Salmon Alfredo Pasta is a creamy penne pasta that is rich in parmesan cheese and mixed with spinach. It takes 25 minutes to make this pasta dish which is nutritious and delicious.

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I love pasta and it is one of my favorite staple foods. Although this staple food is originally from Italy, every country has its version of pasta dishes. In this recipe, I am going to make my American-style version of Salmon Alfredo pasta, which is a heavy but delicious dish.
The salmon is cooked separately, which I saute in a pan. And then I cut them into smaller pieces which I later transfer into the pasta. This pasta is creamy since I use light cream and cheeses. Also, to balance the diet, I use green spinach leaves since they are nutritious and delicious.
Recipe Ingredients
Here are the ingredients I use to make delicious Salmon Alfredo Pasta
SALMON: In this recipe, I am using Atlantic Salmon steak, but you can use Norwegian or Alaskan Salmon. Because my salmon is a steak, it has bones, which you need to manually remove after sautéing the steak. For convenience, you should use boneless salmon.
CHEESES: There are two kinds of cheese I use in my pasta: Parmesan and cheddar cheese. The parmesan is the most important condiment for this recipe, and you can't make Alfredo pasta without it. On the other hand, the cheddar cheese is optional, but I just like more cheeses in my pasta.
CREAM: I am using light cream instead of heavy cream since it is less fatty.
Why choose Salmon
To me, I prefer to use Salmon when making my alfredo pasta since it has a less fishy odor and it is meaty & contains fewer bones.
Also, salmon contains tons of health benefits since it is high in omega-3 fatty acid, which is good fat. Also, it is rich in Vitamin B, Potassium, and protein. So you may consider this pasta dish nutritious.
Alternative to Salmon: if you are not able to find Salmon, you can switch with pollock, mackerel, halibut, and cod fish. These type of fishes is meaty, less fishy smell, and it is as healthy as salmon. Just make sure you get the steak or the fillet since they contain fewer bones.
Step by Step Instruction
There are 3 things you need to do when making this delicious Salmon Alfredo Pasta: Pan-fry the Salmon; Making the Pasta; and Cook the Alfredo Sauce.
I. Pan-Frying the Salmon.
Before making the pasta, you have to first pan-fry or saute the salmon. I add olive oil to the pan, and then I add the salmon. Let it cook until both sides become brown, and then remove it from the pan.
Now, this part might be a little bit hassle, but you will have to use your hand to remove the big bones & flake the meat of the salmon. And then you set aside while preparing to make the alfredo sauce.
II. Making the Pasta Noodle
This part is the same as any other pasta dish. All you have to do just pour water into the pot, and add salt and vegetable oil. When the water started to boil, add the penne pasta, which I am using in this dish. Let it simmer until it is cooked.
Before you drain the pasta, just make sure you keep some portion of pasta water for the alfredo sauce.
III. Making the Alfredo Sauce
To make the Alfredo Sauce, I first add vegetable oil to the cooking pot in medium heat. Once it is hot, that is the time you add the chopped onion and garlic.
Next, I add the light cream, a bit of pasta water, and the cheeses. Once they are well mixed, add the spinach leaves. You can either put the leaves right away or chopped into smaller pieces.
Stir to mix before adding the flakes salmon. And then lastly, add the penne pasta noodle and stir to combine for one more time before you turn off the fire.
Don't forget to top the pasta with parmesan cheese when serving. This will make the pasta more delicious
Variation
- If you don't like Salmon, you can switch with Shrimp, Vegetarian, or Chicken Alfredo Pasta.
- If you prefer Gluten-free, use low-fat milk instead of light cream; do not use processed cheddar cheese since some are gluten, but rather use fresh grated cheese like Parmesan; and use gluten-free pasta like the Brown Rice Pasta.
- Instead of Spinach, you can use Zucchini, Dill or Broccoli in this pasta dish
Questions & Answers
You can switch with Gruyere cheese, Pecorino Romano, Cheddar cheese, or Mozzarella cheese. Some of them might taste different but they work well for my Salmon pasta dish.
You can use fettucine, spaghetti, farfalle or linguine pasta. In my experience, I have tried using 4 of them, and work well in this dish. The rest of the pasta, I can't tell since I haven't tried making one.
To me, I like to serve with my cheesy homemade garlic bread and any healthy green salads like Arugula salad to balance my diet.
If you store the cooked salmon pasta in the fridge, it can last up to 5 days. Or, if you want to keep it for a longer time, you can store it in the freezer, which can last up to 2 months.
Other Pasta Recipes to Try
Here are my other recommended pasta recipes you can try making in your kitchen:
📋 Recipe Card
Salmon Alfredo Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 Salmon Steak
- 100 gram of spinach leaves
- 1 cup of chopped onion
- 1 teaspoon of grated garlic
- 1.5 cup of light cream
- 1 cup of shredded parmesan cheese
- ½ cup of cheddar cheese optional
- 350 gram of penne pasta
- Vegetable Oil
- Salt and Black Pepper
- Water for Boiling the Pasta
Instructions
- Pan Frying the Salmon
- Add olive oil to the pan in medium heat. Once it becomes hot, add the salmon.
- Pan fry for 3-5 minutes or till it turns brown. Flip to the opposite side and repeat the process.
- Remove the salmon from the pan. Use your cleaned hand to remove the bones and flakes the salmon. Set aside.
- Cooking the Penne Pasta
- Pour water, salt, and vegetable oil into the pot in high heat.
- When it started to boil, add the penne pasta.
- Lower it to simmer and let it cook based on the instruction mentioned in the package of the pasta.
- Drain the pasta and keep at least ¼ to ½ cup of pasta water for the alfredo sauce.
- Making the Alfredo Sauce
- Add vegetable oil to a separate cooking pot. Once hot, add chopped onion and garlic. Stir for few minutes till it becomes transparent.
- Add the light cream, parmesan, and cheddar cheese. Stir to combine
- Add the pasta water to make sure the sauce is less thick caused by the cream & cheese
- Add the spinach leaves to the pot. Stir to mix.
- Add the flakes of salmon to the pot.
- Add the penne pasta noodle to the pot. And give a stir for one more time before turning off the heat.
- When serving, topped the pasta with parmesan cheese
I could eat pasta any night of the week! The sound of this dish is delightful with a great combination of ingredients. Can't wait to give this a go, thanks!
This looks wonderful! The perfect light Summer dish! Yum!
We are heading into winter and pasta recipes are supercomforting. I love the variation of cheese you have provided, each one can be for one dinner a night
Drooling over this delicious pasta. What an amazing combo. Can't wait to try
You can never beat a good pasta dish for dinner!
This looks wonderful! Thanks for sharing Salmon Alfredo Pasta recipes ideas in your post.