éxito! Deliciosa y fácil de seguir.
Muchas gracias, saludos desde Cuenca, Ecuador.
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I adore your recipes, this is my second with salmon and it was another success! Delicious and easy to follow.
Thank you very much, greetings from Cuenca, Ecuador.
I’m so happy you enjoyed it (and my recipes in general)!! 🙂 Thank you so much for commenting.
Decent, but the butter in the sauce started to burn after a few minutes of medium-high heat. I suggest reducing heat to medium.
I don’t understand why removing the salmon is necessary in the end of step 3, as the salmon is returned to the pain immediately in step 5 after the broth, lemon juice, and garlic are added to the pan. Perhaps there’s missing guidance like, “Wait for the sauce to summer, then return the salmon to the pan.”
I can see making this as a quick evening meal with leftover salmon bits or canned salmon, but dividing up a salmon fillet seems like a waste of money.
Sorry, just not my cup of tea.
Hmmm sorry it didn’t work out, and good point about step 3. I am going to give it some thought and see about updating the wording.
Made this last night to use the up the last of the salmon I had. It was amazing and I didn’t know how well salmon and pasta go together. Thanks for introducing me to this recipe!
Yay!! You’re very welcome! 🙂
Made this tonight and it was a hit!!! Thank you!!
Excellent!! 🙂 Thank you!
Added the red pepper flakes and Parmesan cheese as suggested. I also added fresh broccoli, which melded with the flavors wonderfully.
That’s awesome! So glad it was a hit! 🙂