Healthy One Pot Salmon Dinner is Easy
Creamy Pasta with Salmon, Artichokes and Mushrooms is a one pot dinner made with heart healthy salmon, plenty of fragrant garlic, fat-free half and half (Land O’Lakes is the best), Parmesan cheese, plenty of fresh baby spinach or kale, and colorful herbs for an explosion of flavor. Not only is this salmon and pasta dish quick and easy, it is at home for a weeknight dinner or fancy party dish. This also scores additional points for being ready in about 30 minutes, including all of the prep.
As many of you know from reading this blog (thanks for your loyalty and support!), my goal is to create recipes that are exciting, quick, healthy and appeal to both adults and kids alike. This salmon recipe checks all the boxes. Like the Crispy Crunchy Chicken Cakes on the blog, here the salmon is so tender and mild that even a toddler will love it.
Pan searing the salmon until both sides are brown and slightly crisp, keeps the salmon very moist inside. You can easily remove the skin after the skin side is cooked. It will easily pull away from the salmon if you slide a spatula between the skin and the fish.
Saving Time is Always the Goal on Weeknights
This wonderful and relatively healthy dish takes only about 30 minutes. It’s a perfect way to make a good, healthy and quick one pot dinner. The sauce is very creamy yet low fat because of the great hack of using fat free half and half mixed with cornstarch as a substitute for heavy cream. You will never notice the difference. The addition of lemon and lemon peel brightens up the flavors of this entire dish.
This makes for a great weeknight meal, but can easily be the star of a cozy dinner party no matter what the time of year.
If you make this wonderful salmon dish, please be sure to leave a comment and give this recipe a rating! l, I love reading your comments and I will always respond! If you do make this recipe, please don’t forget also to tag me on Instagram @metirementblog.
Creamy Salmon Pasta with Artichokes and Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 4 salmon filets skin on or off (your preference)
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 8 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil divided
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- 16 ounces linguine or spaghetti
- 4 cloves garlic finely minced
- 2 5 ounce packages sliced shitake mushrooms
- 2 12 ounce bags frozen artichoke hearts or canned artichoke hearts rinsed, drained, very dry and cut in half
- 1 cup fat free half and half
- 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
- 4 cups fresh baby spinach or Italian kale finely sliced
- Juice and grated peel from 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
- ¼ cup fresh thyme leaves or 1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
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Season the salmon with salt and pepper.
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Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the salmon, skin side up and cook for 5 minutes, not moving it around, until the salmon is brown. Gently flip the filets over, and continue cooking the salmon for another 7-8 minutes, or until the salmon is cooked through but not overdone. Remove salmon from the skillet, removing the skin and place the filets in a 200 degree oven while you are making the rest of the dish.
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Wipe out the pot and cook the pasta according to the package directions, adding two tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of salt to the water. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water, drain the pasta and set aside. Don’t rinse the pasta; the oil will keep it from sticking.
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To the same pot, melt 2 tablespoons each of butter and olive oil over medium high heat and add the garlic and the mushrooms and cook until the garlic is fragrant and the mushrooms are starting to get crispy about 4-5 minutes. Stir constantly so the garlic doesn’t burn. Add the remaining butter and olive oil, and the artichoke hearts and saute them until the artichokes are just warmed through.
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Whisk the half and half with the cornstarch until there are no lumps and add to the mushrooms and artichokes. Season the sauce with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium low heat, stirring constantly until smooth and creamy. Add the parmesan and the spinach (or kale) and cook until the greens are wilted, about 4 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and grated peel, parsley, chives and thyme.
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Stir in the pasta and add the pasta water a little at a time until the sauce is creamy and coats the pasta. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and stir well until the pasta is warm, about 3-4 minutes.
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To serve, arrange the pasta and vegetables in individual bowls or on a platter and break the salmon into large pieces. Sprinkle everything with some more parsley and chives