This one goes out to all of you “one pot pasta” lovers out there. …And I know there are a lot of you! Allow me to introduce to you this amazing One Pot Roasted Red Pepper Pasta!
This pasta dish combines roasted red peppers, fire roasted tomatoes, a hefty dose of garlic, sweet Vidalia onion, and dried basil for a smoky sweet pasta that practically cooks itself. Using vegetable broth in place of water gives the pasta extra depth and takes care of most of the need for the usual added salt and seasonings. The ingredients all simmer together in one pot (yes, even the pasta!) and creates its own thick, silky sauce. There’s so much flavor here you’ll wonder why you ever boiled pasta in plain water.
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Make it Creamy or Not.
The other great thing about this One Pot Roasted Red Pepper Pasta is that you can choose to make it creamy (like I did) or not. Once my pasta was finished cooking, I stirred in a few dollops of cream cheese until it melted into the sauce and made the whole pot luxuriously creamy. It’s a little indulgent with the cream cheese, but I also tasted it before adding the cheese and it was still amazing. So, you have the option of no cream cheese, full cream cheese, or even half cream cheese. It’s up to you!
Can I Add Meat?
Yes, chicken or Italian sausage would both go great with this recipe! To add chicken, simply dice up a chicken breast or two and sauté it in the pot before adding the remaining ingredients. Or you can add shredded rotisserie chicken after cooking the pasta. To add Italian sausage, simply brown some sausage in the pot before adding the rest of the ingredients.
Tips for One Pot Pasta Success:
One pot pasta recipes can be a bit tricky at first, but once you get the hang of it, they’re a breeze! Here are some tips to get you started:
- Use heavy, thick cookware to make sure the ingredients heat evenly.
- Make sure the pasta is simmering the whole time and adjust the heat as needed. If the heat is too low, the pasta will just get mushy.
- Stir to prevent the pasta from sticking, but not too often or you risk breaking down the pasta.
- Use your intuition. If the mixture dries up before the pasta is tender, add a splash more liquid. If the pasta is almost finished cooking and there is too much liquid, allow it to simmer without the lid for the last few minutes.
How to Store the Leftovers
This recipe makes a very large batch. I froze one serving last night to test the freeze/thaw cycle and it held up pretty well. The sauce was a bit more dry after reheating in the microwave, but the flavor was still great! Refrigerated portions will stay good in the refrigerator for about five days.
One Pot Roasted Red Pepper Pasta
Servings 6 (1 1/3 cup each)Ingredients
- 5 cups vegetable broth ($0.60)
- 1 lb. Fettuccine ($1.00)
- 1 small Vidalia onion ($0.61)
- 4 cloves garlic ($0.32)
- 1 12oz. jar roasted red peppers ($2.49)
- 1 15oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes ($1.29)
- 1/2 Tbsp dried basil ($0.07)
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (optional) ($0.03)
- Freshly cracked black pepper ($0.05)
- 4 oz. cream cheese (optional) ($1.08)
Instructions
- Thinly slice the onion and mince the garlic. Remove the red peppers from the liquid in the jar and then slice them into thin strips.
- In a large pot, combine the broth, onion, garlic, red pepper slices, diced tomatoes (with juice), basil, crushed red pepper, and some freshly cracked black pepper (10-15 cranks of a pepper mill). Stir these ingredients to combine. Break the fettuccine in half, then add it to the pot, attempting to submerge the pieces as much as possible.
- Place a lid on the pot and turn the heat up to high. As soon as the pot reaches a full boil, give it a quick stir to loosen any pieces that may have stuck to the bottom, return the lid, and turn the heat down to medium-low.
- Let the pot simmer on medium low for 10-12 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom. Return the lid as quickly as possible after each stir. After ten minutes, test the pasta to see if it is al dente. Once the pasta is tender, remove it from the heat. (If the pasta becomes too dry before it is tender, simply add a small amount of water and continue to simmer.)
- Divide the cream cheese into tablespoon sized pieces, then add them to the pot. Stir the pasta until the cheese melts in and creates a smooth sauce (it will look lumpy at first, just keep stirring). Serve hot.
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Notes
Nutrition
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Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make One Pot Red Pepper Pasta – Step by Step Photos
Begin by slicing one Vidalia onion and mincing four cloves of garlic. Remove the peppers from a 12oz. jar of roasted red peppers, and slice them into thin strips.
Using both fire roasted red peppers AND fire roasted diced tomatoes gives the pasta a slightly smoky/sweet flavor.
Now it’s time to add everything to the pot. For the pictures, I added everything at one time, but it will help if you add everything in two steps. First add 5 cups of broth, the sliced onion, minced garlic, sliced red peppers, diced tomatoes (with the juices from the can), 1/2 Tbsp dried basil, 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (optional), and some freshly cracked black pepper. Stir all those ingredients together, then break the pasta in half and submerge it under the liquid. Breaking the past in half helps it incorporate into the other ingredients better and makes it fit better in the pot (and under the liquid).
Place a lid on the pot and put it over high heat. Once it reaches a boil, stir the pot to loosen anything that has stuck to the bottom. Return the lid quickly, turn the heat down to medium-low, and let the pot simmer for 10-12 minutes. Stir the pot every couple of minutes or so to make sure nothing sticks, but always replace the lid quickly so that it keeps simmering and you don’t loose too much of the moisture. After 10-12 minutes, the pasta should be tender, but still slightly firm (al dente). Remove it from the heat.
If you want creamy pasta, add 4 oz. of cream cheese in dollops to the pot. I added half of the 8oz. package, but I bet it would still be pretty creamy if you cut that amount in half. It’s pretty flexible.
