A white bowl filled with farfelle with fresh salmon is nested inside another white bowl with a carafe and glass of red wine in the background.

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TL;DR (Quick-Answer Box)

  • What it is: A quick, Italian-inspired pasta dish featuring pasta tossed in a silky tomato cream sauce with fresh salmon fillets, garlic, and fragrant basil.
  • Why you’ll love it: It is an elegant, weeknight-friendly meal ready in 20 minutes. The rich cream balances the bright acidity of fresh tomatoes and savory salmon.
  • How to make it: Boil the pasta. Sauté garlic, red pepper flakes, and tomatoes until the liquid evaporates. Add the salmon, cream, and basil to the skillet and cook until the sauce thickens. Toss the cooked pasta with the sauce. Serve.
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A white bowl of bow tie pasta with chunks of pink salmon in a light tomato cream sauce on a wooden table.

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This Creamy Salmon Pasta recipe has been in rotation in our kitchen for years. And for good reason. Although salmon isn’t native to Italy, and is rarely seen on restaurant menus, its rich flavor makes for a deeply flavored and incredibly satisfying pasta sauce. This is one of those recipes where you want everything ready to go the minute the pasta hits the water. Because it’s that quick.

Featured Review

This dish was a hit with the whole family. There was a nice balance of flavors between the sweetness of the salmon, tomato, and creamy sauce. The sauce coated the pasta beautifully, I used farfalle, but I think if you were to use a penne, or another hollow pasta, you might want a smidge more sauce.

Susan Jacobsen

How do I remove the skin from fresh salmon?

If you can, have your fishmonger do this for you. But if you get home and realize you forgot—don’t panic! Removing the skin from fillets is straightforward. You just need a sharp knife and a bit of traction.

  1. Prep your space. Place the salmon fillet skin-side down on a flat cutting board.
  2. Get a grip. This is the secret: Use a paper towel to grasp the very tip of the tail or a corner of the skin. It provides the friction you need so the fish doesn’t slide around.
  3. Make the initial cut. Use a sharp chef’s knife or a flexible fillet knife to make a small cut between the flesh and the skin at the corner you are holding.
  4. Saw and pull” technique. Angle your knife blade so it is almost flat against the skin. Using long, gentle sawing motions, slide the blade along the length of the fillet.
  5. Let the skin do the work. Pull the skin firmly in the opposite direction with your paper-towel hand. The meat should lift away in one clean, skinless piece. Bada bing!

More quick + easy seafood pasta recipes

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If you make this Creamy Salmon Pasta recipe, or any dish on LC, consider leaving a review, a star rating, and your best photo in the comments below. I love hearing from you.–David

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Featured Review

For years, we’ve been dreaming about the Pasta alla Salmone from our (now-closed) favorite restaurant. This beautiful recipe comes as close as we could have ever hoped. We added a little tomato paste, as the Roma tomatoes we used were a bit flavorless. If you don’t have fresh basil leaves, a squeeze of basil concentrate (in a tube in the produce section) will do nicely. Next time, we may add some petite frozen peas.

Tips: Save a few tablespoons of pasta water to add to your sauce toward the end. Be careful not to add the salmon too early, or it will overcook. Season the tomatoes with plenty of salt. Don’t skimp on the crushed red pepper.

Ellen Wagner
A white bowl filled with farfelle with fresh salmon is nested inside another white bowl with a carafe and glass of red wine in the background.

Creamy Salmon Pasta with Tomato and Basil

4.73 / 11 votes
In this quick and easy pasta main dish, fresh salmon melds beautifully with a rich tomato cream sauce and tender pasta.
David Leite
Print
CourseMains
CuisineItalian
Servings4 servings
Calories783 kcal
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time20 minutes

Ingredients 

  • 6 quarts water
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 medium clove garlic, finely chopped
  • 1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
  • 1 3/4 pounds fresh tomatoes, peeled and chopped
  • salt
  • 1 pound farfalle, penne, or fusilli
  • 1/2 pound salmon fillet, skinned* (see Note below)
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 6 to 8 basil leaves

