Quick Roasted Pepper Pasta
Quick Roasted Pepper Pasta is a super-speedy dish for when you need something filling and tasty, but fast.
Whizzing together a roasted pepper from a jar, garlic, a little cream, olive oil and seasoning is done in seconds.
The rich, creamy sauce is then heated for about a minute before you toss it through cooked pasta with Parmesan cheese and basil. Add a little of the pasta cooking water if you want a thinner sauce then just bubble the whole lot for another minute.
And that’s it. A tasty, quick lunch or dinner in fifteen to twenty minutes.
For a more substantial meal, add cooked bacon, chicken, prawns, sausage, meatballs, toasted pine nuts, or your favourite protein.
Jump to Recipe
PASTA & SAUCE
I’m always on the look-out for new pasta sauce ideas that are quick to put together.
While I love slow-cooked, complexly flavoured pasta sauces like my Beef Short Rib Ragu, they don’t fit the bill when I want something for a solo lunch or quick meal.
For times like those, I want the hands-on work to be no longer than the 8 – 10 minutes it takes for my pasta to boil.
Which is exactly the case for Quick Roasted Pepper Pasta. Put your pasta on before you start the sauce, and your meal will be on the table in double-quick time.
You could use any dried pasta, but I prefer long and thin linguine or spaghetti for this smooth sauce.
QUICK ROASTED PEPPER PASTA
This easy pasta sauce is super-fast thanks to the jars of roasted peppers now widely available. You’ll need one pepper per person, drained and with any seeds removed.
The detailed recipe card at the end of the post makes enough sauce for 1 serving. But you can just multiply everything up to feed more people.
I use my stick blender to whizz up the pepper, a clove of garlic, a glug of olive oil and a couple of tablespoons of cream. In fact, I came up with this recipe to use up the remains of a pot of cream and the last pepper in the jar.
You’ll want some salt and pepper in there too. I also like a little sugar for balance plus a few dried chilli flakes for a hint of heat.
The lip-smacking sauce is also flavoured with fresh basil and Parmesan. But these are best added when you toss the sauce through the pasta.
BRINGING PASTA & SAUCE TOGETHER
When the pasta’s cooked to your liking, drain it but keep a few tablespoons of the cooking water. I’ll tell you why in a moment.
With your pasta in a colander or sieve, the saucepan you cooked it in is now empty. Scrape the roasted pepper sauce into it and warm it through over medium heat. This will only take about a minute.
Now toss in the drained pasta and mix it with the sauce, along with the fresh basil and grated Parmesan. Next you add just enough of the reserved cooking water to combine with the other ingredients and coat the pasta in smooth, silky sauce.
After bubbling everything together for another minute, your Quick Roasted Pepper Pasta is ready.
Once my pasta is in my bowl, I like to sprinkle over more Parmesan and basil plus give it a good grind of black pepper.
FILLING, TASTY & FAST
Made in under twenty minutes, I think Quick Roasted Pepper Pasta is ideal for a fast, satisfying lunch or simple dinner.
But you can use the sauce as a base for a more substantial meal by adding additional protein. Quickly sauteed chopped bacon, chicken strips, a few prawns, or toasted pine nuts are all great add-ins. Leftover cooked sausage or meatballs are really good too.
If you’ve made this recipe leave a comment, and don’t forget to rate it!
Quick Roasted Pepper Pasta
A super-quick sauce for pasta that tastes so good! Recipe serves 1, but is easily multiplied up to serve more.
For a more substantial meal, add additional protein e.g. cooked bacon, chicken, prawns, meatballs, sausage, or toasted pine nuts.
Ingredients
- salt
- 90 g dried long pasta e.g. linguine, spaghetti
- 1 roasted pepper from a jar
- 1 clove garlic grated or finely chopped
- 2 tbsp double cream
- 1 tbsp olive oil see Recipe Note #1
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large pinch dried chilli flakes optional
- ½ tsp sugar optional
- 30 g Parmesan cheese finely grated
- 1 handful basil leaves torn or roughly chopped
To serve (optional)
- small basil leaves
- grated Parmesan
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
-
Put a large pot of water on to boil.
When boiling, throw in a handful of salt, following by the dried pasta.
Keeping at a steady boil, cook the pasta until done to your liking (8-10 minutes).
Tip: make the sauce while the pasta's cooking.
Drain the pasta, reserving approximately 100ml of the cooking water.
-
In a blender or (suitable container if using a stick blender) put the roasted pepper, garlic, cream, olive oil, a pinch of salt, a good grind of black pepper, plus the dried chilli flakes and sugar if using.
Blend until the sauce is smooth.
Taste and add more seasoning if needed.
-
Tip the sauce into the saucepan in which you cooked the pasta, heat for 1 minute until just warmed.
Stir the cooked pasta into the sauce along with the Parmesan, basil, and 2 tablespoons of the reserved pasta cooking water. Bubble for appprox 1 minute, adding more of the cooking water if you want a thinner sauce.
-
Serve immediately, sprinkled with extra basil, Parmesan and black pepper if liked.
Recipe Notes
Note #1 If you prefer a buttery sauce: leave out the olive oil and, when you are combining the cooked pasta with the sauce, add 15g of butter and stir until melted.
Enjoyed this recipe? Try Cheesy Roasted Tomato Pasta Bake
