Calabrian Chili Pasta
Serve a cozy 9×13 pan of Creamy Calabrian Chili Pasta with turkey, a hearty Italian pasta bake recipe made with green olives, Shellbow pasta, and a cheesy tomato sauce. This dish is the perfect comfort meal for Friendsgiving or any potluck, using leftover Thanksgiving turkey.
Oh, I love a good comfort pasta dish. This Creamy Calabrian Chili Pasta feeds a crowd, and is perfect for a Friendsgiving dinner or the day after Thanksgiving, using leftover turkey. We served it a few years back on this Friendsgiving Pasta Bake Board. So here’s the main pasta dish recipe—comfort all the way!
Add your favorite kind of pasta, set out all the comfort foods you love, set a pretty table, and share the upcoming holidays with family and friends.
Calabrian Chili Pasta
What does Calabrian chili taste like? It’s smoky, salty, and, of course, spicy. To make them into a paste, dried Calabrian peppers (peperoncino) are crushed with olive oil, and sometimes salt and vinegar. They are milder than cayenne peppers, and you can buy it right in the jar. This turkey pasta bake recipe comes together in no time!
Read more: Calabrian Chili Pasta
Why I love this recipe
- This Turkey Pasta Bake Recipe can be served any time of the year!
- You can use deli turkey meat (buy the whole turkey breast). Delish!
- Make ahead and then pop in the oven for an easy dinner party!
Gather these ingredients
- Olive oil + garlic
- Oregano
- Calabrian chilis, crushed in oil
- Flour
- Deli turkey breast (or leftover turkey or rotisserie chicken)
- Delallo Crushed Italian Tomatoes
- Heavy cream
- Low moisture mozzarella cheese
- Provolone cheese
- Shellbow pasta (we use Delallo) – or your favorite pasta
- Gigante green olives
How do you make Calabrian Chili Pasta?
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Prepare your baking dish—a 9×13 or similar size; spray with oil and set aside.
- Make the Calabrian Chili Mornay Sauce: In a large saucepan over medium heat, add olive oil. Once hot, add garlic, season with salt and pepper, then lower heat to medium-low.
- Next, add the Calabrian chilis and oregano; cook 2 more minutes. Add the flour and whisk semi-frequently for 2-3 minutes.
- Once the flour has toasted, whisk in the heavy cream and milk; cook down on medium-low heat for 4-5 minutes. Finally, add the tomato sauce and continue reducing until thickened. Taste for salt, then remove from the heat, and stir in half of the mozzarella and 1 cup of provolone cheese until combined. Set aside.
- Prepare the pasta: In a large pot, add 3 quarts of water and salt heavily. Bring to a boil and add pasta. Cook al dente—make sure to drain the pasta 1-2 minutes before it reaches al dente, because it will cook further in the oven. Drain the pasta, leaving a bit of water in the pot (¼ c) and return the pasta to the pot.
- Combine the ingredients: Pour the cheese-chili tomato sauce over the pasta and add the turkey breast. Pour the reserved pasta water over all and stir to combine, as the sauce thickens.
- Bake the pasta dish: Pour the pasta into your prepared pan, and sprinkle with the olives and remaining cheeses. Cover with parchment and foil and place on the center rack. Bake, covered, or until bubbling on sides.
- Remove the foil and parchment and return to oven for 15 minutes more. Finish by broiling, still on the center rack, on high heat to brown the top.
Tips and substitutions:
- We buy the Calabrian Chilis crushed in oil.
- Use your favorite pasta.
- Using leftover turkey, this is a great dish for the weekend after Thanksgiving. But optional to buy a turkey breast in the deli department. We often buy the turkey breast at Costco and cut into large chunks.
- Mix up the cheeses in this recipe. Use your favorite combination of several cheeses.
- Store the leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days. The leftovers are amazing!
Serving
Serve with this Meg’s Green Salad and hot crunchy homemade bread. Or, serve on The Big Board. For a falltime dessert, we love our new Pumpkin Cheesecake Cake. It’s elegant and so tasty!
More pasta dishes you may want to try while you are here:
Get the Recipe:
Calabrian Chili Pasta Bake (with turkey)
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 Tbsp oregano
- 2 Tbsp Calabrian chilis, crushed in oil
- 2 Tbsp flour
- 2 lb deli turkey breast, ½’’ cubes (or leftover Thanksgiving turkey)
- 1 c Crushed Italian Tomatoes
- 1 ⅓ c heavy cream
- 3 c mozzarella cheese, grated
- 1 ½ c provolone cheese, grated, divided
- 1 lb shellbow pasta, or similar kind
- 7 oz Pitted Gigante Green Olives, quartered
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare your baking dish—a 9×13 or similar size; spray with oil and set aside.
Make the Calabrian Chili Mornay Sauce:
- In a large saucepan over medium heat, add olive oil. Once hot, add garlic, season with salt and pepper, then lower heat to medium-low; cook 3 minutes, then add the Calabrian chilis and oregano; cook 2 more minutes. Add the flour and whisk semi-frequently for 2-3 minutes. Once the flour has toasted, whisk in the heavy cream and milk; cook down on medium-low heat for 4-5 minutes.
- Finally, add the tomato sauce and continue reducing until thickened, 8-10 minutes. Taste for salt, then remove from the heat, and stir in half of the mozzarella and 1 cup of provolone cheese until combined. Set aside.
Boil the pasta:
- In a large pot, add 3 quarts of water and salt heavily. Bring to a boil and add pasta. Cook 7-8 minutes (this depends on the pasta)—make sure to drain the pasta 1-2 minutes before it reaches al dente, because it will cook further in the oven. Drain the pasta, leaving a bit of water in the pot (¼ c) and return the pasta to the pot.
Combine the ingredients:
- Pour the cheese-chili tomato sauce over the pasta and add the turkey breast. Pour the reserved pasta water over all and stir to combine for about 2 minutes, as the sauce thickens.
- Pour the pasta into your prepared pan, and sprinkle with the olives and remaining cheeses. Cover with parchment and foil and place on the center rack.
Bake the pasta dish:
- Bake, covered, for 25-28 minutes, or until bubbling on sides. Remove the foil and parchment and return to oven for 15 minutes more. Finish by broiling, still on the center rack, on high heat for 2-3 minutes to brown the top.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
Hi! Have a question: this dish looks marvelous and I’d love to make it, but don’t have the chilis. I do, however, have Calabrian Chili Paste – do you think I could just use 2 T of that in the recipe? Still frying it up with the garlic & oregano, of course!
Yes! That will work. Enjoy!