One Pot Caramelized Onion Chili Oil Pasta
Dive into a bowl of pure comfort with this luscious one-pot pasta that brings together the sweetness of caramelized onions and a kick of chili oil. With just a handful of ingredients and a simple cooking technique, you’ll whip up a satisfying dish that’s bursting with flavor. Perfect for a cozy night in, this pasta will have you coming back for seconds!
Prep
15
min
Cook
30
min
Serves
4
people
Level
beginner
📝 Ingredients
Serves 4🥬Fresh Produce(4)
- Fresh basiloptional
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 red onion
- 2 tbsp water (x3) (30 ml)
🥩Meat & Seafood(2)
- 3-4 cups beef broth (720-960 ml)
- 1 lb hot italian sausage (454 g)
🥛Dairy & Eggs(2)
- 2 tbsp butter (28 g)
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream (360 ml)
🫙Pantry Staples(2)
- 1 - 2 tbsp chili oil (15-30 ml)
- 1 lb spaghetti (454 g)
🧂Spices & Seasonings(1)
- 1 tsp salt (5 ml)
📦Other(1)
- 6 oz parmigiano regianno (170 g)
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Thinly slice a whole red onion and add to a pot with some butter.
- 2
Caramelize the onions for about 15 minutes, allowing them to start to burn.
- 3
Deglaze with a little water to lift up all the flavor, repeating the process until the onions are caramelized.
- 4
Add hot Italian sausage, garlic, beef broth, and dry spaghetti to the pot.
- 5
Once the pasta is cooked, add heavy cream, fresh parmigiano, and chili oil.
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Slice the red onion to a uniform 1/8-inch thickness so sugars caramelize evenly; uneven cuts cause thin pieces to burn (releasing bitter compounds) before thicker pieces release their natural sugars.technique1/8-inch thickness
- ✓When deglazing the fond, use only 1-2 tablespoons of water at a time and scrape immediately with a wooden spatula, since adding too much water at once drops pan temperature below 300°F and stalls the Maillard reaction responsible for deep caramelized flavor.technique1-2 tablespoons, 300°F
- ✓Brown the Italian sausage in the same pot before adding broth so the fond it creates dissolves into the cooking liquid, adding another layer of glutamates that intensify the savory depth of the final sauce.technique
- ✓Cook the spaghetti directly in the broth using just enough liquid to submerge it (roughly a 3:1 broth-to-pasta ratio), since the starch released during cooking has nowhere to go and naturally thickens the sauce into a glossy emulsion.ingredient3:1 ratio
- ✓Pull the pot off heat before stirring in the heavy cream and parmigiano, since temperatures above 180°F can cause the casein proteins in the cheese to seize and the cream to separate into a grainy, broken sauce.timingbelow 180°F
Share this recipe
Prep
15
min
Cook
30
min
Serves
4
people
Level
beginner
Share this recipe
One Pot Caramelized Onion Chili Oil Pasta
Dive into a bowl of pure comfort with this luscious one-pot pasta that brings together the sweetness of caramelized onions and a kick of chili oil. With just a handful of ingredients and a simple cooking technique, you’ll whip up a satisfying dish that’s bursting with flavor. Perfect for a cozy night in, this pasta will have you coming back for seconds!
📝 Ingredients
Serves 4🥬Fresh Produce(4)
- Fresh basiloptional
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 red onion
- 2 tbsp water (x3) (30 ml)
🥩Meat & Seafood(2)
- 3-4 cups beef broth (720-960 ml)
- 1 lb hot italian sausage (454 g)
🥛Dairy & Eggs(2)
- 2 tbsp butter (28 g)
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream (360 ml)
🫙Pantry Staples(2)
- 1 - 2 tbsp chili oil (15-30 ml)
- 1 lb spaghetti (454 g)
🧂Spices & Seasonings(1)
- 1 tsp salt (5 ml)
📦Other(1)
- 6 oz parmigiano regianno (170 g)
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Thinly slice a whole red onion and add to a pot with some butter.
- 2
Caramelize the onions for about 15 minutes, allowing them to start to burn.
- 3
Deglaze with a little water to lift up all the flavor, repeating the process until the onions are caramelized.
- 4
Add hot Italian sausage, garlic, beef broth, and dry spaghetti to the pot.
- 5
Once the pasta is cooked, add heavy cream, fresh parmigiano, and chili oil.
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Slice the red onion to a uniform 1/8-inch thickness so sugars caramelize evenly; uneven cuts cause thin pieces to burn (releasing bitter compounds) before thicker pieces release their natural sugars.technique1/8-inch thickness
- ✓When deglazing the fond, use only 1-2 tablespoons of water at a time and scrape immediately with a wooden spatula, since adding too much water at once drops pan temperature below 300°F and stalls the Maillard reaction responsible for deep caramelized flavor.technique1-2 tablespoons, 300°F
- ✓Brown the Italian sausage in the same pot before adding broth so the fond it creates dissolves into the cooking liquid, adding another layer of glutamates that intensify the savory depth of the final sauce.technique
- ✓Cook the spaghetti directly in the broth using just enough liquid to submerge it (roughly a 3:1 broth-to-pasta ratio), since the starch released during cooking has nowhere to go and naturally thickens the sauce into a glossy emulsion.ingredient3:1 ratio
- ✓Pull the pot off heat before stirring in the heavy cream and parmigiano, since temperatures above 180°F can cause the casein proteins in the cheese to seize and the cream to separate into a grainy, broken sauce.timingbelow 180°F