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15 Minute Creamy Gochujang Vodka Pasta

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Make this creamy gochujang pasta in just 15 minutes! Inspired by our penne alla vodka with bacon, this fusion dish is the perfect comfort food recipe when you’re in need of an easy weeknight dinner.

A vibrant red gochujang pasta topped with minced chives in a black shallow bowl.

We love making unique fusion recipes (like our tikka masala pasta or our spicy chipotle chicken pasta) so we just had to try our hand at making the viral gochujang pasta. And let us just go ahead and say, this is one of the few viral recipe ideas that’s actually worth making. 

However, we took a little different approach to this trend by introducing gochujang to one of our favorite creamy, decadent pastas: penne alla vodka. And what we got was luxurious, spicy, and a little funky (in a great way!) pasta that kept us coming back for more. 

With its rich flavor and silky smooth sauce it has quickly become one of our favorite cold weather comfort food recipes.

What To Expect

  • Great for: A unique, spicy pasta night and easy weeknight dinners.
  • Ready in: 15 minutes
  • Serves: 2
  • Flavor profile: A creamy, smooth tomato sauce with the pungent flavor of gochujang balanced by a touch of lemon juice and salt.
  • How to make it: Boil pasta, bloom the aromatics, stir in the rest of the sauce ingredients, add pasta water, stir in the cooked pasta, finish with lemon juice and salt. Serve topped with chives.

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Why We Love This Recipe

It’s spicy, it’s creamy, it’s decadent, and it’s comforting. What isn’t there to love about this recipe? Oh and it takes just 15 minutes to make from start to finish. Incredible.

– Alex

Key Ingredients

  • Penne pasta – We like to stick to the classic pasta shape for penne alla vodka which this recipe is based on. Also, make sure to reserve some pasta water to stir into the sauce at the end. The starches in it help thicken the sauce to make it super creamy and help it cling to the pasta.
  • Aromatics – Minced garlic and yellow onion add a depth of flavor to the sauce. Store-bought minced garlic works fine for this recipe. 
  • Fire roasted crushed tomatoes – We like to use fire roasted crushed tomatoes for their sweet and smoky flavor – it’s a great complement to the gochujang! If you don’t have these, you can substitute with regular canned crushed tomatoes.
  • Gochujang – This is where the main flavor and spice comes from. The spicy Korean chili paste turns this Italian dish into a flavor-packed fusion delight.
  • Parmesan – Freshly grated is the gold standard. It melts and tastes better than the granular stuff you can buy in a bottle. Plus since we’re always trying to stick to minimally processed ingredients, blocks of cheese are always the best option.
  • Heavy cream – The heavy cream gives the sauce its rich and smooth texture that you want from a vodka sauce.
  • Vodka – Just like penne alla vodka, the vodka helps to enhance the flavors of the sauce. So don’t skip it unless you want to make an alcohol-free version, then skip it entirely. 
  • Chives – Don’t skip the chives! The bright and fresh flavors help cut through the rich and creamy sauce for a well balanced pasta.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

How To Make Creamy Gochujang Pasta

Since you can prepare the creamy gochujang pasta sauce during the time it takes the pasta to boil, you can make this simple recipe in under 15 minutes! Here’s how:

  1. Cook the pasta.
  2. Bloom the aromatics and gochujang, then add in the crushed tomatoes.
  3. Stir in the heavy cream, grated parmesan, and vodka. Simmer while the pasta finishes cooking.
  4. Add pasta water to the sauce before draining.
  5. Finish the sauce with lemon juice and a pinch of sea salt. Stir well to combine, taste, then adjust lemon juice and salt as needed.
  6. Finally, add the pasta to the sauce. Serve hot, topped with minced chives.

Expert Tips

  • Blooming the aromatics – To bring out the best flavors of the garlic, onion, and gochujang, we cook them first in a little bit of oil before adding the rest of the ingredients. The key here is low heat and a little patience. It won’t take long before you’re smelling all the wonderful fragrances. 
  • Adjust with lemon and/or salt – The lemon juice serves two purposes: one, to brighten the overall flavor of the dish; and two, to tone down the gochujang. Gochujang has a punchy flavor that requires an acid to balance it out. So if you taste test the sauce and it’s a little too spicy or not quite balanced, try adding a little bit more lemon juice or salt – or both – and see how the flavor changes.
  • Adding a protein – You can easily add bacon for added flavor and protein. Simply cook diced bacon before cooking the aromatics, then add the aromatics and build the sauce around the bacon following the steps as normal. You can also opt for pancetta (more traditional penne alla vodka) or lean into the Korean aspects of the dish and use pork belly.
Super saucy Korean Italian fusion gochujang pasta topped with chives and served in a black shallow bowl.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

If you’re a fan of unique fusion recipes (like our tikka masala pasta or our spicy chipotle chicken pasta), you’re going to love this Korean-Italian fusion gochujang pasta! It’s like a spicy, funky penne alla vodka that’s so creamy you won’t want to stop eating it. The perfect dish for a cold winter night when you’re craving some comfort food. 

