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Home / Recipes / Creamy Smoked Salmon Pasta

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Creamy Smoked Salmon Pasta

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Swimming in creamy flavor.

An elegant and easy 15-minute dinner, this creamy smoked salmon pasta recipe comes straight from Italy to your kitchen.

linguine pasta with smoked salmon on plate with chives

Until recently, I thought the only thing you could do with smoked salmon was pile thin slices atop a bagel with cream cheese. Was I wrong.

Pasta may not sound as natural with smoked salmon as a bagel, but it is no less delicious. Creamy smoked salmon pasta is 15-minute (yes) dinner that tastes amazing: salty, satisfying, and brightened with lemon and chives.

ingredients for pasta linguine lox lemon chives butter

How to Make This Creamy Smoked Salmon Pasta

Buying smoked salmon used to mean using some of it once on a delicious weekend bagel, then letting the rest of the package languish in the refrigerator until I remembered (too late) that I was supposed to use it within a few days after opening. Now I cook this.

I adapted this recipe from a simple pasta dish in The Silver Spoon cookbook. The Silver Spoon is to Italy as The Joy of Cooking is to America: a necessary Bible of home cookery. This recipe involves little more than boiling pasta and adding it to a pan of smoked salmon pieces that have been simmering in a pan of butter and cream.

Smoked salmon is actually a not-unpopular Italian food. Smoked salmon was — and remains — an effective a way of preserving fresh seafood, enjoyed even by the ancient Romans and Greeks.

smoked salmon pasta recipe with cream and chives

Creamy Smoked Salmon Pasta: Recipe Notes

Pasta choice. A creamy pasta wants a long, flat noodle. Pasta shapes like linguine, fettuccini, tagiatelle, or other ribbon pasta envelops the sauce just so. Often, when the pasta topping is chunky, you would want a chunky pasta. But here, the smoked salmon pieces are small enough to work with a long pasta.

Check the salt. Different brands and types of smoked salmon (lox, nova, and so on) differ in sodium content, but all do have a lot of salt. Thus, this recipe does not call for added salt — you are also boiling the pasta in salted water — but check for seasoning anyway.

Scallions also work really well here. Just like with salmon cream cheese, scallion and smoked salmon make a great flavor combination, with the fresh, mellow allium sharpness of scallions working as a great counterpoint to the salty salmon. I use chives here because they give the dish a great presentation and taste more mild, but scallions are a fine alternative.

Did you make this smoked salmon Pasta recipe? What did you think? Share below.

plate of creamy smoked salmon pasta dinner on gray plate with chives

You’ll also like these easy, classy Italian recipes:

  • Fettuccini Alfredo e Pepe
  • The World’s Best Pesto Pasta
  • Peach Salad With Burrata
plate of smoked salmon pasta on gray plate with chives
Print Recipe

Creamy Smoked Salmon Pasta

An elegant, easy 15-minute creamy smoked salmon pasta recipe that is deeply satisfying, brightened with lemon and chives.
Prep Time5 mins
Cook Time15 mins
Course: dinner
Cuisine: American, Chinese, Italian
Keywords:: creamy salmon pasta, dinner, easy, italian, lox, pasta, pescatarian, salmon, seafood, smoked salmon pasta recipe
Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

  • 1 pound long, flat pasta, such linguine, fettuccini, or tagliatelle
  • 6 ounces smoked salmon, cut into pieces
  • 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) butter
  • 2 lemons, zested and juiced
  • â…” cup heavy cream
  • 3 tablespoons minced chives (can substitute 2 tablespoons thinly-sliced scallions)
  • kosher salt

Instructions

  • Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta until just shy of al dente. Drain, reserving some pasta water.
  • While the water is boiling, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the salmon, lemon juice, half of the lemon zest, and half of the chives. Cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the cream and cook over low heat (the cream should be at a simmer) for about 5 minutes.
  • Add the drained pasta to the cream mixture. Cook for a few minutes, tossing to coat. Taste for seasoning. If the pasta looks a little dry, add pasta water a tablespoon or two at a time until it is creamy enough.
  • Serve immediately, topped with the remaining chives and lemon zest.

Filed Under: Dinner, Easy, Recipes Tagged With: cream, creamy smoked salmon pasta, dinner, easy, italian, lemon, lox, pasta, salmon, seafood, smoked salmon pasta, smoked salmon pasta recipe

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Therèse says

    November 2, 2020 at 3:34 pm

    5 stars
    Wow this is creamy and good. I did not ever think to use smoked salmon in a pasta but it works. Loved this.

    Reply
  2. David R. says

    November 2, 2020 at 3:35 pm

    5 stars
    This was very easy to make and I really enjoyed it. Halved the recipe for 2 people.

    Reply
  3. Carolyn says

    November 2, 2020 at 3:35 pm

    5 stars
    Simple and lovely. Will make again.

    Reply
  4. P.L. says

    November 2, 2020 at 3:36 pm

    5 stars
    A great pasta recipe. So easy to make. I used lox.

    Reply
  5. Cara says

    March 16, 2021 at 2:50 pm

    5 stars
    YES!!!! What a good dinner this was. Thank you! Love your blog.

    Reply
  6. Irene Twigg says

    April 8, 2021 at 6:55 am

    5 stars
    Absolutely delicious and so easy. Added a few chilli flakes and it sang.

