Easy Salmon Lasagna
, Updated Feb 13, 2026
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This Salmon Lasagna puts a delicious seafood twist on a classic comfort food, layering flaky salmon, buttery greens and creamy béchamel sauce between tender pasta sheets for a rich yet surprisingly easy dinner.
Love Salmon? Try my Salmon Wellington recipe!
Lasagna is probably one of my favourite dishes… but shamefully not one I make very often! I would hazard that very few families enjoy from-scratch homemade lasagna more than few times a year. There’s a very simple reason for that: lasagna is one of those recipes that takes a lot of time to get right.
There’s several elements involved: making the filling, the white sauce, layering everything and cooking it all together. Lasagna (or is it lasagne?) is not a quickie weekday meal but it’s definitely worth the effort.
I have given meaty lasagna a seafood twist that’s just as delicious and, dare I say, just that little bit quicker to prepare. Instead of spending hours preparing the rich meat sauce that is the building block of traditional lasagne alla Bolognese, I have used canned Salmon.
Here’s What You’ll Need
Spinach and leek filling: This simply involves sautéing finely chopped leek and shredded spinach in butter until softened. You must drain the filling as the spinach can make it quite watery. Put the cooked filling in a fine sieve and leave to drain while you prepare the sauce.
Salmon filling: You will need three large tins ocanned Salmon. Drain the salmon and carefully pick out the larger bones. Flake the salmon and set aside. Alternatively use cooked salmon fillets.
Lasagne sheets: If you are wondering about the lasagne vs lasagne spelling, lasagne is the plural. You will need to use lasagne sheets which don’t require pre-cooking or soaking – my favourite brand is Barilla. You might need to break up the sheets so that they fit in your ovenproof dish.
Béchamel sauce: this is a white sauce made with flour and butter (the roux) and milk. Béchamel is a really useful sauce to have in your back pocket as it is used in many recipes such as moussaka, some gratin dishes and even macaroni and cheese. This white sauce is also enriched with cheese such as grated Parmesan. See below for a step-by-step guide on how to make it.
How to Make Salmon Lasagna
Make the filling and white sauce
- Start by preparing the leek and spinach filling. Heat a little butter in a frying pan and cook the leek for 5-10 minutes over low heat until softened. Gradually add the shredded spinach and salt, stirring until it wilts. Transfer the filling into a fine sieve set over a bowl to allow any moisture to drain.
- Make the Béchamel sauce. Melt the butter in a large saucepan until it is foaming. Whisk in the flour to make the roux and cook for two minutes so that the flour loses some of its raw floury flavour – don’t let it brown.
- Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly, until it is incorporated into the sauce. Bring the sauce to a low simmer and cook for 3-4 minutes until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Stir in mustard, dill, lemon zest, freshly grated nutmeg and half of the grated Parmesan. Taste and add more mustard or seasoning until you are happy.
Assemble the salmon lasagna
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°F). Spread a little of the sauce to an ovenproof dish measuring at least 30x19cm (10 cup capacity). Add a layer of lasagna sheets and another layer of the sauce. Spread the salmon over the sauce and top with half of the shredded mozzarella. I didn’t go too crazy with the mozzarella here, you can add more if you like.
- Add a little more sauce – it acts as the cement of your lasagna! – and then top with more pasta sheets. Spread the leek and spinach filling over them and add a sprinkling of shredded mozzarella.
- Top with the final layer of lasagne sheets and spread with a generous layer of Béchamel. Add the remaining grated Parmesan and bake for 25 minutes. If you wish to give the top a deep golden colour then finish off with five minutes under the grill (broiler), but keep a watchful eye as it can quickly go from golden to burned!
- Leave the lasagna to cool for 10 minutes so it can firm up then slice and serve with a mixed green salad or steamed vegetables.
Recipe Notes and Tips
Even though lasagna is a multi-step recipe, it’s not actually hard to make. Here are some useful tips:
• Make sure your fillings are not too wet. Drain the spinach filling and the salmon too.
• Leeks need to cook for at least 10 minutes until softened – only use the white and light green parts and discard the ends.
• Taste and season! Even though the Béchamel is loaded with cheese it is very mild tasting unless you season it with salt and pepper, always to your preferred taste. You might want to add more mustard to bring a bit of sharpness to the sauce.
• Don’t be tempted to cut into your lasagna straight out of the oven. Not only will you burn yourself if you attempt a bite – I speak from painful experience! – but your lasagna will be too soft to cut neatly. Let it cool down for a good 10 minutes before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can freeze the lasagna in its dish (provided it is freezer proof). Cool completely and freeze for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in a 350°F (180°C) oven, covered, for 25-30 minutes.
Yes. Canned salmon works perfectly and makes the recipe faster and more economical while still flavorful.
Absolutely. Assemble up to a day ahead. Cover and refrigerate and bake when ready.
