The Budget-Friendly Protein To Try In Your Next Pasta

Even if you cook and eat meals at home, the current cost of living is hard to keep up with. This widespread financial burden affects millions of Americans daily, necessitating a search for more affordable ingredients and budget-friendly food options. Thankfully, one of the best and most widely beloved cuisines, pasta, is made with ingredients that don't break the bank. Simply cook your favorite pasta and smother it in your go-to sauce. Of course, no meal is complete without protein, and although a wagyu-topped fettuccine Alfredo is decadent enough to impress any discerning nonna, cooking high-end protein sources every night of the week isn't exactly frugal. Enter canned salmon, the hearty, surprisingly fresh, and totally affordable pasta protein that walks the line between quality and cost-efficiency.

Canned food is often touted as lower quality than its fresh counterpart. While that might be true in some cases, you'd be surprised at just how worthy canned salmon is of a spot on your dinner table, especially on pasta night. Canned and packaged salmon is predominantly wild-caught, which has a richer taste and higher nutritional makeup compared to farmed salmon. Notably, canned salmon is significantly cheaper than fresh, with many brands available for less than $2. Depending on the price of fresh wild-caught salmon in your area, you could purchase multiple cans of salmon before reaching the price of a single filet. Canned salmon is pre-cooked and ready to eat, which means you won't have to tack on extra dollars to your gas bill to cook raw fish. Not to mention that salmon is a common pasta provision and marries well with many classic fixings. Convenient, flavorful, and versatile, all without breaking the bank? Come on, what's not to love?

Canned salmon works wonders in many different pasta recipes, so your options for assembling a Sicilian-inspired seafood pasta are anything but limited. If the salmon is packed in water or oil, be sure to drain it before introducing it to your recipe to maintain that creamy, lush consistency characteristic of a well-made pasta dish.

With its rich, buttery flavor accented by oceanic undertones, canned salmon works great with a simple lemon-kissed garlic butter and cream spaghetti. For a more luxurious dish, prepare a creamy, white sauce-topped fettuccine that amplifies the nuanced flavors of the canned fish. Give the salmon a blast of aromatic herb-tinted goodness by using it as a crown that tops a pesto-drenched pot of angel hair pasta — don't forget an avalanche of freshly grated parmesan cheese to top it off. Or, turn it into a refreshing salmon dill pasta salad. 

Don't hesitate to experiment, either. Dare we suggest stuffing ravioli or tortellini with cream cheese and canned salmon? Or using the canned delicacy to jazz up that feta pasta that never went out of style? The world is your ... salmon? So experiment with flavors that make your tastebuds sing and enjoy each bite a little more knowing that you saved money along the way. And if you enjoy canned salmon pasta — wait until you try canned tuna in your weeknight pasta.