Canned Seafood Shines When Paired With Creamy Pasta

Canned seafood gets a bad rap — especially when compared to fresh fish — but the former shines when paired with creamy pasta dishes. This combination can bring a restaurant-level meal to anyone's kitchen, even if they're shopping on a budget. 

Buying the best canned fish takes a little research and effort, but it's possible to find brands that are both healthy and flavorful. A variety of canned seafood options line the shelves of grocery stores, from mussels to oysters to tuna to mackerel. All of these mesh well with a carbohydrate base, making them ideal proteins for a homemade pasta dish. 

Additionally, tinned fish are as versatile as they are cheap; they go well with most pasta shapes. Mixing mussels and oysters into linguini Alfredo is a popular choice. In this iteration, the Alfredo sauce adds a cheesy flavor to the dish, which is balanced by the briny taste of the fish. Meanwhile, salmon pairs exceptionally well with a garlic cream sauce. The options are nearly endless when experimenting with canned seafood and pasta. That's part of what makes this such a winning pairing.

Unlike fresh seafood, canned fish doesn't require a ton of preparation before going into a pasta dish. This is another benefit of the tinned option: it makes cooking faster and more convenient. Of course, pasta is often consumed warm. While canned fish is ready to eat straight out of the tin, heating it can enhance the overall meal.

Heating canned seafood is safe to do, but it's important to ensure it doesn't get overcooked. This will ruin the taste and texture, leading to a lower-quality dish. We recommend lightly warming it on the stove. This can be done with a skillet or a pot of boiling water. The microwave and oven can also be used to heat tinned fish, but those cooking it will need to be careful about getting the timing right. Fortunately, there are countless recipes and tutorials online. Once the seafood is warmed up, it's smooth sailing from there. All that's left is to mix it into the pasta, then add sauce and garnishes.