Easy Creamy Chorizo Pasta
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Are you looking for a brilliantly flavorful, fast cooking meal to bring to the table in under 30 minutes? Then I have just the thing!
This creamy chorizo pasta combines the flavorful zestiness of Spanish sausage with a creamy, decadent tomato sauce…all served over my favorite pasta, rigatoni! I can’t wait for you to try it!
Table of Contents
Why you’ll love this!
Fast: Any meal that can be made in under 30 minutes is perfect for a quick weeknight meal. And you are in luck because this chorizo pasta is actually done in 25 minutes!
Creamy: Have I mentioned that this is creamy yet! Well just in case you missed it, the sauce on the noodles is made with silky heavy cream, which makes you just want to curl up on the couch with this creamy goodness.
Flavorful: Between the acidic tomatoes, the velvety cream, and the zesty sausage, I am not sure which part of this creamy chorizo pasta recipe I like best.
Budget friendly: This chorizo creamy pasta uses, you guessed it, chorizo! Which is actually a very affordable meat with loads of flavor to help spice up your dishes. Check out my chorizo carbonara recipe here!
Easy cleanup: Because this dish is made all in one pot, there is minimal cleaning up to do after you cook. Which is a huge score on a busy weeknight!
Satisfy any chorizo pasta cravings and try these tasty recipes; Prawn and Chorizo Pasta, Creamy Chicken and Chorizo Pasta and Fast Chorizo Carbonara
Comforting and Easy Chorizo Pasta
I always welcome a nice big bowl of creamy pasta on a chilly night. And this easy, delicious, and comforting one dish chorizo pasta is just right on a cold fall or winter night. The smooth texture of the sauce will have you wanting to wrap it around you like a blanket. While the slight spiciness from the chorizo warms your insides.
And not only is it comforting, but there are also some deliciously healthy elements in this dish like mushrooms and kale. These two veggies mesh really well with the other flavors of this chorizo dish.
Make ahead Pasta with Chorizo
One of my favorite ways to make this easy dish is at the beginning of the week so I can eat it all week long. And not just for dinners. This chorizo pasta recipe is perfect for warming up in the microwave for a warm, delicious lunch.
What is chorizo?
Chorizo is a super flavourful pork sausage in Mexican and Spanish dishes. It features a bright red colour that shifts to a darker red as you cook it. This vibrant hue is from the chilli peppers or smoked paprika in the recipe (different depending on whether it’s Spanish chorizo or Mexican).
It has a smoky, tangy and slightly spicy taste that helps cut the richness of the spicy chorizo cream pastadish. You’ll also notice that its bright red colour transfers to the sauce, making it a pretty pinkish hue when it’s ready to eat.
If you have any leftover chorizo, try making my; Chicken and Chorizo Paella, Roasted Gnocchi with Chorizo and Vegetables and Spanish Chicken and Chorizo Stew
Where can I buy chorizo?
Chorizo is becoming a more popular food in recent years, so it’s easier to find at local supermarkets and grocery stores. Head to the cooked meats refrigerated section and you’ll likely find a pack of chorizo ready to take home.
If you can’t find chorizo in this section, you can also check the area with fresh sausages or cured meats. You’ll want to aim for Spanish chorizo for this chorizo rigatoni dish, as you can crumble it and cook it in a pan. Other Spanish varieties come cured and ready to eat in slices (like other cured sausages).
Purchasing Spanish chorizo allows you to render out some of the fat before creating chorizo pasta. That way, you can make the dish a bit lighter as you won’t need as much oil to cook with.
Variations and Substitutions
This is such a lovely versatile meal meaning there are so many ways to make it your own or use what you have at home in the pantry. Here are some great options for personalizing this dish:
- Add vegetables like broccoli, spinach, leek, aubergine, olives, or peas.
- Use pasta you already have like fusilli, spaghetti, penne, linguini, tagliatelle, or orzo.
- Make the whole creamy pasta dish vegan by using vegan sausage and dairy free cream.
- Increase the protein in the pasta by using low carb lentil pasta or chickpea pasta instead of traditional noodles.
- Try making this creamy chorizo tomato pasta with an arrabiata sauce by adding a quarter tsp of red chili flakes for a little extra spice.
