The Best Creamy Salmon Pasta

With over 5 million page views since 2018, this simple yet impressive Creamy Salmon Pasta is the most popular recipe on Foxes Love Lemons. Roasted salmon, spinach and capers are tossed with pasta and a creamy white wine sauce for a dish special enough for date night at home.

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“I have quite literally never left a review on a recipe online but THIS RECIPE??? This is the BEST pasta I have ever eaten. I would pay big money for this at a restaurant. My fiancée made it for me tonight, and I’ve never been so sure about marrying him.”

—Zoe

The Reviews Speak For Themselves!

This is it: the most popular recipe in the history of Foxes Love Lemons. Since 2018, millions of readers have landed here looking for salmon pasta, and more than 1,400 people have rated the recipe.

The reason it has stuck around is pretty simple. Roasted salmon, linguine, spinach and capers get tossed with a creamy white wine sauce that feels restaurant-worthy without requiring restaurant-level effort.

It’s especially good for a date night at home, but plenty of readers make it for regular weeknight dinners, too. A few reader reviews sum it up better than I could:

“This recipe was delicious! It’s something you would be impressed with if you ordered it at a nice restaurant and it’s quick and easy to make at home. This is now in my favorite recipe collection.”

—Jeri Lynn

“This dish is quick and delicious, only 30 minutes and you are serving. It is also just a little fancy. I have made it many times and have never been disappointed.”

—Judith

“This recipe worked so well, and I say this as a timing challenged person. I would make this again and again, not just with salmon, but with shrimp, scallops or even shredded chicken.”

—Holly

“This was so easy, fast and delicious! My toddler and myself devoured it. My toddler was able to help me make dinner and we were able to cook everything in under 20 minutes. Winner winner! Thank you for such a great weeknight recipe!”

—Rachel

Salmon Pasta Recipe Ingredients

A full recipe card, including exact ingredient amounts, appears at the bottom of this post.

• salmon – you will need 3/4 pound of salmon for this salmon pasta recipe. Two 6-ounce fillets will work, or one larger fillet is fine, too. More on this below!
• linguine – this is my noodle of choice for this pasta with salmon, but I’ve tested it with fettuccine and spaghetti, and they work just as well.
• butter – unsalted butter forms the base of the sauce. If you only have salted butter on hand, just cut back on the added salt later in the recipe. You can use olive oil here, but it will change the flavor of the sauce quite a bit.
• garlic – 3 minced garlic cloves add lots of flavor to the sauce. Want to add more? Measure with your heart.
• heavy cream – gives the sauce its rich, silky texture. I recommend sticking with heavy cream here. Lower-fat dairy is more likely to separate when combined with the wine and heat.
• white wine – adds acidity that keeps the cream sauce from tasting too heavy. A dry wine like Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc works well. If you’d rather cook without wine, use chicken broth plus a squeeze of lemon juice.
• lemon zest – brightens the cream sauce without adding extra liquid. Don’t skip the lemon wedges for serving if you like an especially lemony salmon pasta.
• spinach – since spinach wilts down to practically nothing when it’s cooked, I use an entire 5 ounce box of baby spinach in this salmon linguine! Want to use kale instead? Go for it!
• capers – the salty, briny flavor of capers can’t be beat, especially when paired with seafood. But if you’re not a fan of capers, it’s fine to leave them out of this recipe for salmon pasta.

How To Buy The Best Fish For Creamy Salmon Pasta

While for recipes like Salmon Sandwiches, I purchase thick, individual salmon fillets (so, four separate center-cut fillets for four servings), I like the ease of roasting a larger fillet of salmon for things like salmon and spinach pasta, since I’m just going to break it into chunks anyway.

At the grocery store, butcher, or seafood market, ask them for a fillet of salmon with the skin on, about 3/4 of a pound to a pound (or 2 fillets that equal about that weight).

You can use any variety of salmon you like best for this creamy salmon pasta, whether that’s Atlantic salmon, sockeye salmon, or something else.

Food & Wine’s Guide to Every Type of Salmon You Can Buy will help you learn the differences before you’re ready to make this recipe.

How To Make This Pasta With Salmon Recipe

1. PREP. Get your oven preheated and a big pot of water boiling on the stove. Then, get your salmon into the oven. All you’re doing here is putting the fish on a pan and seasoning it with salt and pepper. Set a timer and forget about it for a while.

2. PASTA. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and then dump the linguine into the pot. Again: set a timer and let it do its thing, giving it a stir once or twice as it cooks. Cook it according to the package instructions for al dente.

3. SAUCE. While the pasta cooks, cook the garlic in butter, then add the cream, white wine, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Simmer for about 5 to 6 minutes, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens to a thin sauce consistency. Don’t take it too far here. The sauce will continue to thicken as it coats the pasta.

4. TOSS. Add the spinach and capers to the skillet. Drain the pasta and add to the skillet on top of the spinach, and give everything a good stir until the spinach is wilted and everything is coated in the creamy sauce.

5. SERVE. By now, your salmon should be done cooking, too (you’re looking for an internal temperature of 145 degrees F). Take that out of the oven, break it into large chunks and put it on top of your pasta.

Make Ahead, Storage And Reheating

• Make Ahead: This recipe is best made just before serving. You can prep the ingredients in advance, but I would wait to cook the salmon, pasta and cream sauce until you’re ready to eat.
• Refrigerate: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
• Reheat: Reheat gently in the microwave at 50% power, stirring between short intervals. Add a small splash of cream if needed to loosen the sauce.
• Freeze: I don’t recommend freezing this creamy salmon pasta. The texture of both the pasta and cream sauce suffers after freezing and thawing.