If you’re looking for something a little more inspiring than reaching for the same old jar of marinara on pasta night, Rotel diced tomatoes makes an excellent starting point. Diced jalapenos and chorizo bring mad flavor with little effort, and a little dairy lends creaminess, 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 a game-day snack. 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.
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Ingredients Needed for Rotel Pasta
- 8 ounces fettuccine pasta
- ½ pound chorizo (I used Johnsonville)
- 1(10-oz) can Rotel diced tomatoes, undrained
- 2 ounces canned diced jalapeno (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon garlic salt
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 ounces cream cheese
- ½ cup heavy cream
Makes 3 hearty servings.
How to Make Rotel Pasta - Instructions
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.
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.
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.
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).
Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the cream cheese to the Rotel Pasta sauce. Stir until melted and completely incorporated.
Add back in the chorizo and stir, then add in the heavy cream.
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.
Add the cooked pasta to the Rotel sauce and stir until fully coated. Serve immediately, preferably with garlic bread or breadsticks.
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.
Equipment Needed
Deep sided pan, like a brasier
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 used whatever reheating setting you prefer, but I recommend adding a tablespoon or two of water before microwaving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Save a bit of that pasta water just in case this happens. If your Rotel pasta sauce needs to be a touch thinner, slowly add in a little bit of that leftover pasta water until you’ve reached the consistency you like. The benefit of pasta water is that it’s already a little salty, and the starch acts as a thickener. This may sound counterintuitive, but if you’re thinning your sauce you don’t want to make it watery - adding leftover pasta water helps the sauce retain its pasta-clinging ability vs. plain old water.
Your best bet here is to cook the sauce for a few additional minutes, with the lid off the pan, until it reaches desired consistency. If necessary, a cornstarch slurry made with leftover pasta water helps in a pinch.
If you’re wondering what to make to serve alongside Rotel pasta, here are a few suggested dishes. Garlic bread or breadsticks is an obvious choice, but you might also enjoy pairing this with Air Fryer Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Taco Balls, or Jalapeno Popper Creamed Kale.
Rotel Pasta
Equipment
- 1 brasier
Ingredients
- 8 ounces fettuccine pasta
- ½ pound chorizo (I used Johnsonville)
- 1 10-ounce can Rotel diced tomatoes, undrained
- 2 ounces canned diced jalapeno (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon garlic salt
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 ounces cream cheese
- ½ cup heavy cream
Instructions
- 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.
- At the same time, 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!
- 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.
- 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).
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the cream cheese to the Rotel Pasta sauce. Stir until melted and completely incorporated. Add back in the chorizo and stir, then add in the heavy cream. 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.
- Add the cooked pasta to the Rotel sauce and stir until fully coated. Serve immediately, preferably with breadsticks or garlic bread.
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