Gochujang Arrabbiata Pasta — a plant-based Italian recipe by BOSH!
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Gochujang Arrabbiata Pasta

This one came about when we were messing around in the kitchen trying to figure out what to do with a jar of gochujang that had been sitting in the fridge for weeks, and honestly it might be one of the best accidents we've ever had. It's got all that punchy, tomato-rich heat of a classic arrabbiata but the gochujang adds this deep, fermented, slightly smoky kick that just takes it somewhere completely different. The sauce clings to the pasta beautifully and every bite has that slow-building heat that keeps you going back for more. We've made this probably a dozen times since and it's become a proper weeknight staple. If you want something with real flavour and a bit of attitude on the table in 20 minutes, this is the one.

Cook: 20 min
Serves 4

Before You Start

  • Large pot for pasta
  • Large frying pan or saucepan for sauce

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 red onions
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 2 tbsp tomato purée
  • 2 tbsp gochujang paste
  • 100ml pasta water
  • 250ml oat cream
  • 500g pasta
  • 15g nutritional yeast
  • 10g coriander
  • salt, pepper & sugar - to taste
  • 1 lime
  • plant-based parmesan

Method

1

Prepare the ingredients

  • Peel and finely dice the red onions and garlic
2

Cook the pasta

  • Cook the pasta according to package instructions in a large pot of boiling salted water - the more water the better (approx 9 minutes)
3

Prepare the sauce

  • Warm the olive oil in the pan over medium heat
  • Add the red onions and a small pinch of salt to the pan and stir for 5-10 minutes until soft
  • Add the garlic and stir for 2 minutes
  • Add the tomato purée and gochujang to the pan and stir for 2 minutes
  • Scoop the pasta water out of the stock pot, transfer to the pasta water, stir to combine and simmer for 1 minute
  • Pour the oat cream into the pan, add the nutritional yeast and stir to combine and simmer for 1 minute
  • Taste the sauce and season to perfection with salt, pepper and sugar
4

Finish and serve

  • Pick the coriander leaves and finely slice
  • Drain the pasta, add to the sauce and fold to cover and coat
  • Transfer the pasta to serving bowls, garnish with coriander, pepper, a squeeze of lime juice, parmesan (or nutritional yeast) and serve immediately

Tips & Variations

  • Salt your pasta water properly: We know everyone says this but it genuinely matters here. The sauce is bold so you need the pasta itself to have flavour, make it taste like the sea.
  • Adjust the heat: Gochujang varies quite a bit in spice level depending on the brand. Start with a little less than you think you need, taste the sauce, and build it up from there.
  • Save your pasta water: Before you drain the pasta, scoop out a big mug of that starchy cooking water. Adding a splash to the sauce at the end makes everything silkier and helps it coat the pasta perfectly.

Why This Works

The trick is letting the onions go properly soft before anything else hits the pan, it builds a sweet base that balances out all that chilli heat from the gochujang. What really makes this sing is the gochujang itself, it's not just spicy, it's got depth and umami that you just don't get from dried chilli flakes alone. Trust us on this one, don't rush the onions and don't be shy with the gochujang.