Creamy Gochujang Pasta Recipe
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Spice up your life with this creamy gochujang pasta recipe! It’s an absolute flavor bomb with just the right amount of heat! Plus, you’ll have plenty of leftover gochujang to make this spicy vegan japchae recipe!
I absolutely love to cook Korean dishes, but this one has a twist! This creamy gochujang pasta recipe is a beautiful fusion of Korean and Italian cuisines, packed with distinct flavors that work surprisingly well together!
So what is gochujang? Well, it’s a super versatile Korean chili paste, and one of the most important flavors in Korean cuisine! From noodles and soups to dipping sauces and marinades for meats, gochujang can be used in pretty much everything when it comes to Korean cooking. According to WebMD, it can even help reduce insulin resistance!
For this creamy gochujang pasta recipe, I’ve taken my go-to pink pasta sauce recipe and tweaked it to perfectly complement the distinct heat of the chili paste and the taste is truly unique!
🥄 Why This Recipe Works
- The blend of Italian and Korean flavors makes for a really unique and tasty dish!
- This pasta works great as both a side dish and as a main.
- You can easily modify this recipe by using your favorite cheeses and pastas, or by adding vegetables and/or protein to make it more filling.
🛒 What You Need To Make Creamy Gochujang Pasta
📝 Recipe Modifications And Substitutions
- Butter: You can also use olive oil.
- Tomatoes: Fresh tomatoes work best but you could also use 14 oz of canned tomatoes.
- Gochujang paste: I use 3 Tablespoons gochujang paste, but you can use 2 if you don’t want it too spicy, or 4 if you want it extra spicy!
- Heavy cream: Or cashew cream if you’re making it dairy-free!
- Garlic: 1-2 fresh garlic cloves work best, but minced garlic or garlic powder can be used too.
- Pasta: I used cascatelli pasta but you can use rigatoni, penne, or your favorite pasta. I also recommend trying this recipe with gnocchi or tteokbokki instead of pasta!
- Red pepper flakes: These are optional but they add some nice texture. You can also use gochu-garu.
- Spices: salt & pepper.
- Cheese: I use Toscano cheese from Trader Joe’s as well as garlic & herb goat cheese, but parmesan cheese, asiago, or even asadero cheese work just as well! I also think it works really well when topped with black truffle burrta!
- Veggies: I use green onions to garnish but you may want to try adding other vegetables like kale, spinach, bok choy, broccoli, or kimchi.
🍝 How To Make This Recipe
Step 1: In a large saucepan or pot, melt butter and saute onion on low heat. Sauté for about 40 minutes, or until caramelized, stirring occasionally.
Pro Tip: I didn’t bother chopping everything super finely because we’re going to blend everything for a smooth sauce later on!
Step 2: Add tomato, garlic, parsley, salt, and pepper, then stir to incorporate and cook over medium heat until tomatoes start to collapse.
Step 3: Add in gochujang, white wine, and heavy cream and blend until smooth.
Pro Tip: I prefer to use an immersion blender but a standing blender will work too!
Step 4: Boil pasta in lightly salted water until al dente, then add cooked pasta to sauce, along with 1/2 cup pasta water and 1/2 cup grated Toscano cheese and mix.
Step 5: Top with dollops of garlic & herb goat cheese, more grated Toscano cheese, red pepper flakes, and chopped green onion before serving.
Still have uncooked pasta leftover? Use it to make this amazing Gigi Hadid pasta or this pasta with broccoli!
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
Although gochujang does look deceptively like tomato paste, the two couldn’t be any more different in terms of flavor! Gochujang is made from gochu-garu, or Korean red chili flakes, as well as glutinous rice, meju powder, yeotgireum, and salt. The resulting flavor is sweet, savory, and spicy!
Gochujang paste comes in varying degrees of heat such as mild, hot, and very hot. Gochujang sauce is not a traditional Korean recipe but a Westernized creation you’ll often see served with bibimbap or Korean BBQ. As it is not an authentic recipe there is no one way to make it, but it is usually made by diluting gochujang paste with ingredients such as water, sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, plum extract, etc. and the level of spice is determined by the brand, the quantity of the gochujang used, as well as the spiciness level of the gochujang paste itself.
You can absolutely put gochujang in pasta! Gochujang, or Korean red chili paste, is so versatile that it can be used in nearly every Korean dish and it works well in many dishes from other cuisines as well, including pasta!
👩🏻🍳 Pro Tips
- Consider adding a protein source such as chicken, tofu, or bulgogi for a more substantial meal.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
- Reheat on the stove or in the microwave.
Love this creamy gochujang pasta recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
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Creamy Gochujang Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp butter
- ½ large yellow onion
- 2 large tomatoes
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tsp parsley flakes
- ½ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp pepper
- 3 Tbsp gochujang
- ⅛ cup white wine
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 3 cups cascatelli pasta
- ½ cup Toscano cheese (Trader Joe's)
- 4 oz garlic & herb goat cheese
- 1 Tbsp red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1 green onion
Instructions
- In a large saucepan or pot, melt butter and saute onion on low heat. Sauté for about 40 minutes, or until caramelized, stirring occasionally.
- Add tomato, garlic, parsley, salt, and pepper, then stir to incorporate and cook over medium heat until tomatoes start to collapse.
- Add in gochujang, white wine, and heavy cream and blend until smooth.
- Boil pasta in lightly salted water until al dente, then add cooked pasta to sauce, along with 1/2 cup pasta water and 1/2 cup grated Toscano cheese and mix.
- Top with dollops of garlic & herb goat cheese, more grated Toscano cheese, red pepper flakes, and chopped green onion before serving.
Notes
- I didn’t bother chopping everything super finely because we’re going to blend everything for a smooth sauce later on!
- I prefer to use an immersion blender but a standing blender will work too!
- Consider adding a protein source such as chicken, tofu, or bulgogi for a more substantial meal.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
- Reheat on the stove or in the microwave.
Love gochujang, this looks delicious!
This looks incredible, thanks for the recipe!
hope you like it!