Creamy Tuscan Garlic Blackened Salmon Pasta has a cheesy garlic sauce with cherry tomatoes and fresh spinach. Serve it over pasta for a restaurant quality meal in under 30 minutes!
Love easy pasta dinners? Be sure to our family favorite chicken tetrazzini next. Or give this easy cajun sausage pasta a try soon.
Why This Seafood Recipe is Best
I used to only eat salmon when we went out to eat. I didn’t trust myself to make it correctly and, since seafood doesn’t usually come cheap, was worried about “wasting” it on a subpar recipe.
Let me tell you: this Blackened Salmon is the best I’ve ever eaten.
- Salmon is cooked to flaky perfection.
- Perfectly seasoned with a spicy kick.
- Served in a luscious creamy cheese sauce.
- Start to finish in 30 minutes!
The garlicky sauce and peppery seasoning are simply divine paired with the tender fish filets. My family agrees—it’s even better than the blackened salmon at most seafood restaurants.
Ingredient Notes
- Salmon filets – I prefer fresh salmon when it’s available but using salmon that’s thawed from frozen will taste good too!
- Spices – You will rub the salmon with a blend of smoky paprika, cayenne pepper, black pepper AND white pepper for the perfect flavor.
- Heavy cream – I know some of you will ask me if you can use milk instead, but I promise you REAL cream is so much better. It makes the sauce thick and rich.
- Parmesan cheese – What would a good cream sauce be without it? Use FRESH grated (or shredded), not the shaker can stuff.
- Pasta – We love blackened salmon with long noodles like linguini or spaghetti. You could also serve it with zoodles if you prefer.
Easy Assembly
This fool proof easy salmon recipe requires no special skills in the kitchen.
First, you brush the salmon filets with melted butter and spices. Broil it until it flakes easily with a fork.
Once the salmon is done cooking, make the sauce in a skillet on the stove top. Add spinach, tomatoes and the salmon filets to the sauce once cooked.
Leave everything in the warm skillet for another couple of minutes to warm everything through and let the flavors combine.
Serve blackened salmon in bowls over cooked pasta and enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
There are lots of other ways to enjoy this salmon in cream sauce other than with pasta! It’s delicious over a bed of steamed cauliflower or cauliflower rice for a gluten free option. Zucchini noodles would be a tasty option too! You can also simply enjoy it on its own with a side salad and maybe a loaf of fresh crusty bread for soaking up the leftover sauce.
In this recipe, the skin of the salmon is removed after broiling. Once cooked, the skin is easy to remove. Just slide a knife or thin flexible metal spatula between the skin and the flesh. It’ll come right off.
There’s no doubt that the blackened salmon and cream sauce tastes best when it’s eaten fresh and hot! Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If possible, store the salmon and sauce separately from pasta.
Cream based sauces will tend to thicken and congeal as they chill. To reheat back to the ideal consistency, place the sauce in a microwave safe bowl. Add 1 -2 TBS of water and cover loosely with a paper towel. Reheat in 1 minute increments until sauce is warmed through, stirring until smooth.
More Easy Dinner Recipes
- You’ll love this delicious Gnocchi Alfredo with Portobello Mushrooms for your next weeknight meal! Ready in 30 minutes, it’s perfect for your busy nights, yet impressive enough to serve guests for dinner!
- This Sausage Egg Roll Skillet recipe is ready in about 20 minutes. It’s low carb and an easy weeknight meal idea!
- Quick and delicious Chicken Pasta Spinach Salad with Teriyaki Dressing. This Mandarin Pasta Spinach Salad is ridiculously good, and the teriyaki vinaigrette is addictive!
- Creamy Tuscan Garlic Chicken has a cheesy garlic sauce with cherry tomatoes and fresh spinach! Serve over pasta for a restaurant quality meal in under 30 minutes!
Blackened Salmon Pasta
Ingredients
For the salmon
- 1 ½ pound salmon fillet or 3-4 individual salmon steaks/fillets
- 2 Tablespoons smoky paprika
- 1 Tablespoon ground cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
For the sauce
- 1 ½ cups chicken broth
- 1 ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 4 cloves garlic pressed
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- pinch red pepper flakes
- 1 cup parmesan cheese
- 3 cups fresh spinach
- 1 ½ cups cherry tomatoes sliced in half
- ½ pound pasta for serving
Instructions
- Prepare pasta according to package directions
- In a small bowl you’ll mix up your blackening seasoning. It includes paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, white pepper, and Italian seasoning. Turn on broiler.
- Using a cast iron skillet or a skillet that can go under the broiler, place your salmon in the skillet, skin side down. Brush salmon with melted butter and press seasoning mix all over the salmon. If your salmon has skin on, only season the flesh side. Before cooking flip your salmon to skin side up. Broil for 3 minutes. Remove from oven and flip salmon to skin side down.
- Cook an additional 7 minutes, until salmon is cooked and flakes easily with a fork. Depending on the thickness of your salmon, you may need to cook longer. Try to purchase salmon that is equal in thickness.
- Remove from oven and remove salmon from skillet. If your fish has skin on, remove skin at this point.
- Return skillet to stove top to prepare the creamy garlic sauce. Add the heavy cream, chicken broth, 4 cloves of pressed garlic, salt and pepper, and parmesan cheese. Whisk over medium high heat until bubbly. It won’t take long for your sauce to thicken over medium high heat.
- Once thickened, add in spinach and tomatoes and cook for a few minutes until spinach has wilted down. Add the salmon to the large skillet over medium heat and cook for a few minutes until warmed up again.
- Season with salt and pepper as desired.
- Serve over a bed of pasta and enjoy!
Notes
- Choose salmon filets of even thickness. The thickness determines how long the fish takes to cook, so thicker filets may need a little more time under the broiler.
- I use a cast iron skillet to broil the salmon. Then I use the same skillet to cook the sauce to minimize the number of dishes I have to wash!
- Cook your pasta while the salmon is broiling to save time.
- For an even quicker meal, broil the salmon in a separate pan and make the sauce while it’s cooking. By the time the salmon is done cooking, the sauce and vegetables will be ready!
- See blog post for more recipe tips and tricks.
Nutrition
Blackened Salmon in a creamy Tuscan garlic sauce is an easy skillet dinner that’s ready in 30 minutes or less!
Made this tonight and I think my husband contemplated licking the bowl, it was so good!Thanks for adding the instructions on how to remove the skin, was so easy. My sauce was just a little salty and not as think but figured out a couple of tricks to solve that. Amazing!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
I love salmon! Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Homemade comfort food is the best! I need to make this ASAP! It looks delicious!
OMG THIS RECIPE! Girl you are brilliant! All about the flavors here and flaky Salmon – yes please!
This salmon dish was amazing!! It tasted like it came straight from a restaurant!
This sauce really puts the salmon beyond amazing!