In this roasted red pepper pasta, a slightly smoky, bright, and luxuriously creamy vegetarian sauce is ready in less than 10 minutes. This handy back-pocket pasta recipe can be made entirely with pantry staples, or you can roast the peppers yourself for an added depth of flavor.
This roasted red pepper pasta is a delicious twist on a classic red spaghetti sauce with no tomatoes involved.
I blend roasted red peppers, spices, and aromatics with whole milk to make a super silky, creamy sauce. It's so rich and velvety, it reminds me of a classic Italian-American Penne alla Vodka but with the distinctly Mediterranean flavors of a Spanish Romesco.
You won’t believe this super comforting, flavorful pasta sauce is ready to go by the time the rigatoni is done boiling! This recipe is faster than ordering delivery and uses ingredients you likely have on hand. Add an element of surprise to your weeknight dinner rotation, perhaps with a crisp white wine and fresh tomato salad like panzanella.
Table of Contents
Ingredients for this Pantry Pasta Recipe
This roasted red pepper pasta recipe uses Mediterranean pantry staples, many of which are likely already living in your kitchen. If not, they’re all easy to source. You’ll need:
- Pasta: I love ridged rigatoni for this recipe, which captures the delicious sauce in all its nooks and crannies. That said, you can sub in any pasta you have on hand.
- Olive oil: Used to soften the garlic and enrich the sauce. Our peppery Spanish Hojiblanca pairs well with the smoky peppers, but any high-quality extra virgin variety you have on hand works.
- Garlic: Sweet and savory garlic adds bold flavor to the pasta sauce, and only needs a quick bath in hot olive oil to soften and mellow.
- Red peppers: Roast the peppers yourself with our easy roasted red pepper recipe for the best flavor, or use jarred to save time.
- Milk: A small amount of whole milk gives a nice body and creaminess to the sauce. You can substitute with lactose-free milk. Or, for a vegan option, substitute with unsweetened, unflavored plant-based milk and leave off the cheese.
- Seasoning: Dried oregano, sweet or smoked Spanish paprika, kosher salt, and black pepper are the flavor-makers of this easy pasta sauce.
- Parmesan: Freshly grated parmesan instantly adds a deeply savory umami flavor to the pasta sauce.
- Basil: An optional garnish, basil leaves add a pop of color and freshness to the pasta.
How to Make Roasted Red Pepper Pasta
This roasted red pepper pasta recipe is quick and easy—it’s done in the amount of time it takes to boil the pasta. To make it:
- Get your roasted red peppers ready. Roast 3 large bell peppers either on the stovetop or in your oven–see both methods in our guide: Roasted Peppers (Two Ways!). Or, thoroughly drain and pat dry one 15-ounce jar of roasted red bell peppers.
- Boil the pasta. Bring a large saucepan of water (about 4 quarts) to a rolling boil and season generously with kosher salt (about ½ to 1 tablespoon). Add 12 ounces of rigatoni and bring back to boil. Stir occasionally until the pasta is cooked to al dente according to package instructions, about 9 to 10 minutes. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water before draining.
- Soften the garlic. Set up a large food processor with the blade attachment. While the pasta is cooking, heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat until just shimmering. Add 4 crushed garlic cloves and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer both the garlic and olive oil to the food processor.
- Add the roasted peppers. If you roasted the peppers yourself, remove the skin and seeds and roughly chop. Add the peppers to the food processor, along with ½ cup of whole milk and ½ teaspoon each of oregano, paprika, salt and pepper.
- Combine the pasta and sauce. When the pasta is ready, remember to reserve about 1 cup of the cooking water and drain. Return the pasta to the saucepan and pour the sauce over top. Turn the heat to low and add ¼ cup of grated parmesan. Use a wooden spoon to mix well so that the pasta is fully coated in the sauce. Mix in the reserved pasta water, a splash at a time, as necessary until the pasta is nicely glossy (you likely won’t need all of the water).
- Serve. Divide the pasta among serving bowls and top with fresh basil and more parmesan cheese, if you like.
