The Best Spicy Tequila Sauce For Pasta
This Spicy Tequila Sauce is an easy weeknight dinner packed with flavor! This spicy pasta is silky and delicious – everyone will be asking for seconds of this yummy pasta dish!
This tequila sauce recipe is creamy, tomato-y, and a little bit spicy! It is a tomato-based pasta, and although untraditional, it will surely become a classic in your home! If you’re looking for some other tasty tomato-centric recipes, I recommend checking out my Pesto Bruschetta with Marinated Tomatoes!
My favorite way to serve this tequila sauce is with rigatoni, farfalle (bowties) or with the looooooooong spiral pasta, Pompeii, which was made famous by one of my favorite foodies, Foods of Jane. This tequila sauce is seriously so easy.. it’s worth keeping a bottle of your favorite tequila blanco on hand just for this dish.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s easy – This dish comes together in 30 minutes, but the double-concentrated tomato paste gives the dish a slow-cooked flavor.
- It’s versatile – You can make the dish your own by adding ingredients like shrimp, chicken, sausage, basil, parmigiano reggiano, etc.. You could even add some veggies!
- It’s foolproof – This recipe is simple and easy to replicate.
- It’s restaurant-inspired – Carbone, who?
What Ingredients Do You Need To Make This Recipe?
- Unsalted butter – I prefer to use unsalted butter when I cook, and to add salt on my own.
- Garlic – You can never have too much garlic!
- Red pepper flakes – Red pepper flakes give the sauce a nice little kick.
- Double-concentrated tomato paste – You might be familiar with the canned tomato paste.. double-concentrated tomato paste comes in a tube, and it has a deeper flavor.
- Heavy cream – Heavy cream makes this dish extra creamy and silky. It softens the color of the sauce and adds some much-needed fat, which cuts the acidity of the tomato paste.
- Tequila blanco – Tequila gives this sauce a kick and a bit of a bite!
- Pasta – any shape will do, but I love the corkscrew shapes the most!
Step by Step Instructions
You only need a bit of time and a few ingredients to make this simple, delicious sauce!
Step 1:
In your heavy-bottomed pot or dutch oven, heat 6 tbsp butter until melted. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to boil – you will need the pasta + pasta water starting in step 4!.
Next, add the double-concentrated tomato paste and 4 minced garlic cloves.
Step 2: Whisk and cool until fragrant and the tomato has turned a burnt red color, about 3-5 minutes.
Step 3: Deglaze your pan by adding 1/4 cup tequila, scraping up any bits on the bottom of the pan while stirring. The tequila will become more subtle and the actual alcohol taste will disappear.
Step 4: Cook and stir for 3 minutes before adding the 2 tsp red pepper flakes.
Step 5: Add 1 cup (half of the total) of heavy cream to the pan and whisk to combine. turn the heat down to let the sauce thicken and simmer for about 3 minutes.
Step 6: Then, add the rest of the cream and stir to combine until you get a nice orange color.
Step 7: Keep the sauce on a gentle simmer while the pasta cooks. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and add some pasta water if you want to thin the sauce out.
Step 8: Top with fresh basil, red pepper flakes, or parmigiano reggiano, and enjoy!!
Recipe Tips and Notes
- Reserved pasta water – Don’t drain your pasta just yet! Save some of that starchy pasta water (aka liquid gold) in case you need it to thin out the sauce!
- Add the cream gradually – By adding the heavy cream 1 cup at a time, we prevent the sauce from breaking, and give it time to thicken up and adjust accordingly.
- Salt your pasta water – I don’t usually add salt to this sauce, because I make sure to add plenty of salt for my pasta water.
Please leave a review if you make this recipe! Don’t forget to follow @seasonedandsalted on Instagram!
The Best Spicy Tequila Sauce For Pasta
Equipment
- cutting board
- measuring spoons
- measuring cups
- chef’s knife
- heavy-bottomed pot or dutch oven
- stockpot
- whisk
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
- 1 tube double-concentrated tomato paste (4.5 oz)
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1/4 cup tequila blanco
- 1 pound pasta
Instructions
- In your heavy-bottomed pot or dutch oven, heat 6 tbsp butter until melted. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to boil – you will need the pasta + pasta water starting in step 4!.
- Next, add the double-concentrated tomato paste and 4 minced garlic cloves. Whisk and cook until fragrant and tomato has turnt a burnt red color, about 3-5 minutes.
- Deglaze your pan by adding 1/4 cup tequila, scraping up any bits on the bottom of the pan while stirring. The tequila will become more subtle and the actual alcohol taste will disappear. Cook and stir for 3 minutes before adding the 2 tsp red pepper flakes.
- Add 1 cup (half of the total) of heavy cream to the pan and whisk to combine. turn the heat down to let the sauce thicken and simmer for about 3 minutes. Then, add the rest of the cream and stir to combine.
- Keep the sauce going on a gentle simmer while the pasta finishes cooking. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and add some pasta water if you want to thin the sauce out a little bit.
- Top with fresh basil, red pepper flakes, or parmigiano reggiano, and enjoy!!
Made this tequila sauce for my sister and I for girls’ night and it was SO good! I was going to make vodka sauce but didn’t feel like buying vodka just for a pasta so I was happy to see an option for using tequila instead.
So easy! Loved this for dinner – I added sautéed chicken and broccoli and it was perfect.