This vegan baked gochujang rigatoni is one of those recipes that feels impossible to describe without just making someone taste it. It's creamy, spicy, and deeply savoury with a crispy breadcrumb topping that takes it from weeknight pasta to full-on dinner party showstopper.

I created this dish during my trip to Panzano, Italy with The Getaway Co. for Vegan Roots In Italy. This was a week-long vegan holiday I co-hosted from June 24 to July 1, 2023 alongside plant expert Nick Cutsumpas and vegan YouTuber Rose Lee from Cheap Lazy Vegan.

• a once in a lifetime collab
• what is gochujang?
• why this pasta bake works so well
• tips for making this recipe
• more recipes you'll love
• frequently asked questions
• vegan baked gochujang rigatoni

Part of what made this trip so special was the cooking experiences we hosted for the participants. Our first event was a hands-on gnocchi-making class that I lead, and then Rose and I hosted a second experience where we really wanted it to be a true mashup of our two worlds. Hence, vegan baked gochujang rigatoni!

We combined Rose's go-to gochujang pasta. It's simple, spicy, intensely flavourful, and used my creamy mozza sauce from Vegan Comfort Classics and elevated the whole thing into a baked casserole with a golden, crispy breadcrumb topping. Korean-Italian fusion at its finest, born in a Tuscan villa!

If you haven't cooked with gochujang before, this recipe is the perfect introduction. Gochujang (고추장) is a Korean fermented chili pepper paste with a flavour profile that goes way beyond just heat. It's spicy, but it's also deeply savoury with a subtle sweetness that comes from the starch of cooked glutinous rice fermented into the paste. It also contains garlic and fermented soybeans, which give it that rich, umami depth you'll want to put on everything.

You'll typically find it sold in rectangular red tubs at Asian grocery stores, and increasingly at mainstream stores all over. Once you have a tub in your fridge, you'll find yourself reaching for it constantly. (Looking at you, crispy gochujang cauliflower bibimbap.)

hot tip: Gochujang heat levels vary by brand. If you're sensitive to spice, start with less and taste as you go. You can always add more.

The magic of this dish is in the combination. Gochujang brings bold, fermented heat. The vegan mozza sauce (from my cookbook Vegan Comfort Classics) adds that stretchy, creamy, indulgent richness. Rigatoni is the ideal pasta shape here because those ridges and hollow tubes hold onto every bit of sauce. And then the breadcrumb topping? That contrast of crispy against creamy is what pushes this over the edge.

Unlike a quick stovetop gochujang pasta, baking it transforms the dish entirely. The sauce thickens, the flavours meld, and the top gets that gorgeous golden crust that makes it feel special and comforting!

• leftovers reheat beautifully. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Add a small splash of water when reheating to loosen the sauce.
• don't skip the breadcrumb topping. It's the textural moment that makes this a bake rather than just a pasta. And I recommend using panko for maximum crunch.
• cook your rigatoni just shy of al dente before baking. It will continue to cook in the oven, and you don't want it to go mushy.
• adjust the gochujang to your spice preference. This recipe has a medium heat level. For a milder version, start with less and taste the sauce before adding more.

If you love the flavours in this dish then you'll want to try these too!

• crispy gochujang cauliflower bibimbap is a hearty Korean meal that also uses gochujang.
• vegan margherita pizza is the recipe where the creamy mozza sauce all started!
• vegan dan dan noodles is a Chinese recipe, but you could add gochujang to the mix here if that's what you have on hand.