Roasted red pepper pasta is one of the easiest and tastiest pasta dishes you can make with a few simple pantry staples.
Our recipe is simple, and you can make it with minimal effort for an everyday dinner. It's also creamy, nutritious, and delicious.
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Creamy roasted red pepper pasta sauce is irresistible, and it's very easy to make. We think this is one of the best last-minute pasta dishes you can make for a tasty everyday dinner.
You can put it together in about 15 minutes. To make it, blend jarred red peppers, canned tomatoes, almonds, red pepper flakes, olive oil, garlic, and salt in a food processor, then cook the sauce on a pan for 10 minutes.
You can now mix the sauce with your favorite pasta type, as it works well with short and long pasta shapes. We love it with rigatoni cooked al dente because they have a nice bite and fill up with sauce.
And if you want to add more veggies, pair this roasted red pepper pasta with oven-roasted cauliflower florets (30 minutes) or air-fried cauliflower florets (15 minutes).
With its buttery and earthy taste, the tender-crisp, slightly smokey roasted cauliflower is insanely delicious when combined with the creamy, nutty, and peppery sauce.
Its texture and flavor remind us of small bites of cauliflower Buffalo wings, and next to the chewy pasta and the creamy sauce is a flavor-texture combo that is impossible to resist.
Ingredients
Roasted Red Peppers
We use jarred roasted red bell peppers to make this recipe with minimal effort. However, if you have the time, you can roast the bell peppers in the oven in an air fryer, peel them, and use them for this sauce.
Tomatoes
Canned tomatoes are best for this recipe. We use whole peeled tomatoes, but any other canned tomato will do, such as diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, San Marzano, and pureed tomatoes.
Almonds
Almonds are a key ingredient in this recipe. They add a nutty flavor and healthy fats. Most importantly, almonds give a coarse yet creamy texture that helps the sauce stick to the pasta.
If you are allergic to nuts, you can substitute parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast for almonds, but the texture won't be precisely the same.
Garlic
Fresh garlic is another essential ingredient in this roasted red pepper pasta recipe. You can substitute garlic powder for fresh garlic. If you don't like garlic, you can replace it with half an onion.
Red pepper flakes
We add a small amount of red pepper flakes to make the sauce a little spicy. You can replace red pepper flakes with cayenne, chili powder, dried chili, and even a tiny bit of chipotle powder (that would also add some smokiness to the sauce).
Olive oil
Olive oil is optional. I like to add a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to the sauce to add a velvety mouthfeel, but this dish is also delicious without the oil.
To make this oil-free, you can substitute soy milk or vegetable broth for olive oil.
Salt
We use sea salt or kosher salt for the sauce and the pasta water.
Pasta
Rigatoni is our pasta of choice for this recipe. However, you can use any other short or long pasta shape, such as penne, fusilli, rotini, conchiglie, spaghetti, linguine, and more.
We recommend cooking the pasta per package directions, minus a couple of minutes, so you can finish cooking it in the pot with the sauce.
Fresh herbs
Use fresh flat-leaf parsley or fresh basil. Add them at the end when you are mixing the pasta with the sauce. The parsley should be finely chopped; the basil leaves can be torn apart with your hands.
Cauliflower
Cauliflower is optional, but we recommend it. Overall, it adds texture; it makes the dish tastier, more fulfilling, and healthier.
We recommend using a large cauliflower head and roasting it in the oven or an air fryer before adding it to the pasta.
Instructions
To a food processor, add drained jarred roasted bell peppers, canned tomatoes, almonds, garlic, red pepper flakes, olive oil, and salt.
Blend for a few minutes until you reach your desired consistency.
Note: a food processor produces a coarser sauce. If you prefer a smooth red pepper sauce, use a high-speed blender instead.
Transfer red pepper sauce into a dutch oven or large skillet, and simmer on medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Add half a cup of water if the sauce gets too thick.
While the sauce simmers, boil the pasta in a large pot of salted water. Cook it very al dente, then reserve one cup of pasta water, drain the pasta, and add it to the sauce.
Toss the pasta with the sauce on medium heat until fully coated. Add some of the reserved pasta water if necessary.
Add your fresh herb of choice - fresh parsley or basil - then serve the pasta immediately while still hot.
Variations
Red Pepper Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower
To make this, all you have to do is mix the roasted cauliflower florets with the pasta.
Oven-roasted cauliflower
Preheat the oven to 400°F or 200°C. Cut the cauliflower florets with a paring knife, transfer them onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and toss them with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt.
Bake for 20 minutes, turn them around with a spatula and bake for another 10 until tender-crisp and slightly charred.
Air-fried cauliflower
Preheat the air fryer for 3 minutes at 400°F or 200°C. Cut off small florets with a paring knife and toss with extra virgin olive oil and salt in a large mixing bowl.
Transfer them into the air fryer basket (they can overlap) and air fry them for 15 minutes at 400°F or 200°C. Shake the basket every 4 minutes to ensure even cooking.
Red Pepper Pasta with Roasted Eggplant
Oven-roasted or air-fried eggplant is another veggie you can add to this delicious pasta recipe. Roasted zucchini works too!
Preheat the oven to 430°F or 220°C. Dice eggplant into ¾ inch (2cm) cubes.
Transfer onto a baking tray, toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and arrange on a single layer without overlapping.
Roast for 20 minutes, flip with a spatula, and roast for 5 to 10 more minutes.
Preheat the air fryer to 400°F or 200°C for 3 minutes. Dice the eggplant into ¾-inch (2cm) dice.
