Cook up this homemade roasted red pepper pesto pasta as a cozy family comfort food dinner! It's so easy to make with fresh veggies and pantry staples, yet feels so special as a vegan weeknight meal.
Love roasted red pepper flavors and tomato free sauces? Do check out my red pepper ricotta pasta and my roasted red pepper chicken for another time!
Now you may have noticed that pasta is one of my favorite meals! Perfect as comfort food with a good dose of veggies and herbs, my coriander pesto pasta, vegetable pesto pasta and ricotta pesto pasta are cooked up often in my home!
This red pepper pesto pasta makes the most of the smoky sweet taste of roasted red peppers, as well as fresh basil and garlic. It's perfect as tomato-free pasta for when you fancy a change or if you're looking for low histamine recipes without tomatoes.
Pasta lovers will want to check out my easy bell pepper nomato sauce for another tasty sauce, and my round-up of 25 sauces for pasta without tomatoes has so many dinner ideas!
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⭐ Why this recipe is so good
Fragrant tomato free sauce. Similarly to my red pepper coulis, this recipe roasts sweet red peppers and combines with garlic and herbs for a smoky, fragrant sauce.
Minimal ingredients. We use fresh veggies, herbs and pantry staples to make this red pesto pasta dinner, with no hard to find ingredients!
Tomato free, vegan and low histamine recipe. This recipe leaves out tomatoes and cheese to make a vegan red pepper pesto, and can be gluten free using an alternative pasta.
🌶 Ingredients
All the ingredients and their quantities are set out in the recipe card below.
Some notes on a few of them:
- Red bell peppers - you want to use red peppers for their sweetness when roasted, as green peppers have a more bitter taste. This recipe uses freshly roasted peppers but if it is suitable for you, jarred roasted peppers can be used (I suggest low histamine readers roast peppers themselves).
- Pasta - choose from penne pasta, fusilli, spaghetti or many other varieties!
- Basil - be sure to use fresh basil leaves and not dried basil.
- Garlic - I use one clove of garlic, but you can add another if you're a garlic lover.
- Pine nuts - for extra flavor, you can dry toast the pine nuts in your skillet before use.
📖 Swaps and variations
Swap pine nuts for another nut or seed. Pine nuts are a little debated in terms of histamine levels, scoring 1 on the SIGHI list with a ? as a liberator. You can swap for another low histamine nut or seed such as macadamia nuts or pumpkin seeds.
Use an alternative or gluten free pasta. There are many types of pasta, including brown rice pasta, quinoa pasta, spelt pasta (not GF) and more so choose the one that works best for you.
🔪 Step by step instructions
Making this roasted red pepper pesto pasta is super simple, with budget friendly ingredients and all easy recipe steps. Grab your skillet, baking sheet and blender and let me show you how to make this creamy red pepper pesto!
The full instructions are set out in the recipe card below, but these photos should help guide you.
Step 1: Roast the peppers
Slice the bell peppers and remove the seeds and membrane. Arrange in an even layer on a lined baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Roast the red peppers for 30 minutes (image 1). Set aside to cool, and once cool, remove the skins.
Step 2: Toast the pine nuts (optional)
Add the pine nuts to a dry skillet (without oil) and toast on a low heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally so they don't burn (image 2).
Step 3: Make the red pesto
Add the cooled red peppers, basil leaves, olive oil, pine nuts, garlic, salt and apple cider vinegar (optional) to a blender cup. Blend quickly for a chunky pesto, or for longer for a smooth pesto (image 3).
Step 4: Toss the pasta in red pesto
Cook your pasta and reserve a cup of the pasta water. Drain the pasta, then stir through the pesto. Pour in a tablespoon of the reserved pasta water as required to get the sauce consistency you like (image 4).
💭 Recipe tips and notes
- Use red bell peppers. Red peppers have a delicious sweetness when roasted in the oven.
- Allow the peppers to cool. Make sure they aren't hot when you peel off the skins, we don't want burnt fingers!
- Adjust the red pepper pesto sauce consistency. Reserve a little of the pasta water, and stir in a tablespoon at a time to get the texture you like best. Adding the starchy pasta water helps get you a creamy red pepper pesto sauce.
- Don't overheat the pesto sauce. Work fairly quickly once you have combined the pesto and pasta. You don't want to heat the pesto as it can alter the taste of the fresh basil.
- Add vegan Parmesan. If you like a cheesy taste, you can add a sprinkle of vegan cheese (note that this may not be suitable for low histamine readers).
📋 Frequently asked questions
I suggest to use red bell peppers as they have the best sweetness when roasted in the oven. Green peppers tend to be more bitter in taste.
As the roasted red peppers will have slightly blackened, it is best to peel them. Place in a covered bowl or bag for 5-10 minutes, then peel the peppers once they are cool.
No, you don't want to overly heat the pesto as it can alter the taste and freshness of the basil. Simply toss your pasta in the pesto, along with some reserved pasta water. The heat of the pasta will warm the pesto through.