Stir the pot until the cream cheese is fully melted in. It may look a little chunky at first, but keep stirring and it will eventually become smooth and creamy.
Then eat this delicious and creamy bowl of One Pot Roasted Red Pepper Pasta. :)
Just made this dish – lovely! Many thanks and warm regards from Scotland!
Thanks so much for your fast response! One more question…I see quite a few comments saying 5 cups of liquid was too much and their pasta ended up soupy. However, there was one comment that says it was because they accidently used a standard 8 oz pack of pasta instead of a pound. It seems unlikely that ALL the people commenting about the liquid are making the same mistake, but I guess it’s possible? Do you have any thoughts on that? Should I still use 5 cups as long as I have a pound of pasta? Thanks!! :)
Honestly, this is an older recipe and I’d like to test it out again to give you a definite answer. Enough people are saying 4 cups is enough liquid for me to believe that would be a good option. You could always keep an eye on it and add more liquid if it looks like the liquid is reducing too much. I also don’t know if these people are possibly using spaghetti instead of fettuccini which would make a big difference in how much liquid is absorbed. You could definitely give it a try!
Would we be able to make this in a 4 qt pot? I saw in comments you used a 5 qt, but I don’t have that size :/
I would say if you have bigger than a 5qt that would be great, but I don’t think I’d go smaller. You’re welcome to try it, but since everything is cooking in one pot, I fear there wouldn’t be enough room for everything to cook properly and the pasta might come out gummy or stick together.
I really like this recipe but if you have the time you will need to do some improvising to make it great (which Beth kind of alludes to anyway in her “Tips”):
– I sautéed the onions and garlic in the pan for about 5 minutes before adding everything else. This softens the onions and brings out the flavor of the garlic
– Like everyone else is saying, use 4 cups of broth instead of five unless you want a very runny sauce
– I cooked everything for 12 minutes covered and then 2-3 more minutes uncovered to let the sauce thicken up a little. Adding the cream cheese also helps thicken it up
– When serving I added Parmesan on top which I thought made it even better
– The recipe is good as is but I think adding spicy Italian sausage would elevate it
The problem with these “one-pot recipes” is that they are meant for people who are in a hurry and are ok with their food not coming out perfect as long as it’s tasty, quick, and doesn’t require a lot of clean up. But that means the pasta may not be cooked just right, the sauce may be too runny, etc. There’s a reason why most traditional pasta recipes call for using more than one pot! If you want to have everything be cooked perfectly you might need to take extra steps or use more than one pot/pan.
My picky 3 yr old loves this, and I do too! I substituted DIY vegan buttercream instead of cream cheese, and it worked great. I also added a bit of flower to help the sauce stick to the noodles, because I like it on the thicker side. This recipe is a keeper!
My family doesn’t like cream cheese. What could I use in this in place of that please?
Hi, Danie. As the recipe card says, the cream cheese is optional. Feel free to just leave it out.
How do you freeze pasta meals?
If just freezing the pasta, cook until al dente, cool, add a touch of oil, and then freeze on a sheet pan in a single layer. When frozen solid, portion, and place in a freezer-safe container. If freezing with the sauce, cool, portion in individual portions, and add to a freezer-safe container. If it’s a bag, squeeze out as much air as possible. If it’s a container, top the pasta’s surface with plastic or freezer-safe paper to keep it from being exposed to air. XOXO -Monti
should be 4 cups, and dial back the red peppers by 1/3. Otherwise quick and easy. Not sure what that onion is, dont have it in my store
This is great, but definitely should not be 5 cups in my opinion. I had way too much liquid left over at the end. Should probably be 4, and if you need to add more liquid, then you add additional vegetable broth.
By far one of my FAVORITE dishes! Especially the next day. My question now is… if I am trying to be semi-healthy and cut out the cream cheese, any suggestions on what I can use to replace it?
Honestly, I thought this pasta was great even before adding the cream cheese, so I’d probably just leave it out and enjoy it as is! Or just stick to a little Parm sprinkled over top!
My Aldi sells something called Neufchâtel cheese with their cream cheese. It’s apparently a lower-fat version of cream cheese, made with milk instead of cream. I don’t know why you don’t want to use cream cheese, but if the fat content bothers you, I tried Neufchâtel cheese in this and it tasted exactly the same!
As it was cooking, I could see that I was going to have the same trouble others had had… there was too much liquid. When I read over the recipe, I realized my mistake. The recipe calls for a pound of pasta and my brain had translated that to “a box” of pasta. I believe most pasta used to come in 16 oz. packages, but mine was only 12 ounces. Luckily, I did have some more fettuccine in the cupboard, so measured out an additional 4 ounces and added it to the pot just at the cooking time was up. I let the whole thing cook for another ten minutes and it came out fine.
Fine meal when fresh, awful when reheated. The cream cheese gums up and it doesn’t taste the same. So if you’re not feeding a family, half or even quarter the recipe.
I LOVE this recipe, it’s in my regular dinner rotation now. I use just 4 cups of vegetable broth (which equals one carton), add a bit of salt, and only use about half the jar of peppers. Those are the only tweaks I’ve made and it is one of my favorite pasta dishes now. Thanks for the recipe!
Can I sub Chicken Broth for Vegetable Broth without losing flavor
Yes, chicken broth will also work well here.
any suggestions on what I could use in place of cream cheese?
A little heavy cream will also give a nice creamy effect, you just won’t have that tangy flavor. But this dish is also really good even without the cream cheese. :)
Overall really liked it! Flavor-wise I’d say it was a little acidic for my taste. Any suggestions?
Just add some fat: butter, or cream to counteract the acid! :)
Super delicious and quick family meal! I added a few handfuls of spinach to mine before serving for some extra veggies. It was a hit with the family!
