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Tikka masala pasta is the comfort food dinner you didn’t know you needed. It’s creamy, spicy, and tastes just like you’d imagine chicken tikka masala sauce on pasta would!
If you’ve been following us for a while, you know we love fusion food! This month’s pasta recipe is inspired by one of our favorite Indian dishes, chicken tikka masala. It has a creamy tomato based sauce flavored with tons of Indian spices and aromatics. And a little bit of the spicy heat you’d expect from Indian food.
And it’s delicious!
So if you love Indian food as much as we do, you’ll probably love this fusion pasta recipe. Give it a try and let us know what you think in the comments!
What This Recipe Entails
You can easily make our tikka masala pasta in under 30 minutes for a quick and cozy dinner.
- Prep time: 5 to 10 minutes
- Cook time: 15 minutes
It takes just a few minutes to prep the ingredients, and then the sauce can be made in the time it takes to boil the pasta. So easy!
Tikka Masala Pasta Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make our tikka masala pasta:
- Rigatoni
- Vegetable oil
- Yellow onion
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Kashmiri red chili powder
- Garam masala
- Cumin
- Paprika
- Ground turmeric
- Ground coriander
- Salt
- Crushed tomatoes
- Heavy cream
- Lemon
- Dried fenugreek leaves
- Cilantro
- Butter
We love using rigatoni for this pasta dish because it feels extra decadent. The creamy sauce clings to the ridges in rigatoni super well. You could substitute penne if you’d like, but we recommend a thicker/larger noodle for this comfort food dish!
You should be able to find kashmiri chili powder and dried fenugreek leaves at an Indian or Asian market, or a specialty spice store if there’s one near you. Sometimes you can even find these ingredients online. If you can’t find them, substitute in ground red cayenne pepper for the chili powder and skip the fenugreek.
Fresh lemon juice and fresh cilantro are a must for this recipe! They both help cut some of the heat and lighten up this otherwise heavy, creamy dish.
How To Make Tikka Masala Pasta
Making tikka masala pasta is as easy as boiling noodles, building the sauce in the meantime, and combining them before serving. It’s super easy and can be done in under 30 minutes!
- First, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the rigatoni and cook until al dente according to package directions. Reserve some pasta water before draining.
- Next, combine the spices in a small bowl and set aside.
- Then, heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the onion, garlic, and ginger and sauté until soft, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Sprinkle in the spice blend and stir to combine with the onions, garlic, and ginger. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Then, stir in the crushed tomatoes and heavy cream until well combined. Simmer the sauce for about 5 minutes, lowering the heat if it starts bubbling too much.
- Now, add the lemon juice, dried fenugreek leaves, chopped cilantro, and butter. Stir to combine well and make sure all the butter has melted.
- Add the rigatoni to the sauce and stir to combine. Make sure the pasta is well coated in the sauce, and add a splash or two of pasta water (up to 3 tablespoons) to help it cling.
- Serve hot, garnished with additional cilantro.
It’s helpful to practice mise en place for quick pasta recipes like this one. You’ll want all your ingredients prepped and ready to go, and your equipment handy, before you start cooking! That’s why we recommend mixing the spices in a small bowl before getting started. Learn more about mise en place here.
This sauce only needs to simmer for a few minutes to thicken very slightly. If you’ve started making the sauce once the pasta is boiling, the timing should work out pretty well so that your sauce is done by the time the noodles are ready.
Serving Suggestions
This pasta is super saucy and creamy, so it’s best served with fresh bread! Use it to sop up extra sauce, or serve it with some dipping oils or butter.
You can also serve this pasta with a lighter side dish like dressed greens to contrast the heaviness of the dish. We like to use a combo of Sicilian lemon olive oil and fig balsamic vinegar on sweet baby lettuce.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
You can store leftover tikka masala pasta in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat single servings in the microwave for about 2 minutes, stirring halfway through.
This tikka masala pasta is somewhere between Italian and Indian food, and we’re all about this unique mashup! It’s probably one of our favorite unique pasta recipes we’ve made. Give it a try and let us know what you think in the comments!
Love this recipe? You may enjoy these recipes, too:
- Creamy Gochujang Pasta
- Buffalo Gnocchi
- Shakshuka Pasta
- Spicy Butter Chicken
- Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala
To browse more of our latest recipes and seasonal dishes, visit our homepage here.
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Tikka Masala Pasta
Ingredients
- ½ pound rigatoni
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- ¼ medium yellow onion diced
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 14 ounces crushed tomatoes
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ medium lemon juiced
- 1 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves
- 2 tablespoons cilantro chopped, plus extra for garnish
- 1 tablespoon butter
Spice Blend
- ¾ teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder
- ¾ teaspoon garam masala
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the rigatoni and cook until al dente according to package directions. Reserve some pasta water before draining.
- In the meantime, combine the spice blend in a small bowl and set aside.
- Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the onion, garlic, and ginger and sauté until soft, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Sprinkle in the spice blend and stir to combine with the onions, garlic, and ginger. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.Then, stir in the crushed tomatoes and heavy cream until well combined. Simmer the sauce for about 5 minutes, lowering the heat if it starts bubbling too much.
- Add the lemon juice, dried fenugreek leaves, chopped cilantro, and butter. Stir to combine well and make sure all the butter has melted.
- Add the rigatoni to the sauce and stir to combine. Make sure the pasta is well coated in the sauce, and add a splash or two of pasta water to help it cling.Serve hot, garnished with additional chopped cilantro.
Notes
Nutrition
If you have any questions regarding the information presented in this post, please refer to our Nutrition Disclaimer here.
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