Gochujang Pasta

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This gochujang pasta dish is spicy, salty, and slightly sweet. Loaded with ground chicken, sliced mushrooms, spinach, and a gochujang peanut sauce, and topped with scallions, crushed peanuts, and cilantro, this is the perfect fusion recipe to replace take-out for the week!

Prep Time5

Cook Time30

Total Time35

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: asian fusion, asian-inspired

Diet: Gluten Free

Servings: Servings

Author: Cassy Joy Garcia

Ingredients

12 ounces dry spaghetti noodles
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 pound ground chicken
½ teaspoon salt
2 large portabello mushrooms, cut into thin strips
¾ cup chicken broth
¼ cup gochujang paste
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons honey
Juice of 1 lime, about 2 tablespoons
2 cups fresh spinach
6 scallions, sliced, for garnish, optional
½ cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped, for garnish, optional
¼ cup crushed peanuts, for garnish, optional
1 tablespoon white sesame seeds, for garnish, optional

Instructions

Cook the noodles in salted water according to package instructions, reserving 1 cup pasta water.
While the noodles cook, heat the sesame oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground chicken to the pot, sprinkle with the salt, and cook and crumble until cooked through, about 7 to 9 minutes. Once cooked, remove the ground chicken and set it aside.
Add the mushrooms to the pot and saute for 10-12 minutes over medium-high heat, until browned and reduced in size.
While the mushrooms cook, add the chicken broth, gochujang paste, peanut butter, honey, and lime juice to a small bowl or jar and whisk (or shake) until combined.
Return the ground chicken to the pot with the mushrooms, and add the spinach. Toss to combine and saute for an additional 5 minutes, until the spinach is wilted.
Add the pasta to the pot, then pour the sauce over the top. Toss to combine. If needed, add the pasta water, until you have a smooth, sauce-like consistency.
Garnish with scallions, cilantro, crushed peanuts, and sesame seeds, then serve and enjoy!

Notes

Use a different protein - while this recipe calls for ground chicken, feel free to swap it for ground pork or ground beef if you'd like. In that same vein, if you'd like to use a different cut of chicken, thinly sliced chicken thighs or chicken breasts would be really delicious too.

Make it gluten-free - grab a box of gluten-free pasta (our favorite is Barilla's gluten-free option for the most authentic pasta taste and texture) to make this dish gluten-free (that's what we did!).

Make it vegetarian - while we are definitely animal protein eaters over here, if you want to skip the ground chicken, feel free. The rest of the recipe will stay the exact same! This is also a great option if you want to serve the pasta as a side dish vs. the main event.

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