Pasta is such a comforting food whatever the time of year, whether it’s cold and grey outside or bright and sunny. It can take on many forms and suit our different moods. This creamy salmon broccoli pasta is a dish that I turn to in the spring and summer months for its zesty and fresh flavours and I just love how the creamy sauce clings to the pasta.
A light summery salmon dish
In the warmer months. I prefer to cook with fish when making pasta dishes to make it a little lighter compared to meat and it works really well. This may sound like a strange thing to say, but salmon is quite a meaty fish, but it still doesn’t weigh down this summery pasta dish. Of course, this can easily be adapted to suit vegetarian diets by simply taking out the salmon; it still tastes just as good!
Rather than using heavy cream to make the sauce, which can be typical in lots of pasta dishes like this, I used natural quark. Quark is naturally low in fat and high in protein and is the perfect addition to both savoury and sweet dishes. Salmon and cream cheese is a match made in heaven and a couple of tablespoons goes a long way in this dish and helps to give the creamy sauce a boost.
For us, this has become a weeknight staple dinner and often appears on the meal plan, for its sheer ease. Pasta can be as simple or as complicated as you like. I prefer simple with few ingredients and seasonings, but with maximum flavour, which this recipe definitely has in abundance.
If you’re looking for more pasta recipe inspiration, why not try some of these:
Camembert, Mushroom & Pancetta Pasta
Sweet Chilli Chicken Pasta with Philadelphia
I really enjoy connecting with you all and if you’ve tried my Creamy Salmon & Broccoli Pasta or anything else on the blog then I’d really love to hear what you think. You can leave a comment at the bottom of the post below or send me a message or comment on social media where you can also stay up to date by hitting the follow button: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest.
A summery pasta dish made with salmon and tenderstem broccoli and a creamy sauce made with quark.
- 500 g dried tagliatelle
- 275 g salmon fillets (skin removed)
- 200 g tenderstem broccoli
- 100 g quark
- 12 cherry tomatoes halved
- 6 chestnut mushrooms sliced
- 2 tbsp cream cheese
- 2 tsp dried chilli flakes (optional)
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tbsp flat leaf parsley roughly chopped
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- Seasonings
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Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Place the salmon fillets on a non-stick tray and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until well cooked.
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Flake the salmon into bitesize chunks using a fork. Set aside until required.
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Place the tenderstem broccoli into a microwaveable bowl. Add a splash of water and cover with cling film. Steam in the microwave for 5 minutes until tender. Set aside until needed.
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Meanwhile, boil the pasta as per the packet instructions.
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In a large frying pan or wok, heat a little oil and pour in the mushrooms and tomatoes. Cook for a few minutes before adding the garlic.
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Squeeze in the lemon juice and add the chilli flakes and cook for a further 2 minutes. Cook until the mushrooms have started to brown and the tomatoes have softened.
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Stir in the quark and cream cheese. Add the flaked salmon fillets and broccoli to the pan and stir together.
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Once the pasta is cooked, drain and add it to the pan containing the other ingredients. Sprinkle in the chopped parsley, seasonings and mix everything together so it's all evenly distributed.
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Serve and enjoy!
My favourite pasta dish is anything that involves cream and cheese. On less decadent occasions I make fresh tomato sauce. The addition of salmon would definitely make a change to my usual repertoire!
Lovely! You can’t go wrong with a creamy base when it comes to pasta. I like tomato sauces on mine too.
As you say pasta is a brilliant food for all occasions. In the summer I like to eat it with a raw tomato sauce, but there’s not much I’d refuse 🙂
Raw tomato sauce sounds divine, especially when they’re in season.
I’ve not used quark in a pasta dish before so would love to give it a try. I bet it works really well with the salmon and broccoli and the colours are so vibrant I could just dive right in!
Thanks Laura! It works so well with the salmon and other veggies.
We’re huge fans of salmon and this looks delicious! Gonna have to give it a go!
Yay! Another salmon fan. I hope you like it.
Two of my favourite ingredients! Broccoli and Salmon! I have never thought of putting the two together into a pasta dish but I will be now! Thanks to you xx
Oh fabulous! I’m so happy that this has inspired you. I really hope you enjoy this one. Broccoli and salmon are 2 of my favourites too.
Oh my goodness this sounds like my perfect meal I am such a huge fan of salmon and it goes so well with pasta as well!
Thank you! I love it in pasta too. 🙂
I love pasta and I love salmon definitely going to give this recipe ago it sounds and looks realky delicous and looks colourful too.
I do love adding pops of colour to my food. Always eating the rainbow.
I am in agreement about opting to use fish in the summer months, I don’t find it as heavy as meat, and you can’t beat salmon x
Salmon is one of my favourites. 🙂
This looks so fresh and tasty. A lovely summer dish that would go nice with a glass of crisp vino 🙂 x
YES!! You can’t beat a cool crisp wine in the summer with dinner.
This is the kind of meal that I’d make extra for to take for lunch the following day, but that I’d probably eat two plates of at dinner time haha! x
This look delish! A very healthy and simple easy meal to make. x
Thank you, Anna.
Ohh i love Salmon! Anything with Salmon becomes my favourite dish immediately!
Haha! That’s a bonus then.
This looks lovely. I wouldn’t have thought of putting salmon in pasta. might have to give this a try x
Yes, please do. It works really well.
What a wonderful meal! It’s healthy, balanced, and looks really pretty on the plate. We’ve been trying to incorporate more fish into our meals and this looks like a perfect solution. Adding it to next week’s meal plan
Lovely! I really hope that you like it.
What I love about this recipe is that it uses cream cheese and not cream. That means you can uses lower fat version. I struggle with cream as I had my gallbladder out but this could work for me and looks delicious X
Thank you! Happy to hear that this could work for you.
This looks and sounds amazing! I love mixing broccoli in pasta, don’t do it enough! Definitely wan to try this out!
Thanks, Kira. Broccoli adds a lovely crunch and texture I think.
My husband is Mediterranean, so we feature fish on the menu at least twice a week. I truly love every ingredient in this recipe, and can’t wait to make it! I discovered quark last year when I was doing the Dukkan diet and even though I haven’t used it much since, I really enjoyed using it. I really can’t wait to make this recipe and to start using quark again.
Thank you. Great to hear that you’re familiar with quark, such a versatile ingredient to use.
Definitely a meal that would go down well with all the family. I love the natural colours that the tomato and broccoli bring to this dish too.
Thanks, Helen. It’s a great quick family meal.
I never think to make pasta in the summer, but this pasta recipe looks like it would be really refreshing on a hot summer day.
I think it depends on what ingredients you serve it with that makes it suitable for winter or summer.
Stunning dish! I love salmon, so good for you. This looks like wonderful dish.
Thank you, Richard.
I love the use of quark here! Such a great way to add creaminess without all the fat!
I’ll have to try this with some GF pasta but I love salmon on everything so I know I’ll love this! Can’t wait! 🙂
Love salmon and pasta together!
I tried scaling this up and added more cream cheese — worked out great. Forgiving recipe and so easy. Used a ton of fresh black pepper too at the end.
Lovely dish! even the picky eaters enjoyed it 🙂
This dish just screams summer to me! It looks incredibly delicious
Salmon and pasta is one of my favourite combinations, this looks awesome 🙂
this looks absolutely incredible!! salmon is one of the best fish IMO – it has such great flavor and I love the fattiness.
Loving the creaminess in this dish. Sounds so flavourful!
This recipe is rich and delicious. I love it. 😋😋