Roasted Red Pepper Pasta
Updated Sep 30, 2025
This Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Pasta recipe is made with only 6 main ingredients: roasted red peppers, garlic, onions, olive oil, and spaghetti.
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Try my roasted red pepper pasta for something different!
Sometimes I want a change from marinara, and this roasted red pepper pasta recipe is what I make instead. The sauce is creamy and flavorful with just six ingredients, and it works with any pasta I’ve got in the pantry.
I usually grab a jar of roasted red peppers to keep things simple, but you can roast your own if you’ve got fresh red bell peppers on hand. It’s also a great way to use up peppers that are starting to wrinkle a bit and need to get cooked. This roasted red pepper pasta recipe is quick, naturally vegan, and easy to adjust with whatever milk you’ve got, plant-based or dairy.
Happy Cooking!
– Yumna
Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Ingredients
- Roasted Red Peppers: I like to use jarred roasted red peppers because it cuts down the prep time, but you can absolutely roast red peppers, too!
- Onion: I always use white onion for this pasta dish, but you can use any type of onion that you have on hand.
- Garlic: I prefer the taste of roasted fresh garlic, but you can also use jarred minced garlic or even garlic powder.
- Spaghetti: I like using long thin pasta like spaghetti for this dish, but any pasta shape will work!
- Oil: I use olive oil to roast my garlic and onions, but any cooking oil will do.
- Plant-Based Milk: I like almond milk in this recipe, but any type of plant-based milk will be good.
- Seasoning: I like to top my roasted red pepper pasta with salt, a sprinkle of crushed red pepper, and fresh basil, but feel free to get creative with toppings and seasonings (an Italian spice blend will also work well here).
How to Make Roasted Red Pepper Pasta
Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 1 onion quartered
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- Salt to taste
- 12 ounces spaghetti
- 1 15 ounces jar roasted red peppers drained
- ½ cup milk of choice
- Fresh basil for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the onions, garlic and crushed red pepper on the baking sheet, and drizzle with olive oil. Roast until the onions are tender and golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente according to package directions. Reserve 1 cup pasta water, drain and return the pasta to the pot, covered.
- Transfer the roasted onions and garlic to a blender when done roasting along with the drained roasted red peppers and milk. Blend until smooth and creamy.
- Transfer the sauce on top of the cooked pasta and toss to combine. Add as much of the pasta water as needed for your desired consistency. Serve immediately with fresh torn basil.
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Recipe Tips
- Don’t over-char your onions and garlic. You want them to be nicely browned, not burnt.
- Make sure to drain your jar of roasted red peppers. Otherwise, your sauce will be too watery!
- Cook your pasta until just al dente. You want the pasta to absorb some of the sauce without getting soggy.
Serving Ideas
- Make a side salad. I like to serve this creamy roasted red pepper pasta with my kale Caesar salad, my wedge salad with blue cheese, or a simple fresh garden salad.
- Add protein. This pasta makes an easy base for protein if you want a more filling dish. Try adding chicken breast or chicken thighs, cooked shrimp, or some baked tofu!
- Serve with bread. I like having a little fresh bread to sop up any extra sauce. My favorites are cheesy garlic bread and homemade dinner rolls.
More Vegan Pasta Recipes
- Hummus Pasta
- Creamy Tomato Pasta
- Pumpkin Pasta
- Cauliflower Alfredo
- Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes
- One Pan Pasta
- Lemon Pasta
This Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Pasta recipe was originally published on June 19, 2017. The recipe has not been modified, but the post now includes new step-by-step photos of how to make the pasta recipe.
Comments
Can this be canned?
I’m not sure, I haven’t tried canning pasta before.
This sauce was delicious. I did not have a jar of pre-roasted red peppers. So I added two red bell peppers, one full red onion chopped into quarters, 3 cloves of garlic, olive oil, salt+pepper, red pepper flakes and Italian seasoning to the oven safe bowl to roast for 30 minutes (as suggested by Yumna). I then blended it after and added extra spices for our taste to the blender! We loved it tons! Simple and you can easily modify this to add more veggies to the sauce.
Amazing! Your tweaks sound so good, thank you for sharing!!
I have a question. I plan on roasting my own peppers. How many peppers do I need and could I roast the peppers, garlic, and onion together?
Great question! You’ll need 1 or 2 red peppers. Yes, you can roast them together—I would place the peppers under the broiler for 3-5 minutes until they get charred, then add the onions, garlic, crushed red pepper, and olive oil to continue roasting at 425ºF for 25-30 minutes.
I just tried this. For me it took about 10mins broiling per side, totalling around 40mins of broiling – much longer than 3-5mins total. Maybe it’s because the closest I could get my peppers to the broiler without touching was 3 inches. It took so long that I decided to broil my onions and garlic at the same time, rather than roasting as per the recipe.
Hmm, I am sorry to hear that! Every oven is different so it sounds like you adjusted to yours well.
Wasn’t a fan of this one. The roasted taste was too overpowering and it was very one dimensional. I even added some grilled shrimp and roasted zucchini. Next time I’ll saute the onion and garlic and blend them instead of roasting them. I made another roasted pepper pasta recipe about 10 years ago where it was delicious and you could taste the red bell peppers, so I’ll just stick to that.
So sorry that the red pepper sauce wasn’t to your taste. Thank you for the feedback!
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