Restaurant-level pasta, easy enough to be SOS! Caramelized shallots folded into a silky red pepper sauce, and tossed with noodles. Heaven!
Roasted Red Pepper Pasta
My Favorite Restaurant Pasta.
In the privacy of my own mind, I refer to this as “Bad Mood Pasta” as in these noodles always fix my bad mood. I don’t know what to make for dinner, things feel hard / sad / stressful, I’m just not feeling the day – I give myself the gift of this creamy, savory pasta.
It’s just like the red pepper pasta from Estelle in St. Paul – except made at home in 20 minutes. Restaurant level, but make it SOS.
It starts with little tangles of buttery caramelized shallots (a moment of appreciation for the deliciousness of shallots, please). Those get folded into a lusciously creamy red pepper sauce, and then everything coats a whole bunch of bouncy noodles. It’s so good.
I love this with shrimp (pull a bag out of the freezer, thaw, season, and sauté). Also love this with the simple green salad or air fryer broccoli.
Also, if I’m making this for dinner guests, which has become somewhat of a habit lately, I SUPER recommend this with the house favorite garlic bread. It’s a smashing hit every time.
My favorite noodles for this are this fun pennoni, which is like a jumbo penne! I get compliments on these noodles from friends and family on the regular – they fold over just right and the angles are so pleasant. But rigatoni or penne is also very perfect!
Hope you love these noodles!
Watch How To Make This Red Pepper Pasta
Roasted Red Pepper Pasta
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
Description
Restaurant-level pasta, easy enough to be SOS! Caramelized shallots folded into a silky red pepper sauce, and tossed with noodles. Heaven!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Roasted Red Pepper Pasta:
- 1/2 cup roasted red peppers (jarred, drained – 3-5 pieces)
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon Better than Bouillon chicken or vegetable broth base
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 large shallot, sliced thinly on a mandoline
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 8 ounces pasta – my favorite is pennoni
- 1/2 cup reserved pasta water (optional, as needed)
Toppings:
- 1/4 cup Parmesan
- basil leaves and/or red pepper flakes
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Instructions
- Red Pepper Puree: Blend the red peppers, water, and broth base until smooth.
- Saute the Shallots: Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the butter and shallots; sauté until the shallots are lightly golden brown and caramelized, about 10-15 minutes.
- Cook Pasta: During this time, cook the pasta according to package directions, to al dente so the noodles can finish in the sauce.
- Combine Sauce: Turn the heat down to avoid splatters; add the red pepper puree and let it sizzle out for a moment. Then add the cream. Stir to combine; let it gently bubble for a few moments until it has thickened into a nice creamy sauce.
- Add Pasta: Add pasta into the sauce; let it simmer for a few moments to thicken and coat the noodles. If needed, add reserved pasta water to reach desired consistency.
- Yum. Serve immediately, topped with Parmesan, basil, and/or red pepper flakes. It’s so gooood.
Notes
If you don’t have Better than Bouillon, that’s okay – just use chicken or vegetable broth instead of water, or season the red pepper puree from Step 1 with a bit of salt.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Keywords: red pepper pasta, red pepper sauce, pasta recipe
Frequently Asked Questions About This Recipe
Can I make this dairy-free?
Yep! You could use your favorite dairy-free heavy cream and skip the cheese, or make this recipe that uses cashews to make things luscious and creamy.
What protein can I add to this?
I’ve been really loving this with shrimp! But adding Italian sausage to the sauce would be excellent as well. I could also see seared chicken being delicious on the side!
What vegetables can I add to this?
Adding some spinach to the pasta in the pan until it wilts works great, or add a side of broccoli (air-fried if you want!).
Can I use chicken broth instead of Better than Bouillon?
Yes! Just replace the 3/4 cup of water with broth instead.
More Chewy Pasta Goodness
May 6, 2025
Nice to meet you!
I’m Lindsay and I ♡ FOOD. I used to be a teacher, and now making food and writing about it online is my full-time job. I love talking with people about food, and I'm so glad you're here.
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Amazing! Can’t wait to try it! It looks so easy and delicious!
