Delicious creamy penne pasta, also known as the viral TikTok “Gigi Hadid Pasta”, is a very quick, spicy, and delectable pasta dish that will dance on your tongue. As a bonus, the left overs warm up easily for lunch tomorrow!
A few days ago I got wind of this spicy pasta recipe (AKA Gigi Hadid Pasta Recipe on TikTok) circulating and I knew I had to try it! Turns out, its very similar to one I make for my own family (my changes are at the bottom of the post) and either way, this recipe is a fantastic lunch or pasta dinner. Any time you combine garlic, onions, tomatoes and cream, there really is no going wrong.
Overall, our reviews is that this recipe is the real deal. I mean it could certainly be improved by adding some ground sausage or chicken to really make it a full meal, but as is also super yummy. Please read on to find the original recipe as well as our personal changes that made this base recipe even better!
RELATED TIKTOK RECIPES: TikTok Whipped Coffee, TikTok Lava Cake, Easy Hot Chocolate Bombs
Gigi Hadid Spicy Pasta
✔ Spicy ✔ Viral ✔ Easy for Everyone
Before you get started on this Gigi Hadid pasta recipe, please note that the red pepper flakes, even at only 1 tsp, puts quite the medium spice to the pasta. In my opinion, it’s not so hot you can’t eat it but if you are very sensitive to spicy food or are serving children that are sensitive to spice, you may want to add less flakes to start. Additionally, boil the penne pasta first as you will need the pasta water to complete this recipe.
TikTok Pasta Grocery List
Below are the ingredients to make this viral recipe. Incredibly creamy and rich, there is no doubt that this side can be eaten alone or paired with a light chicken breast dish. Please scroll to the bottom of the post for a printer friendly version of this with full step by step instructions.
- olive oil
- onion
- minced garlic
- tomato paste
- whipping cream
- salt
- pepper
- paprika
- pepper flakes
- butter
- garlic powder
- shredded parmesan
- 16oz box of penne pasta– boiled + reserve pasta water for later use
feeds: 5 1/2 cups, about 4 generous servings
Gigi Hadid Vodka Sauce…without the Vodka
- Boil pasta and set aside, reserving the pasta water for later use.
- In a skillet, add olive oil and heat pan to medium-medium high.
- Once pan is hot and sizzling, add in diced onion and minced garlic. Combine ingredients and sauté until onions are fragrant and slightly translucent which usually takes just a few minutes.
- Now dump in all prepared spices – paprika, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
- Add 1 tablespoon tomato paste, butter and whole whipping cream to skillet.
- Mix all ingredients together – the skillet will start to take on a pink hue and be slightly thick.
- Heat pasta sauce for about 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly, taking care not to burn on the bottom – you may need to lower your pan heat if you detect that its too high.
- Add in 1/2 a cup of shredded parmesan cheese and combine.
- Now, a little at a time, add in reserved pasta water into pan, thinning out the sauce. This is where you need to take care not to over add pasta water.
- Start around 1/2 a cup of water, stir and heat, adding a little more at a time till desired consistency. Remember that the sauce will still need to burn off some liquid so it will be a little thin to start.
- Heat pasta sauce for about 7-8 more minutes, stirring frequently, while some of the excess liquid burns off.
- Once sauce is ready, dump in boiled Penne pasta and use tongs to easily cover pasta with sauce.
- Serve with additional parmesan cheese if you like!
Help! My pasta sauce is too thin!
Hey, this happens to us all and there is no need to stress. If you pour too much pasta water or its not burning off at the rate you need, simple add a bit of water and a spoon full of cornstarch into a glass and stir.
Then dump that liquid into the pasta sauce, heat, and your sauce will thicken in just a few minutes.
Do not add cornstarch directly into pan without combing with water first or it will be chunky. You can use this trick to thicken any sauce from pot roast to gravy, chicken drippings or sauce.
I often add a bit of cornstarch to my slow cooker recipes at the end to make sure any left over sauce is creamy versus liquid.
What Kind of Changes to Make to This TikTok Pasta
Every dish has a variety of ways to make it and while this spicy pasta recipe is going viral right now due to a celebrity and the power of TikTok, I can tell you that this dish is a basic recipe that many cooks (like myself) already use.
One of the main differences in my own version and this one is that I add cooked ground sausage, a bit more whole whipping cream, and change out that tomato paste for a can of diced tomatoes. I love to serve it over cheese filled tortellini’s!
More Pasta Side Dishes
- Cheesy Baked Asparagus – Cheesy Asparagus oven baked with garlic, heavy cream, and cheese for a delicious ooey, gooey and perfect side dish that is keto friendly and ready to be devoured.
- No Knead No Yeast Bread – These soft rolls will make your mouth water and trust me, they are so easy you wont believe you have never made them this way before! Easy Dinner Rolls coming up! Woot, woot!