Any tips on what to add to a regular can of diced tomatoes to sub fire roasted? Smoked paprika? Thanks.
Yep, I’d go with a little smoked paprika. :) Maybe ½ tsp.
That’s what I did and it was great! I used one large fresh bell pepper and roasted it in the toaster oven using the “How To Roast Peppers” BB guide. Based on other comments, I reduced the broth to 4 cups and simmered with the lid off most of the time and that seemed to work well.
Yum!
I had bell peppers and zucchini on hand, so I cut the peppers into strips, zucchini into 1/4 half moons, and roasted them in the oven with some sunflower oil at 500° until the peppers started to blacken.
I used a yellow onion, so I sliced it paper thin and then sauteed it for about 1 minute with the garlic before adding the other ingredients. My cooked veggies were a little warmer than room temp by that point and they came out with a great texture so don’t be afraid to roast whatever veggies you want and add to the pan!
I agree with other reviews- a little too much liquid. I would try 4.5c next time. I just left the lid off for half the cooking and used a little extra cream cheese.
I used garden veggie cream cheese because I had it on hand and the flavor was great, but I doubt it made much of a difference; the base recipe is great!
Better as leftovers! Thickens up great.
I saute my onion and garlic before I add everything else, then at the end I drizzle a little bit of Italian salad dressing over it to give it a little extra zing! It’s delicious and my family love it.
Tried this with chickpea pasta to increase protein. It did not turn out. Stick to regular pasta.
I used 16 ounces of red peppers because that was the size of the jar I had and I don’t regret it, the extra little bit of pepper was nice. Ended up with regular Rotel rather than fire roasted, and linguine rather than fettuccine because we’re quarantined and it’s what we had. But it was still soooooo good. My 6 year old loved it!
Had the same experience as some of y’all where it was just way too watery. I realized this towards the last few minutes of cooking it and just dumped out a good bit of the liquid in the pot. After that, I gotta say, perhaps the YUMMIEST pasta I’ve ever had! I can’t wait to make this again (with a little less broth)!
Tastes great, but mine was so liquid-y! It was like roasted red pepper pasta soup? Next time I won’t use as much broth, I suppose!
My modifications: Used half a sweet onion, added a ton of salt (I am a fiend), chicken broth instead of vegetable, and I used spaghetti instead of fettuccine. I started with about 4 cups of liquid due to my smaller noodle and cooked with the lid off for about 10 minutes.
This pasta is smoky sweet goodness and deceptively easy! It was my first time making one pot pasta and I thought it was a breeze. There is nothing to it besides chopping an onion and putting everything in one pot. I haven’t made a recipe so quick in a long time. I highly recommend cooking with the lid off instead of draining liquid at the end so you don’t lose flavor. The cream cheese totally changes the game, I really didn’t think this pasta was anything special before adding it. This would be outstanding with chicken, but it’s a vegetarian powerhouse of a meal. The sauce is glossy and creamy, almost like a carbonara, but has the delicious tang of cream cheese. I took it off the heat while there was still some liquid pooling in the bottom to make sure there was enough sauce for reheating, which is what I’ll be doing with most of it. This is an awesome pantry staple meal I highly recommend.
This is the first recipe I’ve made from this site that didn’t work out. First of all, we ate it. It was a delicious dish. However, 5 cups of liquid was way too much. I drained almost 2 cups of liquid out of my pot before serving. I only added the cream cheese to my bowl, which helped soak up some of the liquid. Maybe that’s the key? I would make this again but adjusting the liquid to use much, much less.
I love one pot meals and this is a really good one! I like to make mine with a smaller noodle like rotini or ziti.
Look, I’m sorry, Beth. I’ve been meaning to write this review for over a year. THIS RECIPE IS AMAZING. SO easy, so much flavor ( even w/out cream cheese) and SO filling. I am a big fan of roasted red peppers and this is my BF and my favorite dish. We add chicken to it and its always perfect. I actually love all your content and trying to dive into the whole meal prep movement, so obvi I will start at your blog. Thanks again!!!
This recipe was delicious – I couldn’t find red peppers at my grocery store so I substituted with sundried tomatoes with Italian seasoning. So good!
This was delicious. I have a problem following recipes exactly. Even with my variations my family and i loved it. I used a small amount of sundried tomatoes and added leftover spinach. Soooooooooo gooooooood!
Oh delicious!
This was so tasty. The only substitute was to use chicken broth. There was a lot of liquid left when the noodles were done and it was soupy, not saucy. I was worried that it would get mushy so I ended up draining it and catching the really delicious liquid and pouring it over the seconds. It was a bit clunky but even so this recipe was great and I will make it again.
Oh interesting! Sorry about that but I’m glad to hear that it still turned out for you.
Great recipe! I followed everything listed, but I used Better than Bouillon instead of the broth. I put in 5 cups of water and 5 tsp of BtB (which their online calculator recommended) but I found that it produced a bit too much extra liquid. I drained out about a cup of liquid after boiling but before adding the cream cheese and it came out fine. I’ll probably go with 3 cups of broth in the future. Thanks for the great recipe and meal plan!
Good to know David. Thank you for sharing!
Understated vegetarian homestyle comfort food. After my first bite, I was going to give it four stars (not as much initial “wow” factor as some of the other recipes I’ve tried), but when I couldn’t stop eating long enough to rate it I realized that was underselling the sweet simplicity of this dish! I found there to be a bit too much liquid broth in this recipe (but I may have misjudged the amount of pasta I used) so next time I will cook with the lid off and just add more liquid if needed. Definitely a dish worth a repeat!
WOW! Thank you Catherine!
