Roast cauliflower in either the oven or air fryer, add it to cooked pasta with sautéed serrano and red bell peppers. And toss it with a spicy, creamy bang bang sauce for a delicious and easy weeknight dinner.
Use a pasta shape that easily catches the sauce in its nooks and crannies. This recipe was created for the Food Network blog when I created recipes for their blog.
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Sauces make a dish sing. I like to have a few in the refrigerator at any time. Right now, I have chimichurri, maple tahini, and salsa verde waiting patiently in little labeled jars to be added to roasted veggies or beans.
🤓 What is a Bang-Bang Sauce?
Bang Bang Sauce is all about the Thai sweet & spicy sauce. It's traditionally combined with mayonnaise, lime juice, and sriracha sauce and used as a dipping sauce for breaded and fried cauliflower or shrimp appetizers.
This sauce can also be spooned over veggie burgers for a burst of flavor or used as part of a pasta sauce.
❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- This recipe makes a beautiful creamy sauce with as much kick as you want.
- Cook the pasta and make the Bang Bang Sauce ahead for a quick weeknight dinner.
🧅 Main Ingredients + Notes
The secret to faster and easier meals often lies in the ingredients. For example, store-bought items and ingredients you make ahead and store in the refrigerator (or freezer) can turn a 60-minute recipe into a 30-minute meal or less.
For all of the ingredients, measurements, and directions, go to the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post.
- Farfalle pasta - or other pasta shape you prefer, but I recommend anything with texture or little nooks and crannies that the sauce can nestle into.
- Cauliflower
- Serrano chile
- Red bell pepper
- Garlic
- Cream cheese
- Mayonnaise
- Thai Chile Sauce - Thai chili sauces are generally sweet and spicy, but this dish calls for more spice than sweet. The Sriracha sauce is important for creating that balance or look for a Thai Chile sauce that's less sweet.
- Lime juice
- Sriracha sauce - or other hot sauce you prefer
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links to products and foods I use in my kitchen. This means that at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. To view my entire storefront of recommended kitchen tools and equipment, check out my shop on Amazon.
🔪 Recommended Equipment
Having the right equipment for recipes makes prepping much easier. If you want more fuss-free prepping and cooking, check out my updated list of favorite kitchen tools and equipment.
- Large heavy-bottomed pot such as a Dutch oven
- Colander
- Chef's knife
- Air fryer - optional for roasting the cauliflower
- Medium skillet
- Wooden spoon
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Bang Bang Pasta with Cauliflower and Peppers
Equipment
- Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot or other heavy bottomed pot
- Air Fryer optional
- Wooden spoon
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups dried farfalle pasta
- 4 cups cauliflower florets cut them so the florets are bite-size
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil divided
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 Serrano pepper, with seeds and pith removed, minced (or less for less heat)
- 1 small red bell pepper, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- Bang Bang Sauce (recipe below)
- ⅔ cup pasta water
- ½ cup toasted breadcrumbs (optional)
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese (optional)
Bang Bang Sauce
- ⅓ cup cream cheese
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- ⅔ cup Thai chili sauce
- 2 teaspoons lime juice
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha
Instructions
- Pasta. Cook the pasta in well-salted water according to the package directions.
- Cauliflower. Preheat the air fryer, toaster oven, or oven to 400˚F. If using either the toaster oven or regular oven, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.Toss the cauliflower florets in 2 tablespoon of olive oil and arrange on the air fryer tray or prepared baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper, and roast until tender. Air Fryer Roasting Time: 10 minutes.Oven and Toaster Oven Roasting Time: 15-20 minutes.
- Peppers. Sauté the Serrano pepper and red bell pepper in 2 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat until tender and aromatic, about 5-7 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
- Bang Bang pasta. When the pasta is done, remove ⅔ cup of the pasta water, set it aside, drain the pasta, and return the pasta to the pot.Add the cauliflower, peppers, garlic, and all of the Bang Bang Sauce ingredients. Use a wooden spoon to toss all of the ingredients together over low heat until the cream cheese melts into a sauce. Stir in half of the pasta water. Once it's incorporated, add more as desired.
- Serve warm topped with toasted breadcrumbs or Parmesan cheese.
Liz
Yum - thank you
The Wimpy Vegetarian
You're so welcome!
Suzanne
Delicious Susan, I think I would be tempted to leave out the pasta entirely, Wonderful dish.
Michelle Stern (What's Cooking with Kids)
This sounds really wonderful! I like the contrast of textures with the crispy breadcrumbs on top...
Liz
I love everything about this! Perfect for Lent, too!
nicole @ I am a Honey Bee
I love bang bang shrimp and chicken. I'm sure I would love this!