Stir These Fiery Chiles Into Store-Bought Alfredo Sauce For A Creamy Kick

Alfredo sauce is a deliciously creamy pasta sauce that, like so many other things, tastes best when fresh. While you can definitely make Alfredo sauce at home, many of us don't have the time, so we turn to store-bought options instead. Unfortunately, a lot of store-bought Alfredo sauces can taste pretty bland and require some doctoring to make them taste as if they were homemade.

A fun way to upgrade store-bought Alfredo sauce is to make it spicy. This can be accomplished by adding some chiles to the sauce; the creaminess of Alfredo helps offset some of the heat, making it a perfectly blended contrast of spicy and smooth. If you're unsure of what kind of chiles to use, start with jalapeños or poblanos, which provide a good amount of heat but are still mild enough to not demolish your taste buds.

Of course, these aren't the only peppers you can use. Some other popular options include roasted red chiles, Calabrian chiles, and Hatch chiles. There are several ways to give store-bought Alfredo sauce some kick, as well as ways to control and complement that spiciness so it suits your tastes.

When adding chiles to Alfredo sauce, it's important to keep the potential heat of chiles in mind. Chiles are ranked using the Scoville rating scale, which ultimately measures just how spicy a specific type of pepper is. If you're unsure what type of chile is right for you, refer to the scale; you can also use the Scoville scale to help you determine if you need to select a different type of pepper entirely based on if you want your Alfredo less or more spicy. For example, if jalapeños or poblanos aren't strong enough for you, try upgrading to a habanero.

If you want to control the spiciness of your chiles, focus on how you prep the peppers. If you are using whole fresh pepper, seeding the chiles will bring some of the spiciness down and you can always choose just how thoroughly you want to seed your peppers. Alternatively, you can buy crushed chile pastes that won't require as much preparation, but the spice level may not be as controllable.

Last but not least, there are alternative ingredients you can either add to the chile peppers to supplement the spice or use as a substitute. Gochujang, a paste made from Korean red peppers, Tabasco hot sauce, and sriracha are good alternative ingredients. You can also add crushed red pepper flakes, smoked paprika, and cajun seasoning to the sauce to further complement the chile peppers if you'd like.