Smoked Salmon Pasta with Pine Nuts

This pasta feels like spring or summer in a bowl. It’s light and lemony with a great balance of flavors. The lemon cuts through the creaminess, the salmon brings that slightly smoky depth, and the pine nuts add just the right crunch.

Smoked Salmon Pasta

I’ve fallen in love with the ease of dishes made with smoked salmon. The huge boost of flavor the salmon adds to the meal is wonderful, but best of all, the cooking time is minimal.

The sauce comes together in minutes with simple ingredients, just a splash of cream, plenty of lemon juice and zest, and a good amount of Parmesan to tie it all together. Toss in the pasta, sprinkle over some buttery pine nuts, and fold in silky ribbons of smoked salmon at the end.

This meal came together quickly for a weekend lunch. My husband really enjoyed this, despite the fact that pasta is not one of his favorite foods. My sons and I loved it as well. This recipe is a definite keeper.

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Salmon Pasta

Salmon and I haven’t always had a great relationship, but over the past 10 years or so, I’ve grown to love this fish. There are near-endless ways to prepare it, and I can’t get enough of it lately.

Spicy, sweet, and slightly tangy glazed salmon with broccoli has been a family favorite for a long time. One delightfully simple sauce does double duty as a marinade for the fish and a flavor booster for the fresh broccoli.

This brown sugar salmon uses the air fryer to cook a piece of salmon to seasoned and subtly sweet perfection in mere minutes.

With flavorful salmon nestled on a bed of baby greens, fresh herbs, glass noodles, avocado, crunchy cabbage and carrots, pickled broccoli and a to-die-for chili lime dressing, this Asian salmon salad is a showstopper. This is a salad to get very excited for – just ask my friends and family. I’ve been talking about it for months

Smoked Salmon Recipes

For a few more ways to enjoy smoked salmon, try this smoked salmon dip (inspired by one of our favorite local restaurants) and these smoked salmon scrambled eggs, too.

And as the weather cools off, smoked salmon chowder is calling my name. It is filled with carrots, onions, celery, garlic, wine, and a hint of bacon. If you enjoy smoked salmon, you will love this chowder.

There’s something about the sweet and smoky flavor combination that just works. And, this brown sugar glazed salmon proves it with every perfectly caramelized bite of salmon that practically melts in your mouth.

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Smoked Salmon Pasta

Mary Younkin

Smoked salmon pasta is light and lemony with smoky bites of salmon and the crunch of pine nuts.

Prep Time: 5 minutes mins

Cook Time: 15 minutes mins

Total Time: 20 minutes mins

Servings: 4

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Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 8 ounces angel spaghetti I used a brown rice pasta
• ▢ ¼ cup pine nuts
• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ ½ sweet yellow onion diced small, about 1/3 cup
• ▢ 2 large cloves garlic minced
• ▢ ⅓ cup dry white wine
• ▢ ¼ cup heavy cream
• ▢ 1 tablespoon lemon juice plus more to taste
• ▢ 2 tablespoons lemon zest divided into 1 tablespoon and 1 tablespoons
• ▢ 1 handful fresh parsley or dill chopped, about 2 tablespoons
• ▢ 6 ounces hot smoked salmon flaked or chopped into bite size pieces
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper adjust to taste
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon kosher salt adjust to taste

Instructions 

• Bring a pot of water (at least 4 quarts) to a boil and generously salt it with about 1 tablespoon of salt. Cook the pasta according to package directions and then drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water.
• While the water is heating, brown the pine nuts. Place them in a single layer in a large skillet over medium heat. Stirring occasionally, let them cook just until fragrant and lightly browned. Remove the pine nuts from the pan and set aside.
• In the skillet that you used for the pine nuts, warm the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and onions, cooking just until the onions soften and the pan is fragrant. Add the wine and stir. Let the wine reduce slightly and then add the cream, lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of lemon zest. Let this cook 1-2 minutes, until it slightly reduces. (If the pasta is not yet cooked, remove the skillet from the heat until it is ready.)
• Add the cooked pasta to the skillet and toss to coat well. Add a splash or two of the reserved pasta water if it is too dry. Add the smoked salmon, pine nuts, parsley and 1 more tablespoon of lemon zest. Toss again and remove from the heat. Season with pepper and serve with lemon wedges on the side.

Nutrition

Calories: 464 kcal | Carbohydrates: 49 g | Protein: 17 g | Fat: 21 g | Saturated Fat: 5 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5 g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9 g | Cholesterol: 27 mg | Sodium: 491 mg | Potassium: 345 mg | Fiber: 3 g | Sugar: 5 g | Vitamin A: 261 IU | Vitamin C: 8 mg | Calcium: 46 mg | Iron: 2 mg

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

Did you make this? Leave a comment below!

{originally published 8/12/12 – recipe notes and photos updated 8/25/25}

recipe very gently adapted from and with thanks to Simply Recipes