Easy Creamy Gochujang Pasta {in under 15 minutes!}
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In the time it takes you to boil pasta and combine it with sauce, you can have this creamy Gochujang Pasta on the table. It is the perfect flavorful twist for any weeknight pasta meal.
Table of Contents
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Flavorful: The gochujang pasta sauce in this recipe brings heat, salt, acid, and sweetness to the dish making it a complex flavor party in your mouth!
- Few Ingredients: Robust flavor is not the only thing going for my gochujang pasta recipe. You also only need a few ingredients. And most of them you can find in your pantry right now.
- Vegetarian: Many other gochujang pasta recipes like to add things like chicken, pork belly, or shrimp, however I like mine simple so I can taste all the gochujang goodness.
- Budget friendly: There are a lot of great things about this spicy pasta dish, but the fact that it is £0.77 per serving may be the best part. You could serve all your neighbors for that price!
Got a craving for spicy? Here are a few other recipes with gochujang paste you may like; Gochujang Noodles (Spicy Korean Noodles), Turkey Mince Recipe with Rice (Gochujang Fried Rice) and Gochujang Turkey Noodles
What is Gochujang?
Gochujang, is also known as Korean BBQ sauce, is a fundamental ingredient in Korean dishes. It’s a thick red paste made from chillies, fermented soybeans, glutinous rice, and salt.
Gochujang can be found as a paste or a sauce. The difference being that the paste is thicker and is normally cooked into dishes, while the sauce is thinner and used for dipping and drizzling over food.
The paste is what I use in this dish. It has a complex flavor that includes sweet, spicy, acidic, and salty all at once. The paste is often added as a flavor base in things like soup, marinades, sauces, and in this case…pasta!
Where can I buy Gochujang?
Gochujang is becoming more widely used so you can find it in most large supermarkets. If your local supermarket fails to supply it, try visiting your local Asian or International food store.
Ingredients
The main ingredients that make this Gochujang Pasta recipe fantastic are the following:
Gochujang Paste
The Gochujang paste provides the most prominent flavour, helping turn the dish into a sweet, spicy recipe.
Parmesan
Parmesan cheese is a salty, cheesy, umami-packed flavour bomb that completes this Korean pasta dish.
Single cream
A little single cream goes a long way here. When combined with pasta water and parmesan, we achieve the best creamy, cheesy foundation for our Gochujang to thrive on.
Spaghetti
You can use your favourite pasta shape here. I chose spaghetti as I think it really pairs well with our creamy Gochujang sauce and I always have it in my pantry. However, tagliatelle, fusilli or spiralini pasta work as well.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations/ Adaptations
Gochujang Substitutes: Can’t find any gochujang? No worries, you can substitute with miso+chili flakes. Or in a real pinch you can make these spicy noodles using sriracha or thai chili paste, but keep in mind they will make the dish taste a bit different.
Make it high protein: By adding fish, prawns, chicken, pork belly, or halloumi, you can bring the protein level up on this dish and feel satisfied longer.
Make it with vegetables: Sometimes I add things like mushrooms, asparagus, broccoli, carrots, and peppers just to balance out the meal.
Make it Vegan/Dairy Free: To make this gochujang pasta without cream, you can substitute the single cream for coconut milk or oat milk. Then, substitute the parmesan cheese for a vegan parmesan.
No spaghetti? No problem! This delicious meal can be made with any type of pasta from penne, fusilli, or rigatoni, to udon, ramen, or rice noodles.
How to make creamy Gochujang pasta
- Start by adding the spaghetti to heavily salted pasta water. Set your timer to 2 minutes minus the packet time. Then to a large/ deep pan, add the olive oil, chilli flakes and garlic. Gently fry on a (very) low heat for around 2 minutes (Image 1).
- Next, add the Gochujang paste into the pan to fry for a couple of minutes (Image 2).
3. Loosen the sauce with 2 ladles of pasta water and continue to cook over low heat (Image 3).
4. Once reduced, ensuring that the Gochujang sauce isn’t boiling (reduce/turn off the heat) (Image 4).
5. Then add the cream into the pan with the parmesan. Stir to form a creamy sauce, adding another ladle of pasta water (Image 5).
6. Add the undercooked spaghetti into the pan and stir to combine, gently heating as you stir. The pasta water should thicken into an emulsified cheesy sauce. Keep adding pasta water as necessary and once the pasta is fully cooked, serve immediately with an extra sprinkle of parmesan (Image 6).
