Rich, smoky and savory. If we had three words, that’s how we’d describe this creamy spaghetti chipotle. The smoke and spice of the chipotle are matched well with the savoriness of the hot sausage and bacon, and it’s an easy meal to whip up that’s big on flavor.
🌶️ Quick recipe snapshot
| Flavor profile | Smoky chipotle and bacon in a rich cream sauce, with savory hot sausage and garlic. |
| Primary heat source | Three chipotles in adobo plus a teaspoon of the sauce, and the hot sausage. Chipotles run 2,500 to 8,000 SHU. |
| Heat level | Medium. Use fewer chipotles or mild sausage to tone it down. |
| Texture | Creamy sauce clinging to the spaghetti, with bits of bacon and sausage throughout. |
| Best uses | A weeknight dinner that comes together in one pan while the pasta cooks. |
| Customization ideas | More or fewer chipotles, mild sausage, a different pasta shape, or spinach stirred in at the end. |
| Before you start | About 30 minutes. Save a cup of the pasta water before you drain it. |
Flavor notes
Chipotles are smoke-dried jalapeños, canned in a tangy adobo sauce. They’re about as hot as a fresh jalapeño, at 2,500 to 8,000 Scoville heat units, but what you mostly get from them here is smoke. The bacon adds a second layer of it, and the hot sausage piles on more heat and plenty of savory depth.
Then there’s the cream, which turns all of that into a sauce. It softens the chipotle’s edge, so you feel the heat as a slow warmth, and it picks up the bacon and sausage drippings as it simmers.
Why finish the spaghetti in the pan? Pulling it a minute or two before it’s al dente and letting it finish in the sauce means the pasta soaks up the smoky cream as it cooks, and the sauce thickens around it. If it tightens up too much, you can loosen it with a splash of the pasta water.
Adaptation ideas
Most of these change the heat, and none of them are hard.
- Too much heat? Use fewer chipotles, or choose regular sausage if you want it milder.
- Want it hotter? Add another chipotle, or an extra spoonful of the adobo sauce from the can.
- Different pasta: Penne, fettuccine or rigatoni all hold a cream sauce well.
- Add some greens: Stir a couple of handfuls of baby spinach into the sauce right before the pasta goes in.
Serving ideas
What goes with it? Something fresh and crisp works best next to a sauce this rich.
- With cheese: Grated Parmesan at the table, if you like.
- With herbs: Chopped parsley or cilantro on top, for color and a fresh note.
- With a salad: A simple green salad with a sharp vinaigrette cuts through the cream.
- With bread: Garlic bread or crusty bread for the last of the sauce.
Storage notes
Leftovers keep well. Store them covered in the fridge and eat them within 3 to 4 days. The pasta keeps soaking up the sauce, so when you reheat it, add a splash of water or milk and warm it gently on the stove, stirring until it’s creamy again.
Like this recipe? You’ll love these too:
- Chorizo And Chipotle Pasta: Two fiery ingredients in one pasta, earthy and smoky.
- Chipotle Alfredo Sauce: Alfredo pushed smoky and warm with chipotle in adobo, in one pan.
- Spicy Vodka Sauce: A creamy tomato sauce with a little heat, for penne night.
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Spaghetti Chipotle
Ingredients
- 1 package spaghetti
- 8 slices bacon
- 3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce with 1 teaspoon additional sauce, diced
- 3 hot sausages
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 white onion diced
- 1 cup cream
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
Instructions
- Cook the spaghetti until near al dente, with the teaspoon of salt in the water.
- Chop up the bacon and sausage, then fry the pieces, along with the white onion, in a high walled pan with oil until cooked through.
- Add the cream, chipotle pepper, and garlic to the pan and stir to combine.
- Strain the spaghetti, then add it to the sauce pan. Continue cooking until the sauce thickens and the pasta becomes al dente.
- Serve.
