The Trader Joe’s Ingredient I Use to Level Up My Weeknight Pasta Dinners

Whenever I’m in the mood for a dinner that’s equal parts satisfying and satiating, I whip up a bowl of pasta. While I’m no maestro in the kitchen, pasta has always been one of my go-to dishes—it’s easy to make, hard to mess up, and there’s virtually nothing tomato sauce and carbs can’t do for a hangry girl. Over time, I’ve made edits and additions to my homemade pasta, including one ingredient that has changed the way I garnish the dish: Trader Joe’s Crunchy Chili Onion. With its spicy flavors and textural enhancement, adding this ingredient to my ordinary pasta takes it to the next level.

I was first introduced to Trader Joe’s Crunchy Chili Onion by an old roommate who’d always add the ingredient to her ramen. When I tried the dish for myself, I was immediately impressed by its deep flavor profile with an umami base. Umami flavors have an uncanny ability to deepen the flavor of tomato sauce, elevate meat-based sauces, and add rich flavor to an otherwise basic dish.

Before being introduced to Trader Joe’s Crunchy Chili Onion, I would use crushed red pepper flakes to add some spice to my pasta. (If you can’t tell, everything I eat needs to be a little spicy.) However, I found that pepper flakes quickly melted into the warm sauce, leaving only a trace behind. With Trader Joe’s chili onion, however, the crispy, crunchy, and dried ingredients all come together to create a texturally-satisfying, zesty bowl of pasta.

You can purchase Trader Joe’s Crunchy Chili Onion for just $4.49, and while this might seem a bit steep for added flavorings, the result is well worth it. The brand itself agrees: “Similar to the jars of chili oil with crunchy garlic you can find on the table of many Chinese restaurants, the genius of Chili Onion Crunch is in its simplicity,” the product listing reads. “With just a handful of simple ingredients, it creates a remarkably deep flavor profile that manages to accentuate the flavors of anything else it’s placed on.”

Once I’ve added sauce to my pasta, I stir in a spoonful of chili onion while it’s still in the pot. This helps it seamlessly blend into the dish, and I don’t have to worry about it melting away under the heat—it never does. Once I place the pasta into the bowl, I top it off with a little bit of mozzarella cheese, and I’m ready to dig in!