Creamy pasta with peppers, onions, and garlic tossed in a spicy coconut cream sauce topped with blackened salmon.
Rasta pasta is something I grew up on and honestly was my first form of alfredo pasta before I even knew that was a thing!
Rasta Pasta is a colorful pasta dish made with a variety of bell peppers, creamy sauce, and Caribbean seasonings. It is often left meatless but you can top it with your favorite protein. My family happens to love salmon so that’s what I’ve paired it with this time. Feel free to swap that out for no meat, chicken, or shrimp.
This pasta is special to me because it’s something my mom would make when I was growing up. When I finally left home for college, I remember calling her to try my hand at her recipe. Over the years, I’ve made my own tweaks to it finally making it my own. This dish will always have a special place in my heart.
The best part of this dish is that it yields quite a few servings and the pasta truly gets better with age. It’s the perfect meal prep recipe and I enjoyed using my FoosSaver Microwavable bags to store the leftovers.
I loved cooking this recipe and I hope you enjoy it too,
Creamy Rasta Pasta with Salmon
Creamy pasta with peppers, onions, and garlic tossed in a spicy coconut cream sauce topped with blackened salmon.
Ingredients
For Salmon
- 4 salmon filets (3-4 oz each)
- 1 tsp of blackening seasoning
- 1/2 tsp of salt
- Drizzle of olive oil
For Pasta
- 1 lb of rigatoni or ziti pasta
- 2 cups of heavy cream
- 1 cup of coconut milk
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese, plus more to serve
- 1 tbsp of Walkerswood jerk seasoning
- 1 tsp of paprika
- 1 tsp of garlic powder
- 1 tsp of dried Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp of onion powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Pinch of white sugar *optional
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 sprig of scallion, chopped
- 1 small shallot, chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
Instructions
Cook pasta according to package instructions for al dente, reserving 1/4 cup of pasta water for sauce if needed.
For Salmon
- Pat salmon dry and drizzle with olive oil and seasoning
- In a nonstick skillet, heat olive oil on medium heat
- Add salmon, flesh side down, and sear for 5 minutes, then flip to skin and sear for another minute
- Remove salmon and finish in the oven for 5 minutes on 400 degrees
- Set aside and allow it to cool
For Sauce
- Drizzle olive oil and add bell peppers, shallot, and scallion and saute for 5 minutes until fragrant and soft
- Add Walkerswood jerk marinade with garlic and stir for another minute to incorporate into veggies
- Add coconut milk and heavy cream and bring to a slight simmer
- Season with spice blend and add cheese
- Add sugar *optional
- Allow sauce to simmer for 5 minutes then turn off heat
- Add cooked pasta to sauce a little at a time stirring to incorporate the sauce evenly
- Allow pasta to marry the sauce for at least 5 minutes before serving (add pasta water here if the sauce is too thick or needs to be stretched to accommodate pasta)
To serve
- Assemble pasta at the bottom of the plate and then top with salmon
- Add fresh parsley and more parmesan cheese to taste
Notes
I added shrimp to this version and you can do so in the sauce step of the recipe. Add shrimp to poach gently until they turn opaque about 3-5 minutes, then proceed to next step of combining pasta and sauce.
Check out my last recipe here.
