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Cooked and seasoned salmon with penne alfredo is the type of pasta recipe that will have everyone asking for seconds. Make this recipe asap!
Penne Alfredo with Salmon
My kids aren’t big fans of salmon, but they’ll scarf it down when I make this recipe, my Cajun salmon pasta or my salmon nuggets. Serving these recipes always makes me feel good about their progress in learning to eat it.
This salmon alfredo with penne pasta is what pasta night dreams are made of. The well-seasoned salmon is coarsely chopped and tossed with the pasta in an easy Alfredo sauce that everyone will love.
Ingredients
Thanks to penne pasta, you can stretch 2 salmon fillets to make a meal for 4. Then, you’ll need simple staples to make the delicious sauce: butter, garlic, heavy cream or half & half, milk, and Parmesan cheese.
Why I Love Penne Pasta for Alfredo Recipes
While you can make this delicious recipe with any pasta shape, as I do in my Salmon Fettuccini Alfredo recipe, I love how the sauce gets trapped inside penne pasta, making this meal even more epic!
How to Make Salmon Alfredo with Penne Pasta
This incredible meal comes together fast by using a pot to cook the pasta and a skillet to cook the salmon and make the sauce. And it takes no longer than 25 minutes! Check out the steps:
- Cook the pasta
While the pasta cooks, season the salmon fillets. Once pasta is done, reserve cooking water before draining it. - Cook the salmon
Sear the salmon fillets in a hot skillet for 3 minutes. Flip it and keep cooking about 4 minutes, until the meat separates easily with a fork and the middle of the salmon is no longer wet-looking. - Make the sauce
On the same skillet, sauté garlic with butter, then add the cream and milk and stir while scraping the tidbits from the bottom of the skillet. Here's the flavor! Add Parmesan and keep cooking for about 5 minutes. - Combine
Once you add the cooked pasta to the Alfredo sauce, you'll notice it's very thick. That's ok! Slowly pour pasta water to thin it out until you get the desired consistency. Add salmon coarsely chopped, combine, and serve!
How to Adjust the Thickness of the Sauce
When you combine cooked pasta with Alfredo sauce, it should be very thick. Pour reserved pasta water slowly to thin it out to your liking. On the other hand, if your sauce is too thin, add more Parmesan cheese to thicken it up.
What to Serve With Penne Alfredo & Salmon
You can serve this salmon Alfredo with penne pasta and call it a meal, but I always like to add extra nutrition on the side with an easy side salad or these steamed green beans you can cook super quick. Another Alfredo side dish to die for? These bacon caramelized Brussels sprouts. So good!
More Salmon Pasta Recipes
Pasta helps stretch salmon so you can make a terrific meal on a budget so I have more glorious recipes for you, like this quick salmon pesto pasta and this flavorful Cajun salmon pasta. For summer days, this salmon pasta salad is a keeper!
Salmon Alfredo with Penne Pasta
Ingredients
- 12 ounces penne pasta
- 2 salmon fillets, 8-12 ounces total
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 cup heavy cream or half & half
- ½ cup milk*
- 1 cup reserved pasta water
- ¾ cup parmesan cheese
- Pinch of salt and pepper
Instructions
Cook the pasta:
- Bring water to a boil and cook your pasta according to the package directions. Once ready, reserve 1 cup of pasta water, drain, and set the pasta aside.
Prep:
- In a small dish, combine the paprika, garlic powder, and salt.
- Pat dry the salmon fillets with a paper towel and season them with the seasonings on both sides. If the skin is on, generously season the top side only; you'll cook it with the skin on and remove it after cooking.
Cook the salmon:
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the oil. Place the salmon in the pan and cook, skin-side-up first to get a sear on the top side, for 3 minutes. Flip it over (skin-side down) and cook it for an additional 4 minutes until the middle of the salmon is no longer wet looking and the meat separates easily with a fork. Remove the salmon from the pan onto a plate. If the salmon has skin on, flip the salmon pieces over and lift it to remove it from the salmon.
Make the Alfredo:
- To the large skillet with the salmon tidbits, add the butter over medium-high heat, and once melted, add the minced garlic. Sauté for 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Pour the cream (or half & half) and milk into the pan and stir constantly while scraping the tidbits of flavor from the bottom of the pan. Add the Parmesan cheese, pinch of salt, and pepper, and combine. Reduce the heat and continue cooking the Alfredo sauce for about 5 minutes.
Combine:
- Add the cooked pasta to the skillet with the thick Alfredo sauce, and using kitchen tongs, toss to coat and combine. This will be very thick. Slowly add the reserved pasta water and continue incorporating it into the Alfredo sauce until it has thinned enough to coat all the pasta with the sauce.
- Coarsely chop the cooked salmon on the plate by separating the salmon flakes. Add it to the cooked Alfredo pasta and toss to combine.
Serve:
- Serve the salmon Alfredo pasta in bowls with sprinkled Parm on top.
Notes
- Any milk works, but whole milk yields a creamier consistency.
Grace says
My kids don’t love salmon (or any fish) but they did try this salmon alfredo and liked it!! Thanks for the recipe!
April says
This salmon Alfredo penne pasta was so easy to make and was creamy!! I will definitely be making this meal again!
Jess says
This salmon Alfredo pasta was a total hit with the fam.
Rachel says
Made this last night it was so good!
Rachel says
This salmon alfredo was so delicious! It was my first time trying it with penne pasta, and I loved how the sauce got stuck in the pasta, tasted great!