Pan-fried salmon, flaked into tender pieces and served with spaghetti and courgetti in a light lemon cream sauce. Mixing the spaghetti with the courgetti gives the dish an even lighter feel, plus the courgetti is barely noticeable, so my kids eat it all, no problem!
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I love this as a lighter dinner that still has the comfort of pasta and a creamy sauce.
I'm often guilty of cooking too much pasta, but this recipe, with the addition of the spiralized courgetti (zucchini) reminds me to reduce it down a little, whilst still making sure I get a nice, decent portion size!
You can replace the pasta entirely with courgetti (zoodles) if you like, but I can't live without my pasta. So I won't be doing that 😁
📋 What do we need?
- Salmon - you only need 3 salmon fillets to feed four people in this recipe, as the salmon is flaked into nice little chunky pieces, once it's cooked.
- Courgetti/zoodles - your can by these courgette noodles from larger supermarkets in the salad section. If you want to make your own, you'll need a spiralizer. I have this one (<--affiliate link).
📺 Watch how to make it
Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.
👩🍳PRO TIP Be sure to save some of the water you cooked the pasta in. We add in a good splash of this lovely starchy water to the pan, near the end of cooking, to help produce a light, silky sauce for the spaghetti.
🍽️ What to serve it with
- Top with shaved parmesan, a good grind of black pepper and a little lemon zest. I like to serve with a lemon wedge too.
- You could also add some garlic bread and/or a nice simple salad.
Perfect light creamy pasta with al dente sugar snap peas, a little courgetti hidden in there and nice chunky flakes of tender salmon ❤️
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Pan Fried Salmon with Spaghetti and Cream Lemon Sauce
Ingredients
- 250 g (8.8 oz) dried spaghetti
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ⅛ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp black pepper
- 3 boneless salmon fillets
- 1 small onion - peeled and chopped
- 2 cloves garlic - peeled and minced
- 2 tbsp white wine - optional
- 5 tbsp double (heavy) cream
- zest of 1 lemon
- 85 g (1 cup) sugar snap peas (snow peas) - roughly chopped
- 1 small courgette (zucchini) - spiralized or cut into thin strips
- Juice of half a lemon
To Serve:
- 2-4 tbsp shaved parmesan
- pinch Black pepper
- Lemon zest
- Lemon Wedges
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place the spaghetti in a large pan of boiling water and simmer for 10-13 minutes - until cooked to your liking. Note - you'll be adding the sugar snap peas and courgette to the spaghetti for the last minute of cooking.250 g (8.8 oz) dried spaghetti
- Whilst the spaghetti is cooking, heat the oil in a large frying pan, over a medium-high heat.1 tbsp olive oil
- Sprinkle the salt and pepper on the flesh of the salmon fillets and place in the frying pan, skin-side-down. Cook for 3 minutes, until the skin is crispy.⅛ tsp salt, ⅛ tsp black pepper, 3 boneless salmon fillets
- Turn the salmon over and add the chopped onions to the pan. Cook the salmon and onions for a further 3 minutes, until the onions start to soften.1 small onion
- Take the salmon out of the pan and place on a chopping board.
- Add the garlic to the onions and cook for a minute whilst stirring. Add the wine and let it bubble for a minute, then add in the cream and turn the heat down to medium.2 cloves garlic, 2 tbsp white wine, 5 tbsp double (heavy) cream
- Whilst the cream is heating through, remove the skin from the salmon, and break the salmon into rough chunks (don't worry if it's not quite cooked at this point as it's going back in the pan). Add the salmon back into the pan along with the the lemon zest.zest of 1 lemon
- By now the spaghetti should be almost ready. Add the sugar snap peas and spiralized courgette in with the spaghetti for the last minute of cooking.85 g (1 cup) sugar snap peas (snow peas), 1 small courgette (zucchini)
- Drain the pasta, reserving about half a cup of the cooking water.
- Add the spaghetti, sugar snaps and courgette to the frying pan and toss through along with the lemon juice and a couple of splashes of the reserved pasta water.Juice of half a lemon
- Divide between four bowls and top with grated parmesan, freshly ground black pepper and a little bit of lemon zest. Serve with lemon wedges.2-4 tbsp shaved parmesan, pinch Black pepper, Lemon zest, Lemon Wedges
Video
✎ Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was first published in March 2018. Updated June 2023 with new photos, video, a couple of small recipe tweaks and some housekeeping.
Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.
Polly says
Was nice enough. I think dome fresh tarragon would bea nice addition
Zenobria brito says
I am so excited to try this. Can I use can Alfredo sauce aswell?
Chris Corbishley says
Hi there Zenobria,
You could try the recipe with Alfredo Sauce instead but i wouldn't add it aswell as the sauce on this dish.
If you do try then please let us know how you get on
Thanks
Chris & Nicky
Rachel says
I made this dish last night for dinner and it was everything I hoped it would be. It was delicious and really did come together in under 20 minutes. I used coconut milk and sprinkled the top with toasted breadcrumbs instead of cheese because my husband is lactose intolerant and it was still wonderful. This will definitely become a frequent go-to weekend dinner. Thank you thank you!
Chris Corbishley says
Thanks Rachel, Really glad you enjoyed the recipe. I'm loving the additions to make it lactose free.
Many Thanks
Chris & Nicky
Arlene says
Made this tonight - didn't have mange route so substituted concasse tomato. Triumph! Made enough for the other half's lunch tomorrow - no lunch!!
Michelle says
5 star - Amazing recipe! Turned out so well and didn’t take long as the recipe said to prepare 🙂 well happy and will definitely make this again
2pots2cook says
Sweet Heavens ! Will do. Today !
Kathryn Clayton says
This is one of my favourite ways to eat pasta, I love fish and this is such a quick, gorgeous midweek dinner. Great with gluten free pasta too.
Robin says
I enjoyed your post re pan fried salmon in creamy lemon sauce with pasta. Your writing style is fun. ?. I cannot wait to try. Sounds delicious. Thank you. I have never heard of that type of spaghetti? Or is it Pasta? I will have to jump on board. It looks intriguing. Have a great day!
Nicky Corbishley says
Thank you Robin 🙂 I just used regular spaghetti, but I also used a spiralizer to make some zucchini strips to add in (you can slice it very thinly if you don't have a spiralizer).
Hope you enjoy it 🙂