Creamy gochujang pasta is my new favorite way to eat pasta! It's ready in just 30 minutes, so it's perfect for busy weeknights. It tastes a little spicy, a little sweet, a little salty, and so delicious! Plus it's super versatile, so you can add your favorite protein or vegetables.
This gochujang pasta recipe is ready in just 30 minutes, so it's perfect for a quick and easy weeknight lunch or dinner. Plus it's insanely creamy without any dairy! Full fat coconut milk adds a thick, creamy texture to the sauce. And you can add chicken, tofu, ground beef, or meatballs to amp up the protein.
Gochujang is used in Korean cuisine, and it's made from fermented red chili paste. It looks like a thick, dark red paste, and it tastes sweet, spicy, salty, savory, and smoky all at once. Its complex flavor is perfect with pasta!
If you're looking for more recipes with gochujang, try spicy Korean chicken tacos, or my Grandma's beef bulgogi lettuce wraps.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Pasta - I like using spaghetti, but you can substitute any type of pasta including penne, macaroni, or rigatoni. You can also use gluten free pasta to make this recipe gluten free.
- Olive oil - cooks the onions to become soft; you could substitute butter, vegan butter, or vegetable oil.
- Onion - I recommend using a yellow or sweet onion to add a sweet flavor. But you could also use a white onion.
- Garlic - Adds a pungent kick of garlic flavor. Freshly minced garlic has the strongest flavor, but you could substitute about a half teaspoon of garlic powder.
- Gochujang - I use two tablespoons since I'm not a huge spice fan, but feel free to add more gochujang if you like spicier pasta!
- Full fat coconut milk - makes the sauce creamy and thick; you can substitute heavy cream. Just don't use low-fat or light coconut milk, since your sauce might end up too watery and runny.
- Grated parmesan - this optional topping adds another umami layer and all around cheesy goodness. The parmesan melts on the hot noodles, making it even creamier. You could substitute any type of grated cheese.
- Salt - I recommend adding salt to your pasta water as the pasta cooks. This helps season the noodles from the inside out, making your dish much more flavorful.
Recipe Video
How to Make Gochujang Pasta
Below are the general steps to make this recipe. For the full step-by-step directions and ingredient measurements, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
1. Cook the pasta: Cook the pasta in a large pot in salted water until it is al dente (still pretty chewy). Drain the cooked pasta into a colander, and reserve one cup of the starchy pasta water.
2. Cook the onion: In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the diced onion. Cook until the onion is soft and golden, after 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Cook the garlic: Add the minced garlic and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Add the gochujang: Stir in the gochujang paste and cook for one minute.
5. Add the pasta water: Add ½ cup of the reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce and stir it for one minute.
6. Mix in the coconut milk: Add the coconut milk. Stir until a creamy sauce is formed.
7. Stir in the cooked pasta: Add the pasta to the pan and mix until all the noodles are coated in the sauce.
8. Garnish and serve: To serve, top with sliced green onions or chives, grated parmesan cheese, or fresh basil.
How to Boil Pasta
I found that dry pasta doesn't stick together if you put it in the pot, cover it with cold water, then bring the pot with the pasta already in it to a boil. The energy to bring a pot of water to a boil is better utilized, since it's cooking the pasta as it increases in temperature.
- Add your spaghetti to your pot then cover it with water so the water line is about an inch higher than the top of the pasta.
- Add one to two teaspoons of salt to the water, then cover the pot with a lid.
- Bring to a boil over high heat on the stove, then continue boiling the spaghetti until it is al dente. Al dente pasta is still pretty chewy, but it isn't hard or crunchy.
- Drain the pasta in a colander in the sink, and reserve some of the pasta water.
This pasta water is now full of starch that seeped out of the pasta, so it will help thicken the gochujang sauce.
Recipe Tips
- Any type of pasta works well in this recipe. You can use spaghetti, fettucine, macaroni, penne, or even ramen noodles.
- Don't rinse your pasta after it's cooked. That will rinse away all the starch on the surface of the pasta, so your creamy gochujang sauce won't stick to the noodles.
- Many recipes use heavy cream in gochujang pasta, which works well. However, if you have a dairy sensitivity like me, high fat coconut milk is a great replacement to add a creamy texture to the sauce.
- When using high fat coconut milk, either shake the can rigorously or pour it out into a bowl and stir it. It tends to separate into a thick coconut cream at the top and liquid at the bottom. Make sure it's combined before adding it to your pasta.
- If your pasta sauce is looking thin, add a little more of the reserved pasta water to thicken it.
- You can serve your gochujang pasta with shredded chicken, ground beef, meatballs, salmon, shrimp, or crispy baked tofu for more protein.
Storing
Allow leftover pasta to cool completely, then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
To reheat leftovers, place on a microwave safe dish and heat for 1 to 2 minutes, until it's warm. Garnish with grated parmesan.
What is Gochujang?
Gochujang is a fermented Korean chili paste. You can buy it at most major grocery stores, Asian grocery stores, or online. Note that different brands of gochujang in the store have different levels of spiciness.
My Grandma is Korean, and she's the one who hooked me on the flavor of gochujang. Sometimes we sit and chit chat while dipping sliced cucumber straight into the gochujang tub for a crunchy, spicy snack.
Note that different brands of gochujang have varying degrees of spicy flavor versus sweet flavor. Therefore I recommend adding just two tablespoons of gochujang at first. Then taste it, and add more if you desire.
More Pasta Recipes
- Easy No Boil Pasta Bake
- Garlic Shrimp Spaghetti
- Vegan Mac and Cheese without Cashews
- Spicy Peanut Butter Noodles
- Beet Ravioli with Goat Cheese
- How to Boil Spaghetti
Gochujang Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti (or other dried pasta of your choice)
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ medium yellow onion, diced (about 1 cup)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced (about 4 tsp)
- 2 tablespoon gochujang (or more, if you prefer spicier pasta)
- 1 cup full fat coconut milk (or substitute heavy cream)
- ¼ cup grated parmesan, optional topping
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in salted water until it is al dente (still pretty chewy). Once the pasta is cooked, drain into a colander, and reserve one cup of the starchy pasta water. Set the colander of pasta in your sink to drain.
- While the pasta boils, cook the vegetables. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil on medium heat. Add the diced onion. Cook until the onion is soft and golden, after 10 to 15 minutes.
- Add the minced garlic and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, until the garlic is fragrant and golden.
- Stir in the gochujang paste and cook for one minute.
- Add ½ cup of the starchy pasta water to loosen the sauce and cook for one minute.
- Add the coconut milk or heavy cream. Stir until a creamy sauce is formed.
- Add the pasta to the pan and mix until all the noodles are coated in the sauce.
- To serve, top with sliced green onions or chives, grated parmesan cheese, or fresh basil.
Notes
- Any type of pasta works well in this recipe. You can use spaghetti, fettucine, macaroni, penne, or even ramen noodles.
- When using high fat coconut milk, either shake the can rigorously or pour it out into a bowl and stir it. It tends to separate into a thick coconut cream at the top and then liquid at the bottom.
- You can serve your gochujang pasta with shredded chicken, ground beef, meatballs, salmon, shrimp, or tofu for more protein.
- Allow leftover pasta to cool completely, then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
I'm eggcited to hear from you :)