Creamy pesto pasta with fresh salmon is the ultimate quick weeknight dinner. The pesto sauce has fresh ingredients. It comes together in less than 30 minutes. Savory, tangy, and delicious!
Making the Pasta
This creamy pesto salmon pasta is delicious. It was tricky to get the pesto to taste just right. I think we got the pesto sauce to be just right by adding enough acid with fresh lemon juice. Pesto can typically be very oily. Be careful when you cook it with salmon. The heavy cream added to the sauce helped elevate and balance the flavor.
Pesto Sauce Tips
When making sauces, I usually prefer to use fresh ingredients because it makes it taste so much better, and the flavor remains intact. I understand making your pesto isn’t always the most convenient or timely thing to make on a weeknight. I don’t usually buy the jarred pesto but pick something with a classic pesto flavor.
Recipe Tips:
- If you purchased salmon with the skin on, feel free to peel it off. It depends on your preference. It’s good either way.
- Don’t substitute the heavy cream with half-and-half. The acid in the sauce will most likely curdle if you use it.
- If you use jarred pesto, you will not need extra lemon juice. Jarred pesto sauces usually already have a lot of lemon juice in them.
- To add extra veggies, add some fresh asparagus or green beans. Sear the veggies after you have seared the salmon for some extra crispiness.
- Feel free to use any type of pasta. Anything from wheat to gluten-free will work fine with this recipe. This recipe is very customizable.
Other Salmon & Fish Recipes
If you’re a fan of salmon or other fish, try out some of these recipes.
- Baked Salmon with Dijon Chive Cream Sauce
- Garlic Butter Salmon Bake
- Baked Mahi Mahi & Shrimp with Lemongrass Coconut Cream Sauce
Questions? Leave me a comment below. If you make this recipe, tag me #thedesignfoodie on Instagram or The Design Foodie on Facebook! Happy cooking!
Salmon Pasta with Homemade Creamy Pesto Sauce
Ingredients
For the Pesto:
- 1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves, tightly packed
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated or shredded
- Juice from 1/2 lemon
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup pine nuts, unroasted
For the Salmon Pasta:
- 10 oz penne pasta, uncooked
- 1 lb fresh salmon
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- Kosher salt and ground pepper, to taste (for salmon)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder (for salmon)
- all-purpose flour, for dredging (for salmon)
- 1/3 cup chicken broth
- 1/3 cup homemade pesto sauce (pesto sauce you made or jarred)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, optional
- Fresh or dried parsley, for garnish
Instructions
For the Pesto:
- Add all ingredients in a blender. Start blending on low and gradually add more olive oil if pesto needs to be thinned out. Blend until creamy. Set aside.
For Salmon Pasta:
- In a medium stockpot, boil some salted water. Add penne pasta to pan. Cook until it reaches the al dente stage according to package directions. Drain pasta.
- To prepare salmon, you may leave skin on, if desired. Cut salmon half. Season both sides of the salmon with Kosher salt, ground pepper and garlic powder. Dredge with flour on both sides.
- In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add salmon to skillet. Cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side until it turns crispy and gold. Transfer salmon to a separate plate. Set aside.
- To make the sauce, add chicken broth and pesto sauce. Cook sauce for about 30 seconds until it starts to bubble. Add heavy cream. Stir to combine.
- Transfer salmon back to skillet. Cook salmon and pesto sauce together for about 4-5 minutes. Add pasta to skillet and mix in with sauce and salmon.
- Serve immediately. Garnish with fresh or dried parsley leaves.
Notes
- Green salad or side vegetable
- Garlic bread or breadsticks
