Canned Salmon Pasta
A super quick and delicious Canned Salmon Pasta recipe! Crispy bits of salmon with garlic, lemon, capers and marinated artichokes.
Say hello to the perfect recipe for canned salmon. Also, say hello to a meal you can put together in under 20 minutes that feels fancy and tastes amazing. When I make recipes like this I call it making something out of “nothing”. Because it’s made of simple unassuming ingredients that you might have but when you look in your cupboards you feel like you haven’t a thing to eat. I’m partly annoyed when we “have no food” but partly excited because deep down, I know we really do have food and I get to prove it to myself by getting creative. I am here to affirm again, to myself and to you, it is possible to make something amazing with a few simple ingredients. It’s very gratifying to do this.
Disclaimer: this post may contain affiliate links, which means if you decide to purchase any of the items linked in this post, I should earn a small commission. This creates no additional cost to you and helps support the work that goes into running The Fig Jar. Thank you! -Becky
Ingredients for Canned Salmon Pasta
- a can of salmon
- a lemon
- pasta
- butter and oil (or just one of the two is fine)
- garlic
- panko breadcrumbs
- capers
- marinated artichokes
- parmesan
The capers, artichokes and Parmesan are optional but definitely add to the feeling that this is a special recipe you went out and bought ingredients for so if you have them, score! If you don’t, a roasted veggie, well seasoned, could be a nice substitution. Kalamata or green olives might be nice too. Pickled onions, crushed red pepper, roasted bell pepper, etc, etc, could also be really good. Overall, this is a pretty healthy meal, too!
Canned Salmon Nutrition Data
Canned salmon, while not as sought-after of a source of lean protein as fresh, wild-caught salmon, is still an excellent source of nutrients. In one 315 gram can of salmon, you can expect to find about 430 calories, 16 grams of total fat (2.8 grams saturated fat, 0.1 grams trans fat, 4.7 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 3.8 grams monounsaturated fat), 260mg cholesterol, 1200mg sodium, and 73 grams of protein. So, while it’s very high in sodium (53% of the daily recommended value of someone eating 2,000 calories per day), it’s extremely high in Vitamin D (230% DV) and Calcium (69% DV). You can find more detailed nutrition data on canned salmon here. I personally love canned salmon for this recipe because it’s shelf-stable, easy to work with (easily-removable packaging) and it’s readily available (no thawing needed) for a quick meal.
How to make Canned Salmon Pasta
The salmon just gets crisped up with the panko in some oil while the pasta cooks. No forming into patties, not that there’s anything wrong with that, but just making the point that this is so easy!
Once the salmon is crisped and the pasta is cooked, quickly melt butter and sauté garlic. Then toss the spaghetti back in the pan with parm to get it nicely coated. Last things last: separate into bowls and top with crispy salmon, capers and artichokes!
Closing thoughts
This is the type of Rachel Ray inspired meal that I really taught myself to cook on. When I got really really into cooking, I was in college and living at home so I was pretty much working with what my parents bought at the store. Sometimes I bought special ingredients, sometimes I made requests that they obliged but generally I was working with what was in the cupboard. I’ve probably made a million variations of this but this turned out particularly good today and it’s not even like I thought this was going on my blog, I was just making lunch for my husband and I during a pandemic with what we have left in our cupboards.
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More easy dinner recipes you’ll love
Canned Salmon Pasta
A super quick and delicious salmon pasta recipe! Crispy bits of salmon with garlic, lemon, capers and marinated artichokes.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 2 1x
- Category: Main Course
Ingredients
- 1 6 oz can salmon (Drained)
- 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp capers
- 1/4 cup marinated artichoke hearts
- 2 tbsp parmesan
- 3 tbsp panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp canola oil
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- salt and pepper
- pasta
Instructions
- Boil enough water for two servings of pasta. Cook until aldente!
- While water is boiling/pasta is cooking, drain liquid from salmon and mix in a bowl with panko, squeeze juice from 1/2 a lemon, sprinkle with pepper. Break salmon up only slightly.
- Heat canola oil in a non-stick skillet, add salmon mixture and cook over medium high until crispy.
- Once pasta is cooked, remove from pot and place in a bowl, set aside. In that same pot, add butter. Once melted, add garlic and for for 2-3 minutes over medium heat until just barely golden. Add a squeeze of lemon, return pasta to pot, add parm and cook one minute more, tossing constantly using tongs. Sprinkle with pepper.
- Separate pasta into two bowls. Top with salmon, capers, artichokes and lemon wedges.
- Enjoy!
Just love the simplicity of this amazing dish. It comes together with ingredients I have on hand, and tastes outstanding. Especially like that the outcome is so healthy!
Thank you for your review, Nora! I’m so glad you love it 🙂