- Cast iron Green Beans and Bacon – Fresh Green Beans with garlic, bacon, and sliced mushrooms sautéed in a cast iron pan, a perfectly delicious low carb green bean side dish full of flavor!
- Zucchini Tomato Casserole – Zucchini Tomato Casserole with Bread Crumb Topping, melty mozzarella and delicious Parmesan cheese is an amazing layered vegetable casserole bake that will make you excited to eat your veggies!
Buy an Onion Chopper – It’s life changing
One more thing – there is one thing in my kitchen arsenal that makes cooking recipes like this a snap: An onion chopper. I cannot tell you how long it took me to bite the bullet and buy one (which is crazy because they are not even that expensive) but once I did….wow. I have never looked back. Being able to pop onions into perfectly diced pieces in literal seconds has been a game changer. I used to cry like ALL the time and I would stop in between recipes – NO MORE. For real, get one.
Gigi Hadid Pasta Recipe
Love spicy food? This full of flavor Spicy pasta recipe (also known as the Gigi Hadid Pasta on TikTok) with penne pasta and homemade pasta sauce will have your mouth begging for more! Smother with more Parmesan cheese and serve up with your favorite green veggie for less guilt.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/2 cup whole whipping cream
- salt
- pepper
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan
- 16oz box of penne pasta, boiled + reserve pasta water for later use
Instructions
- Boil pasta and set aside, reserving the pasta water for later use.
- In a skillet, add olive oil and heat pan to medium/medium high.
- Once pan is hot and sizzling, add in diced onion and minced garlic. Combine ingredients and sauté until onions are fragrant and slightly translucent which usually takes just a few minutes.
- Dump in all prepared spices - paprika, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
- Add 1 tablespoon tomato paste, butter and whole whipping cream to skillet.
- Mix all ingredients together - the skillet will start to take on a pink hue and be slightly thick.
- Heat pasta sauce for about 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly, taking care not to burn on the bottom - you may need to lower your pan heat if you detect that its too high.
- Add in 1/2 a cup of shredded parmesan cheese and combine.
- A little at a time add in reserved pasta water into pan, thinning out the sauce. Start around 1/2 a cup of water, stir and heat, adding a little more at a time till desired consistency. Remember that the sauce will still need to burn off some liquid so it will be a little thin to start.
- Heat pasta sauce for about 7-8 more minutes, stirring frequently, while some of the excess liquid burns off. If you accidentally added too much water, see the article on how to thicken your sauce easily.
- Once sauce is ready, dump in prepared Penne pasta and use tongs to easily cover pasta with sauce.
- Serve with additional parmesan cheese if you like!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 476Total Fat: 25gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 48mgSodium: 354mgCarbohydrates: 50gFiber: 4gSugar: 3gProtein: 14g
Nutritional information is automatically calculated with ingredients and serving size and may not be accurate. Please always double check with your own nutritional apps as well.
Cady says
Poorly done and not a good representation of Gigi’s pasta. There is not enough cream in here to even make this close to a vodka sauce for a pound of pasta. Additionally, your video shows you adding the whipping cream before the spices, but your instructions say to add the spices first. Lazy, sloppy, and poorly done. I regret using your instructions for this.
Trisha says
Cady, I understand this recipe wasnt for you. That can be common in the recipe world as people have different ideas of what works for their own taste buds. But I did want to point out that I clearly wrote we were testing out a TikTok recipe – this wasn’t “my” recipe.
In fact, I wrote near the bottom the changes I would make would be to add more whipping cream, sausage, etc. Its under the title “What changes would I make.”
Second, regarding the video – it really doesn’t matter or change the recipe if you add the cream or the spices first. They go in the same time. The reason the instructions say different than we did in the video is that we wrote down the recommended recipe we were trying from tiktok but when we made it, we poured the cream first to put some liquid in the pan. That was more of a cook change I made on the fly so the spices didn’t hit the hot pan first. In the end, that will not alter the actual recipe taste therefore it wasn’t worth changing the recipe from the “original”.
I will say that I disagree that its not enough sauce. I actually think its more than enough sauce.
But again, this isn’t my recipe and I do understand some people like to drown their pasta- I am not one of them so it didn’t bother me that it was covering but not smothering- and I found that it did cover the box of penne – however if you overthicken your sauce, it may evaporate and there will be less to spread around.
On this site when we try out other recipes it says we found this recipe or tried this recipe from TikTok/Instagram, etc. If its a personal recipe, its just written up.
I hope you find a recipe for this concept that you like or invent one of your own.
Trisha
Mariah says
This recipe is so easy and simple. It’s a super quick dinner with minimal ingredients required (which is good for a poor college student like me lol). I altered the recipe a tad by adding a little red wine to the sauce to add some more flavor. Yum.
Andrea Zuidema says
It’s my daughters new favorite recipe. I’ve made it 3 times in the past 4 weeks! Thank you!
Trisha says
That is awesome! So glad she loves it!
Trisha