Rich and creamy roasted red pepper pasta made using at-home whole-roasted sweet red peppers, charred and brown, mixed with onions, garlic and cream, tossed over al-dente pasta giving you wholesome and delicious pasta in 30 minutes!
Love a good creamy velvety pasta recipe that is comforting, vegetarian, vegan-friendly and ready in just thirty minutes. Simple pantry ingredients and basic produce, big on flavor, perfect for a date night, this simple creamy roasted red pepper pasta recipe is truly the pasta of my dreams. Home-roasted red bell peppers (red capsicum) all charred and peeled, soft and ready to be blended to give a smooth red pepper cream sauce that is luscious, rich and delicious and also naturally smoky in flavor.
Additional punchy flavor in the form of onion and garlic balanced well with sweet roasted bell peppers, turned into a beautiful luscious pink sauce with half and half that gives it a wonderful creamy texture. Five simple ingredients, one big bowl of pasta, your favorite show on Netflix, this right here is real comfort food we are talking about. Easy, simple and absolutely perfect for a cozy evening making it an award winning vegetarian Italian pasta recipe, also ideal for fall! Good enough reasons to try this simple creamy roasted red pepper pasta recipe, right? Let’s get straight to the recipe!
HOW TO MAKE CREAMY ROASTED RED PEPPER PASTA?
Ingredients for creamy roasted red pepper pasta:
- PASTA: I used fusilli for this recipe for creamy roasted red pepper pasta. Feel free to use whatever kind your little heart desires. Penne would be great, fettuccini would be awesome too. Spaghetti would be my last option if making for a date night.
- ROASTED RED PEPPERS: We are learning how to roast red bell peppers at home, in the oven, but store bought (jars) are also good, though nothing like freshly roasted.
- ONIONS AND GARLIC: Cooked shallots or onions (diced) plus some garlic for extra flavor.
- SPICES: Oregano, chilli flakes and salt
- HALF-N-HALF or COCONUT MILK (VEGAN OPTION): Mix of cream and whole milk to give the roasted pepper sauce a luscious texture and to make it creamy. If you would like to make it vegan, use coconut milk instead - works SO well.
Step by Step recipe for creamy roasted red pepper pasta
- Roast red bell peppers in the oven with some oil at 230 degree Celsius for about 25 minutes until charred.
- While the peppers are roasting, cook onions and garlic in some oil and boil (cook) pasta al dente and reserve some pasta water.
- Blend together peeled roasted red bell peppers, cream, milk (half & half) or coconut milk, salt, cooked onions and garlic until you get a really smooth and creamy red pepper sauce.
- Add the sauce back to the pan and add pasta to it (add pasta water if needed), cook for a couple of minutes and serve.
There you have it, award winning meatless Monday vegetarian pasta recipe that is also perfect to serve to a large crowd! Fuss free and simple pasta recipe, that I am sure, will win your heart as well.
POSSIBLE QUESTIONS/ VARIATIONS
Can you make roasted red pepper pasta ahead? Yes! If you want to meal prep or may be serve this pasta to a dinner party, prepare the sauce beforehand and add it to the cooked pasta right before serving. It only needs two additional minutes on the stove – just to get the pasta nicely coated in that velvety sauce and well cooked in that luscious and creamy smoky red pepper sauce.
How to reheat roasted red pepper pasta in case of leftovers? Simply add some more milk or half & half and re-heat on stove top or microwave.
How to fix a really thick roasted red pepper sauce? The best way to fix a thick pasta sauce is to add reserved pasta water (the starchy pasta water you get after boiling pasta: liquid gold!) always reserve some to add it to the sauce to make it luscious and naturally creamy.
Vegan option? YES! I have tried this recipe with coconut milk instead of half-n-half and it tasted amazing. Highly recommend even if you do not want to veganise it.
Possible additions? Grilled chicken, roasted veggies, roasted broccoli, garlic mushrooms – endless possibilities.
What to serve with roasted red pepper pasta? BREAD: Serve it with homemade garlic bread sticks, or these cheesy garlic bread sticks, or may be some nice and soft homemade dinner rolls. SALAD: Fresh and yummy arugula chickpea salad that is so perfect with this recipe. End your meal with some sinful homemade tiramisu and call it an Italian date night 😉
Looking for more pasta recipes? Click here to see all easy pasta recipes on the blog.
Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Pasta
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 30
- Yield: 3-4 servings 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Stove Top, Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Rich and creamy roasted red pepper pasta made using at-home whole-roasted sweet red peppers, charred and brown, mixed with onions, garlic and cream, tossed over al-dente pasta giving you wholesome and delicious pasta in 30 minutes!
Ingredients
- 2 cups pasta of your choice (measured before boiling)
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 large sized red bell peppers (red capsicum)
- 1 medium sized red onion (finely chopped)
- 2-3 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
- 1/ 2 cup half & half (1/4 cup cream + 1/4 cup whole milk) or coconut milk (vegan option)
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp chilli flakes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 230 degree Celsius. Line a baking sheet with aluminum (foil). Rub ½ tbsp olive oil on all sides of red bell peppers and place them on baking sheet and transfer to oven. Let roast for 25 minutes.
- While the red peppers are roasting, cook pasta as per package instructions. Reserve pasta water before draining (see notes)
- While the pasta is boiling, add remaining 1 ½ tbsp. olive oil to a pan and heat on medium flame. Add chopped onions and garlic to the hot oil and cook for a few minutes until soft, translucent and light brown. Keep aside for 5 minutes and let cool.
- Once the peppers are nicely roasted (they should look black, charred from the outside) transfer the baking sheet from the oven to kitchen counter to let cool for 4-5 minutes. You will notice the peppers to shrink a little and soften up.
- Peel off the charred skin and cut the peppers one by four. Discard the charred skin.
- To a blender, add peppers, cooked (and cooled) onions and garlic, half & half or coconut milk, salt. Mix until a smooth pasta/ creamy texture is formed.
- Add the sauce back to the pan and add oregano and chilli flakes. Add cooked pasta and mix well. Cook for about 1-2 minutes. Add some pasta water if needed (to loosen up the sauce)
- Serve hot and enjoy!
Notes
Pasta water (starchy water) – Since I enjoyed my pasta right away, I did not feel the need to add any pasta water as the sauce had wonderful consistency. If you like the sauce to be a little runny, add 1-4 cup of reserved pasta water to your creamy roasted red pepper pasta.
Keywords: pasta, vegetarian, recipe, main
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