Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

This creamy roasted red pepper pasta is a simple weeknight dinner made with roasted red peppers, cherry tomatoes and garlic. The caramelised vegetables create a rich and intensely flavoured sauce with little effort. Serve with lots of Pecorino cheese and some crusty bread!

Quick recipe overview

• Flavour – the roasted vegetables caramelise, creating a rich, sweet and intense sauce that's smooth and creamy with the addition of mascarpone.
• Suited to – low prep dinners, throw everything in the oven to roast, blitz and toss with pasta.
• Serve with – homemade focaccia or crusty bread for mopping up the sauce.

Roasting vegetables to make a soup or pasta sauce is a fantastic way of adding a real depth of flavour without much effort.

The roasted red peppers and tomatoes release their natural sugars, caramelise and intensify in flavour, which is exactly why we love this sauce so much.

We first published this recipe way back in 2017, and it's been a staple in our house ever since. Over the years, the sauce hasn't changed, but we did change one thing: the pasta.

We'll admit that bucatini is our least favourite pasta shape; it has an odd texture and is difficult to get al dente. Spaghetti is far superior in our opinion, so this beautiful roasted red pepper sauce is now served with spaghetti.

Find the full written recipe with step-by-step photos below, plus our top tips and fun variations to try. Enjoy!

Ingredient notes

• Pasta – We highly recommend using a long pasta shape for this, such as spaghetti or linguine, as it clings beautifully to the creamy sauce. A short pasta shape, such as rigatoni, will also work well.
• Red bell peppers – this is a great recipe for using up bell peppers that might be going a bit wrinkly. Although you can use roasted jarred peppers, we prefer this without the pickly/briny flavour they add.
• Mascarpone – you can also use a splash of heavy or double cream instead of mascarpone.

Recipe tips and FAQs

Consistency – We like to pass the sauce through a sieve after blitzing, which removes all the tomato seeds and skins. You don't need to do this, but it'll give you a smoother and creamier texture.

Can we prep this in advance?

Yes, you can make the whole sauce 1-2 days in advance and keep it stored in the fridge until you need it. reheat it on the stove and add your cooked pasta.

Can we freeze the sauce?

Yes, the sauce freezes well for up to 3 months. defrost it completely, then reheat on the stove until piping hot and add pasta.

Swaps

This creamy roasted red pepper sauce is so versatile; once you've made it, you can try adapting it with some of our suggestions below. It's a great way of switching it up depending on what you're in the mood for.

• Add sausage – crumble and fry 2 Italian sausages (skins removed) in a pan before adding the blitzed sauce.
• Add pancetta – you can also fry some pancetta or guanciale in a pan before adding the sauce, which will also help balance the sweetness of the peppers.
• Add chilli – for a spicy kick, you can sprinkle some chilli flakes over the veg before roasting.
• Fresh herbs – try adding some fresh basil or parsley.
• Add cheese – add as much freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano as you like to the sauce before blitzing.
• Add pesto – try topping it with some homemade basil pesto or arugula pesto for another punch of flavour.

More easy pasta recipes to try

Pasta

Roasted Fennel Pasta with Chilli and Lemon

Pasta

Sun Dried Tomato Pasta With Roasted Red Pepper

Classic Italian Recipes

Pasta With Puttanesca Sauce (Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca)

Pasta

Italian Pasta and Lentils (Pasta e Lenticchie)

Ingredients

Makes 4 people

• 14 oz spaghetti or pasta of choice ((400g))
• 2 red bell peppers
• 14 oz cherry tomatoes ((400g))
• 1 red onion
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 3 garlic cloves (skins on)
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 heaped tablespoon mascarpone ((can also use a splash of heavy (double) cream))
• Pecorino Romano (for serving)
• salt and pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180℃/350℉.

2. Cut the red peppers into medium sized pieces, roughly chop the onion and cut the cherry tomatoes in half. Put them all in a large baking tray with the garlic cloves (skins on), oregano, and a good pinch of salt and pepper (photo 1).

3. Drizzle the veg with olive oil and toss so it's all coated. Roast in the oven for 30-35 minutes until soft and slightly charred (photo 2).

4. When the veg is done, bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it well. Add the pasta and cook until al dente.

5. Meanwhile, remove the garlic from their skins and add everything to a food processor or blender. Add 1 heaped tablespoon of mascarpone and blitz until smooth (photos 3 and 4).

6. Tip: for an extra smooth consistency, you can pass the sauce through a sieve (photos 5 and 6).

7. Transfer the sauce to a large pan and turn the heat on low. Add the cooked pasta and toss until thoroughly coated. Transfer to bowl and top with a generous amount of grated pecorino romano and serve.

Kitchen notes

• Emulsify the sauce with pasta water if your sauce is a little thick, use some reserved pasta water to emulsify the sauce until it coats the pasta evenly.
• Leftover leftovers will keep well in the fridge for 1-2 days.