My favorite recipe I have off here by far! I used what I had on hand, so I subbed chicken broth and fresh red peppers (I broiled them whole and it worked perfectly!) I also added sliced italian sausage and it was AMAZING. The last bowl of leftovers got fought over!
Could some good humans translate the “1 12 oz. jar roasted red peppers and
1 15 oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes” to ml or gram? I can not figure out these numbers – is it 1,12 or 1 and 1/2 or anything else. They look so odd to me. I would be very grateful :)
It’s one jar that is 12 ounces in volume. Unfortunately I don’t know what the equivalent is in grams.
Thank you, Beth! I had found out that it was something around 340 grams and made the recipe with half of the components for 2 people. I also replaced roasted tomatoes with the diced in herbs and added 1/2 tbsp smoked pepper in powder instead to increase the grill taste. It was really great! :)
Made this recipe tonight. Deelish!! Used egg noodles (had way too many in my pantry) and used chicken tenderloins that I had slow cooked and shredded for several meals this week. I also used chicken broth from slow cooker instead of vegetable stock. Unfortunately I had WAY too many egg noodles in there and just cooked it longer. I also doubled the spices (due to all the extra noodles) and added fresh basil on top.
I have just recently found this site and look forward to trying more recipes. I’ve already made the Southwest Chicken for the second time this week and loved it as well. Thanks for lessening the stress and providing great recipes!
Yum…..making this for the second time. Totally addicted! Followed recipe to the “T”; came out perfect and delicious! Thanks for sharing.
Made this for dinner tonight, and it was a big hit, even with the kids! So easy and so fast! Thank you so much for the recipe :D
I have made this for my family several times. It is a big hit! Thank you so much for a new family favorite! :)
Hello! I am hoping to make this tonight, and am wondering what veggies, if any, would go well in this. Broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, snap peas, etc. I am looking forward to making it!
I vote for spinach or broccoli. :)
So I’m a little paranoid about cooking with any tomatoes or tomato containing foods because cooked tomato products teto give me terrible heartburn. So, I made this with chicken stock (low sodium) and added no tomatoes. Also, I used 4 cups stock instead of 5 (based on several other reviews). It wasn’t quite enough liquid, but I also added 2 chopped and sauteed chicken breasts, so maybe that’s why. I added a little liquid and cooked the pasta a little longer, like the directions said, and it cooked fine. I also roasted my own red peppers. I used a lower fat cream cheese. Overall it was a little bland. I’m not adding a rating because it’s not fair to rate it when I didn’t follow directions exactly. Oh, and some pasta stuck to the bottom of my pot because apparently I did not stir good enough, so follow the directions and stir very well!!!
This looks like a great pantry recipe I’m going to try to make it vegan
There was too much liquid left over when I made this recipe, and I had to drain some off. But otherwise, it was delicious and a huge hit. I wouldn’t recommend making this without cream cheese, as I find that’s what makes this recipe “creamy” and tasty.
Have you ever tried this with farro? I make a similar one pot meal with tomatoes, onion, garlic, etc – Smitten Kitchen, I believe – and the farro cooks perfectly every time. Makes it a bit more healthy, too. I am trying this (halved) tomorrow night as written (except using herbed goat cheese instead of the cream cheese, because I already have it!) Depending on how much I like it, I will probably try it with farro the next time!
Very interesting! I’m going to have to try that! Thanks for sharing! :)
How would I go about using fresh basil instead of dried in this?
You can slice it into thin strips and add it in the beginning with the rest of the ingredients, and then perhaps sprinkle a little more on top after cooking, since basil tastes very different when fresh vs. cooked. You’d get the best of both worlds that way. :)
Hi what size pot is this? Any recommendations on a good pot? Thanks!
That is a 5 qt. pot. :) You can find my favorite pots and pans in my Amazon Shop (I have the set’s listed, but you can buy individual pieces as well).
I had almost everything for this in my pantry and quickly whipped it up for dinner. this is the best and easiest pasta recipe i’ve ever done!! barely any work and tastes like nothing else. amazing! ***** 5 stars, 10/10
Made this with 4 oz of goat cheese instead of cream cheese – delish!
I have made this several times and even my five year old granddaughter made it (supervised, of course). We love it. Our family is decadent. We used the whole 8 oz brick of cream cheese. I shook about a pound of sliced mushrooms in a bag with some flour and then pan fried them in butter (or olive oil, can’t remember which) until they were pretty crunchy. They made a nice topping both flavor wise and texture-wise. Looked nice too.
I loved it! I forgot to put in the fire roasted diced tomatoes and it was still delicious! So glad I found your site, I’ve made two things already and both were fantastic!
If I wanted to do this in a crockpot, would I need to change any steps?
I don’t recommend using a crock pot for this recipe because the pasta will likely turn to mush.
what if I waited to the end to put the pasta in? Would the flavors still combine well?
I’m not sure that would be any different than just adding it in the beginning. You’ll still need to simmer it until the pasta is cooked, so you’d just be adding an extra simmer in the beginning which wouldn’t really do anything. 🤔
I’ve made this twice and both times it’s retained so much moisture by the time the noodles are cooked it’s more of a soup :( what do I do here?
I would try either reducing the liquid a little or try simmering without the lid for the past few minutes. Sometimes you have to tweak recipes a little to accommodate differences in ingredient brands, differences in cookware, or even your range top.
If I wanted to roast the red peppers myself how many should I use?
Probably about 3, depending on the size of your peppers. It’s very forgiving, though. :)
What kind of meat would go best in this pasta? Spicy sausage? Or would that be too much spice?
I think Italian sausage would go nicely.
This was such a treat! One pot a delicious! Thank you. I am officially addicted to your recipes!
This was delicious. The first time I made it exactly as the recipe states, and we loved it. I made it again tonight, but added shrimp and asparagus. I also used bow tie pasta instead and it was still amazing. Thanks for such a great meal!
