If you’re getting tired of tomato-based pasta sauces, try this creamy cozy bowl of roasted red pepper pasta. It’s a simple 7-ingredient pasta sauce that has hints of sweet roasted red peppers. If you’re vegan, replace the cream with vegetable stock and you won’t be disappointed. Enjoy!
key ingredients
- Roasted Red Peppers: If you don’t have time to roast peppers at home, you can substitute with store-bought roasted red peppers that have been marinated in olive oil.
- Heavy Cream: If you want to make this vegan, replace the heavy cream with non-dairy cream or vegetable stock.
- Pecorino Romano: I love the sharpness of Pecorino Romano in this sauce. If you can’t find Pecorino Romano, you can substitute with Parmesan.
- Pasta: I used fusilli. Rigatoni, penne or cavatappi will pair well with this sauce too.
- Onions
- Garlic
- Oregano
- Tomato Paste
key steps to making roasted red pepper pasta
- Roast Red Peppers: It’s so easy to roast red peppers at home. All you need are red bell peppers, a rimmed baking sheet and parchment paper. That’s it! Here’s my easy method to roasting and marinating peppers at home. If you’re roasting the peppers right before you make this pasta, you don’t need to marinate the roasted peppers. Simply transfer the roasted peppers to the skillet with the sauce ingredients.
- Sauté Aromatics: Sauté the onions, red pepper flakes and oregano until the onions become translucent. Then add the tomato paste, garlic and roasted red peppers to the pan. When the tomato paste starts caramelizing, add the heavy cream and lower the heat. Let the sauce simmer until the cream thickens. Then turn the heat off and add the Pecorino Romano.
- Blend the Sauce: Transfer the sauce to a blender and blitz the sauce until you get a smooth consistency.
- Add the Pasta: Pour the sauce back into a pan over low heat. Add the pasta water and let the sauce simmer for about a minute. Then add the pasta and more Pecorino Romano and stir everything together.
Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Pasta
Equipment
- 1 Blender or Immersion Blender
Ingredients
- 1 lb fusilli rigatoni, penne and cavatappi are great too with this sauce
- 1 cup roasted red peppers (equivalent to 10-12 red pepper wedges) link to my easy roasted red pepper recipe is in the post above. Store-bought is fine too!
- 1 onion thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 cloves of garlic thinly sliced
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp oregano
- 2.5 tbsp tomato paste
- 1.5 cup heavy cream vegan options: vegetable stock or non-dairy cream
- 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano
- 1/4 cup reserved pasta water
- fine sea salt season to taste
Instructions
- Make the Sauce: Set a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil to the pan. Then add the onions, oregano and red pepper flakes. Sauté the onions until they become translucent. Then add the roasted red peppers, tomato paste and garlic to the pan and cook for about 2 minutes until the tomato paste starts to caramelize. Then add the heavy cream and lower the heat and simmer for about 4-5 minutes until the cream thickens. Turn off the heat and add the Pecorino Romano and stir. Let the sauce cool for about 5 minutes.
- Blend the Sauce: Transfer the sauce to a blender and blitz until the sauce reaches a smooth consistency.
- Add the Pasta: Cook the pasta al dente according to package instructions. Transfer the blended sauce to a large pan and simmer the sauce on low heat. Add the pasta water to the sauce and stir. Then add the cooked pasta to the pan with the sauce and stir for about a minute. Transfer the pasta to a plate and garnish with additional Pecorino Romano. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
You can refrigerate the sauce for up to two weeks. I love to make a batch of this sauce on weekends and use it during those busy weeknights.
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