Offering a pleasing balance of sweet, tangy, and creamy flavours, this pasta is flavourful and satisfying. Made with coconut cream instead of heavy cream, fresh cherry tomatoes, and salmon fillets, these add a nutritional punch to the meal, making it a healthier alternative to a basic cream pasta!
For those of you who don’t prefer meals that are too creamy or cheesy, this pasta recipe is sure to please. The use of fresh cherry tomatoes gives a refreshing note to the meal, neutralising the rich creamy coconut flavours, making it more appetising and fulfilling!
Table of contents
Ingredients for shredded chicken
- Pasta: I used fusilli pasta in this recipe but feel free to use your own choice of pasta.
- Salmon fillets: This recipe includes 2 salmon fillets to pack the meal with more protein!
- Fresh cherry tomatoes: Using fresh cherry tomatoes to give a refreshing, sweet, and tangy flavour to the pasta. Fresh tomatoes would work as an alternative, but cherry tomatoes will add more sweetness to the sauce!
- Pasta water: The starchy pasta water helps thicken the sauce and allows it to stick to the pasta.
- Coconut cream: The key ingredient that gives the pasta a rich creamy coconut flavour.
- Sugar: This adds an extra note of sweetness to the pasta sauce, enhancing its flavours.
- Tomato paste: This intensifies the tomato flavour and adds umami flavour to the sauce.
- Ketchup: Adding in ketchup to the sauce will enrich the sweet, tangy flavour.
- Salt and pepper: For seasoning the pasta and salmon fillets.
- Oil: For pan-searing the salmon fillets.
How to make tomato coconut cream pasta with salmon
- Boil water in a pot over high heat and cook the pasta with some salt for 2 minutes less than the package instructions recommend.
- Heat some oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Season the salmon fillets with salt and pepper, then pan-sear until golden brown. Cut the salmon fillets into big chunks as you cook.
- When the pasta is cooked, drain them over a strainer. Reserve a cup of pasta water.
- In a wok, add in all the ingredients for the pasta sauce. Bring it to boil, then simmer until it thickens.
- Add in cooked salmon fillets and pasta then toss them together until well combined.
Success tips on making tomato coconut cream pasta with salmon
Cook the pasta in salted water.
Adding in salt when cooking the pasta helps season the dish right from the start! Be sure to boil a huge amount of water to allow enough room for the pasta to move and cook evenly.
Reserve a cup of pasta water for the sauce.
The starchy pasta water allows the pasta to stick to the sauce, so that every single bite is full of flavours. By adding in pasta water when making the sauce, it softens the cherry tomatoes, allowing their tomato flavours to infuse into the sauce, and helps incorporate all the ingredients together. The slightly salted pasta water also enhances the overall flavour profile of the dish.
Don’t overcook the salmon at the beginning.
Since you’ll be tossing the cooked pasta and salmon fillets with the sauce in the final step, don’t overcook the salmon fillets in the first step. Otherwise, the salmon fillets will turn out dry and tough. Cook them until golden brown and around 80% cooked at the beginning so that they will stay juicy and tender after tossing with the pasta sauce.
Popular substitutions & additions
- Add veggies: You can add in more veggies to make the dish even healthier and more fulfilling, such as peppers, mushrooms, and spinach.
- Switch up the salmon: I used salmon fillets in this recipe to add more protein to the dish. You can always replace them with chicken, beef, or any type of meat you prefer, or even use chickpeas or beans to make it vegetarian!
Perfect for a comforting meal, this tomato coconut cream pasta with salmon brings together a creamy goodness of the coconut cream with refreshing flavours of fresh cherry tomatoes. The twists and turns of the fusilli pasta hold onto the creamy sauce well, making it a fulfilling and satisfying meal. If you’re craving for a delicious creamy pasta, give this recipe a go!
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Tomato Coconut Cream Pasta with Salmon
Equipment
- 1 Frying pan
- 1 Pot or wok
- 1 Strainer
Ingredients
- 350 g pasta of your choice (I used fusilli pasta for this recipe)
- 2 salmon fillets
- 400 g fresh cherry tomatoes sliced in half
- 100 ml pasta water
- 1 tsp sugar
- 150 ml coconut cream
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1-2 tbsp ketchup
- salt and pepper for seasoning
- 1-2 tbsp oil
Instructions
- In a pot or wok, boil the pasta with 1-2 tsp of salt for 2 minutes less than the package instructions recommend.
- Pan-sear salmon fillets while cooking the pasta. In a frying pan, heat some oil over medium-high heat. Season the salmon fillets with salt and pepper then pan-sear both sides until golden brown. Cut the salmon fillets into large chunks as you cook.
- When the salmon fillets are 80% cooked, remove them from the pan and set aside.
- Drain the pasta over a strainer. Reserve 100-150ml pasta water.
- Using the same pot or wok, cook the pasta sauce. Heat some oil over medium-high heat. Transfer the cherry tomatoes, water, and sugar into the pot. Bring it to boil.
- As the tomatoes begin to soften, add in tomato paste, ketchup, and coconut cream. Stir to combine.
- Bring the heat down and simmer the sauce until it thickens.
- Transfer the cooked pasta and salmon fillets to the sauce. Toss to combine.