We ate this for a Good Friday meal and the whole family loved it. I doubled the recipe. It made a ton.
First time commenting but I love your site! I was wondering if you could heavy cream or something in substitution of the cream cheese?
Sure, you could stir in a splash of heavy cream. :) It won’t be tangy like the cream cheese, but I’m sure it would be awesome! Just make sure not to add too much so it doesn’t thin out the sauce too much.
This was so good and easy! We loved it and will put it on our menu rotation. Thank you for your great recipes!
Hi Beth,
My girlfriend and I love this dish and have made it many times in the past. However, we recently learned she has an intolerance to tomatoes. We were wondering if there is anything we can substitute for the tomatoes and still get the same delicious results. Would it change the flavor drastically if we just omitted the tomatoes, or would a substitute ingredient be a better option?
Thanks!
P.S. – We practically live off of your recipes. :-)
Hmmmm, you might be able to just double the roasted red peppers. I made a roasted red pepper sauce recently that has no tomatoes and it was great!
Butter Nut Squash or yellow tomatoes is a lovely sub for those who can’t take red tomatoes
This was SO GOOD! I was surprised because of how simple it was but it turned out amazing.
I was asked to bring a pasta dish for a Sunday football gathering and this was the winner. It is being revisited for Super Bowl Sunday by request from the boys! The only thing I do different is use San Marzano tomatoes. It’s a thing with me, I love the flavor of these tomatoes so I use them whenever canned tomatoes are called for. Chopped, squeezed, pureed whatever the closest thing to the recipe calls for. Anyway, like I said the “he men” asked for this dish, yes the ladies love it too especially when they heard one pot meal. Rest assured this will be shared with many friends over and over again
Thank you for this recipe. I made this on one of those nights when the pantry and fridge were somewhat limited. I found it to be a flexible and forgiving recipe. I didn’t have canned or fresh tomatoes so I substituted tomato paste. To make up for the lack of tomatoes, I used additional roasted peppers, frozen and from jars. I had more than one pound of pasta, and I needed more than 5 cups of liquid: I used 4 cups of veg broth, and 2-3 cups of water. It made a large quantity with enough for another meal. It was amazing, my family loved it, and the hot red pepper added just the right amount of heat. I think the cream cheese was the special touch to make it work.
WoWwwww!!!…my dish came out looking exactly like the pictures here. The taste was mild and creamy but satisfying. My husband loved it and I told him next time, I would use the colossal shrimp in his, because I don’t eat meat/flesh.
Hi Beth! I want to make this for my grandma. She loves pasta but its hard for her to eat long noodles, she’s survived a stroke. Do you think this would turn out with penne or another chunkier type of pasta? Would you have to adjust the cooking time? Thanks!
It may be a little tricky because in addition to adjusting the cooking time you may need to adjust the liquid amount. You can also try breaking the pasta into shorter pieces before adding them. :)
This is a great recipe.
I roasted the peppers myself as it was cheaper and didnt take much effort (40 minutes in the oven at 500 or around there, flip once.)
The creamy sauce offsets the the unique roasted vegetables nicely.
It reheats alright, but the creamy sauce isnt as appetizing a second time around. I might go without the cream cheese if I plan on having leftovers (which I always do).
I absolutely LOVE this dish, & the reheated leftovers are even better!
Personally speaking, if you want to add a little something extra, I add cut up chicken breast that’s been pan seared with garlic & crushed red pepper. This has become one of our household favorites & one that’s requested at pot lucks.
I made this tonight, and it was terrific. Didn’t have basil, so I substituted oregano. Couldn’t find roasted red peppers. Still turned fine.
Made this tonight, super yummy. I like how you can adjust the spiciness of the dish-put in very little red pepper for the kiddos but then added extra to the adults’ bowls. love your website keep up the awesomeness.
I make so many of your recipes and my whole family loves them! Some of our favorites are your poor man’s burrito bowls, chicken taco bowls, oven fajitas and your penne with creamy tomato spinach sauce.
I will be trying this recipe this week. I’m sure it will be delicious as always! 😊
Oh yes. Quite simple, but elegant. Tres bon! And I just happen to have on hand all the essentials.
very delicious recipe my whole family loved it. we have recently stopped eating meat and this is a great dish even meat eaters will love. I added my own special twist to add some extra flavor and some kick but not too much. I add a tablespoon or two of Cajun seasoning and about three to five tablespoon of crystal hot sauce depending on how spicy you like it and also about a handful of chopped green onions for extra flavor and color and all of it really brought this whole recipe together now its my favorite to make! very easy and a great dish to share. thank you!
Fantastic. 4 cups of broth was plenty!! I added oregano. Loved it
Great one-pot recipe!! I only had 1/2 jar of roasted red peppers, and I prefer fresh veges anyway, so I used 2 large fresh red peppers thinly sliced in place of the jar. I sauteed them in olive oil with the onion and garlic before adding the rest of the ingredients. Then proceeded with recipe as is (except I was doing 1/2 recipe). Delicious!! Kids loved it too. In fact, I think I will go heat up some of the leftover for today’s lunch!! Thanks.
I wish I discovered one-pot pasta dishes years ago. I can’t wait to make this tomorrow – instead of the cream cheese, I’ll use some heavy cream in the fridge that has to get used. I’m curious why some people seem so concerned about adding protein – there is protein in the pasta and veggies, and if you add cream or cheese, that’s protein, too. Anyway, just curious.
I love that you experimented on whether it freezes well or not. I’m usually cooking for one person (myself or cooking for my boyfriend to eat during the week) so it’s always nice to know if I can freeze it and stretch it.
