Sometimes you stumble on a combination of flavors that hit just right. In this lemon salmon pasta recipe, caramelized onions, fresh dill and lemon zest add brightness and depth to a simple dinner.
This lemon salmon pasta recipe is proof that you can make a meal chockfull of flavor with basic pantry ingredients. The trick is to spend some time caramelizing onions, which can be done while you pop the salmon fillets in the oven (or air fryer) and boil the pasta.
The noodles are coated with a combination of the starchy pasta water and grated Parmesan cheese (which is the same method I used for Easy Mushroom Broccoli Pasta), then brightened with the acidity and brightness of lemon zest. Balanced flavors, simply done.
My best recipe tips
- Important! Be sure to reserve a cup of the pasta cooking water before draining the pasta. This starchy water is used to make the sauce.
- One of my favorite tricks is cooking the blanching the broccoli in the pasta water in the last minute of boiling the pasta. No extra cooking dish and the broccoli comes out bright green and tender.
- Taste and adjust! Need a little more salt, fresh dill or lemon zest? Adjust the seasonings to suit your tastebuds.
How to make salmon pasta with lemon
** The complete instructions are in the recipe card below. **
- Caramelize the onions: Cook the onions in a little olive oil for about 10 minutes. Cover and continue to cook, adding water as needed to stop the onions from drying out and scraping up any browned bits. It takes about 40 minutes for the onions to become deep golden brown.
- Cook the salmon: Season the salmon and bake it in the oven or cook in the air fryer. Flake with a fork.
- Pasta & broccoli: Boil the pasta in salted water according to package directions. We like to use bucatini, which are thick spaghetti-like noodles with a small hole running through the center. Feel free to sub in linguini. In the last minute of cooking, add the broccoli.
***IMPORTANT!!! Before draining the pasta and broccoli, scoop out and reserve 1 cup of pasta water. This will be used to make the sauce. - Combine: Add the pasta and broccoli to the caramelized onions. Toss with about ½ cup of the reserved pasta water. Add the Parmesan cheese, salmon, lemon zest and herbs. Add more pasta water if needed. Taste, adjust seasonings and serve.
Storage
While this lemon pasta is best when served immediately after cooking, it's surprisingly delicious when reheated the next day.
- Cool and store the leftover pasta in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
- Reheat in a skillet or saucepan over medium heat, or in the microwave.
- If you want to brighten it up a bit before re-serving, toss in additional fresh dill and/or lemon zest. Taste and add a sprinkle if salt, if needed.
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Lemon Salmon Pasta Recipe
In this lemon salmon pasta recipe, caramelized onions, fresh dill and lemon zest add brightness and depth to a simple dinner.
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Servings: 6 Servings
Calories: 460kcal
Ingredients
The caramelized onions
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 medium yellow onions cut in half and thinly sliced
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- Warm water as needed
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- ¼-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes adjust for spiciness preference
The salmon
- ¾ pound salmon fillets
- Olive oil spray
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground pepper
The pasta
- 1 pound (16 ounces) bucatini pasta or linguini
- 2 ½ cups small broccoli florets
- ⅔ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoon minced fresh dill or to taste
- 3 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest or to taste
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
The caramelized onions
- Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet set over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until softened, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Cover and cook until the onions are golden brown, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add ¼ cup water, cover the skillet again and cook until the onions are deep golden brown, about 20 minutes. You may need to add more water, 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, throughout cooking to stop the onions from drying out. Each time you add water, use a wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits and stir into the onions.
- Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute.
The salmon
- While the onions are caramelizing, cook the salmon. First, lightly coat the salmon fillets with olive oil spray. Season with thyme, salt and pepper.
- Either 1) bake in the oven (375 degrees F) until the salmon is cooked through, about 10 minutes OR 2) cook in an air fryer (370 degrees F) until the salmon is cooked through, about 7 minutes. Discard the skin and flake the salmon. Set aside.
The pasta
- Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Season generously with kosher salt. Add the bucatini noodles and cook according to the package directions, until the pasta is al dente. One minute before the end of the cooking time, add the broccoli florets.
- ***IMPORTANT: Before draining the pasta, scoop out 1 cup of the pasta cooking water. This starchy water will be used to make the sauce.
- Drain the pasta and broccoli into a colander. Transfer to the skillet with the caramelized onions. Toss the pasta with ½ cup of the reserved pasta water.
- Add the Parmesan cheese to the pasta and toss again. Add the reserved flaked salmon, dill, parsley and lemon zest. Toss to combine with the remaining ½ cup of pasta water.
- Taste and season with salt, pepper and additional dill and/or lemon zest, if desired. Serve.
Notes
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I provide nutritional information for my recipes as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using the built-in recipe card calculator. While I attempt to provide information that is as accurate as possible, you should calculate the nutritional information independently before relying on it.
Nutrition
Serving: 2cups | Calories: 460kcal | Carbohydrates: 65g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 483mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 4g
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Steph Harrell
Absolutely a keeper. Loaded with flavor!
Dara
I'm so glad you enjoyed it!