Roasted red pepper sauce is an easy and creamy pasta sauce and dip ready in 15 minutes with a few simple ingredients.
If you love recipes with bell pepper, you will also enjoy tirokafteri (spicy feta dip) stuffed bell peppers, romesco sauce, muhammara, and red pepper hummus.
Why you’ll love this recipe…
There are so many reasons to love this red bell pepper sauce:
- ⏳ It’s ridiculously easy to make: Just blend the ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes—done!
- 🍝 It’s versatile: Louise and I use it for red pepper pasta, as a dip, a spread, and even drizzled over grilled foods.
- 💚 It’s packed with goodness: Loaded with nutrient-dense ingredients like roasted red peppers, almonds, and extra virgin olive oil.
- 🔥 Big on flavor, creamy texture: Every bite is smoky, nutty, and irresistibly smooth.
- 📆 Meal prep friendly: It stays fresh for up to 5 days, making it a lifesaver for busy weeks.
Like sun-dried tomato pesto and Sicilian tomato pesto, this recipe captures the essence of Mediterranean recipes: a few fresh ingredients meld together to create something special.
Ingredients
Find complete ingredient list, quantities, and substitutions in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.
- Red bell peppers: you can use roasted jarred peppers or fresh bell peppers that you roast at home. Here’s our post on how to roast peppers with options to cook them in the oven (40 mins) or in an air fryer (20 mins).
- Diced or crushed tomatoes: Substitute tomato passata, puree, or whole canned peeled tomatoes (San Marzano would be great here). Fresh tomatoes are not recommended as they contain too much water.
- Almonds: substitute walnuts, macadamia nuts, or cashews. Substitute heavy cream, grated parmesan, or ricotta cheese to make the recipe free of nuts.
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Garlic: best if fresh garlic.
- Chili flakes: adjust spiciness based on your preference.
- Basil or dried oregano.
This recipe is excellent with pasta but it’s also great as a dip or sauce to drizzle on grilled foods.
How to make roasted red pepper sauce
Step 1: Blend roasted red peppers with diced tomatoes, almonds, olive oil, salt, garlic, water, and chili flakes until smooth.
Step 2: Transfer sauce to a skillet and simmer for 10 minutes. Add basil or oregano towards the end to preserve their aroma.
Our tip is to cover the skillet with a lid cracked open to prevent the sauce from sputtering on your stovetop.
Once cooked, taste and adjust for salt and spiciness.
Step 3: Let cool down and store, or serve as a pasta sauce, dip, or drizzle on grilled foods.
It pairs well with Italian or Greek cheeses like shaved Parmigiano, crumbled feta cheese, creamy ricotta, and burrata.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have a nut allergy or simply don’t like nuts, you can substitute heavy cream, ricotta, or grated parmesan cheese for the almonds.
To make this red pepper sauce thicker simmer it a few more minutes. To make it thinner simply add a couple of tablespoons of water.
Almonds a tricky to blend with a food processor. That’s why we recommend a high speed blender for the creamiest, most velvety texture.
Yes! You can make roasted red bell pepper sauce ahead of time. Let it cool down at room temperature then store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
More easy sauce recipes…
If you tried this roasted red pepper sauce or any other recipe on our blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it goes in the comments. We love hearing from you!
Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
Ingredients
- 12 ounces roasted red peppers jarred or home-cooked
- 1 can (15 oucnes) diced tomatoes
- 1 cup water
- ¾ cup almonds
- 1 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 handful basil leaves or ½ teaspoon dried oregano
Instructions
- Blend 12 ounces roasted red peppers, 1 can (15 oucnes) diced tomatoes, 1 cup water, ¾ cup almonds, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 clove garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes until creamy and smooth.
- Transfer sauce to a skillet and simmer for 10 minutes. Add 1 handful basil leaves or ½ teaspoon dried oregano towards the end to preserve their aroma.Our tip is to cover the skillet with a lid cracked open to prevent the sauce from sputtering on your stovetop.Once cooked, taste and adjust for salt and spiciness.
- Let cool down and store, or serve as a pasta sauce, dip, or drizzle on grilled foods.It pairs well with Italian or Greek cheeses like shaved Parmigiano, crumbled feta cheese, creamy ricotta, and burrata.
Video
Notes
- Roasted peppers: You can use jarred peppers or home-roasted peppers. Here’s our guide on how to roast peppers.
- Diced tomatoes: Substitute crushed tomatoes, tomato puree, or canned whole peeled tomatoes.
- Almonds: Substitute walnuts, cashews, or macadamia nuts. If allergic to nuts, you can swap heavy cream, grated parmesan, or ricotta cheese for nuts.
- Garlic: Best if fresh.
- Basil: Substitute dried oregano.
Nutrition
Hi! We are Nico & Louise
We’re here to share delicious, easy, and healthy plant-based recipes (vegetarian & vegan) 🌿✨.
Welcome to our blog, we are glad you are here.
Easy and wick to make and absolutely delicious!
Fantastic, Diane! I’m delighted you enjoyed the pesto. Thanks so much for your comment 🙂
/Louise