I just made this for the first time, and WOW! This is definitely a keeper! I altered it a bit to fit what I had in my kitchen, but the core concept was there. I roasted my own peppers since they were on mega sale for .48/each. I also used a plain sweet onion. I thought I had basil, but no dice, so I used some Oregano. Plus I doubled the red pepper since I like a little bit more kick. Finally in addition to the cream cheese (I didn’t quite have 4oz), I added about a tablespoon of heavy cream. I really loved the end result and it wasn’t too heavy like an Alfredo, but still creamy. Thank you for the recipe!
YUM! One of your best recipes :)
I’ve made this a couple of times now, and it’s a family favorite. After the first time, I’ve made a few changes. First, if you get the “deli sliced” roasted red bell peppers, you can use only half a jar. Still a ton of peppers, half the cost. Second, I saute the onion before adding in the rest of the ingredients. Only takes a couple of minutes and adds a lot of flavor.
I am planning on making this. I’ve never even heard of Vidalia onion and they are definitely not in my grocery store. Would a generic “sweet onion” work? Have people tried this with yellow onions? It sounds like a forgiving recipe, but I’d like to give it a chance to wow me the first time, so I’d appreciate people’s thoughts.
I’d definitely go for the sweet onion, rather than a regular yellow onion. A yellow onion will work, but the sweet onions go best with the flavors in this dish. :)
Thanks! Just made this with a sweet onion. I started with 4 cups broth (the size of my package, turned out to be perfect for my brand of pasta), replaced the black pepper with white pepper (don’t really like black pepper), and left out the red pepper flakes. I did add in the cream cheese. Since a friend got me some bourbon smoked paprika for the holidays I added in a pinch of that.
My girlfriend and I both tried it. For me it was just about perfect. Smokey, sweet, creamy, and just a little sour. For her, she really liked it, but found it to be just a little bland (I am much more sensitive than she is, so she tends to like stronger flavors). She really enjoyed adding siracha to it (she would definitely cook it with lots of pepper flakes if it was just her.
Next time we are going to enhance the flavor for her by going up to a medium onion, a 16oz jar of bell peppers, and taking the garlic up to 6 cloves.
Thank you for this recipe!
I am also seriously considering trying this with sausage some time!
The husband and I are trying to find ways to increase our non-meat protein. Do you think that some beans would make a nice addition to this dish? And if so what kind would you recommend?
If it wouldn’t be a good idea to add them then no bug deal. I’ve made this 3 or 4 times already and its delicious!
Thanks
Thanks!
Maybe white beans or garbanzo beans, but anything else might be kind of strange, I think. :)
I happened to add two cans of kidney beans to this recipe for protein and my husband and I both really enjoyed it.
I really liked this, and I actually found that it reheated quite well – I’ve been eating leftover for lunch all week! If you want the sauce to reheat smoother, you can add a tablespoon or two of milk before reheating, but I haven’t found it really necessary.
I added chopped cooked chicken, thought it was a good combination.
Just made this for dinner and it was excellent! I only used 4 cups of chicken broth (made from boullion cubes) and it was the perfect amount of liquid, even after the cream cheese was added. I also threw in some leftover sliced Italian sausage I had in the fridge, as well as extra red pepper flakes. This pasta was spicy and delicious and I will definitely be making it regularly! Thanks for a great recipe!
I made this tonight, and it is fantastic! The addition of cream cheese really makes it.
I’ve made three of your recipes and liked them all (which is something I can’t say about all the food blogs I follow!) great job!
Made this last night – added some extras that I wanted to use up in my mission to clear out my fridge/pantry in January and reduce food waste, as well as add extra protein
Added: mushrooms, italian sausage (pre-cooked and frozen), can of kidney beans
Subs: chicken broth (instead of veggie broth), italian seasoning mix (instead of basil)
This made about 4 servings of leftovers for my husband and I after we ate, and I am thrilled because this is probably the best thing I have made in the past three months.
I’m really struggling to find these roasted piquillo peppers. Walmart “carries” them, but has not restocked in months, and other brands seem to have been discontinued. I’m not really interested in paying $40 to get these peppers. Do you know of any other brands or ways of obtaining them that I might be overlooking?
If you can find any roasted red peppers, they don’t have to be piquillo, they will work just fine. :)
Thank you very much. I’ll probably try this sometime in the next week. ^^ Can’t wait.
Made this with chicken stock but other than that it was exactly as written and it was an instant hit with everyone in the family! In my top 10 recipes for sure…thanks!
Hi, Beth, This looks great!
Can I double it? What size pot? How can I add chicken thighs? Can I reheat it in a crock pot?
I want to serve this at a homeless shelter where the people need protein and appreciate spice/flavor
All things must change, but I’m not fond of your new website; I liked the organization of the other better. Just saying.
Thanks for your help. You, your insights and your recipes are the best! !! I love getting your posts every day!
m
Yes, you should be able to double it, although I don’t think reheating it in a crock pot would work well because the pasta will get very mushy. This one is definitely best right after it’s cooked. You could probably sauté the chicken thighs in the bottom of the pot before you add any other ingredients and just make sure they’re cooked through before you add everything else. :)
This was just alright for us. Kids added a bunch of Parmesan cheese and the hubby and I added more red pepper flakes.
This is my first Budget Bytes recipe, and I have to say I’m impressed! As a college student cooking for myself, I think this dish hits nearly every point on my checklist: it’s cheap, extremely easy to make, good tasting, and freezes well.
Like other commenters, I had to make some modifications though. Four cups of broth ended up being plenty for this dish. I also felt the recipe didn’t really make a complete meal, so I added sliced grilled chicken at the beginning and steamed some broccoli florets separately to mix in at the end (or when I reheat it). Overall though, great recipe. I’ll definitely be making this again soon!
