Foil-Pack Salmon with Pasta and Pesto
⏱ 20 min prep · 🍳 10 min · 🍽 4
Foil packets are one of those techniques that's easier to trust than to explain: salmon, pasta, and asparagus steam in their own sauce, so nothing scorches on the grate or dries out over direct heat. A cream-and-lemon pesto sauce does the real work — it keeps the fish moist and gives the pasta just enough liquid to stay loose instead of clumping.
Fold the packets tight enough to trap the steam, but leave a little air over the filling so the sauce can circulate. Ten minutes on a hot grill is enough to cook the salmon through and warm the pasta all the way to the center.
It's a recipe that tolerates loose measuring — more asparagus, less pesto, whatever's left in the fridge from earlier in the week ends up in the packet.
Ingredients
- 200.000 g pasta
- 500.000 g laks (fersk)
- 1.000 stk asparges, i biter
- 0.500 glass pesto
- 100.000 ml fløte
- 15.000 ml sitronsaft
- bakepapir eller aluminiumsfolie
- krydder (diverse)
- paprika
Instructions
Forvarm grill på middels varme.
Kok pasta etter anvisning på pakken.
Fjern skinn fra laks og skjær i biter.
Skjær asparges i passende biter.
Bland pesto, kremfløte og sitronsaft sammen til en pestosaus.
Legg to lag aluminiumsfolie eller bakepapir (ca. 30x30 cm) på en flat overflate.
Legg kokt pasta på den ene halvdelen, deretter laks og asparges i midten.
Hell pestosausen over fisk, asparges og pasta.
Brett folien eller papiret til en lukket pakke.
Legg pakkene på grillen i ca. 5 minutter.
Server i dyp tallerken direkte fra pakken.
This recipe earns its spot on a weeknight lineup where one kid inhales salmon and the other is still negotiating. Because everything cooks in individual packets, you can build each one differently — extra pesto in one, plain cream sauce in another — without anyone clocking that they got a custom order. Asparagus is usually what gets pushed to the edge of a kid's plate, so swap it for corn or sugar snap peas if that's what actually gets eaten in your house. And because cleanup is just foil in the bin, it's one of the rare dinners that doesn't push bath time later — useful on a night when the week's rhythm has zero slack left in it.
FAQ
Can I assemble the foil packets ahead of time?
Yes — build them the night before and keep them covered in the fridge until they go on the grill. Pull them out about 10 minutes before grilling; cold foil straight from the fridge means the outside of the salmon finishes cooking well before the center catches up. Hold off on spooning the pesto sauce over the pasta until just before you seal each packet, or the pasta soaks up too much liquid and turns mushy.
Can I make this in the oven instead of on the grill?
Yes — set the oven to 400°F and bake the packets on a sheet pan for 12-15 minutes. Check doneness by opening one packet and pressing gently with a fork; the salmon should flake apart without resistance. The oven version is the easy fallback on a rainy night or when nobody's fired up the grill.
How do I adjust this for kids who don't like strong pesto?
Set aside one or two packets with just cream, lemon, and a pinch of salt before stirring pesto into the rest of the sauce for the adults. Asparagus can be swapped for corn or peas if that's an easier sell. Serve extra pesto on the side for anyone who wants more flavor, rather than mixing it into every packet up front.
How long do leftovers keep, and can I freeze them?
Leftovers keep for two days in a sealed container in the fridge, though the pasta dries out by day two — add a splash of cream or water when reheating. Freeze raw salmon and pesto separately rather than the finished dish; the cream sauce splits and the pasta turns mushy once thawed. Raw salmon freezes well for up to two months if it's wrapped tightly.
Can I swap the salmon for another fish or protein?
Trout is the closest substitute for salmon and works with the same cook time. Diced chicken breast is another option, but push the grill time to 12-15 minutes and check that it's cooked through before serving. The cream-and-lemon pesto sauce works well with either, so the rest of the recipe stays the same.
What should I serve alongside, and how much should I buy?
Plan on about 1.5 pounds of salmon fillet and one bunch of asparagus for four servings. A simple green salad or a loaf of crusty bread on the side covers anyone who wants more to fill up on. If you're packing lunches for the next day, this portions out into lunch boxes easily the night before.