Roasted Red Pepper Penne

A skillet of roasted red pepper pasta topped with Parmesan cheese and basil leaves.

A flavorful roasted red pepper sauce with onions, garlic, broth, cream, basil and red pepper flakes is tossed with penne pasta for an easy weeknight dinner.

Course Pasta

Cuisine Italian

Keyword roasted red pepper penne

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Total Time 25

Servings servings

Calories 476.5kcal

Author Susan Pridmore

Equipment

Ingredients

1 pound dried penne pasta
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large yellow onion thinly sliced
5 garlic cloves minced
32 ounces jarred Roasted Red Peppers drained
½ cup vegetable broth or Better Than Bouillon
16 basil leaves plus more to finish
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese plus more to finish
½ cup heavy cream
¼ teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon kosher salt (not needed if you use Better Than Bouillon)
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar or to taste

Instructions

Bring a pot of well-salted water to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Cook the pasta according to package directions.
Scoop out ¼ cup pasta water, set it aside and drain.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
If using Better Than Bouillon for the broth, heat up ½ cup water in the microwave or on the stovetop, and stir ½ teaspoon of Bouillon paste.
Drain the roasted red peppers, and transfer the peppers to a high speed blender. Add the broth, sautéed onions and garlic, and the basil leaves. Blend until pureed. With my Ninja blender, this takes 1 minute.
Pour the sauce back into the skillet used for sautéing the onion and garlic and stir in the dried red pepper flakes, cream and Parmesan cheese. Add the salt if you used broth instead of Better Than Bouillon.
Stir in the balsamic vinegar, taste and add a little more if desired.
Stir the cooked pasta into the sauce, along with 2 tablespoons of reserved pasta water. Add more if desired.
Serve topped with Parmesan cheese and fresh basil leaves.

Nutrition