Made it tonight with gemelli, one word : AMAZING.
I made this tonight and may I say it was awesome. I’m such a fan of yours Beth and this recipe was delicious. I’m not a pasta person but this was silky smooth and delicious. I made a half recipe and added some chicken. My husband really enjoyed as well. I just want to thank you for expanding my inner chef soul! Thanks to you!
Hello,
I was just wondering if this could be cooked up in a slow cooker and if so would four hours on high work? I’m not much of a cook, but I love this site and use it almost exclusively for our meals.
Either way, thanks for the great site and excellent recipes.
This is definitely one of those recipes that you don’t want to use the slow cooker for. That slow cooking method usually turns pasta to mush, so you want to cook it quickly on the stove top. :)
Hi Beth! First, I just wanted to say that my fiance and I really love your dishes, they’re perfect for two students on a budget. Second, I thought others would like to know that when my fiance omitted the pasta all together, let everything cook at a medium boil for an hour and a half, and then threw it all in a food processor, this recipe made a great sauce that would go perfectly with any pasta dish! Now this dish can be even more versatile!
Amazing! That was so smart of him. :D Now I want to try it!
I wanted to love this recipe. Unfortunately, I am gluten free and this did not work with corn pasta. Perhaps with a different blend of noodle it wouldn’t have gotten so gummy and bland. More spices were definitely required (Italian herbs, smoked paprika, extra red pepper).
Corn pasta is always mushy. Try a brown rice or brown rice/quinoa blend. I’ve done one pot pastas successfully with those, but generally prefer to use penne or other small stuff rather than spaghetti or linguine so it’s easier to incorporate.
I wonder why you didn’t call this a “wonderpot?” I enjoyed the Italian and Spinach & Artichoke wonderpots and it seems like this is the same kind of recipe. It’s a great concept and I can’t wait to try this one!
I guess I just forgot to call it that. :)
This looks good !! When would you add cooked chicken ?
I would add it in the beginning with everything else.
I made this with whole wheat fettuccine and used the full 5 cups of broth (used chicken broth because that’s what I had) and half the red pepper. It was pretty tasty and definitely hit the creamy pasta craving.
Made this last night and it was super yummy. I only used four cups of vegetable broth and it turned out fabulous. I will definitely be making again and possibly adding chicken as others have suggested,
I made this with 4 cups of broth and ricotta, topped with a little parmesan and it was perfect. This is my new favorite after your bacon spinach pasta!
Mad this tonight – good flavor, super easy and quick! I would also probably use less broth next time, it was still a little “soupy” when the pasta was done.
Would you need to adjust the liquid for whole wheat pasta?
Probably a little bit more liquid, but I haven’t tested it so I can’t say for sure.
I made this with whole wheat pasta and 4 cups of broth, since that’s all I had, and it was fine! There was even a little broth in the pot still after everything was cooked.
Made this recipe the other night, makes a large amount of food (5 normal people servings, 3-4 fat people servings) and tasted great even though I thought I had all the spices but didn’t (woops) and used waaay too much pepper (Also woops) – I also added a bay leaf and a little Cayenne to try and hide the pepper and it had a huge kick.
What made this dish a 3/5 to a 5/5 for me was topping it with some Mild Cheddar I had laying around. Super tasty. Next time I’ll make sure I have the right spices and add the cream cheese as well.
I just made this one pot wonder! Yummy! This is definitely going in the week day rotation. Since my husband doesn’t eat meat, next time I’ll cook some grilled chicken breast for us meat-eaters to add in. But it’s awesome as is.
I made this with quinoa instead of pasta and it was great!
For the record, this worked perfectly with a box of Barilla gluten free spaghetti. The texture was good at 12 minutes, and using water instead of broth worked too. This is a keeper.
Amazing recipe! It turned out wonderful! Great light summer meal.
Loved this dish! The fire roasted peppers made it. The only issue I had was that there was WAY too much liquid for the pasta (even a whole pound) to soak up. I had to leave the lid off and then drain it a bit, but I contribute that maybe to the brand of pasta or whatever. I’ll just try 4 cups of broth when I make it again.
Also, this would be even more killer with some blackened chicken served over top!
Hi! A friend recommended me to your site, and I’ve been browsing for a long time. I only just now worked up the courage to try something new, and I fixed this recipe last night for dinner. It was amazing! A little too spicy for us, but with a little more cream it would probably be fine. I will be doing it again!
I veganized this by using Daiya cream cheese and it was really great! Lots of your vegetarian recipes are easily veganized, which I love :-) I will definitely be making it again, only 4 cups veg broth next time though ;-)
A tip from the OOPS School of Cooking, of which I am a charter member — if you discover at the last minute that your cream cheese has been in the fridge Entirely Too Long, you can instead toss a handful of shredded cheddar on your serving, and it will thicken things and taste lovely.
Hahaha, love it. ;)
I made this last week and my guests LOVED it. I’ll be adding it to my permanent rotation.
I think I might have totally destroyed this recipe… My noodles all stuck together so half ended up being WAY overcooked and the other half were al dente. Then I missed the step where you cut the red pepper into long slices. Mine came like that but I chopped them into bits. Same with the onion. To top it all off, my pot wasn’t big enough. BUT all that said, it was pretty good. I think I liked it better after a day in the fridge, the sauce thickened up much better. I think next time I will add more veggies like mushroom and broccoli.
I have all of these ingredients on hand as we speak and will be making this shortly. It looks delicious! Thanks for sharing!
This sounds lovely. Going to give this a go. thanks for sharing this recipe.