Instructions 

  • Fill a large pot with 6 quarts water and bring to a boil.
  • Pour the 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil in a 12-inch skillet, add the 1 medium clove garlic and 1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes , and place over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring, until the garlic is sizzling.
  • Add the 1 3/4 pounds fresh tomatoes, season with salt, and cook until the tomatoes release their liquid and it evaporates, 10 to 12 minutes.
  • While the tomatoes are cooking, cut the salmon into strips about 1/4 inch thick and 1 1/2 inches long.
  • When the tomato liquid has evaporated, add about 2 tablespoons salt to the boiling pasta water and then add the 1 pound farfalle, penne, or fusilli. Stir well and cook until al dente.
  • While the pasta is cooking, add the 1/2 pound salmon fillet to the tomatoes, season with salt, and add the 3/4 cup heavy cream.
  • Coarsely chop or rip the 6 to 8 basil leaves and add them to the skillet. Cook until the cream has thickened and reduced by about 1/3, 2 to 3 minutes.
  • When the pasta is done, drain well, toss it with the salmon sauce, and serve at once.
Giuliano Hazan's Thirty Minute Pasta by Giuliano Hazan

Adapted From

Thirty Minute Pasta

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Nutrition

Serving: 1 servingCalories: 783 kcalCarbohydrates: 94 gProtein: 29 gFat: 32 gSaturated Fat: 13 gMonounsaturated Fat: 13 gCholesterol: 82 mgSodium: 127 mgFiber: 6 gSugar: 10 g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Tried this recipe?Mention @leitesculinaria or tag #leitesculinaria!
Recipe © 2009 Giuliano Hazan. Photo © 2009 Joseph De Leo. All rights reserved.

Recipe Testers’ Reviews

Did you know only 68% of the recipes we test make it onto the site? This recipe survived our rigorous blind testing process by multiple home cooks. It earned the Leite’s Culinaria stamp of approval—and the testers’ reviews below prove it.

Jill Mulcahy

This Creamy Salmon Pasta is a very straightforward recipe that was easy to prepare and ready in under 30 minutes. Even with the cream, the sauce was light and delicious. Adding the salmon imparted a wonderful flavor and boosted the dish’s nutritional value.

Maria Peplowski

What an amazing salmon pasta dish! Lots of flavor, not too rich, and easy to make. I made this with fresh wild-caught Alaska salmon (the best IMHO) and fresh summer tomatoes. When there are so few ingredients, I think this recipe benefits from using the freshest and the best. Will definitely make this again.

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About David Leite

I’ve received three James Beard Awards for my writing as well as for Leite’s Culinaria. I’m the author of The New Portuguese Table and Notes on a Banana. For more than 25 years, I’ve been developing and testing recipes for my site, my books, and publications. My work has also appeared in the New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, Saveur, Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, Yankee, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, and more. I’m also a cooking teacher, memoirist, and inveterate cat lady.

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Recipe Rating




16 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    For years, we’ve been dreaming about the Pasta ala Salmone from our (now closed) favorite restaurant. This beautiful recipe comes as close as we could have ever hoped. We added a little tomato paste as the Roma tomatoes we used were a bit flavorless. If you don’t have fresh basil leaves, a squeeze of basil concentrate (in a tube in the produce section) will do nicely. Next time, we may add some petite frozen peas.

    Tips: Save a few tablespoons of pasta water to add to your sauce toward the end. Be careful not to add the salmon too early, so as not to overcook it. Season the tomatoes with plenty of salt. Don’t skimp on the crushed red pepper.

    Reply

    1. Ellen, I’m so thrilled LC could help you recreate that restaurant magic at home. Adding a touch of tomato paste was a smart move to give those lackluster Romas the punch they needed. Your tip about saving the pasta water is absolute genius—it’s the best way to get that sauce to cling to the farfalle like a dream. And adding petite peas next time is a fantastic way to bring some sweetness and color to the plate. Perfect for spring!

      Reply