Salmon Alfredo Pasta
Salmon Alfredo Pasta is a restaurant-quality indulgence that comes together at home in 30 minutes or less. This easy recipe is perfect for a weeknight or to serve to company.
I was recently walking around Ann Arbor, Michigan, doing some reminiscing about my college years. Specifically, about restaurants I went to with my then-boyfriend, now husband.
It seemed that from the very beginning, we were comfortable eating whatever we wanted in front of each other. At one favorite place, we would both get ribs.
At another, we regularly order an appetizer that was nothing more than a few heads of roasted garlic that you’d scoop out and spread on toasted bread. I guess if we both had garlic breath, we couldn’t smell each other!
Another dish I often remember Jeff ordering back then was chicken fettuccine alfredo. Hey, he had the appetite and the metabolism of a 19-year-old boy! I did and still do prefer rigatoni meat sauce or fettuccine bolognese.
Today, I’ve updated college Jeff’s favorite dish by swapping out the chicken for salmon, and adding broccoli.
Like my popular salmon recipes, like creamy salmon pasta and pesto salmon, this salmon alfredo pasta is a great way to introduce non-fish lovers to the joys of salmon. My 2-year-old chowed this down!
How to buy the best fish for salmon fettuccine:
While for recipes like salmon stuffed with craband bourbon salmon recipe, I purchase thick, individual fillets of salmon (so, 4 separate fillets for 4 servings), I love the ease of roasting a larger fillet of salmon for things like Cajun salmon pasta and this salmon and broccoli alfredo 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.
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You can use any variety of salmon you like best for this salmon alfredo recipe, 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 salmon fettuccine alfredo.
Tips for making this salmon alfredo pasta recipe successful:
- So, just like with my salmon pesto pasta, you’re going to be cooking three things at once (fish, pasta, sauce) in this salmon alfredo recipe, but I know that you can do it. Don’t worry.
- Have your oven preheated and a pot of water fully boiling before you begin to make salmon fettuccine alfredo.
- First, get your broccoli and salmon into the oven. All you’re doing here is putting the broccoli and fish on a pan, seasoning them (use salmon rub for extra flavor), and popping them into the oven. Set a timer and forget about them for awhile. If you happen to have leftover roasted Parmesan broccoli, you can use that here, and you don’t need to cook it again.
- Next, get your pasta cooking: dump some fettuccine into the pot of boiling, salted water, and again: set it and forget it (well, maybe give it a stir or two if you remember).
- Then for the decadent alfredo sauce. Just like with my chicken alfredo stuffed shells recipe, you’ll start by cooking some garlic in butter, plus some shallot, and then adding cream, salt and pepper. You’ll cook this mixture 5 to 6 minutes or until it thickens into a, well, sauce. Stir in a boatload of Parmesan cheese and a splash of lemon juice, then keep the sauce over very low heat.
- When your pasta is done cooking, reserve some of the cooking water (you’ll need it later). Then, drain the pasta well, and pour it into the skillet with the sauce.
- At this point, your broccoli and salmon should be done cooking, too! Take them out of the oven, break the salmon into big chunks, and add the broccoli and salmon to the pot with the noodles and sauce.
- Toss to combine the pasta, broccoli and salmon with alfredo sauce, adding a splash of pasta water as needed to loosen up the sauce. The starch in the water also helps the sauce stick to the noodles.
- Grab a fork and some Parmesan cheese for sprinkling– it’s time to eat salmon alfredo!
Can salmon and broccoli alfredo pasta be reheated or frozen?
While I love recipes where leftovers can be reheated for lunch the next day, like my lamb bolognese, this salmon alfredo recipe is one that is best eaten immediately (just like my Greek yogurt pasta). Does “reheated fish pasta” sound good to anybody? I also don’t recommend freezing this salmon fettuccine alfredo.
So, while this recipe as written below would serve a family of four (or a double date at home!), if you’re serving just two people, I’d recommend cutting the recipe in half.
If you’re looking for a salmon recipe that can be frozen and reheated, check out my salmon cakes! They’re made with fresh, flavorful ingredients and are easy to prepare.
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Salmon Alfredo Pasta
Ingredients
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 1 head broccoli cut into small florets
- 1 large boneless salmon fillet about 3/4 to 1 pound
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt divided, plus more for pasta water
- ¾ teaspoon ground black pepper divided
- 12 ounces uncooked fettuccine noodles
- 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons 8 tablespoons
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 shallot minced
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 ½ cups grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- Chopped fresh parsley for garnish
- Lemon wedges for garnish
- Shaved Parmesan cheese for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and heat large pot of water to boiling on stove.
- Spray large rimmed baking pan with nonstick spray. Place broccoli on one half of prepared pan. Place salmon, skin side down, on other half of pan. Drizzle broccoli with olive oil. Sprinkle salmon and broccoli with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Bake 14 to 16 minutes or until broccoli is tender and salmon is opaque throughout and internal temperature of thickest part of fillet reaches 145 degrees F.
- Meanwhile, salt pot of boiling water and cook fettuccine according to package instructions.
- Melt butter in large high-sided skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and shallot and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in cream and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Heat to boiling over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook 5 to 6 minutes or until mixture is slightly thickened, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to low and stir in cheese and lemon juice.
- Remove broccoli and salmon from oven. Slip spatula between salmon skin and flesh to remove skin. Discard skin and break salmon into large chunks.
- Reserve 1/2 cup pasta cooking water, then drain fettuccine. Add pasta and reserved cooking water to skillet with sauce. Add broccoli and salmon chunks; toss until everything is well combined.
- Divide pasta between plates and serve garnished with parsley, lemon wedges and shaved Parmesan cheese.
Notes
- While this recipe as written below would serve a family of four (or a double date at home!), if you’re serving just two people, I’d recommend cutting the recipe in half. Reheated fish pasta doesn’t sound great!
