This Spicy Alfredo Pasta dish requires almost no time to make and is loaded with nutrient packed brussels sprouts and a spicy cream sauce!
Spicy Alfredo Pasta Substitutions
This Spicy Alfredo Pasta is fairly straight forward to make; however, there are 3 easy substitutions that you could consider without drastically changing the dish:
Noodle-I used linguine for this dish. Spaghetti or fettuccine would work equally well. If you prefer a shaped pasta such as medium shell pasta or rotini would also work well. You would just want to avoid anything too delicate as it might be overwhelmed by the creamy sauce.
Brussels Sprouts-I really like the brussels sprouts in this pasta. If you cannot find fresh brussels or would prefer a substitute, you could consider changing broccoli.
Cream Cheese-I made this sauce with garden vegetable flavored cream cheese; however, I feel chive & onion flavored cream cheese would work equally well.
Try some of our other pasta favorites:
Tahini Pasta Sauce is packed with Unami flavors and is another super easy pasta dish to make.
Green Olive Puttanesca is another easy twist on a classic dish that makes for a perfect weeknight dinner.
Spicy Alfredo Pasta with Brussels Sprouts
Ingredients
- 8 oz linguine
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 large pinch red pepper flakes
- 12 ounces brussels sprouts trimmed and thinly shredded
- 1 Tablespoon salted butter
- 2 8 ounce containers garden vegetable flavored cream cheese see notes
- Juice of ½ lemon
- Kosher salt and pepper
Instructions
- Cook linguine according to package directions. Drain, reserving the cooking water.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute the onion with the red pepper flakes and a bit of salt until beginning to become translucent.
- Once the onion begins to brown, add the brussels sprouts and the butter and stir.
- Once the brussels have softened, add the cream cheeses and 1 cup of the reserved water. Stir the mixture together and continue to add water ¼ cup at a time to loosen up the sauce. Add in the pasta and cook on low for around 2 minutes to combine the mixture. Add additional pasta water, as needed, to thin the mixture.
- Squeeze the lemon over the pasta, add additional salt, pepper and red pepper flakes as desired and serve immediately.