Thank you for this wonderful recipe Lindsay. Always enjoy your creation. Just curious if you have any ideas on how to create this without cream/cheese since my DH is lactose intolerant. It’s very hard to find a healthy recipes that doesn’t involve cream/cheese. But we love your recipes, so I just wonder if you have any recommendation. Have a blessed day!
I had a similar thought and think I’ll try blending a few cashews along with the broth and red peppers. If that texture is good, it could be a simple way to achieve the dairy free cream element.
Hi Geena
In Ottawa, Canada we have 35 % Lactose free cream, so wonder it you have similar. Our Daughter is Lactose intolerant also, Our Brand is Natrel. Works great in many recipes using heavy cream.
For the cheese, what about Nutritional Yeast to give that cheezie flavour.
Hope this helps.
Geena, If you live near a Trader Joe’s, they have a dairy free heavy whipping cream that is pretty darn great!
This looks amazing. If I’m just cooking for myself could I thicken the sauce without the pasta in it and refrigerate or freeze a portion for later use, or is it best served immediately?
It can definitely be refrigerated! Freezing might affect the texture because of the cream; we haven’t tested that yet.
I’ve been making a variation on this for a while and it’s a huge hit with my family too! Instead of using the whole red peppers, I like to use a roasted red pepper spread with eggplant and garlic from Trader Joe’s. It gives the sauce a beautifully smooth texture while amping up the flavor. It’s a pantry staple for me now!
could you substitute fresh red peppers?
Hi! You’ll need to use roasted here.
This ended up being so good! It started out runnier than I expected, but I think that maybe because my red peppers weren’t drained quite enough. But the sauce thickened up beautifully over time after adding the noodles. I felt like the sauce lacked something and so I ended up adding about a quarter cup of finely grated Parmesan. That helped to thicken it up and also gave it an extra dimension of flavor and richness. My five year-old absolutely loved it. She asked if we can have leftovers tomorrow, which I think is the ultimate sign of success! I took off a star because it wasn’t quite as quick and easy as I would’ve expected from an SOS recipe. But the flavor, once I added the Parmesan, was absolutely phenomenal. Like, lick your bowl or get some extra bread to sop up every last drop delicious.
JARRED roasted red peppers???
BLASPHEMY!!!
I Roasted my own peppers, let them steam in a mixing bowl covered in plastic wrap for 15 minutes. Blixed the peppers with a little homemade vegetable broth. I made the recipe as is with a little blulster from vegetable base. This was killer!!!
This recipe looks so yummy! I’m planning to try it tonight. Can I use half and half in place of the heavy cream?
Hi Kerry! Half and half will not withstand the heat of the simmering; it will separate so we do not recommend using.
This is incredibly delicious! Made it as written except I ended up roasting a pepper myself to add to the mix as I only had a few left in my jar. I also only used 1/4 cup of cream and it was still incredibly creamy and delicious. So much amazing flavour. Perfect weeknight meal!
So glad you enjoyed it!
This was fantastic. I could put that sauce in so many different things. Thank you!
That’s how we feel about the sauce, too!
This was even better than anticipated! Super easy and delicious. Will be in the dinner rotation for sure. Added some chicken sausage that I browned.
Wow wow wow!!!
Love hearing that, Kim!
So easy and loved by all. We added the air fryer chicken to this for some protein and it was perfect.
Love that addition!
So easy, so delicious; will be a new rotation meal. Might add some grilled chicken next time. Went really well with air fried broccoli!
Delicious. Will add to our rotation. Had to make dairy free using your recommendations and it was great!
This is so delicious and easy; I have made it twice already. I was pleasantly surprised by how flavorful it is. I used a sweet onion instead of shallot (just based on what I had on-hand) and added fresh garlic for the last moments of sauté. This will be added to our regular SOS rotation!
That sounds great, Hailey!
Oh. My. Goodness!! How do I give this 10 stars?! My 11 year old helped me make this from start to finish and I didn’t want to share any of it – super delish, minimal ingredients and I made it with GF pasta – yum!! This is definitely in my rotation!
This roasted red pepper pasta recipe is so delicious! My husband and I loved it! As you suggested, I served it with wild shrimp (from Trader Joe’s that I sauteed with its natural juices and crushed garlic) and steamed broccolini. AMAZING! Thank you so much for a wonderful, easy and fancy recipe!