Nduja Pasta, a flavorful pasta dish featuring a simple sauce made with red onion, tomato passata, basil, and of course, nduja! Traditional to Calabria, this is a great recipe to make if you're looking to try something new.
Nduja is pronounced en-doo-ya, and it's a spicy spreadable salami that can be mixed with pasta, used as a dip, or as a spread on sandwiches. The spicy flavor comes from the peppercino, which is a key ingredient in nduja.
In this recipe, nduja is mixed with short packaged dry pasta. Traditionally, it's made with homemade fileja pasta. It tastes great with any type of short pasta which will save you time if you don't have fileja!
Here are 4 reasons why you should add nduja pasta to your menu:
- It's easy to make: You only need a few ingredients to make this dish, and they're all items that are pretty easy to find at the store. It's perfect to make for a quick weeknight dinner.
- It's ready in 30 minutes: Yes, it's that quick! All you have to do is cook the pasta and mix it with the nduja and sauce.
- It has amazing flavor: Nduja is super tasty and has a nice spicy kick to it! It tastes amazing when combined with pasta, and will make it your new favorite pasta dish to make.
- It's unique: There's nothing wrong with just a simple pasta and tomato sauce, but nduja adds a nice flavor to pasta in case you are looking to make something a little different.
Jump to:
Ingredients
- Nduja: The flavor-packed salami that's mixed in with the pasta. It has a "spreadable" texture and can be used as a sauce.
- Red onion: Add some chopped red onion for extra flavor.
- Tomato Passata: Passata is an uncooked tomato puree that is perfect for combining with pasta. You can find it at most grocery stores. Note that it is slightly different from tomato paste and tomato sauce.
- Pasta: Use any type of short pasta, such as penne or fusilli. Spaghetti would also work. This recipe was tested with a short packaged dry pasta. If you want to go the traditional route, try it with handmade fielaja.
- Basil: A popular Italian ingredient--basil adds freshness and extra flavor to nduja pasta.
How is nduja made
Nduja is a type of salami made with ground pork meat, fat, salt and pepperoncini (red chile peppers). This is where it gets its name: the word "nduja" comes from the French word 'andouille', which means sausage.
These ingredients are kneaded together and made into sausage. The sausage is smoked a small amount, and then left to age for several months to give it its flavor. The pork meat used in nduja typically comes from the throat, underbelly, head, and shoulder of the pig.
After the process of making nduja is complete, it has a soft and spreadable consistency. This is what makes it perfect for pasta!
Pasta shape to use in nduja pasta
The recipe for nduja pasta originated in Calabria. If you want to stick with the traditions, the pasta used in this dish there would be handmade fileja pasta.
Fileja pasta is a shape that originated in the country. It is considered "flour and water" pasta. It's chunky and thick, and is made at home using a metal rod.
Although the classic way to make the dish is with fileja pasta, you can use any type that you have on hand. I used short packaged dry pasta for simplicity. Short pastas like maccheroni, penne, and fusilli are the best for making ndjua pasta. Spaghetti would also work.
Other ways to use nduja
Although nduja pasta is a popular recipe to make, there are many other ways that you can use nduja. Here are a few ways to try it:
As dip: Nduja's consistency makes it a great dip that you can pair with veggies, chips, or anything else that you like.
Spread for sandwiches: Try spreading some nduja on a couple of slices of bread, and enjoy it with a sandwich. It will add lots of flavor!
With frittatas or other egg dishes: Add some nduja to egg-based dishes for some extra flavor and texture.
On pizza: You can't go wrong with adding nduja to pizza. You could use it in place of sauce if you'd like, or just add it as an additional topping.
How to make nduja pasta: step-by-step
Cook red onion in olive oil (photo 1)
Add passata and cook down (photo 2)
Add basil and nduja (photos 3&4)
Add pasta to the sauce and finish cooking (photo 6)
Storage
If you have leftover nduja pasta, allow it to cool, and then place it in a sealed container. Store it in the fridge for up to 3 days.
To reheat the pasta, put a little bit of oil in a pan and reheat it on the stove. You could also layer it in a baking dish: top it with a little more tomato sauce, grated mozzarella, and Parmigiano or pecorino. Then, bake in the oven until heated through.
Top tips
- Fidanzati capresi pasta is used in this recipe - but any type of pasta can be used, penne, rigatoni, spaghetti, etc
- Using the recommended amount of nduja in this recipe will make the final dish quite spicy. If you prefer less spice, use less nduja than recommended.
- If preferred, grated parmigiano reggiano may bee added as a final touch to the dish, but it is not necessary
More Italian pasta recipes
If you loved this nduja pasta, you'll be sure to love these other Italian pasta recipes:
- Cacio e Pepe
- Pasta Amatriciana
- Pasta with Ricotta and Tomato Sauce
- Authentic Carbonara
- Italian Braised Pork Ragu
- Italian Pasta with Anchovies
If you’ve tried making this Nduja Pasta, or any other recipe on the blog please let me know what you thought of it in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, TWITTER, PINTEREST and TIKTOK to see more delicious food and what I’ve been up to.
Recipe
Nduja Pasta - Easy and Delicious!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin
- 2 tablespoon red onion chopped
- 2 cups passata (strained tomatoes)
- 200 grams fidanzati capresi pasta
- fresh basil
- 3 tablespoon nduja
- salt to taste
Instructions
- In a large pan that will fit the pasta, add the olive oil over medium heat.
- Once the olive oil is warmed through, add the red onion, let it cook until fragrant, a few minutes.
- While making the sauce, bring a pot of water to a boil, add salt, and drop the pasta in. Cook until it's before al dente (about 2-3 minutes before it's done cooking, remove it from the pot and place it into the sauce – it will finish cooking in the sauce)
- Add the passata. Add a pinch of salt.
- Let the passata cook down for 10-15 minutes. Add the nduja hand torn basil in and stir. The nduja will almost melt into the sauce.
- Add the pasta to the sauce. Add pasta water if needed. Continue to cook the pasta in the pan until tit absorbs the sauce it is al dente. If it needs more time to cook, add more pasta water.
- Plate and top with more fresh basil, enjoy!
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- Fidanzati capresi pasta is used in this recipe - but any type of pasta can be used, penne, rigatoni, spaghetti, etc
- Using the recommended amount of nduja in this recipe will make the final dish quite spicy. If you prefer less spice, use less nduja than recommended.
- If preferred, grated parmigiano reggiano may bee added as a final touch to the dish, but it is not necessary
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