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Pasta salad with salmon is fresh, tangy, and loaded with texture. You get tender noodles, flaky salmon, briny capers, and a hit of lemony dressing that pulls it all together. It’s not creamy, not heavy, just bright, herby, and really satisfying. Think picnic food, but smarter.
This is an easy, make-ahead dish. After chilling in the refrigerator for a couple of hours, it absorbs all the wonderful flavors of the vinaigrette.
Here is Why This Salmon Pasta Salad Recipe Works
Fresh, not fishy: Using cooked, chilled salmon keeps the salad clean and buttery.
Lemon-Dijon dressing: The combo of tangy lemon, sharp mustard, and sweet honey balances the saltiness of the capers and richness of the fish.
Herbs do heavy lifting: Dill and chives add a ton of fresh flavor without crowding the dish.
Flexible and make-ahead friendly: Serve it straight from the fridge, and swap in whatever short pasta or herbs you’ve got on hand.
This recipe is a great way to use leftovers from our whole baked salmon or you can add smoked salmon for a smoky flavor.
For more quick salads, my glass noodle salad with shrimp is fast, fresh, and full of contrast, with crisp veggies and a tangy-sweet dressing
Recipe Tips
Cool the pasta completely: Rinse under cold water and drain well. Warm pasta will steam the other ingredients.
Flake the salmon gently: Aim for bite-sized pieces, not mush. Use your hands, not a fork.
Don’t drown the salad: Add dressing gradually, toss, and taste before adding more.
Use fresh lemon juice: Bottled won’t cut it here; the acidity needs to be bright and clean.
Serve slightly chilled: It’s best cool, not ice-cold, so the flavors can shine.
Salmon. Use leftovers from our sheet pan salmon or our baked salmon.
For another light, make-ahead option, try my shrimp pasta salad. It’s just as easy and full of bright, briny flavor.
Substitutions and Variations
Try swapping the vinaigrette for Ranch salad dressing, orange champagne vinaigrette, or preserved lemon vinaigrette.
Swap the salmon for pre-cooked chicken. You can cook frozen chicken in an Instant Pot for a quick preparation.
Use any pasta you have on hand. We love the spelt pasta with this salad but it tastes great with any pasta.
Salmon Pasta Salad
This pasta salad with salmon is the no-fuss, flavor-packed answer to hot-day dinners and next-day lunches. It’s bright, herby, and just rich enough to feel like a real meal.
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Salmon Pasta Salad
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Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 12 ounces dry pasta, I used spelt pasta
- 12 ounces cooked salmon, chilled and flaked
- ½ cup capers, drained
- ½ red onion, diced
- ¼ cup fresh chopped chives
- 4 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
For the Lemon Vinaigrette:
- ½ cup olive oil
- ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoons honey
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions, rinse in cold water to cool, drain well.
- Transfer to a large salad bowl and add salmon, capers, red onion, chives and dill.
- In a small dish whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, honey, salt and pepper. Pour dressing over the salad and toss gently to coat. Garnish with chopped chives or scallion tops over and serve. Alternately, scoop into individual dishes add garnish and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
Well done, Pat! I need some more lighter meals in my repertoire and this one is delightful. The vinaigrette is really nice.
Pan-seared the salmon just to be able to make the salad. Froze the other half for the next time around.
Thanks for the kudos, Craig….I’m pleased that you enjoyed the salad. We appreciate hearing from our readers on how our recipes work for them. Thanks so much for your feedback. ?
This is a great dish. We had it last Saturday and my family was raving about it. It was a great change for us. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Thanks, Sheila…I’m just so pleased that you and your family like this recipe. It really is a great dish 🙂
This salmon salad with spelt pasta sounds amazing. I don’t like dressings but the family does so I would make the dressing separate for them. Salmon is a great food to eat during Lent for us. Thanks for sharing the salad idea.
You are so welcome, Rebecca…you will enjoy the salad even without the dressing. Maybe just lemon juice squeezed on your portion? 🙂
I’m not big on fish but salmon is one I can tolerate. This looks really light and tasty too.
Hi, Jess….So glad you do eat salmon, I hope you can try this salad. I bet it would also be delish with grilled chicken. Just saying….:)
This is a perfect pasta salad. I would have never thought to put salmon in a pasta salad!
Megan, this is so very delicous with the salmon. I hope you try it soon. Thanks for your comments 🙂
This looks delicious! I love all the flavors of the recipe. I’m not sure if my small town will have the spelt pasta though!
Hi, Elena….If you can’t find the spelt pasta just use traditional pasta. You will love it! 🙂
I love salmon, and I love pasta salad, but I’ve never tried them together. This looks like an amazing salad with great flavor combinations. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Ah ha, Heidi….I know you are going to love this salad! thanks for the comments 🙂
I love that spiral pasta. And I had some amazing salmon today. It just looks so delicious there. I would definitely make this dish.
Thanks, David….it is delicious. I hope you make it soon. 🙂
salmon is my fav fish and one of my fav food! I love pasta with salmon and I know how delicious they can be in a salad together! I’ll defo tryo this
Thank you…This is a keeper salad recipe! 🙂
That looks so delicious! I always love anything pasta and this will be added to my list. Thank you for the recipe!
Thank you, Ruth…I hope you try it soon! 🙂