- Add some different protein along with the chorizo like chicken, prawns, or tofu. You may even like my chicken and chorizo recipe.
- No cream? Try using cream cheese or creme fraiche instead.
- Add chunks of mozzarella, halloumi, gorgonzola, or feta cheese.
- No canned tomato sauce? Use crushed tomatoes or a passata. Or check out this whole list of tomato sauce alternatives.
Ingredients
Rigatoni is what I am using in this particular chorizo pasta recipe, but any smaller type of pasta will work for this dish as well!
Chorizo is what helps keep the dish flavourful. Make sure to aim for Spanish chorizo when at the grocery store because it works best in this recipe.
Fresh Thyme + Basil perfectly complement the flavours of the chorizo and help create a more complex taste in this dish. Dried thyme and basil will also suffice if you’re in a pinch.
Double Cream. The most decadent pasta dishes include double cream! Heavy whipping cream is another excellent option.
Parmesan. Fresh shaved or grated parmesan is best. However, you can also use bottled parmesan for this chorizo pasta dish.
See the recipe card for full information on all ingredients and quantities.
How to make this creamy chorizo pasta
Preheat oven to 390°F (200°C)
- On a chopping board, finely slice the mushrooms and then the onions (Image 1).
- Then roughly slice the chorizo into small pieces (Image 2).
3. Then add half of the rapeseed oil to a large frying pan and increase the heat to high. Add the mushrooms into the hot pan. Leave to brown for 3 minutes on a high heat, then stir and leave to brown for another 3 minutes. Remove the browned mushrooms from the pan and season with salt (Image 3).
4. Reduce the heat to low and add the onion and torn chorizo into the pan. Gently fry to render the fat from the chorizo (Image 4).
5. After 5 minutes of frying, add the tomato puree into the pan, along with the garlic, chilli flakes (optional) and fresh thyme (Image 5).
* At this stage, add your rigatoni to salted boiling water, setting a timer to 2 minutes minus the packet time.
6. Now that the tomato puree has darkened, add around 4 ladles of pasta water into the pan (Image 6).
7. Whilst the tomato puree is gently frying away, add the kale into a baking tray and coat with the remaining rapeseed oil. Season with salt and pepper and pop in the oven for 7 minutes. Check the kale after 5 minutes in the oven, to ensure it’s not burning (Image 7).
8. Now add the cream, parmesan and lemon juice to the fried chorizo/tomato and add the cooked mushrooms back into the pan. Pour the undercooked pasta into the pan and stir until everything is incorporated. Add pasta water as necessary and cook until the sauce is nicely thickened and the pasta is perfectly cooked. Top with fresh basil and additional parmesan (Image 8).
Need inspiration for some main meal recipes? Try my; Shredded Chicken Tacos in Crockpot, Steak Pasta with Creamy Sauce and Thin Pork Chops in Air Fryer
Tips and Tricks
- Instead of slicing the chorizo into chunks, I break it apart for a mince-like texture. I find that it infuses into the sauce better this way.
- Be sure to use a high heat when browning the mushrooms and refrain from stirring. Also make sure all moisture is cooked off before setting aside.
- Using a low heat whilst cooking the chorizo allows the fats to render without sealing the chorizo. This adds flavour and also reduces the amount of oil we need to use.
Serving suggestions
A perfect pairing with this dish is a nice light salad with a light dressing and chopped veggies. It keeps things nice and light with such a hearty meal. However, I also love garlic bread and breadsticks with any pasta dish. And with this creamy chorizo pasta recipe, you would be able to sop up some of the sauce with the bread! Yum!
Or serve with one of these tasty side dishes; Smashed Broccoli with Parmesan, Sauteed Savoy Cabbage and Cavolo Nero with Garlic & Lemon
Another nice complement to the creamy chorizo pasta is a nice glass of wine.
Looking for more chorizo recipes and dinner ideas?
Check out some of my other chorizo recipes like: Chicken and Chorizo Risotto, Spanish Chorizo and Butter Bean Slow Cooker Stew and One Pot Chorizo and Lentil Soup
Leftover Storage and Reheat Instructions
Like I stated above, this is a great dish to make ahead. It will last in the refrigerator for up to 5 days and in the freezer for up to three months. To reheat it, just pop it in the microwave for about 15 seconds at a time, stirring it between until it is hot all the way through.