What to Serve with Roasted Red Pepper Pasta
Roasted red pepper pasta is a nutritious, filling meal all on its own. You could really stop there, but if you’d like to add something to your table go for something crunchy and fresh — panzanella, fattoush, or a simple tomato cucumber salad all come to mind.
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Hojiblanca Spanish EVOO
Peppery extra virgin olive oil from the Southern Andalusian region of Estepa.
Roasted Red Pepper Pasta
Ingredients
- 12 ounces ridged rigatoni
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 4 large garlic cloves, crushed and peeled
- 3 large roasted red peppers, homemade or 15-ounce jar roasted red peppers
- ½ cup whole milk or milk of your choice
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon Spanish paprika, sweet or smoked
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- ¼ cup grated parmesan, more to your liking
- Handful fresh basil leaves, torn, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Boil the pasta. Bring a large saucepan of water (about 4 quarts) to a rolling boil and season generously with kosher salt (about ½ to 1 tablespoon). Add the pasta and bring back to boil. Stir occasionally until the pasta is cooked to al dente according to package instructions, about 9 to 10 minutes. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water before draining.
- Soften the garlic. While the pasta is cooking, heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat until just shimmering. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer the garlic and olive oil to the bowl of a large food processor fitted with a blade.
- Add the roasted peppers. If you roasted the peppers yourself, remove the skin and seeds and roughly chop. If you’re using a jar, drain them well and pat them dry. Add the peppers to the food processor, along with the milk, oregano, paprika, and a big pinch of salt and pepper (about ½ teaspoon each). Blend until smooth.
- Combine the pasta and sauce. When the pasta is ready, remember to reserve about 1 cup of the cooking water and drain. Return the pasta to the saucepan and pour the sauce over top. Turn the heat to low and add the parmesan. Stir to mix well so the pasta is fully coated in the sauce. Mix in the reserved pasta water, a splash at a time, as necessary until the pasta is nicely glossy (you likely won’t need all of the water).
- Serve. Divide the pasta among serving bowls and top with fresh basil and more parmesan cheese, if you like.
Video
Notes
- If you’re roasting the peppers yourself, make a big batch to use all week! Save the extras for Shopska Salad (Bulgarian Roast Pepper And Tomato Salad), Muhammara, Focaccia Sandwiches, and Roasted Red Pepper Hummus.
- Put some muscle into it when you stir pasta with sauce! The starchy pasta and pasta water will combine with the sauce and bind with the pasta to make it extra rich and delicious.
- Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients including olive oils, honey, jams, and spices.
Amazing recipe! My "selective" palate in the fam LOVED this recipe. THANK YOUUUUU!!!! We used the smoked paprika. I baked the roasted red peppers, which were yummy, but lots of work. Will try jarred next time, lol!
Yay! We love to hear this, Louise! Thank you!
This is a delicious recipe- thank you! I make and freeze dinners for my mom- would this pasta dish freeze well?
Thank you!
Hi, Nicole. If you want to freeze this one, I recommend only making the sauce and freezing that alone, waiting to make the pasta until you'd like to enjoy the meal. The sauce freezes very well... I'm not sure the pasta would hold up.
Had a jar of roasted peppers that needed to be used up and this was perfect. Added aleppo for a bit of kick. Wish I had used smoked paprika but now I'll have a good excuse to make this again soon!
Being allergic to tomatoes, this is a great alternative! Thanks so much!!!!
I’ve made this several times because it’s simple and so good.
Tonight, I tried it with my own broiler-charred bell peppers, and used goat cheese instead of the milk. To die for!
Yum! Thanks for sharing, Thomas!
We had this for dinner last night. Absolutely delish!! I made it as directed, but I made the sauce several hours before preparing the pasta. Thank you Suzy, another great recipe!!
I don't have Spanish sweet paprika. I do have smoked paprika and regular. Would one of those be ok?
Hi Beth, Devin here from the Mediterranean Dish team. Your regular paprika will work perfectly. Happy cooking!
Pretty lack luster :/
Hi, Ali! I'm sorry this wasn't your favorite. Perhaps it just needed an extra dash of salt to meet your tastes. If you like things a bit spicy you might want to try this version of red pepper pasta with chorizo and spinach. It has a few more ingredients and zip from the chorizo.