Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Pasta

This Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Pasta is bursting with flavour and goes down in just 15mins!

Roasted Red Pepper Pesto

Roasted red peppers are perfect for so many different things, but using them in a pesto trumps everything. For this pesto recipe you’ll actually only need 6 ingredients:

Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Ingredients

• Roasted Red Peppers
• Fresh Basil
• Pinenuts
• Parmesan
• Garlic
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil

From there, it’s really as quick and easy as pulsing the ingredients in a food processor. Voila! Roasted red pepper pesto is yours for the taking.

How to make Roasted Red Pepper Pesto (quick summary)

1. Add all of your pesto ingredients in a food processor apart from the oil.
2. Turn on motor and gradually pour in oil until evenly combined.
3. Pour pesto into a large bowl ready for the pasta.

Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Pasta

When it comes to mixing in the pasta, you do not want to do it over heat. Heating pesto not only burns the basil, but also turns the sauce greasy. To create a pasta sauce, you want to toss the pasta in a bowl, where the leftover heat from the pasta will cook the pesto. From here, you want to add a splash of pasta water. The starch molecules will help emulsify the oil and form a silky, almost quite ‘creamy’ sauce.

Tips for making Red Pepper Pesto Pasta

1. Work quick so the sauce/pasta doesn’t cool down too much.
2. I recommend using a long cut pasta for this type of pesto, just so it doesn’t clump up in the shorter cut pastas. Here I use Linguine, but Fettuccine and Spaghetti work great.
3. Lots of parmesan for serving – obviously!

How to store Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Pasta

Pop it in an airtight container for 2-3 days. I actually don’t recommend reheating this pasta, but bring it to room temp instead. Reheating pesto often turns it greasy and burns the basil.

Hey, whilst you’re here why not check out my other recipes?

Pesto Recipes

• Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Pasta
• Pesto Pasta Salad
• Cheesy Pesto Garlic Bread
• Spicy Pesto Smashed Potatoes

Easy Pasta Recipes

• Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Pasta
• Penne Arrabiata with Smoked Sausage
• Cream Cheese Pasta
• Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta

Okey dokey, let’s tuck into this roasted red pepper pesto pasta recipe shall we?!

How to make Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Pasta (Full Recipe & Video)

Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Pasta

This Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Pasta is bursting with flavour and goes down in just 15mins!

5 from 7 votes

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Servings (click & slide): 4

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Calories per serving: 389kcal

Author: Chris Collins

Cost per serving: £2 / $2.50

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Equipment:

• Pot, Colander & Pasta Tongs (for pasta)
• Food Processor (for pesto)
• Fine Cheese Grater
• Cup
• Large Bowl

Ingredients (check list):

• ▢ 12oz / 350g Linguine, or other long cut pasta
• ▢ 16oz / 460g jar of Roasted Red Peppers, drained (see notes)
• ▢ 1/3-1/2cup / 80ml-125ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• ▢ 1/2cup / 35g freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra to serve
• ▢ 1 large handful of Fresh Basil
• ▢ 4 tbsp Pinenuts, toasted
• ▢ 1 small clove of Garlic
• ▢ 1/2 tsp Salt, or to taste
• ▢ 1/4 tsp Black Pepper, or to taste

Instructions:

• Cook your pasta in salted boiling water until al dente. Retain a cup of starchy pasta water.
• Add all of your other ingredients apart from the extra virgin olive oil into a food processor and turn on the motor. Slowly pour in oil to blend (you may not need it all).
• Place the pesto in a bowl and add your pasta. Start to toss, using the starchy pasta water too thin out as needed. The starchy water will emulsify with the oil to create a glossy and slightly creamy sauce. Just don’t use too much else it’ll turn watery. Also, make sure it’s done in a bowl off heat, pesto doesn’t cook well.
• Serve warm with extra parmesan!

Quick 1 min demo!

Notes:

a) Roasted Red Peppers - Don't rinse the peppers, just squeeze out the vinegary brine. If you want to make your own, I recommend using 3-4 fresh peppers. Place them under the grill or on the flame of the hob and turn regularly until charred all the way around. Place in a bowl with cling film over until the peppers cool, then peel off the skins (leaving some char for flavour). Just remember to remove the core/seeds.

b) Sauce - This will make a fairly 'saucy' pasta if you use all the pesto. You can use less pesto if you like a lighter sauce!

c) Speed - The leftover heat from the pasta will cook the sauce, just work quick so it doesn't go cold. 

d) Reheat - Store in the fridge with a tight cover. When it comes to reheating, I actually recommend just bringing it to room temp. When you reheat pesto it often goes oily and the basil burns.

e) Calories - based on using 1/3cup olive oil and no extra parmesan.

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Nutrition:

Nutrition Facts

Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Pasta

Amount Per Serving

Calories 389 Calories from Fat 243

% Daily Value*

Fat 26.97g41%

Saturated Fat 5.315g27%

Trans Fat 0.118g

Polyunsaturated Fat 4.925g

Monounsaturated Fat 15.904g

Cholesterol 46mg15%

Sodium 764mg32%

Potassium 217mg6%

Carbohydrates 28.82g10%

Fiber 4.2g17%

Sugar 3.28g4%

Protein 10.33g21%

Vitamin A 2641IU53%

Vitamin C 126.1mg153%

Calcium 145mg15%

Iron 2.33mg13%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition is based on the absence of salt unless stated as a measurement in the ingredients. Cost is worked out based on ingredients bought from UK supermarkets, then divided by the number of servings. In both instances these values are just for guidance. Please check out my FAQ Page for more info.

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