Rotel Pasta

If you’re looking for something more inspiring than reaching for the same old jar of marinara on pasta night, Rotel diced tomatoes make an excellent starting point for this pasta main, Rotel Pasta. Diced jalapenos and chorizo bring mad flavor with little effort, and a little dairy in the form of cream cheese and heavy cream lends richness, resulting in a balanced pasta dish that is both zesty and creamy. 

Rotel Pasta is the perfect semi-homemade dish for when you’re semi-motivated. You want to go beyond grabbing a jar of prepared marinara but don’t want to spend hours creating a homemade sauce. I got you. 

Rotel makes one heck of a dip when paired with Velveeta, but its usefulness goes way beyond game-day snacking. It’s the perfect base to create a super flavorful pasta dish - especially when you get a few other ingredients involved. We’re talking chorizo, jalapeno, a few choice seasonings, and some dairy to tie it all together into one creamy sauce that will cling to your pasta of choice (I recommend fettuccine or linguine). 

Let’s make it! Here’s how to make Rotel Pasta. Because I’m hungry.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• Semi-homemade = dinner is served faster - Using Rotel as a 'marinara sauce' base for this pasta dish means we're on our way to a quick dinner. Reach for pre-seasoned chorizo and diced canned jalapenos along with that Rotel and dinner will come together even faster. And still be incredibly delicious.
• Flavorful results, minimal ingredients - The key to dinner being served faster is to rely on fewer ingredients. But those ingredients matter, which is why you'll see pre-seasoned chorizo and Rotel featured prominently in this recipe. They bring bold flavors with minimal effort on your part. By the way, if you love Rotel and easy dinner recipes, give this Creamy Taco Soup recipe a try!

Ingredients

• Fettuccine pasta - I love me some thick noodles, and I think Fettuccine works great in this recipe. But there's no reason why you couldn't use classic spaghetti or linguine as well.
• Chorizo - I used a pre-seasoned chorizo made by Johnsonville, which was also already ground.
• Rotel - 1(10-oz) can of diced tomatoes serves as the 'marinara sauce' base of this pasta dish. No need to drain them either, the Rotel liquid gets used too.
• Canned diced jalapeno - This is optional, but I like the heat it adds. Reach for canned diced jalapenos to speed up the process. But you can of course use a fresh jalapeno too, just dice it, remove the seeds, and cook it alongside the chorizo.
• Seasonings - Garlic salt, onion powder, and dried oregano bring umami and earthiness. You could also consider sneaking in a little cumin, maybe a little chili powder, maybe some smoked paprika - make it your own with a little seasoning adjustment :).
• Dairy - Cream cheese and heavy cream add subtle richness to this dish without making it too heavy.

A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below - keep scrolling!

Makes 3 hearty servings.

Rotel Pasta Substitutions

You can of course make a few substitutions to the recipe without significantly changing the delicious outcome of this Rotel Pasta recipe. 

• Fettuccine - use linguine instead, or go for a totally different pasta shape, like penne, bowties, or one of the Sporkful’s super fun pasta shapes.
• Jalapeno - leave it out if you’re not in the mood for heat, or replace with bell pepper. Or canned green chili. 
• Chorizo - this would be fantastic with ground beef, pork, or chicken not seasoned with chorizo as well. If going that route, I’d add some taco (or similarish) seasoning to the meat while cooking. 
• Seasonings - play around with different seasonings if you like! Garlic salt, onion powder, and oregano are great, but you could mix it up with cumin, chipotle powder, paprika, etc.

How to Make Rotel Pasta - Directions

1. Step 1. At the same time as you are following the instructions below, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil to cook the pasta in. Cook pasta according to package instructions, then strain and set aside until the sauce is ready. 

Note: Save some of the pasta water just in case you need to adjust the sauce thickness.

2. Step 2: Heat a deep-sided pan over medium heat. Add the chorizo and cook for 7-8 minutes, using a wooden spoon to break the chorizo into smaller pieces as it cooks. 

3. Step 3: Once the chorizo has finished cooking, remove it from the heat and strain off the excess grease. I like to do this by straining through a sieve, then pouring the strained chorizo onto paper towels to absorb any excess grease.

4. Step 4: Set the chorizo aside, and return the pan to medium heat. Add the Rotel, diced canned jalapeno (optional), garlic salt, onion powder, and oregano to the pan. Bring to a gentle simmer (this will take a few minutes). 

5. Step 5: Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the cream cheese to the Rotel Pasta sauce. Stir until melted and completely incorporated.

6. Step 6: Add back in the chorizo and stir, then add in the heavy cream.

7. Step 7: Stir until incorporated. If you aren’t completely satisfied with the sauce thickness, add some of the leftover pasta water, a little at a time. Or if it’s too thin, continue cooking for a few additional minutes until it reduces down. 

8. Step 8: Add the cooked pasta to the Rotel sauce and stir until fully coated. Serve immediately, preferably with garlic bread or breadsticks. 

Storage & Reheating

Store any leftover Rotel pasta in a lidded container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days; I find the quality of the pasta deteriorates if not used fairly quickly afterward. 

To reheat on the stovetop, add pasta to a pan over medium heat. Add a tablespoon or two of water. Put a lid on it and let it heat up, which will take a few minutes. Stir the pasta after it’s heated up for a few minutes, then return the lid. Repeat until heated through. 

You can also reheat in the microwave. Microwaves are super fancy now, so use whatever reheating setting you prefer, but I recommend adding a tablespoon or two of water before microwaving to keep the pasta moist during reheating.

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If you tried Rotel Pasta (or any other recipe on Midwexican), please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it turned out in the 📝 comments below!