Pine nuts can be swapped for other nuts such as macadamia nuts or for pumpkin seeds for a nut free option. My post on substitutes for pine nuts in pesto has lots of ideas!
Pesto is so versatile! Spread into a sandwich or crackers, use it as a dip with veggie sticks or make my air fryer pesto chicken thighs with it!
🍽 How to serve red pesto pasta
Comfort food pasta dishes can be served on their own but this red pepper pesto pasta is extra tasty with some fun side dish recipes I think!
- Fresh and light salads such as my raw carrot salad and my cucumber fennel salad work perfectly as a side dish.
- Pair with some roast vegetables such as my roasted carrots and cauliflower, roasted Brussels sprouts and broccoli or my air fryer root vegetables.
❄️ Freezing guidance
I don't suggest to make the pasta with the pesto sauce and freezing it. But the pesto sauce alone freezes so well! Simply spoon into freezer-safe bags or containers and freeze for another meal.
The USDA doesn't have a specific recommendation for freezer time storage for sauces, but states 2-3 months for soups and stews. My low histamine readers will want to read the SIGHI advice on freezing food, which notes that 'frozen food should not be stored for an unnecessarily long time'.
🍝 More tasty pasta recipes
Find so many fun cozy pasta recipes here on the blog including my asparagus broccoli pasta and butternut squash pasta bake, as well as these recent recipes:
I'm always in the kitchen, so come join me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to be the first to hear of new recipes! And I love to hear from you - so please do leave a star rating ⭐⭐⭐ and comment if you've tried the recipe!
📖 Recipe
Red Pepper Pesto Pasta
Equipment
- Blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 2 red bell peppers* membrane and seeds removed
- ¼ cup pine nuts or pumpkin seeds
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil divided
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar optional
- ¼ cup basil leaves tightly packed
- pinch salt
- 4 oz dried pasta adjust amount to preference
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 390F / 200C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Remove the stems, seeds and membranes from the red bell peppers and place on the baking sheet. Drizzle with a teaspoon of olive oil. Roast the peppers for 30 minutes, then set aside to cool. Peel off the skins once cool enough to handle.
- Optional: dry toast the pine nuts for 2-3 minutes on a low heat, stirring a few times so they don't catch and burn.
- While the red peppers are in the oven, cook your pasta to al dente in salted boiling water according to packet instructions. Reserve half a cup of the pasta water.
- Add the cooled, peeled roasted red bell peppers, pine nuts, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, garlic, fresh basil leaves and salt to a blender. Blend to a sauce.
- Drain the pasta and return to the pot. Pour the pesto sauce into the pot (this recipe makes a fair amount of sauce, so add half first, then more to preference), then add your cooked pasta. Toss the pasta in the pesto sauce. Add a tablespoon of the reserved pasta water at a time and stir through until you get a creamy consistency. Season to taste preference, then use tongs to transfer to your serving bowls.
Notes
- Don't forget to reserve a little of the pasta water! Personally I don't always use it, but if you like a thicker pasta sauce a tablespoon or two works wonders!
- Try to work fairly quickly once you have combined the pesto with the pasta. You don't want to heat the pesto too much as it can alter the taste of the fresh basil.
- This recipe makes a fair amount of sauce for those who like a saucy pasta! Add about half to the skillet first, then toss in the pasta. Like more sauce? Add the remaining pesto. If you have leftovers, spoon into a freeze-safe container and freeze for another meal.
- Nutritional information is auto-generated and should be understood to be an estimate.
- apple cider vinegar and garlic, which score 1. The vinegar can easily be omitted.
- pine nuts, which score 1 with a ? as a liberator. Pumpkin seeds can be used as a swap and I suggest to dry toast them first.
- pasta (wheat), which scores 1. Use the type of pasta that you tolerate best, whether regular pasta or a pasta alternative.
Courtney says
Absolutely fabulous recipe. I make it often and it is always a hit in our house. Freezes well for us too!
Claire says
So lovely to hear that you all enjoy it Courtney! And thanks for letting us know it freezes well too, so helpful.
Erna says
So easy and tasteful. Made it a few times now and always enjoy it. Thanks Claire for all your effort 🍀
Claire says
so glad you enjoy it Erna! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment 🙂
Mary says
I made this for dinner tonight, and it was delicious! It made just one generous serving, though, so I'm planning to brainstorm ways to stretch the sauce to cover more pasta (without adding so many more bell peppers). I think it would be nice with broccoli florets alongside the pasta as well - that would likely stretch the recipe as written to two servings. I don't like using the oven during summer, so I cooked the bell peppers in my Instant Pot. I pressure cooked them for 3 minutes. 4 or 5 minutes might have been better as the skin was difficult to peel from several pieces. I skipped the apple cider vinegar and made sure to salt generously.
Claire says
So glad you enjoyed the pasta Mary! If you're a lover of more sauce on your pasta, then I would just add a touch more of the ingredients. I haven't ever used an Instant pot to cook peppers, but I hope it works well with some extra cook time.
Carol L says
Delicious sauce
Claire says
So glad you like it Carol!