This Calabrian chili pasta has a creamy, spicy sauce made with Calabrian chilies and topped with creamy burrata cheese and fresh basil! It's the perfect easy weeknight meal that comes together in about 30 minutes!
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What are Calabrian Chilies?
Calabrian chilies are a spicy chili from the Calabria region of Italy. They have a delicious flavor that is spicy, smoky, fruity, and a bit tangy. You can buy whole preserved Calabrian chilies, or crushed Calabrian chilies in oil (my personal favorite).
Calabrian chilies pretty spicy and can pack a punch! For reference, they're about 10 times hotter than jalapenos and most similar in heat to arbol chilies.
You might also like this Calabrian chili risotto or this spicy tomato soup with Calabrian Chilies!
Ingredient Notes
You only need a few ingredients to make this spicy Calabrian chili pasta with burrata!
Pasta - You can either use long or short pasta with this sauce! My favorite long pasta is pappardelle or mafalda, and my favorite short varieties are fusilli or rigatoni! So basically any type of pasta you want! Use a high-quality die cut pasta like Delallo or De Cecco for the yummiest results.
Calabrian Chilies - These spicy Italian chilies are my favorite way to add some heat to this pasta sauce! I like using the crushed Calabrian chilies in oil, but you can also use the whole chilies and chop them up yourself. You can find Calabrian chilies at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, World Market, and online!
Tomato Paste - The tomato paste adds some rich tomato flavor to the sauce. Instead of tomato paste, you could substitute crushed tomatoes.
Olive Oil - You want to use good, high quality extra virgin olive oil for the best flavor!
Shallot - The mild flavor of shallots are perfect for this light pasta dish. But you could also use a small yellow onion instead.
Fresh Basil - The fresh basil adds extra brightness and flavor to the sauce!
Burrata - This is optional, but I love topping the Calabrian chili pasta with Burrata! The mild creaminess of the cheese is the perfect compliment to the spicy chilies.
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
How to Make Spicy Pasta Sauce
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add in the shallots and garlic and cook until soft and aromatic, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the Calabrian chilies and tomato paste until smooth and continue to cook for another 2 minutes.
Slowly whisk in the heavy cream until fully combined, then reduce the heat to low. Stir occasionally and continue to cook until the sauce begins to simmer and thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Then stir in the parmesan and fresh basil.
While the sauce is cooking, go ahead and cook your pasta according to package directions. Make sure you heavily salt the water and cook the pasta for about 1-2 minutes less than the listed time for perfect al dente pasta!
Before draining, scoop out about ¼ cup of the starchy pasta water and set aside. Then drain the pasta (but do NOT rinse it).
Add the al dente pasta and pasta water to the sauce and toss gently to combine for 1-2 minutes or until the sauce thickens up and coats the noodles.
Since the pasta water is salty, I like to wait to salt the sauce until after I've added in the pasta water and noodles. Once the noodles are coated in the sauce, taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
Serve the Calabrian chili pasta immediately and top with creamy Burrata and an extra drizzle of Calabrian chilies if desired!
Recipe FAQ's
Typically it depends on the course. For a light lunch or side dish, typically 2 ounces (55g) per person. For a main course more like 3.5 ounces (100 grams). This recipe is written for 16 ounces of pasta (1 package) which is 4 large servings or 8 small servings. But it's super easy to halve if you don't need as much.
Yes! The Calabrian chili pasta sauce will keep for 2-3 days in the fridge before serving. Simply reheat on the stove and toss with the fresh cooked pasta and pasta water to thicken up!
Yes! Let the sauce cool to room temperature, then transfer individual servings to zip-lock bags and freeze flat. Reheat on the stove and toss with fresh cooked pasta for a super easy meal!
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
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Recipe Card
Calabrian Chili Pasta
Special Equipment
Ingredients
Sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small shallot, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2-4 tablespoons crushed Calabrian chilies, more or less to taste
- ½ cup tomato paste
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese, optional
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil, finely sliced
Pasta
- 16 ounces short pasta
- ¼ cup pasta water, as needed
- fresh basil
- burrata cheese
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add in the shallots and garlic and cook until soft and aromatic, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the Calabrian chilies and tomato paste until smooth and continue to cook for another 2 minutes.
- Slowly whisk in the heavy cream until fully combined, then reduce the heat to low. Stir occasionally and continue to cook until the sauce begins to simmer and thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Then stir in the parmesan and fresh basil.
- While the sauce is cooking, go ahead and cook your pasta according to package directions. Make sure you heavily salt the water and cook the pasta for about 1-2 minutes less than the listed time for perfect al dente pasta!
- Before draining, scoop out about ¼ cup of the starchy pasta water and set aside. Then drain the pasta (but do NOT rinse it).
- Add the al dente pasta and pasta water to the sauce and toss gently to combine for 1-2 minutes or until the sauce thickens up and coats the noodles.
- Since the pasta water is salty, I like to wait to salt the sauce until after I've added in the pasta water and noodles. Once the noodles are coated in the sauce, taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
- Serve immediately and top with creamy Burrata and an extra drizzle of Calabrian chilies if desired!
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Lindsay says
Absolute WINNER. This pasta recipe is in my monthly rotation and it never misses. Add a couple shrimp on top and it’s probably the best thing I’ve ever cooked!!! Depending on your spice tolerance, be cautious with the peppers!
Janelle says
Delicious!!! Used 3 tablespoons of Calabrian chili with Parmesan. My husband loved it and he’s a spicy pasta lover! Thank you.
Cecile Boram says
2-4 tbsp of the Calabrian chilies ??
We used 1 tablespoon and it was very hot!