Lemon Cajun Salmon Pasta

Jazz up your next salmon pasta dish with a creamy cajun lemon sauce! Ready in less than 30 minutes, this Lemon Cajun Salmon Pasta dish is suitable for the whole family and packs a flavoursome punch!

I’m always looking for new ways to incorporate salmon into recipes and specifically pasta dishes. This creamy lemon cajun salmon pasta was one of the first recipes I ever created and shared on social media back in 2019. So it holds a special place in my heart!

If you like this Creamy Lemon Cajun Salmon Pasta recipe, then you might also love my Tuscan Salmon Pasta recipe:

Does alcohol burn off during the cooking process?

You may see me mention that most of my recipes are suitable for the whole family and your instant thought when reviewing the ingredients of my Creamy Cajun Lemon Salmon Pasta recipe is “with 250ml of white wine?!” So let’s look at that …

“Alcohol does partially evaporate during cooking. Depending on the cooking method and how much alcohol is used, anywhere from 4 to 85 percent of the alcohol may remain. 

After 15 minutes of cooking, about 40 percent of the alcohol remains. Even after an hour of cooking, about 25 percent is left, and 10 percent remains after two hours. The alcohol retained in a given dish depends on the amount and type of alcohol, the cooking method, the container used and whether the dish is covered or open.” ref. Washington Post article

Therefore, if serving to children and you don’t want to serve them any food with alcohol in it at all (it’s at parents discretion when it comes to cooking), then I’ve included a substitution in the ‘Suitable For The Whole Family’ section below. 

Note: consideration should be relative to estimated alcohol % retained after cooking and the approximate volume of food you think your child is actually consuming. 

Suitable For The Whole Family

Suitable from 6 months old +

If you want to remove the alcohol from the recipe, then substitute 250ml white wine with 125ml boiling water (you could dissolve the stock in this before adding). The reason we reduce the volume is the alcohol volume is reduced during the cook – you can see an example of this in the ‘zip test’ section below.

If you’re looking to lower the salt content: use no salt stock cubes and season with salt before serving adults (after removing children’s portion from the batch).

I personally would serve this Cajun Salmon Pasta (for Baby Led Weaning – BLW) with either spaghetti (chopped up – although they are slightly more likely to gag with spaghetti, or large rigatoni or fusilli shaped pasta (less likely to gag with this option). 

The fact I’ve created the recipe with fusilli is why I think its appropriate without modification.

Ingredients 

Olive Oil

Salmon: I use salmon fillets from Bernard Corrigan Ltd.

You can use code ‘laurenscravings’ to get 20% off your online order and they deliver to a lot of the central belt within Scotland, you can view the full list here.

Lemon

Salt + Pepper

Pasta: I like using fusilli for this recipe, and it also makes it suitable for kids too, but any pasta shape would work.

Onion: I use brown onion, but red onion could be substituted here.

Garlic: fresh is always better in my opinion, but substitute for 1 tsp garlic paste for quickness if you prefer.

Stock: I use Knorr Chicken Stock Pot in this recipe as the jelly-type consistency easily melts within the sauce. You could crumble up a stock cube or dissolve in boiling water (if you’ve chosen to substitute the wine to make it family friendly). 

You might also be wondering why I’m using chicken stock for a salmon based recipe, and my answer is flavour baby. I’ve tried it with a few different types and chicken is my favourite. If you’d prefer to use fish stock or vegetable stock then that’s fine. 

White Wine: the general rule when cooking with wine is to pick something you’d be happy to drink, and if you’d prefer zero alcohol then substitute with 125ml boiling water (you could dissolve the chicken stock pot/cube in this before adding).

Mixed Herbs

Cajun Spice: the backbone of the recipe, I wouldn’t suggest substituting this for anything. Maybe fajita spice mix if that’s all you have.

Cream: I’m using double cream, but you could substitute for single cream, creme friache or even some cream (soft) cheese dependant on what you have available

Pasta Water: the starchy water helps to thicken and bind the sauce

How To Make Lemon Cajun Salmon Pasta

Pre heat oven to 180C fan / 200C / 375F. Prepare vegetables: finely chop onion and garlic.

Add salmon fillets to a lined baking tray, season with salt, pepper and 1/2 of the lemon zest – cook in oven for approx 10-12 minutes (or you can cook in airfryer at 200C for approx. 8-10 minutes) 

Boil pasta in salted water as per packet instructions until al dente (make sure to retain 50ml pasta water before draining) 

To a pan: add olive oil and chopped onion – cook until softened (approx. 5 minutes) 

Add chopped garlic, mixed herbs, cajun spice and dijon mustard to the pan – fry for further 1 minute

Pour in white wine, lemon juice and chicken stock pot (or crumbled chicken stock cube) then reduce liquid approximately by half (see Zip Test section below) 

Once the sauce has thickened slightly by reducing, pour in cream and pasta water 

Flake up the cooked salmon with a fork and add to the sauce (keep a little out of the sauce for plating up if desired) in addition to the rest of the lemon zest

Finally, mix through the cooked pasta, taste and season with some more salt and pepper if needed 

Storage + Reheating 

I would generally advise that Creamy Lemon Cajun Salmon Pasta is not suitable for home freezing.

It can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 – 4 days.

If re-heating, I would recommend adding to a pot with some added milk/cream (this will help ensure it doesn’t dry out) and heating through until piping hot. Be aware that reheating the pasta can result in it becoming softer.

If you choose to microwave to reheat, the sauce may split slightly. It will still be edible and ok to consume, but the sauce won’t be the same as when you first made it.