Try our creamy gochujang pasta recipe and let us know what you think – would you make this unique pasta recipe? Rate, comment, and share below, and sign up for our email newsletter here to find out what next month’s pasta will be!

Creamy Gochujang Pasta FAQs

Gochujang is a highly concentrated chili paste with a pungent flavor thanks to fermented soybeans. It’s a staple ingredient in Korean cooking that’s often used for marinades, sauces, or adding flavor to soups or stews. As for adding gochujang to pasta, think of it as basically just red chili peppers in paste form, which adds a unique heat and creamy consistency to traditional pasta sauce.

We recommend serving gochujang pasta like you would serve any traditional creamy pasta – with a side of fluffy bread and a glass of wine! However you can also lean into the fusion dinner and enjoy a side of pork dumplings with your pasta!

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Tell us what you think!

We hope you enjoy this recipe! When you try it out, please leave a review and a star rating in the comments below. Happy cooking! – Nicole and Alex

Korean Italian fusion gochujang pasta.

15 Minute Creamy Gochujang Vodka Pasta

Nicole & Alex Langdon
Make this creamy gochujang pasta in just 15 minutes! Inspired by our penne alla vodka, this fusion dish is the perfect comfort food recipe when you're in need of an easy weeknight dinner.
5 from 3 votes
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Prep Time 3 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Course Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine Fusion, Italian, Korean
Servings 2 servings
Calories 797 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

  • ½ pound penne pasta
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • ½ teaspoon minced garlic
  • ¼ medium yellow onion minced
  • 14.5 ounces canned fire roasted crushed tomatoes
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons gochujang
  • 1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
  • ¼ fluid ounce vodka
  • ¼ cup pasta water
  • ¼ medium lemon juiced
  • 1 pinch sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon chives minced

Instructions
 

  • First, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the penne pasta and cook until al dente.
  • In the meantime, heat the olive oil and garlic in a large sauté pan over medium heat until fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add the onion and sauté until translucent, about 2 to 4 minutes, then stir in the crushed tomatoes and lower the heat to a simmer.
  • Next, stir in the heavy cream, gochujang, grated parmesan, and vodka. Simmer while the pasta finishes cooking, about 8 minutes or so. When the pasta is just about done, add pasta water to the sauce. Finish with lemon juice and sea salt, stirring well to combine. Taste and adjust lemon juice and salt as needed.
  • Drain the pasta and then add it to the sauce. Stir until the pasta is completely coated, then remove from heat. Serve hot, topped with minced chives.
One last step:Please consider leaving a review to let us know how it was!

Notes

Gochujang: Gochujang is a highly concentrated chili paste with a pungent flavor thanks to fermented soybeans. It’s a staple ingredient in Korean cooking that’s often used for marinades, sauces, or adding flavor to soups or stews! You should be able to find it easily in the Asian foods section of your grocery store.
Notes on ingredients: This recipe was inspired by penne alla vodka, so we use a splash of vodka to help bring out the flavors! If you don’t have vodka, don’t bother buying it just for this recipe – skip this ingredient and add more lemon juice if needed to brighten the dish.
We also like to use fire roasted tomatoes for their sweet and smoky flavor (it complements the gochujang well). Regular crushed tomatoes will work fine if needed.
Finally – don’t skip the chives! They’re crucial in balancing the flavors in this dish and add some freshness that helps counteract the heavy, creamy sauce.
Balancing the flavors: Different brands of gochujang vary in spice level and flavor. This is why we recommend tasting the sauce after adding the lemon juice and salt – these two ingredients help balance the flavors. If the sauce tastes a little too spicy or not quite balanced, try adding a little more lemon juice, salt, or both and see how the flavor changes.

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 797kcalCarbohydrates: 109gProtein: 21gFat: 32gSaturated Fat: 15gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 69mgSodium: 363mgPotassium: 1022mgFiber: 8gSugar: 16gVitamin A: 1439IUVitamin C: 31mgCalcium: 169mgIron: 5mg
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If you have any questions regarding the information presented in this post, please refer to our Nutrition Disclaimer here.

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90% of Nicole’s thoughts are about food. She’s had a passion for cooking (and eating) for as long as she can remember! Growing up, she started cooking with her mom at a young age, learned family recipes from her Italian grandmother, took every opportunity to make cookies (so many bake sales), and always loved going out to restaurants to try new foods.

Nicole currently works part-time as a marketing professional for OmieLife while also working nonstop on The Candid Cooks. As a former mechanical engineer, Nicole has consistently found herself at the intersection of creativity and logical reasoning. She credits not only her passion for photography, design, and writing, but also her problem-solving nature and desire to learn, as the foundation on which The Candid Cooks was built.

Nicole’s hobbies include anything that gets her moving - mainly hiking, skiing, ice skating, and dancing - as well as reading fantasy novels and scrapbooking. Her favorite food is a big plate of nachos, as long as they’re cheesy enough!

5 from 3 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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One Comment

  1. 5 stars
    This is such a fun fusion twist on penne alla vodka! I love the heat and flavor that comes from adding the gochujang.

    Reply