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)
- Add all of your pesto ingredients in a food processor apart from the oil.
- Turn on motor and gradually pour in oil until evenly combined.
- 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
- Work quick so the sauce/pasta doesn’t cool down too much.
- 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.
- 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
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:
Nutrition:
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