    Reply
    • Unpeeled says

      April 8, 2021 at 10:10 pm

      Fantastic! Loved hearing this and I love the chili flakes addition!

      Reply
  7. Nancy says

    September 9, 2021 at 12:36 am

    5 stars
    We just adored this dish! Did not have chives on hand so used lots of fresh dill. Wonderful!! Thanks so much for this elegant and very delicious reciipe. I will try it with chives next time.

    Reply
    • Unpeeled says

      September 9, 2021 at 9:07 am

      Thanks! And I LOVE the idea of dill! What a perfect herb to use. So glad you liked it. It’s one of my favorites.

      Reply
  8. Kay Hudson says

    September 22, 2021 at 10:54 am

    Delicious! I probably ate more than I should have but it was just too hard to stop:-)

    Reply
    • Unpeeled says

      September 22, 2021 at 2:44 pm

      Hah! That is exactly what happens to me, too! it’s just too good to stop! I am so glad you liked it.

      Reply
  9. Janet says

    October 10, 2021 at 5:15 pm

    5 stars
    I halved the recipe too but my salmon had 4 oz. We both enjoyed it a lot and will make it again.

    Reply
  10. T says

    October 18, 2021 at 10:06 pm

    5 stars
    Just had 4 OZ SALMON, SO I ADDED SOME CHOPPED patagonia shrimp. I added just a little too much lemon juice, so I added a little garlic powder and it evened out the flavor. Delicious!

    Reply
    • Unpeeled says

      October 19, 2021 at 11:36 am

      Yum! This sounds great!

      Reply
  11. Rhonda Townsley says

    December 31, 2021 at 11:31 am

    5 stars
    My husband has gotten into making linguini from scratch so I decided to make this recipe for a sauce. We loved it for several reasons: the ingredients are easy to get, the preparation is simple and its delicious. My husband is so proud to be able to make a dish that will impress guests. As it stands we have made it just for ourselves 3 times.

    Reply
    • Unpeeled says

      December 31, 2021 at 12:53 pm

      I am so happy that you enjoy this. It’s one of my favorites. And how wonderful to eat it with fresh linguine! Fresh pasta is always such a treat. Thanks for this kind comment and all the best in 2022!

      Reply
  12. Melissa H. says

    February 21, 2022 at 1:39 pm

    5 stars
    Absolutely delicious! This recipe will be in my regular pasta rotation going forward 🙂

    Reply
  13. Lonakc says

    June 22, 2022 at 8:13 pm

    5 stars
    Wow! I happened to have smoked salmon and look for a dinner recipe using it. This was the first recipe searched. I am so surprised at how amazing and quick this recipe is. My daughter doesn’t like pasta, but tried it and agreed. So good I added parmesan cheese and it worked well.

    Reply
    • Unpeeled says

      June 24, 2022 at 11:55 am

      So glad you liked this! And it’s easy too — a great bonus! Thanks for the nice comment.

      Reply
  14. Dawn says

    July 25, 2022 at 8:50 pm

    5 stars
    I had some cold smoked salmon to finish using up and someone sent me this recipe as a suggestion. BEST suggestion ever!! This was amazing and I can’t wait to make it again!

    Reply
    • Unpeeled says

      July 27, 2022 at 3:05 pm

      So glad you liked it! One of my favorites.

      Reply
  15. Ma RY says

    September 20, 2022 at 11:29 am

    Would a coconut cream/milk subsititute work for a dairy free version?

    Reply
    • Unpeeled says

      September 21, 2022 at 1:05 pm

      Coconut milk could work as a substitute, but the flavor and thickness would very a bit. But I think this could work well! If you try it, I’d love to know how it turns out.

      Reply
  16. Joy Pak says

    October 4, 2022 at 9:22 am

    5 stars
    Perfect easy dinner. Loved this.

    Reply
  17. Rhonda Turner says

    January 24, 2023 at 10:14 pm

    5 stars
    My husband smoked some wild sockeye salmon for the first time! It was amazing, and I wanted to surpirse him with a dinner that would really showcase his accomplishment. I found your recipe, and it was SO delicious! We both loved it and will add this to our regular rotation…..thanks so much!

    Reply
    • Unpeeled says

      January 31, 2023 at 6:08 pm

      I am so glad that you enjoyed and how cool that he smoked his own salmon! I am sure that made it extra delicious. Thanks for the great comment.

      Reply
  18. Kathy says

    February 24, 2023 at 4:08 pm

    This recipe sounds fantastic and I look forward to making it. Do you think it would work with fresh salmon? Are there any adjustments you would make? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Unpeeled says

      February 24, 2023 at 5:06 pm

      Yes, you could certainly do this with fresh salmon! Flake it into small pieces, and proceed as normal. The small salmon pieces will cook just fine. The main difference will be in seasoning since smoked salmon is quite well salted, and has additional, subtle smoky notes. But I think that’s a great substitution!

      Reply
      • Kathy says

        March 10, 2023 at 9:40 pm

        5 stars
        I just made this with smoked salmon after all and it was over the top delicious! We are fortunate to live near two of the great lakes and a local source for smoked meats and fish, so no excuses! The lemon and scallions were perfect and balanced the richness of the cream and salmon. Can’t wait to make it again!

      • Unpeeled says

        March 14, 2023 at 2:42 pm

        Wonderful! So glad you enjoyed.

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