And if you want to get really creative, you could try turning it into a baked dish by placing the pre-cooked chorizo pasta into an oven safe dish and baking it for 30 minutes at 350°F (175°C). I like to add some cheese on top to melt as well.
FAQs
Not necessarily. Don’t get me wrong, a nicely crispy chorizo is delicious, but in this pasta with chorizo recipe, I like the chorizo to be in a minced texture in order to render the fat. This adds way more flavor to the dish.
It’s mildly spicy. Use spicy chorizo and increase the chilli flakes added if you like it hot. If you prefer no spice, omit the chilli flakes.
I’ve packed nutrient-rich veggies into this dish, so you get a boost of fibre, vitamins and minerals with every bite! I also included a note in the directions to leave the oil in the pan from the chorizo, allowing you to cut down on any other oil you would normally use in a chorizo pasta recipe.
If you can’t find chorizo in your local store, you can use minced pork and add similar seasonings, such as chilli powder and smoked paprika. Alternatively, other types of sausage will work, such as spicy Italian sausages.
As a note, you may need to add a small amount of oil for other chorizo alternatives. This note will depend on how much oil comes out while cooking, as you want to avoid items sticking to the pan.
As there is only one source of dairy in this chorizo and tomato pasta, it’s a quick swap to make this recipe dairy-free. Use a non-dairy alternative, such as Silk heavy whipping cream, as a base for the creamy tomato sauce. All the other ingredients can remain the same.
If you want to make the recipe vegan, swap the chorizo for a soy-based version. You may find this meat-free option listed as “soy-rizo” or “soy chorizo” at the supermarket or use plant-based meat-free chorizo style sausages.
If you tried this Creamy Chorizo Pasta recipe, it would be 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 Chorizo Pasta
Ingredients
- 250 g mushrooms, thinly sliced (£1.00)
- 1 onion, finely diced (£0.15)
- 220 g chorizo, skin removed (£2.50)
- 1 tube of tomato puree (£0.60)
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced (£0.39)
- 70 ml double cream (£1.10/2)=(£0.55)
- 2 tbsp fresh thyme, removed from stem (£0.60)
- 400 g rigatoni (£0.75)
- ½ lemon, juiced (£0.30)
- 160 g kale, washed and torn (£0.75)
- 50 g parmesan, finely grated (£2.50/3)=(£0.83)
- 1 bunch fresh basil (£0.60)
Cupboard Essentials
- 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 1 tsp chilli flakes
Method
- Start by slicing the mushrooms, onion and then slice the chorizo into small pieces.
- To a large non-stick frying pan add half of the rapeseed oil and increase the heat to high. Once pre-heated, add the mushrooms into the pan. Leave to brown for 3 minutes on a high heat, then stir and leave to brown for another 3 minutes.
- Remove the browned mushrooms from the pan and season with salt. Reduce the heat to low and add the onion and chorizo into the pan. Gently fry to render the fat from the chorizo.
- After 5 minutes of frying, add the tomato puree into the pan, along with the garlic, chilli flakes (optional) and fresh thyme. At this stage, add your rigatoni to salted boiling water, setting a timer to 2 minutes minus the packet time.
- Whilst the tomato puree is gently frying away, add the kale into a baking tray and coat with the remaining rapeseed oil. Season with salt and pepper and pop in the oven for 7 minutes. Check on the kale after 5 minutes to ensure it isn't burning.
- Now that the tomato puree has darkened, add around 4 ladles of pasta water into the pan. Stir to combine and add the cream, parmesan and lemon juice at this stage too and add the cooked mushrooms back into the pan.
- Pour the undercooked pasta into the pan and stir until everything is incorporated. Add pasta water as necessary and cook until the sauce is nicely thickened and the pasta is perfectly cooked. Top with fresh basil and additional parmesan.
Notes
- Break apart chorizo for a mince-like texture to better infuse into the sauce.
- Brown mushrooms on high heat without stirring, ensuring all moisture is cooked off before setting aside.
- Cook chorizo on low heat to render fats for added flavour and reduced oil usage.
Nutrition
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