Have you made my salmon lasagna recipe? Post a photo on my Facebook page, share it on Instagram, or save it to Pinterest with the tag #supergoldenbakes. I can’t wait to see your take on it!
Salmon lasagna
Video
Ingredients
Spinach and leek filling
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 leeks white parts only finely chopped
- 8 cups (250g) fresh spinach chopped
- 1 tsp salt
For the Béchamel sauce
- ⅓ cup (75g) unsalted butter
- ½ cup (65g) all-purpose flour (= plain flour)
- 4 cups (960ml) milk
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard or more, to taste
- 1 lemon zest only
- 1 tbsp dill chopped
- ¾ cup (75g) grated Parmesan divided
- ⅓ tsp freshly grated nutmeg or more to taste
- freshly ground black pepper a few turns of the mill
- salt to taste
To assemble the salmon lasagna
- 21 oz (600g) flaked salmon fresh or canned
- 9-12 sheets lasagna or more, as needed
- 1 cup (115g) shredded mozzarella
Instructions
Prepare the leek and spinach filling
- Heat the butter in a large pan and cook the leek for 5-10 minutes, stirring, over low heat until softened. Gradually add the spinach and salt, stirring until it wilts.1 tbsp unsalted butter, 3 leeks white parts only, 8 cups (250g) fresh spinach, 1 tsp salt
- Transfer the filling into a fine sieve set over a bowl to allow any moisture from the spinach to drain.
Make the Béchamel sauce
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan until it is foaming.⅓ cup (75g) unsalted butter
- Whisk in the flour to make the roux and cook for two minutes so that the flour looses some of its raw floury flavour – don’t let it brown.½ cup (65g) all-purpose flour
- Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly, until it is incorporated into the sauce.4 cups (960ml) milk
- Bring the sauce to a low simmer and cook for 3-4 minutes or until it thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.
- Stir in the mustard, dill, lemon zest, freshly grated nutmeg and half of the grated Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.1 tbsp Dijon mustard , 1 lemon zest only, 1 tbsp dill, ¾ cup (75g) grated Parmesan, ⅓ tsp freshly grated nutmeg, freshly ground black pepper, salt
Assemble the lasagna
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Add a little of the sauce to an ovenproof dish measuring at least 30x19cm (10 cup capacity). Line the dish with lasagna sheets and another layer of the sauce.9-12 sheets lasagna
- Spread the salmon over the sauce and top with half of the shredded mozzarella.21 oz (600g) flaked salmon, 1 cup (115g) shredded mozzarella
- Add a little more sauce – it acts as the cement of your lasagna! – and then top with more pasta sheets.
- Spread the leek and spinach filling over them and add the remaining shredded mozzarella.
- Top with the final layer of lasagna sheets and top with the remaining Béchamel. Sprinkle with rest of the Parmesan.
- Place on a heavy baking tray (in case of spills) and bake for 25 minutes. If you wish to give the top a deep golden colour then finish off with 5 minutes under the grill but keep a watchful eye as it can quickly go from golden to burned!
- Leave the lasagna to cool for 10 minutes then slice and serve with a mixed green salad or steamed vegetables.
Notes
- You can freeze the lasagna in its dish (provided it is freezer proof). Cool completely and freeze for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in a 180°C (350°F) oven, covered, for 25-30 minutes.
- You can use frozen spinach if preferred. Thaw first then squeeze using a cheesecloth to get rid of excess moisture before adding to the filling/
Nutrition
Nutritional information is always approximate, and will depend on quality of ingredients and serving sizes.
So easy to do,yummy my husband loved it. Will be making it again.
Hello Lucy, is your oven fan assist or do I need to adjust temperatures accordingly?
Yes reduce by 15-20 degrees 😘
Is it possible to use frozen spinach instead and no leeks?
Yes, make sure to defrost and squeeze out the moisture otherwise it will be too watery. You can skip the leeks if you like
Perfect dish …….. I added an additional layer of salmon . Bottom layer salmon, middle layer spinach and then the third layer salmon.
Delicious, loved it
So glad to hear it Suzannah 🙂
Excellent recipe! I’ll definitely make it again and again! The entire family loved it! I made some minor modifications based on the ingredients I had on hand and it turned out fabulous!
Spinach & Leek filling: I didn’t have leeks so I sautéd mushrooms with the spinach and added 2 cloves of garlic to the butter. I then added roughly 1 cup ricotta and 1 cup of cottage cheese to the spinach and mushrooms, a handful of mozzarella and some parmesan and mixed it all together.
Béchamel: I mixed in about 3/4 cups white wine because, why not?
Everything else was followed exactly to the recipe and it was amazing!!! Thank you!!!
I can see how the canned salmon is perfect to use for this recipe but have you ever tried with fresh cooked salmon? Wondering if it’s possible..
Yes just replace with equal amounts of cooked fresh salmon, flaked and patted dry