Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

They say everything’s better in summer, and when it comes to produce, I couldn’t agree more. Because dishes like this roasted red pepper pasta are my idea of an ideal weeknight summer dinner. Think rigatoni tossed in a silky smooth sauce of roasted sweet red peppers, served with a shower of Parmesan cheese. 

This roasted red pepper pasta is a show stopping but effortless dish that uses just a few basic ingredients (onion, garlic, pasta, etc.). It’s a great weeknight dish to take advantage of peak sweet summer peppers.

Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Ingredients

• Mezze Maniche or rigatoni: Love the mezze maniche from Frankies 457 (it’s basically a small version of rigatoni) – but regular rigatoni also works great.
• Sweet red peppers
• Sweet white onions: I used Vidalia sweet onions, but any sweet onion variety will work here. Sweet onions have a milder, less pungent flavor and contain more sugar compared to white or yellow onions, making them perfect for caramelizing. 
• Fresh garlic
• Milk: To keep this dairy-free, I used my house blend milk, but regular milk also works here.
• Tomato paste
• Oregano: Feel free to either use fresh or dried oregano – if you do use fresh oregano, use half the amount called for in the recipe.
• Aleppo pepper or Calabrian chili flakes
• Kosher salt
• Butter: To keep this vegan, use olive oil.
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Finely grated parmesan for serving 

Method 

Preheat the oven to 450°F and line a quarter sheet pan with parchment paper. Alternatively, you can use a toaster oven at 450°F convection.

Add the sliced red peppers, onion, and garlic cloves to the sheet pan, drizzle with a generous amount of olive oil and kosher salt, and toss together. Make sure the pepper skins are facing up and in an even layer. Roast for 22-25 minutes, stirring halfway through, until the red peppers are jammy and lightly charred.

Cook the pasta until al dente, reserve 2 cups of pasta water, and drain. Melt 2 tbsp of butter in the pot and toss the cooked pasta in the melted butter. Cover and set aside. 

Pop the garlic out of its skin, and add to a blender, along with the red peppers and onions (plus all the juices), the milk, tomato paste, oregano, red pepper flakes, and salt. Blend on low, slowly ramping the speed up to high; blend for a total of 2 minutes until creamy and smooth. Taste and adjust for salt as needed. Strain the sauce through a sieve over a bowl (optional, but highly recommended). Straining the sauce yields a much smoother, glossy sauce that clings to the pasta better.

Pour all the sauce over the cooked pasta, along with a generous splash of pasta water. Heat the pasta over medium-low heat, toss to coat the pasta, adding pasta water as needed, until the sauce becomes glossy and coats the noodles. I used about 3/4 cup of pasta water total. Feel free to add a small amount of grated Parmesan when tossing the pasta; it’ll make the sauce coat the pasta even better. Serve hot.

Notes

• There are 3 options for heat in this dish: Aleppo pepper, dried Calabrian chili flakes, or fresh chopped Calabrian chili in oil. I’m partial to the fresh Calabrian; it packs a little more flavor and heat.
• Love serving this pasta with a drizzle of the oil, plus a shower of grated Parmesan cheese.
• If you’re a big pasta lover like me, this recipe serves two (larger) portions, or you can stretch it to serve 3-4 people.

Can’t wait for you to make this pasta, it’s incredible! Please leave a starred rating and review, love hearing your feedback.

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