Pasta tossed with a creamy parmesan sauce and flakes of salmon. Alfredo pasta made the real proper restaurant way, you only need 1/2 cup of cream to serve 3. It’s simple, it’s magic, it’s the way real Italian pastas are made. No need to drown this salmon pasta in cream!
I’ve written before about the “proper” way to make pastas. The way Italian Nonna’s do. The way real Italian restaurants do.
It’s not about using loads and loads of sauce. The magic step that makes all the difference between a decent pasta and a really great one is tossing the pasta gently with the sauce and some of the pasta cooking water, just before serving.
What this does is activate the starch in the water and it mingles with the oil in the sauce, so it becomes glossy and luscious and coats every strand of pasta. It’s called emulsification, and it’s the real-deal-proper-way to make pasta.
Gone are the days of dumping of pile of pasta in a bowl and spooning over loads of sauce! And especially for creamy pastas, it’s an important step because that’s how to make less cream go further.
Hence you can indulge in this creamy Alfredo Salmon Pasta without using an entire tub of cream. 🙂
Cream does not make my weekly shopping basket. In fact, I very rarely cook with cream. But I had leftovers from Christmas, and used some to make a Creamy Lemon Chicken and the rest for this.
It’s been over 6 months since I shared a creamy pasta made with cream so I figure I’m due!!
I made this salmon pasta using hot smoked salmon which I purchased already smoked. I have attempted smoking my own salmon before, without success. I need to practice!!!
However, this will be really lovely made with plain cooked salmon too, and I’ve provided directions for this in the recipe. The sauce is so beautifully creamy, it really doesn’t matter whether the salmon is smoked or not. But the hot smoked salmon definitely adds an edge to the flavour!
Now, enough with the chatter. Who wants some Alfredo Salmon Pasta? – Nagi x
More ways to get your creamy pasta fix!
Fettucine Alfredo – also see One Pot Chicken Alfredo Pasta
Baked Mac and Cheese – and try the Shrimp version!
Browse all pasta recipes
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Salmon Alfredo Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 oz / 250g dried fettuccine
- 3 tbsp / 50g unsalted butter
- 1 small shallot (US) / eschallot (Australia), very finely minced (Note 1)
- ½ cup / 125 ml heavy cream (Note 2)
- ¾ cup / 185 ml freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano or parmesan (Notes 3 and 4)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Good grind of black pepper
- 6-7 oz / 180 – 200g hot smoked salmon fillet , flaked (Note 5)
Garnish
- Fresh parsley (optional)
- Extra Parmigiano Reggiano
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the fettuccine and cook until al dente (still firm but just cooked through). (Note 6)
- Meanwhile, melt the butter in a deep fry pan over medium high heat. (Note 7)
- Add the shallots and sauté for 2 minutes or until tender.
- Add the cream and bring to boil. Turn heat down to medium low and simmer for 3 minutes.
- Remove the fry pan from the heat and stir through the Parmigiano Reggiano, salt and pepper until the sauce is smooth.
- TAKE OUT 1/2 cup of pasta water PLUS scoop out an extra mug (extra, just in case). Then drain the pasta in a colander.
- Transfer the pasta and 1/2 cup of reserved pasta water into the fry pan with the sauce. Add salmon. Return the fry pan to the stove over medium heat. Toss very gently to coat the pasta in the sauce and allow the sauce to emulsify (Note 6) for 1 1/2 – 2 minutes, until the sauce coats the pasta – there should be no sauce pooled at the bottom of the skillet. (Note 7)
- Remove from the stove and serve immediately, garnished with extra Parmigiano Reggiano and fresh parsley, if using.
Recipe Notes:
We loved this recipe. I thought it was a restaurant quality meal. I doubled the recipe…. used red onion instead of shallot. I also added spinach and capers to the sauce.
Literally just finished eating dinner. Very tasty. Thank you
So easy and fast! Made it with fresh salmon and was delicious.
Just finished eating this dish. Thank you….it was lovely! Great to be able to use less cream but still achieve the desired taste. Very simple and quick. Will definitely be making again.
Made this for dinner tonight with pan fried salmon as my kids don’t enjoy smoked proteins, and it was SMASHED. I’ve never had much success making cream-based sauces and it turning out so well. Thank you Nagi for another winner. (I’d also like to add that I was taking to my mum on the phone recently. We haven’t seen each other since September and she lives interstate. We like to talk about cooking and she said she found some good recipes on your website through Google. Imagine a cute little 68-year-old Asian woman Googling on an iPad. We bonded even more!)
Hola Nagi hoy tenia ganas de comer pasta con salmón y revisando tus recetas encontré esta de pasta con salsa Alfredo y salmón y la preparé, quedó deliciosa. Gracias por hacernos la vida más fácil en la cocina
I’ve made this recipe twice now. My boyfriend loves it and even my bump kicks for it. I love the simple instructions and easy to follow recipe.
Thank you so much!!!
This was simple, easy, delicious and will definitely become part of our rotation. I actually used canned salmon and still it was tasty! Thank you for coming up with a great way to combine pantry ingredients!!
This was SO fabulous! I don’t always like cooked smoked salmon (I used what we call lox in the U.S., so when it heats up it becomes more “cooked.” But this was amazing. I used half-and-half to cut a little fat and because I always have that in the house and it was still great. Thank you Nagi, I’ve been cooking through your site during quarantine and I have loved everything!
Can any leftovers be frozen and if so, are there any tips for defrosting?
Hi Caroline, unfortunately this one really isn’t suitable to freeze. N x
Could i use cooking cream instead of heavy cream?
Sure can! Enjoy! N x
This was excellent!! I didn’t have heavy cream so I used about ¾ cup ½ & ½ and some blue cheese crumbles, also added dill. Will definitely makes again!
Sounds divine Vicki! N x
Can’t wait to make this tomorrow. Do you think it would be okay to swap the cream for carnation milk instead?
Impressive
Had leftover salmon (not smoked) sauce was a perfect mix ,easy to prepare
That’s great to hear John!! N x
Hi Nagi. Made this for dinner tonight. We really enjoyed it. Doing the pasta by your method (using some of the pasta water) made a big difference. Will make this again.
Wahoo, that’s great to hear Jennifer!
This is a family favourite in our house! We use chilli smoked salmon and it’s delicious! Thank you for this!
Gemma- England
I’m so glad you love it – chilli smoked salmon sounds fabulous! N x
My family LOVED this! This will become a staple recipe for us! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Wahoo, that’s awesome to hear!!
Loved this dish! Maybe next time I’ll add some peas and/or capers and a bit of garlic. Very delicious, fast and easy!
I used canned salmon with a touch of liquid Hickory smoke, shied away from the salt, but loaded up on fresh ground pepper, Italian seasoning and half steamed broccoli for color and crunch, Otherwise I followed your recipe to the iota… There was nothing left, and they want more, again… 😉
Sounds fabulous Josh!!
I hot-smoke a salmon or two every summer. Made this recipe tonight….one of the best best BEST recipes we’ve tried in years!
Sounds divine Craig!!