Get the Recipe: Chili Crisp Pasta
Pasta with a creamy cheese and chili crisp sauce and spinach. A quick and easy pasta dinner that's full of flavour!
Ingredients
- 4 Tablespoons butter
- 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 - 2 Tablespoons jarred chili crisp, plus more to garnish *see Note 1 below
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream, 35% b.f. *see Note 2 below
- 12-16 oz dried pasta, *see Note 3 below
- 4-6 oz baby spinach
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded or grated and well-packed, plus more for serving
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, salt the water generously and add the pasta. Cook the pasta to al dente per the package instructions.
- Tip! For this dish, try to use mostly the solids (the pepper flakes) from the chili crisp and less of the oil.
- While the pasta cooks, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and chili crisp to the skillet and cook with the butter briefly (don't let the garlic brown). Add the cream and stir together. Immediately reduce the heat under the skillet to low to keep the sauce warm (or turn off completely until the pasta is cooked).
- When the pasta is cooked, use a slotted spoon or tongs to transfer the cooked pasta to the skillet with the sauce, reserving the pasta cooking water.
- Increase the heat under the skillet slightly to medium-low. Add the spinach and use tongs to toss the pasta with the spinach and sauce until everything is well-coated and the spinach has wilted down.
- Add the Parmesan cheese and toss with the noodles. Add a spoonful or two of pasta cooking water if needed to loosen the sauce. Season with a bit of salt and pepper.
- Divide the pasta among the serving dishes and top with additional Parmesan cheese and an additional dollop of chile crisp, if you’d like. Serve immediately.
Notes
Note 1: Look for jarred chili crisp in with the Asian foods at most grocery stores. I like the Lao Gan Ma brand, but other brands, such as Momofuku, are also great. There are also recipes online to make your own chili crisp, if you like.
As for spiciness, start with 1 Tablespoon and work up from there, depending on your tolerance. I generally use 1 - 1 1/2 Tablespoons and have never found it to be anywhere near overly spicy. You can certainly use as much or as little as you enjoy.
Note 2: Heavy cream is recommended for the creamiest dish. You can use Half and Half Cream (10% b.f.) mixed with 2 teaspoons of cornstarch as a substitute.
Note 3: This pasta is equally nice with long or short pasta, so use what you have or enjoy. I've used rigatoni here.
Be sure to read the notes above this Recipe Card for more tips on making this recipe. You'll also find step-by-step photos there that you might find helpful.
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 678kcal, Carbohydrates: 68g, Protein: 18g, Fat: 37g, Saturated Fat: 23g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 9g, Trans Fat: 0.5g, Cholesterol: 106mg, Sodium: 335mg, Potassium: 434mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 3988IU, Vitamin C: 9mg, Calcium: 237mg, Iron: 2mg
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