Try this quick and simple pasta meal with a spicy cream sauce made with habanero chiles, garlic, and shallots if you’re searching for a dish with lots of flavor. If desired, you can include sautéed chicken or shrimp.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 15 mins |
| Total Time: | 30 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
Ingredients
- 1 (8 ounce) package cavatappi pasta
- 1 teaspoon butter
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 medium shallot, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, diced
- 1 dried habanero pepper, chopped
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 large tomato, diced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until tender yet firm to the bite, 8 to 10 minutes.
- While the pasta is cooking, melt butter with olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add shallot, garlic, and habanero pepper; cook and stir until lightly browned and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- Bring cream to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in shallot mixture and tomato, then mix in flour and black pepper. Simmer until thickened, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in Parmesan cheese. Remove from the heat and let sit until pasta is finished.
- Drain pasta. Serve pasta on plates and ladle sauce over top.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 755 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 54 g |
| Cholesterol | 183 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Protein | 19 g |
| Saturated Fat | 32 g |
| Sodium | 365 mg |
| Sugars | 4 g |
| Fat | 53 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Was delicious… we used 3 fresh habaneros and added spicy Italian sausage. We also only used one tablespoon of flour along with adding our noodles to the sauce. We definitely will make it again and maybe add spinach next time.
It wasn’t bad, but not mind-blowing. Like many others, I used a fresh habanero without the seeds, and it was actually only mildly spicy. I also served with pan-fried chicken thighs. Even with the addition of the chicken, there was a TON of sauce. The flavors of the shallots, habanero, and garlic gave the cream sauce more flavor, but there was so much heavy cream that I think the flavors were overwhelmed a bit. I am not sure if I would make this again, but if I did, I would add ¼ cup white wine, reduce the cream by ¼ cup, and add a second habanero. And I would make more pasta to even out the pasta-sauce ratio.
i LOVE this recipe!! it’s so simple and delicious! Instead of using dried habaneros, i boiled three ones (i love spice) and blended them with my heavy cream, then continued on with the recipe!
Alike a previous review, I also blended the garlic, pepper, and tomato. I did roast and use nearly a full garlic bulb, and also roasted and used two habenero. Yes, very hot! Use one or switch to Serrano or jalapeño if you want more mild.
This sauce was delicious my 15 year old absolutely loved it! I used a small fresh habanero pepper instead of a dried one. I wore gloves and used a fork and knive to cut the habanero pepper. I also threw out the seeds from the habanero pepper. I made 16 oz of pasta there was plenty of sauce. Next time I make this recipe I will only use 1 tablespoon of flour as the sauce was very thick.
Definitely needed salt. Used one fresh habernero along with half the seeds….very spicy!! Also used three Roma tomatoes. Used less parmasan then called for. Also added a chopped zucchini and orange pepper for a nice vegetarian meal. Rich and downright delicious!
Added salt, nutmeg, and sugar. Used two habaneros perfectly spicy. Very little mouth heat but warms you from the inside out.
Awesome recipe! I have used it many times, and it lends well to alterations & substitutions. I ran out of habaneros today, and used 3 dries red chillis instead; This time I added Sun Dried tomatoes, chopped asparagus and garlic sausage for a treat and WOW was it good. No leftovers at my house. This is a must try.
I used red bell pepper instead of tomatoes & couldn’t find a habanero pepper so I used a serano pepper instead & this was to die for!!!
Fantastic recipe!!Used the fresh habanero as well. I am always surprised when I see other reviews that say “it was very good, but high in fat”. Shocking, 2 cups of heavy cream will do that. I recommend going for a walk after dinner, if you can move after gorging yourself on this fantastic dish!! We added 2 pounds of peeled and veined jumbo’s as we do like seafood in our past. Will make again!! thanks Stef.
Fantastic recipe!!Used the fresh habanero as well. I am always surprised when I see other reviews that say “it was very good, but high in fat”. Shocking, 2 cups of heavy cream will do that. I recommend going for a walk after dinner, if you can move after gorging yourself on this fantastic dish!! We added 2 pounds of peeled and veined jumbo’s as we do like seafood in our past. Will make again!! thanks Stef.
This dish is fantastic. It did have some heat to it, but I grilled some shrimp and added it to this recipe. I was perfect. I too, per other reviews used a cup of diced canned tomatoes since tomatoes are not in season. I will stick with that change when I make this again.
I love this dish. I always use fresh habaneros finely chopped. I also grill chicken to add to it!
Probably the one good recipe I have for using habaneros. Mellows them out with the cream. I grill them outside first to release essence
rate again after adjusting recipe
This was very good. I used one fresh habanero from the garden and had no shallots so used about 1/2 a white onion with an extra garlic clove for the loss of shallot flavor. I sauteed garlic, onion,habanero, then once it was brown I added canned mushrooms and cut up grilled chicken breasts. Then added 2 cups of evaporated milk which I had whipped the flour into as well as salt and pepper. Heated and simmered then added a bit less than 3/4 c parmesan.Sauce was thick but we love it that way. Served with chopped roma tomatoes on top with side of green peas (just to get a bit of relief from the deliciously hot n spicy forkfuls. Will make again for sure. Bowtie pasta perfect with it. hubby keeps saying how spolied he is haha he loves it too. Thanks for making me keep looking like a pro in my kitchen!
Great recipe! I used half the black pepper and 2 habaneros and it was perfect. Very good!
Delicious! I have made this recipe twice. I used a fresh habanero which makes it very spicy! The only comment I can make is I find the sauce can get too thick so I only add 1 tbsp of flour and if it’s still too thick, I thin it out with some white winte.
I used spaghetti as my base for the “hot” sauce. I omitted the oil and butter because of spray oil, used a fresh habanero, and subbed soy milk for the cream, then I found that I needed an extra T of whole wheat flour(I didn’t use ap flour). I served the sauce on the spaghetti, topped it with the chopped tomatoes, and sprinkled on the cheese. This warms you up as it goes down when warm! As a leftover, the “heat” isn’t quite as intense! Great idea!
We loved this recipe! I used a whole fresh habanero because we could not find a dried one. I agree you will need 16 oz of pasta for all of the sauce. Our sauce was super thick. Next time we’ll add less flour and a little less cheese.
Delicious!