WANT TO SAVE THIS RECIPE?
Enter your email below & we'll send it straight to your inbox. Plus, enjoy weekly doses of recipe inspiration as a bonus!
Creamy smoked salmon pasta is a restaurant-quality dish that only takes 30 minutes to prepare. Each bite is silky and rich with bright pops of lemon, tender asparagus, bursting tomatoes, and that unmistakable smoky salmon flavor.
Jump to:
Watch how to make this
What makes this dish special
When I worked as a private chef catering large events, I always served at least two different proteins. Usually, that meant red meat and fish, and the fish was almost always salmon. Salmon is incredibly versatile, and almost everyone likes it. Every now and then, I'd switch things up with smoked salmon instead, and this creamy smoked salmon pasta became one of my go-to dishes when I did.
The smoky flavor from the salmon does a lot of work in the sauce. It's a subtle savory depth that's hard to fake with anything else. Pair it with bursting juicy tomatoes, tender asparagus, a splash of cream, and a squeeze of lemon, and you have yourself a restaurant-quality dish. Guests always cleaned their plates, so I know this one is a winner!
Recipe
Creamy Smoked Salmon Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 12 ounces linguini
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 2 medium shallots finely chopped
- 1 cup asparagus cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- ⅓ cup dry white wine
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper
- 8 ounces smoked salmon cut into large chunks
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons chopped chives
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta 1 minute less than package directions. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water, then drain.
- While the pasta cooks, heat the olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and asparagus and sauté until the shallots are translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the cherry tomatoes and cook 1 minute more, just until they start to soften. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds, until fragrant.
- Pour in the white wine and let it reduce by half, about 1 minute. Add the drained pasta, heavy cream, ¼ cup of pasta water, and grated parmesan, tossing to coat. Bring to a gentle simmer and season pasta with salt and pepper. If the pasta sauce is too thick, add more pasta water as needed.
- Remove the skillet from the heat. Add the smoked salmon and lemon juice, tossing gently. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Finish with a sprinkle of lemon zest and chopped chives and serve immediately.
Notes
Step-by-step instructions
Step 1: Saute vegetables
I love this creamy smoked salmon pasta for two reasons. First, it's delicious. Second, it comes together quickly. That also means it's important to have everything prepped beforehand.
First, get a big pot of water on the stove and bring it to a rolling boil. Salt it well, it should taste like the sea. We're adding this water back to the pasta, so seasoning it now will also help season the pasta later on.
Add the linguine and cook it 1 minute less than the package directions say. You want it just shy of al dente since it will finish cooking in the sauce.
Before you drain, scoop out about a cup of the starchy pasta water and set it aside.
While the pasta cooks, heat the olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and asparagus and let them sauté for about 3 minutes, until the shallots turn translucent and the asparagus brightens in color.
Toss in the halved cherry tomatoes and cook for another minute, just until they start to soften. Then, stir in the garlic and let it go for 30 seconds, until you can smell it.
Make sure you don't brown the garlic. Burnt garlic turns bitter, and there is no rescuing the dish once it does.
Step 2: Finish sauce
Now let's build the sauce. Pour the white wine into the skillet and let it reduce by half, about a minute. The wine cuts through the richness of the cream and brings a little brightness, so I don't recommend skipping it.
Even if you don't like wine, I urge you to add it - the pasta won't taste like alcohol, I promise!
Stir in the heavy cream along with a splash of the reserved pasta water, grated parmesan, and the cooked linguine. Toss until the pasta is well coated, adding more pasta water a few tablespoons at a time if needed.
Season the pasta with salt and pepper, keeping in mind that we're still going to add smoked salmon.
Step 3: Putting it all together
Pull the skillet off the heat and add the smoked salmon and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, gently folding everything together. The residual heat from the pasta is enough to warm the salmon through without actually cooking it.
Smoked salmon turns rubbery the second it hits real heat, and it loses that smoky flavor that makes this dish what it is. Taste the pasta and season with black pepper and a small pinch of salt if it needs it. The smoked salmon brings plenty of salt on its own, so go light.
Finish with a sprinkle of fresh lemon zest and chopped chives and dig in!
This creamy smoked salmon pasta with cherry tomatoes is the kind of dish you stand at the stove for and serve straight from the pan. I know I'm guilty of doing just that. From the juicy tomatoes to the tender asparagus to the perfect hit of lemon, this pasta checks of all the boxes. Yes, it's just that good!
For another fantastic seafood pasta, check out this Mediterranean shrimp pasta salad, skillet toasted penne with Cajun shrimp, and Thai red curry seafood risotto!
Make-ahead and storage
- Make-ahead: The sauce is best cooked fresh, but you can prepare the shallots, garlic, tomatoes, and asparagus ahead of time.
- Store: This pasta is best the day it's made. If you do have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 day.
More smoked salmon recipes
Looking for more dishes with smoked salmon? Try these:
Patty says
Hi! 🙂 Just wanted to share that I made this for dinner last night and it was really so good! I used a pork bouillon though instead of white wine, removed the peas and added chopped fresh basil after tossing the noodles in the sauce. Great recipe! Trying your Pad Thai recipe tonight 🙂
xo Patty
http://mrspcuyugan.com
Christine Ma says
Glad to hear it! Hope your pad thai comes out just as good!
Paige C says
This looks wonderful! We picked up some smoked salmon from our farmer's market this week, and I definitely want to try this!
cma0425 says
Hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did!
Paige C says
It was delicious! I added in brussels sprouts rather than tomato and peas just because I had them from the market, which worked really well too!
cma0425 says
Ooh I should try it with brussels next time!
david dunne says
i used farfalle pasta instead of linguine pasta, just salmon instead of smoked salmon, lime instead of lemon and grated red cheddar instead of parmesan and didnt use any wine. didnt know what a quarts was, so i used 4 cups of water instead. im sure your version was delicious, im gonna make it exactly like that at the weekend, but let me tell you, the version i made was unbelievably nice. derived from yours of course, so i cant take any credit for it. so what does the wine do for it? i never cooked with alcohol before.
cma0425 says
It's adds the flavor of the wine to the pasta. The alcohol cooks out so you're just left with the wine flavor.
Kamila says
I just made it for dinner and it was so delicious, we could n't stop eating)) My husband said it is a star dinner!). Thanks so much for recipe!!!!
cma0425 says
Woohoo so glad it was a success!
Lerato Moree says
DELICIOUS - Make this regularly for family! They absolutely love it! Would like to try more of your recipes.
cma0425 says
So glad you enjoy this dish! This is definitely one of my favorites 🙂
A says
When to add the peas tho??
cma0425 says
Oops sorry about that! You add the peas when you add the pasta, heavy cream, lemon juice, salt and pepper in step 4.
Roxanne says
Why do people say they made this recipe but they changed this and added that and did away with something? It’s not your recipe !! Sorry, I find it offensive. If someone wants MY recipe then don’t changed it cuz then it’s not my recipe.
Kenny says
loved this pasta! really easy to throw together but tastes fancy.
Christine Ma says
Love to hear that, thanks for giving my recipe a try!