Chorizo Bacon Pasta

Creamy chorizo bacon pasta is a great recipe to spice up boring weeknights. This simple dish is packed with flavor from the ground chorizo sausage and the pasta shells which hold in all of that creamy sauce and diced tomatoes. Top with jalapeños and lots of shaved parmesan cheese and prepare to be amazed. If you love pasta as much as I do, then make sure to try this Cheesecake Factory copycat recipe for Spicy Chicken Chipotle Pasta or this easy Mushroom Carbonara With Pancetta.

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Ingredients

• Pasta Shells – The large shells work best for this recipe.
• Chorizo – Remove the ground chorizo from the casing.
• Bacon – Cook the bacon until crispy.
• Diced Tomatoes, Tomato Paste, Garlic Cloves and Red Wine – Canned diced tomatoes, tomato paste, minced garlic cloves and dry red wine make up the sauce for this dish.
• Heavy Cream – Adds creaminess to the sauce.
• Jalapeños – Top the chorizo bacon pasta with slices of jalapeños for a little added spice.
• Shaved Parmesan Cheese – Sprinkle shaved parmesan cheese before serving.

How To Make Chorizo Bacon Pasta

1. Make a lengthwise cut down the middle of the chorizo sausage casing and remove the chorizo from the inside. Discard the casing.
2. Give the bacon a rough chop and set aside.
3. Finely mince the garlic cloves and reserve for later.
4. Add oil to a pot over medium high heat.
5. Once the oil has warmed up, add the ground chorizo sausage. Use a meat chopper tool to break up the ground sausage. Cook until fully cooked through, drain the fat and transfer to a bowl.
6. Add the chopped bacon to the same pan and cook until crispy. Drain the fat and transfer to the bowl with the chorizo and set aside for now.
7. Add the pasta shells and chicken broth to a large pot over high heat and boil for 10-11 minutes, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat to low.
8. In a small sauce pan, heat the butter over medium high heat. Add the minced garlic cloves and saute for 30 seconds.
9. Immediately add in the red wine and tomato paste and cook for 2-3 minutes to reduce then add the diced tomatoes.
10. Bring the sauce to a low boil and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently.
11. Add the tomato sauce, chorizo sausage and bacon to the pasta shells (no need to drain the pasta) and mix to combine.
12. Pour in the heavy cream and stir everything in order to coat the pasta in all of the sauce and meat.
13. Slice the jalapeño, wash and remove the seeds or leave them in if you like it really spicy.
14. Top the pasta with jalapeño slices and shaved parmesan cheese before serving.

Is This Dish Spicy?

This dish definitely packs a lot of flavor but you’ll have full control over the amount of heat you want. The chorizo is a little bit spicy but nothing extreme. If you want this dish to be really spicy, leave the seeds in the slices of jalapeño. Otherwise, you can do what I did and rinse the jalapeño while removing the seeds for a more mild flavor.

Pasta Substitutions

Replace the pasta shells with spaghetti, penne, bowtie or any other pasta you prefer.

Recipe Notes

• This recipe uses fresh chorizo, not pre-cooked.
• There is no need to drain the pasta since the chicken broth will reduce significantly and what’s left will add to the creaminess of the dish. It’s important to stir the pasta frequently to prevent burning or sticking to the bottom of the pan.
• Dry red wine works best for this recipe. Merlot, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon are all great options.