Nduja Pasta
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After just one bite, you’ll fall in love with this Nduja Pasta recipe! Nduja is a spicy spreadable pork sausage from the Calabrian region of Italy. It’s full of flavor and one of my new favorite ingredients in the kitchen. It’s easy to make this pasta recipe in just 20 minutes and you’ll love the rich, creamy texture of the sauce, and the bright, spicy flavor!
Table of contents
I get asked a lot, “what’s your favorite recipe?” While that’s an almost impossible question to answer, this one is definitely going to start coming up in the conversation!
A few years ago, my favorite restaurant in San Diego, Trust, introduced me to nduja on their charcuterie board. They make homemade nduja and spread it on thick pieces of grilled bread. It is incredible!
After having a hard time finding nduja (pronounced en-doo-yah) at stores in San Diego, I found this Tempesta ‘Nduja on Amazon. I immediately fell in love with the flavor, so on my next trip to Chicago, I went to the Tempesta market, where they sell the ‘nduja, other craft salamis, and homemade sandwiches.
The company is owned by a father-and-son duo best known for bringing ‘nduja to America from Calabria, Italy. I quickly purchased about 8 pounds of nduja to bring back to San Diego.
Two weeks later, I was in New York City for the Specialty Food Show where it just so happened that Tempesta was an exhibitor. I ran up to their booth and started raving about the ‘nduja. Let’s just say that we’re basically best friends now and you’re going to see a lot more recipes with nduja on the blog soon!
I’m starting with my favorite nduja recipe that I’ve made so far. It’s a rich, creamy pasta sauce that’s perfect to toss with a long, wide noodle like pappardelle. It’s incredibly easy to make, but absolutely bursting with flavor. I can’t wait for you to try it!
Ingredients
- Pasta – I like to use a long, wide noodle for this recipe. The luxurious sauce coats the noodles just perfectly. If you can’t find pappardelle pasta at your grocery store, try using tagliatelle or fettuccine instead.
- Butter – I recommend using unsalted butter in this recipe. This way, you can control how much salt you want to add to the dish.
- Nduja (spreadable salami) – nduja is a cured meat, that’s made up of more fat than traditional salami, which makes it spreadable. The Tempesta Nduja I used in this recipe (and that you can easily buy on Amazon) is made of just pork, Calabrian chili peppers, and sea salt. I love that the ingredients are simple, but the taste is bursting with flavor. You can also look for Nduja at Italian markets, or specialty grocery stores in your area.
- Garlic – I recommend using fresh cloves of garlic for the best flavor.
- Heavy cream – to make the luxurious, creamy sauce, I do not recommend using half-and-half, or milk, in it’s place.
- Lemon juice – I always suggest fresh-squeezed lemon juice for the best, brightest flavor.
- Sugar – to balance out the spicy, salty flavors in the sauce.
- Parmesan cheese – I recommend fresh grating a block of parmesan cheese at home, so that it melts perfectly into the sauce.
- Salt + black pepper – to season the sauce.
- Fresh parsley – mix some in at the end, then save a little to garnish the dish.
Instructions
I’ve included step by step photos below to make this recipe super easy to follow at home. For the full detailed recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Start the recipe by bringing a large pot of salted water to boil on the stove. Once boiling, add the pasta noodles and cook until al dente. Remove about one cup of pasta water from the pot before draining the noodles and setting them aside. Reserve the pasta water for later. Next, prepare the nduja sauce on the stovetop.
- Melt butter and nduja together. Add unsalted butter to a large pan on the stove over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add nduja and crushed garlic cloves. Whisk the ingredients together until the nduja is melted and fully combined with the butter.
- Make it creamy! Pour heavy cream into the pan and whisk to combine everything. You want the sauce to be simmering, but not boiling.
- Season the sauce. Add lemon juice and sugar to the sauce and stir to combine. Add grated parmesan cheese, about ¼ cup at a time, stirring the sauce after each addition until the parmesan cheese melts into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
- Toss in the pasta. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and toss until it’s completely coated. I like to add about 1-2 tablespoons of the starchy pasta water. This will thicken the sauce and help it stick to the pasta. Feel free to add as much as you’d like, but I recommend adding only 1 tablespoon at a time, so that you can stir and determine if it’s enough. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in fresh chopped parsley, then transfer the nduja pasta to bowls, and serve with a little more fresh chopped parsley on top.
