Salmon Pasta Recipe: Creamy Farfalle with Salmon and Peas

Creamy Farfalle with Salmon and Peas is a comforting, satisfying salmon pasta recipe. A bright, fresh, perfect spring meal. 

Happy Foodie Friday!

I am back from spending a week on the beautiful, sunny, warm island of Kauai! If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you have seen a few photos from the amazing trip. I'll be sharing Where to Stay in Kauai, Where to Eat & Drink in Kauai, and Adventuring in Kauai on the blog very soon!

In the meantime, I'm back in rainy/sunny/cold/warm/windy Portland, Oregon.

It's spring, and the weather is as Pacific Northwest spring-like as ever: fickle, changing every 5 minutes. This makes cooking tricky sometimes... should we make hot rich comfort food, or a cold refreshing meal?

One of the dishes that toes the line between the two is a yummy salmon pasta recipe that I enjoy year-round, but especially during this transitional early springtime.

Salmon Pasta Recipe: Creamy Farfalle with Salmon and Peas

Seafood pasta is my absolute FAVORITE.

I love shrimp and pasta, fish and pasta, lobster and pasta... all the seafood, with all the pasta, all the time!

This Creamy Farfalle with Salmon and Peas pasta dish is super easy to whip up for a delicious weeknight dinner.

I use canned salmon for this pasta dish, but you can also prepare fresh salmon as you like it and add it to the dish. I also use frozen peas, but you may use fresh peas if you have them.

I've made this dish with other pasta shapes - linguine, fettuccine, rotini - but have found that farfalle just feels like the most appropriate. Bowtie pasta is fun, casual, and easy to grab with a fork.

This shape really holds the creamy sauce really well. It also allows delightful bites of salmon and peas to climb on into the little bowtie indentations, making each bite fully flavorful and satisfying.

The creamy pasta sauce comes from a mix of almond milk (you could use whole or 2% milk if you prefer), cream cheese, and parmesan cheese. I use dairy-free alternatives for all of these and receive the same results as I do when I use full dairy options. It's all up to you!

A splash of lemon juice brightens up the dish and adds some zing to the salmon.

Finely chopped mint leaves add even more spring freshness to it.

Top it all off with a little more freshly grated parmesan, and you've got an easy, hearty yet full-of-spring-flavors, delicious dinner!

Wine Pairing

This pasta is creamy, but light, so it's excellent with a variety of white wines.

The one I recently enjoyed the Creamy Farfalle with Salmon and Peas with is a 2016 Raptor Ridge Winery Auxerrois. This white wine is crisp and fresh, full of bright herbs and light honey. It's fantastic for spring pasta dishes!

Creamy Farfalle with Salmon and Peas Recipe

Salmon Pasta Recipe - Creamy Farfalle with Salmon and Peas

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Creamy seafood pasta that's easy to whip up during busy weeknights!

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Ingredients

• ½ pound farfalle pasta
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 1 large clove or 2 small cloves garlic, minced
• 6 oz canned smoked salmon
• ½ cup frozen or fresh peas
• 1 Tablespoon flour
• ¼ cup heavy cream or almond milk or full fat coconut milk
• ¼ cup white wine
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped mint leaves

Instructions

• Cook pasta according to package directions.
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat butter over medium heat. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute.
• Add canned salmon (as much or as little of the can as you would like) and peas, saute for 1 minute. Sprinkle flour over salmon and peas, then mix in well, sauteeing for another minute.
• Slowly pour in heavy cream. Mix, then slowly add white wine, lemon juice, and parmesan cheese.
• Lower heat to low-medium, and continue stirring sauce with salmon and peas until sauce is slightly thickened.
• Add cooked pasta along with ¼ cup hot starchy pasta water reserve.
• Stir pasta, sauce, salmon, and peas together until well blended. Turn off heat.
• Add mint leaves, stir.
• Top off with some freshly grated parmesan if you wish.
• Serve immediately.

Notes

To make this dairy-free, substitute heavy cream with full fat coconut milk or almond milk, and parmesan cheese with a non-dairy block cheese.

Tried this recipe?Mention @UrbanBlissLife or tag #UrbanBlissLife!

Do you enjoy the seafood and pasta combo? If so, what's your favorite seafood and favorite pasta shape?