Transfer the diced eggplant to a large mixing bowl, and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Transfer to air fryer basket (it can overlap) and air fry at 400°F or 200°C for 12 to 15 minutes, shaking the basket every 4 minutes to ensure even cooking.
Cauliflower pasta with garlic and oil
This simple roasted cauliflower pasta is another delicious recipe to make for an easy everyday dinner.
Roasted cauliflower florets meet delicious garlic and olive oil sauce, plenty of fresh parsley, lemon zest, and toasted pinenuts.
Check out our cauliflower pasta recipe.
Serving suggestions
Serve this recipe as a main dish - you won't need much else on the side - except maybe a simple side salad.
If you make the variation with the cauliflower, you have a complete lunch or dinner.
You can also serve a smaller portion of this roasted red pepper pasta and precede it with a small starter or salad. Anything Mediterranean or Middle-Eastern-inspired will be a good match with this dish. For example, you can try our:
- creamy-dreamy chickpea hummus with crunchy veggie sticks or pita bread
- refreshing and aromatic Shirazy salad with cucumber, tomato, and dried mint
- green bean salad with creamy mustard dressing
- zaalouk, a creamy eggplant salad with tomatoes
- tasty and cute eggplant pizzas, perfect as a small appetizer
- olive tapenade with homemade crostini
- roasted brussels sprouts with maple syrup
- shaved brussels sprouts salad
Make ahead
You can make the red pepper sauce ahead and store it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days in a mason jar.
You can also roast the cauliflower 2 days before using it for this pasta recipe.
Storage
Red pepper sauce: store in the refrigerator in an air-tight container, like a mason jar, for up to 5 days. Store the sauce before cooking it in the pan.
Pasta: if you have leftover pasta (with the sauce), you can eat it the day after, warmed up in the microwave, on a pan with a splash of water, or cold. It will still be delicious.
Store in the refrigerator in an air-tight container for up to 36-48 hours.
Questions
Yes. You can roast peppers in the oven. To do so, preheat the oven to 480˚F (250˚C) or as hot as it gets.
Then, put the whole red peppers on a baking tray and bake for 30 to 40 minutes until soft and slightly charred outside.
Transfer roasted peppers into a glass bowl, cover with film and let cool down for 30 minutes. The steam trapped in the bowl will make it easier to peel the peppers. 
Now peel off the peppers and remove their stems and seeds. Try not to rinse them with water; they'll lose some flavor if you do.
Red pepper pasta has a pleasant mild red pepper taste with slightly acidic notes from the jarred peppers. It is not too dissimilar from a rich tomato sauce.
It has a full and round flavor thanks to the combination of roasted peppers, tomatoes, and almonds.
The almonds also confer it a mild nutty and cheesy taste, although there's no dairy in it.
The best and easiest way to make roasted red pepper pasta sauce is to use jarred red peppers.
First, blend the jarred roasted bell peppers in a food processor or a blender with canned tomatoes, almonds, red pepper flakes, olive oil, salt, and garlic.
If you use a food processor, your red pepper pasta sauce will be coarser and earthy. If you use a blender, the sauce will turn out smoother and lighter.
Then cook the sauce on a skillet or dutch oven for 10 minutes before tossing in the pasta.
Yes, our roasted bell peppers sauce is vegan as we don't use heavy cream, butter, chicken, sausage, or chicken broth as other recipes do.
The sauce is gluten-free and dairy-free. You can substitute gluten-free pasta for regular wheat pasta.
More Pasta Sauces
More Pasta Recipes
If you liked this red pepper pasta, you might also like these creamy pasta recipes:
- Easy mushroom pasta with cherry tomatoes
- Vegan creamy pasta - boscaiola style
- Tomato basil pasta (spaghetti pomodoro)
- 12-min creamy vegan cacio e pepe with store-bought vegan cheese
- Garlic and oil pasta - famous Italian pasta aglio e olio
- Vegan lemon pasta with spinach
- Sicilian pasta alla norma - eggplant pasta
- Easy tofu pasta - nutritious and protein-packed
Recipe
Roasted Red Pepper Pasta
Equipment
- Food processor or blender
Ingredients
RED PEPPER SAUCE
- 12 ounces roasted red bell peppers drained, from a jar or can
- 1 small can (15 oz) tomatoes whole peeled, diced, crushed, or puree
- ¾ cup almonds
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
FOR THE PASTA
- 1 pound rigatoni pasta or other
- 1 handful parsley or basil
ROASTED CAULIFLOWER (optional)
- 1 large cauliflower
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- To a food processor, add drained jarred roasted bell peppers, canned tomatoes, almonds, garlic, red pepper flakes, olive oil, and salt.Blend for a few minutes until you reach your desired consistency.
- Transfer red pepper sauce into a dutch oven or large skillet, and simmer on medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Add half a cup of water if the sauce gets too thick.
- While the sauce simmers, boil the pasta in a large pot of salted water. Cook it very al dente, then reserve one cup of pasta water, drain the pasta, and add it to the sauce.Toss the pasta with the sauce on medium heat until fully coated. Add some of the reserved pasta water if necessary.
- Add your fresh herb of choice - fresh parsley or basil - then serve the pasta immediately while still hot.
FOR ROASTED CAULIFLOWER
- Preheat the oven to 400°F or 200°C. Cut the cauliflower florets with a paring knife, transfer them onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and toss them with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt.Bake for 20 minutes, turn them around with a spatula and bake for another 10 until tender-crisp and slightly charred.
- Mix the roasted cauliflower florets with the pasta.
Video Recipe
Notes
Nutritional Values
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