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
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So easy and loved by all. We added the air fryer chicken to this for some protein and it was perfect.
Kyara
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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Love your recipes but sadly I’ve been advised to be gluten free. We tried it with GF noodles last night and the sauce didn’t thicken like we would have liked. Any chance you’ll ever do GF versions or anyone reading has tried and has advice? Things just don’t cook the same, so it’s a learning curve. But the shrimp was an excellent addition if anyone is considering!
This dish had so much flavor but the sauce was too thin for me. Next time I will add some floor to the shallots at the end before adding the roasted red peppers to thicken the sauce. We paired it with shedded chicken and it was delicious!
Hi! This looks amazing! I was wondering if adding shrimp do you have recommendations on the seasoning/marinade? Also would you add shrimp to the pan with the shallots after they are done Caramelizing or cook it separately?
We absolutely love this pasta recipe! The flavors are incredible! We are so, so disappointed that our Target doesn’t sell this wonderful pennoni anymore 🙁 . Do you have any recommendations to replace this tasty pasta? We love the pennoni shape.
This recipe was friggin amazing! Earned a permanent spot in my dinner rotation. I used Penzey’s chicken soup base instead of Better than bouillon, otherwise followed the recipe as written. So good! Thank you!
This is such an awesome recipe! My favorite thing about (other than the fact that it is it was prepped, finished, AND cleaned up within 45 minutes!), is that both my kids LOVED it. My hard to please 8 year old asked for a second dinner and rated it an 8.7. My 12 year old said he’s crazy because this recipe is a 9.55557!
Thanks for such a simple and yummy recipe! I made no substitutions.
I made this last night and it was delicious, better than anything I’ve had in a restaurant in a while! I added spicy italian chicken sausage and spinach.
This dish is awesome! We love how versatile it is and you can absolutely add your own twists or substitute as needed.
This may be a new fave sauce!
Wish we could share photos here!
I couldn’t find jarred roasted red peppers but i found red pepper paste would that do?
We haven’t tested that, but worth a try!
I tripled this recipe and served it with anytime turkey meatballs for a big family dinner and it was a hit. It was so easy to prep and come together, I just love this recipe.
SOO good! Thank you so much! A super easy favorite!!
Made this last night and my entire (and sometimes picky) family loved it. Thank you!
This was delicious, simple, and fast! My only regret was my pasta strainer slipped and spilled half the pasta so we didn’t get as much lunch as we planned but that’s on me and gravity not the recipe!
My family loves this one! I wanted to make it a little bit less rich so I used half and half in place of heavy cream. I warmed the half and half and added it off the heat so it would incorporate better.
I also added about a tablespoon of tomato paste with the shallots and butter. And then a corn startch slurry and some pasta water at the end.
10/10!
10/10!
I made this and while edible, it was nowhere near restaurant quality. the sauce was extremely watery–I’d suggest that people either up the amount of red pepper or decrease the amount of water. I let it cook with the cream for a while but it never really reduced to a nice creamy sauce. The sauce was also missing something–i added extra parmesan but it was only ok.
Honestly, this fell short. Seemed to lack depth of flavor. Had to add lots of salt.
So delicious and SO easy!! Will absolutely be making again and again!
My family loved this recipe! I used half and half instead of heavy cream to make it a little less rich, and to help it incorporate in the sauce I added about a teaspoon of cold butter and a bit of cornstarch slurry in cold water and that plus the pasta water made for a delicious and not so heavy sauce.
We will definitely be adding this one to the rotation!
Easy and Tasty! Personally I found that I didn’t need any pasta water to adjust the consistency. Paired it with Sheet Pan Roasted Broccoli and Turkey Sausage for a more complete meal.
So easy and delicious! And my toddler absolutely devours this meal…a major win!
I made this exactly as written, but doubled the sauce. Ar the very end I added leftover cooked chicken breasts that I sliced very thin. Served with air fried broccoli and there was enough sauce to touch all of it! It was fantastic! Thank you!
Quick, easy, and absolutely delicious! We loved this pasta recipe and will be adding it into our regular rotation. Served it with meatballs and a nice big green salad.
Delicious! I make this at least every other week with tortellini, the whole family likes it. Just wondering if it’s possible to double the recipe and freeze half?
Wow! This was so good, I had to leave a review. I have been burned out with meal planning lately and randomly decided to visit a few SOS recipes. I’m so glad I did. This sauce is so silky and flavorful. I followed the recipe to the T and loved the recipe suggestions to add italian sausage and spinach. The sauce is a nice change from a traditional red sauce and super easy to make gluten free with the noodles. Easy 5 stars!
Another hit recipe from Pinch of Yum! I first thought the sauce was going to be too runny, but I stuck with it and didn’t do anything. It thickened up beautifully! We used shells for the pasta. Y’all, this is SUCH an easy recipe, dare I say quick? Took me about 30 minutes? We need that on Mondays in my household.
So glad it was enjoyed!