Optional additions
I’ve now made this nduja pasta recipe so many times that I’ve lost count. It’s seriously so delicious! I love it just the way it is, with this sauce you really don’t need anything else. But, if you want to add a little extra something to the dish, try these tasty additions that I’ve tested out in my kitchen.
- Roasted cherry tomatoes – toss 2 cups of cherry tomatoes with 2 tablespoons olive oil, and season with salt and black pepper. Spread them out on a rimmed baking sheet and roast at 400°F for 15-20 minutes. These can be roasting while you prepare the pasta. After you’ve plated the pasta, arrange about ½ cup of roasted tomatoes around the pasta in each bowl.
- Toasted breadcrumbs – heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet on the stove over medium heat. Add ½ cup panko breadcrumbs and toast for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning and continue to toast the breadcrumbs until golden brown.
- Ricotta – combine ½ cup ricotta cheese with 1 teaspoon dried oregano and ½ teaspoon salt. Dollop this on top of the pasta before serving.
- Shrimp – on our honeymoon, we had an nduja pasta dish with grilled shrimp, and it was delicious! To add shrimp to the pasta, toss 1 pound of extra large shrimp (peeled and deveined) with 1 tablespoon olive oil, then season with salt and pepper. Preheat a grill to medium-high heat. Grill the shrimp for 2-3 minutes per side, then serve the shrimp on top of the prepared pasta dish.
- Mushrooms – my famous sauteed mushrooms are delicious tossed with this nduja pasta. Click the link for the recipe, prepare the mushrooms, then toss them with the pasta and sauce at the end before serving.
Storage and reheating
Nduja pasta leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can reheat the pasta on the stove or in the microwave.
To reheat it on the stove, add the pasta to a skillet over medium heat. Stir and heat for 5 minutes, or until heated through. If it looks a little dry, feel free to add 2-3 teaspoons of chicken broth or water to the pasta.
To reheat it in the microwave, add 2-3 teaspoons of chicken broth or water to the pasta. Cover the pasta and reheat it in the microwave for 2-3 minutes, stirring halfway through the time. The added liquid will help steam the pasta in the microwave to make sure it doesn’t dry out.
What to serve with it
This nduja pasta is delicious paired with salads, roasted vegetables, or bread. Try it with any of these tasty Italian side dishes.
More pasta recipes
Looking for more delicious pasta recipes? Check out these other blog favorites!
Nduja Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces pappardelle pasta, or tagliatelle or fettuccine
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ cup nduja salami
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 ½ teaspoons granulated sugar
- ¾ cup parmesan cheese, grated
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted, boiling water according to the package directions, until al dente. Remove about one cup of pasta water from the pot before draining the noodles and setting them aside. Reserve the pasta water for later.
- Add the butter to a large skillet on the stove over medium heat. Once melted, add the nduja and crushed garlic, and whisk them into the butter.
- Add the heavy cream and stir to combine. You want the sauce to be simmering, but not boiling.
- Add the lemon juice and sugar, and stir to combine
- Add the parmesan, about ¼ cup at a time, stirring the sauce after each addition until the parmesan cheese melts into the sauce.
- Season with the black pepper and salt.
- Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and toss until it’s completely coated. I like to add about 1-2 tablespoons of the starchy pasta water. This will thicken the sauce and help it stick to the pasta.
- Remove the pan from the heat, stir in fresh chopped parsley, then transfer the pasta to bowls, and serve with a little more fresh chopped parsley on top.
Notes
- Nduja pasta leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can reheat the pasta on the stove or in the microwave.
- To reheat it on the stove, add the pasta to a skillet over medium heat. Stir and heat for 5 minutes, or until heated through. If it looks a little dry, feel free to add 2-3 teaspoons of chicken broth or water to the pasta.
- To reheat it in the microwave, add 2-3 teaspoons of chicken broth or water to the pasta. Cover the pasta and reheat it in the microwave for 2-3 minutes, stirring halfway through the time. The added liquid will help steam the pasta in the microwave to make sure it doesn’t dry out.
Nutrition Facts
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