Craving a creamy pasta? If so, you need to give this Vegan Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Pasta a try. This simple dinner takes no time to whip up, and it's also fantastic for meal prepping for the week.
Grab your favorite pasta to make this simple vegan-friendly roasted red pepper pasta dish.
It pairs great with salad, bread, or your favorite sides for a simple and easy weeknight dinner.
This Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Is...
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-Free (if you use gluten-free pasta)
- Dairy-Free
- Creamy
- 30-minute dinner
- Great for leftovers
If you love vegan cooking, make sure you grab a copy of my free vegan cheat sheet while you’re here. It’s packed with all my favorite plant-based substitutions to help you vegan-ize any recipe!
How to Make Roasted Red Pepper Pasta
- Cook your pasta as directed on the box.
- In your blender, add in all your ingredients but the cornflour and butter. Blend up until smooth and creamy.
- In a pot on the stove, you will melt down your butter, then add flour to make your roux.
- Slowly pour in the red pepper sauce, whisking continuously to prevent clumping. Cook until it thickens.
- Once pasta is done, drain the pasta and stir into the creamy pepper sauce.
Full directions for the recipe and measurements are in the recipe card below.
Tips and Tricks
Roasted Red Peppers
Make sure you use quality roasted red peppers for this recipe as the peppers are the stand out flavor. You can make your own or buy your favorite brand.
Blender
For the sauce, you need a blender to get it nice and creamy. If you don't have a blender, you can use a food processor as well. You will not get a creamy texture for the sauce if you try to mix it by hand.
Variations
Variations For Pasta
You can use gluten-free pasta, spaghetti, rotini, rice noodles, lentil pasta, etc. Really any type of pasta will work just fine here - so be creative.
Just cook your pasta as directed on the package. Or if you use homemade pasta, that works great too!
You can also opt for spaghetti squash if you want a lower carb option.
Swirl In Coconut Milk
You can stir some coconut milk into the sauce at the end of cooking to give it an even creamier flavor and texture if you would like. I love the sauce as it is, but on occasion, I will add some coconut milk for a more alfredo-like dish.
Cashew Milk
You can use cashew milk to replace the soaked cashews if you don't want to spend the time soaking your cashews for the dish. It comes out a bit thinner, but it is a lot faster.
Just blend the other ingredients first, then add a little milk at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
FAQs
How do you roast peppers?
If you want to make your own roasted red peppers, prep and slice up your red peppers and place them on a baking sheet. Roast in the oven at 375°F for 15–20 minutes.
How to thicken roasted red pepper sauce?
If you are mixing up your sauce and find it seems thin, be patient. As it simmers, it will begin to thicken. If you are still finding it to be too thin, you can mix some cornstarch and water or arrowroot and water to make a slurry to stir in the sauce. This will thicken the sauce up quickly.
How long does this pasta store for?
You can store this pasta dish in the refrigerator for up to a week in an airtight container. Then just reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.
If you heat the sauce on the stove, add a little water or milk replacement to help thin the sauce up a bit. As the pasta sits, it will soak up quite a bit of the sauce, making it a bit drier in texture.
Recipe
Vegan Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 cup soaked cashews
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 cups water
- pinch salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp vegan butter
- 2 tbsp cornflour
- ½ cup store-bought roasted red bell pepper
- 16 oz pasta
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients except the butter and the cornflour to a blender.
- Blend until smooth and creamy, scraping down as necessary.
- Heat a pot over medium-low heat and add the butter. Let it melt then add the 3 tablespoons of flour. Stir to mix and let cook for 3–4 minutes until the flour is lightly toasted and a shade darker.
- Slowly stream in the roasted pepper cream, whisking as you pour so it doesn't clump up. Add the black pepper and whisk while the cream comes to a simmer. Let simmer until thickened, about 3–5 minutes, then remove from heat.
- Cook your chosen pasta as indicated in the package.
- Serve the pasta with the roasted pepper cream.
- Store the roasted pepper cream in the fridge for up to a week.
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