Serve with Tenderstem Broccoli and mushrooms sauteed with fry light.
Satisfy creamy pasta cravings with these other recipes; Creamy Tomato and Spinach One Pot Pasta, Hellmann’s Creamy Brussels Sprout Pasta Bake, Steak Pasta with Creamy Sauce
Tips for best results
- Cook the pasta until al dente, as it will continue to cook when you add the sauce.
- Make sure you reserve some pasta water, before draining the cooked pasta. You can use this water to loosen the creamy sauce and pasta in case the sauce becomes too thick.
- Adjust the amount of Gochujang paste according to your preferred spice level and taste.
- You can add additional protein to this recipe, eg chicken or fish as both will go equally well.
Make Ahead Instructions
You can definitely make this pasta with gochujang ahead. It refrigerated and freezes beautifully. The only recommendation I have is to add a tablespoon of water to the pasta when you reheat it in the microwave. Another tip is to store the sauce and pasta separately to maintain the bold flavors. Then just add the sauce to the portion of pasta you plan to eat.
Serving Suggestions
This gochujang spaghetti dish has over 20 grams of protein, but to ensure a balance of nutrients, I like to pair it with a side of vegetables. Typically Roasted Tenderstem Broccoli and Mushrooms are my favorite. However, sometimes a Salad is the easiest.
Other veggies/sides that would work well with this creamy Gochujang pasta: Cavolo Nero with Garlic & Lemon, or Air Fryer Green Beans.
If you want to add more protein to this recipe try Thin Chicken Breasts, Crispy pan-fried firm tofu, or Poached Eggs in the Air Fryer.
Leftover Storage and Reheat Instructions
Refrigerator: Store this gochujang recipe in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Freezer: This dish freezes well for up to three months.
Reheat: Reheat by adding a tablespoon of water to the noodles and microwaving in 15 second bursts until the pasta and sauce are heated through.
FAQS
I love the spaghetti with the creamy Gochujang sauce, but you can use any type of pasta for example, linguine, fettuccine, fusilli and even orzo.
The level of spice depends of the brand and also which Gochujang paste you buy. Always start by using a little in the sauce to try and spice up depending of your taste.
Gochujang has a robust flavor that is salty, sweet, acidic, and spicy. Overall, the flavor is quite unique and hard to compare to another flavor. But if I had to say, it is like a spicy miso.
This dish uses store bought gochujang paste with garlic and parmesan cheese added.
Need something sweet for after? Try these recipes; Overnight Weetabix Cheescake, Reese’s Pieces Peanut Butter Baked Oats, Chocolate Chip Microwave Cookies
If you tried this Creamy Gochujang Pasta recipe, it would mean so much to me if you could leave a review & a star rating to let me know how you found it! I love hearing about your experiences – it motivates me to keep creating more and more recipes for you guys 💛 Let’s get cooking! – Mimi x
Easy Creamy Gochujang Pasta
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp Gochujang paste (£2.50/5)=(£0.50)
- 100 g parmesan (£1.60)
- 150 ml single cream (£1.10/2)=(£0.55)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced (£0.39)
- 500 g spaghetti £0.80
Cupboard Essentials
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp chilli flakes, optional
Method
- Add the spaghetti to heavily salted boiling water. Set your timer for 2 minutes minus the suggested cooking time on the packet or box.
- To a large, deep pan, add the olive oil, chilli flakes, and garlic. Gently fry on a (very) low heat for around 2 minutes.
- Next add the Gochujang paste to the pan and fry for another couple of minutes.
- Loosen the thickened sauce with 2 ladles of pasta water and reduce the heat to low. Make sure the sauce does not boil.
- Add the cream and shredded parmesan to the pan. Stir the ingredients together until incorporated well, then stir in another ladle of pasta water.
- Finish cooking the spaghetti by adding it to the pan with the sauce. Stir to combine. Keep adding pasta water as necessary and once the pasta is fully cooked, serve immediately with an extra sprinkle of parmesan.
Serve with tenderstem broccoli and mushrooms sautéed with fry light.
Notes
- Make sure you undercook the pasta slightly when you first boil it so you can finish off the cooking in the sauce and not overcook the pasta.
- Reserve some pasta water to adjust the thickness of the sauce/spaghetti.
- Adjust Gochujang paste depending on your spice preference and consider serving with some additional protein such as chicken or fish.
Nutrition
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