Simon
Fast, easy and amazingly tasty with little cleanup! I tossed in some prosciutto and fresh basil from my garden at the end. I also used reduced sodium chicken broth. Will make again!
I made a heavily adulterated version of this that was completely delicious: used straight diced tomatoes and fresh red peppers instead of roasted, because that was what I had on hand, and fried up some sausage with the veggies. Also subbed chicken broth for veggie because why not?
I love these 1 pot recipes – I do find though that almost all of them come out “wet” for me, so I only used 4 cups of broth instead of 5 and it was still a little wet, but definitely within the realm of acceptable.
Delicious!
The cream cheese really helps get rid of the wetness.
I just made this and as tasty as it is, I also had the same issue with the excess liquid. I actually thought I didn’t have enough liquid because my broth box was smaller than 5 oz but I ended up having to take some of the liquid out at the end because it was very soupy. I wonder if I did something wrong? Great idea with the veg. broth and cream cheese–tastes so yummy!
If there is a lot of liquid left over after the pasta is already tender, you can let it simmer for just a moment with the lid off. That usually allows most of the excess to evaporate away. Also, differences in pasta shapes can make a difference in how much is absorbed, so maybe your pasta was a little different somehow?
I really liked the sauce, but by the next day it got a bit dried out, and I may have overcooked the pasta waiting for the excess liquid to evaporate (took the lid off for the last few minutes because it was so watery). Do you think it would work well just making the sauce on its own (with cream cheese, of course), blending/mashing it up a bit, and freezing it in one serving portions to thaw out for freshly cooked pasta?
I’m not sure how well it would freeze because of the cream cheese, but you can definitely make the sauce separately. You will need to use less broth, though, since the pasta won’t be soaking up the extra liquid.
I made this recipe last night for my husband and myself, and we both loved it! I didn’t add the cream cheese because he doesn’t like it, and I added chicken that I cut up and cooked separately. I think I may try adding mushrooms the next time I fix this. It has such deep flavors for such few ingredients!
Very tasty. I used a regular onion though since my store didn’t have any vidalia onions, and also regular diced tomatoes since my store (Ralphs) didn’t have any fire roasted ones. I also used chicken broth since I had a bunch stored in my freezer. With all these substitutions, it still tasted pretty good. I also added a lot of salt. And lot of cream cheese!
Looks great! I think when I make this I’d be tempted to add shrimp. Should raw shrimp be incorporated into the one pot method here or cooked separately and added after?
I would cook it separately and then add it at the end because shrimp cooks so quickly and it’s way too easy to accidentally overcook it.
Made this tonight, with the cream cheese–it was amazing, and my whole family actually ate it. Okay, my 2yo picked out the peppers and tomatoes, but he doesn’t eat anything that even remotely resembles a vegetable–he loved pasta though! My husband and 3.5yo practically licked their bowls!
Next time I’m going to add some shrimp–I think it would go really well together.
I really need to get on this one-pot-pasta bandwagon, I don’t know why I’m so against it. This looks delicious!
Would this work with chicken broth instead? I have the chicken base, but not vegetable, and I’d rather not buy the jar of vegetable base if I don’t have to.
Yes, absolutely. :)
Is it possible to roast your own red peppers rather than buying them at the store?
Yep, if you can get fresh red peppers at a good price I’d definitely suggest it. There are a lot of ways to roast red peppers, but here is a tutorial for one method.
This just looks DIVINE, I’m definitely going to try it! This ‘one pot’ meal idea sounds really encouraging to me, as I live in a small apartment without the dishwasher. The perspective of washing the stack of dirty dishes after making a meal for one person is just too daunting.
You can also check out my latest recipe for a veggie pasta – it’s super easy and budget friendly, too :)
http://www.stylestandpoint.com/summer-veggie-pasta-recipe
Yum, that looks really good!
Just an FYI, many $1 stores, such as Dollar Tree, often carry jarred roasted red peppers. You may be able to find the fire roasted tomatoes there too, along with an 8 oz package of cream cheese if they have a refrigerated section.
Amazing, thanks for the tip!!
I’ve heard that substituting gluten free pasta for a one pot meal makes the pasta gummy and not very palatable. Anybody tried subbing? And if so, what type of pasta – linguini? fettuccine? This recipe sounds so good, but don’t want to make it if the subbing for GL Pasta doesn’t work.
I’ve substituted Tinkyada’s rice pastas as a GF fill in on several occasions with one pot meals, and I’ve had no problems at all. Tinkyada doesn’t dissolve if you cook it ten seconds too long either. ;)
Loved, the recipe, it was a hit with the family. I too couldn’t find a jar of peppers in time, so I used a fresh red bell pepper and sliced it up
Do you think it would be possible to substitute the cream cheese for cottage cheese or ricotta? I have a weird aversion to cream cheese and want to make this creamy without that one particular ingredient!
Fingers crossed I can find peppers like this here in Australia- I really want to make this recipe!
I think a better option would be a splash of regular cream (or half and half), or maybe a dollop of sour cream. I’m not sure how cottage cheese or ricotta would melt into the mix.
I would think you could sub in goat cheese as well. I’ve seen lots of recipes that mix goat cheese with roasted red peppers.
Made it with Goat Cheese myself. Turned out great.
You could probably try Greek yogurt as substitute if you’re not a fan of cream cheese to get both that creaminess and zest.
Loved, loved, LOVED this!!! I couldn’t find the jar of peppers, so I used a fresh red bell pepper and sliced it up. Beth, if you were to do another cookbook of all One Pot Meals or Skillet Meals, I would be in heaven. Every single one of your recipes so far have been a home run, and the fact that you’ve made it easier is even better.
Well after lots of blog stalking I finally made my first budget bytes recipe. Very tasty. Totally indulged with the cream cheese. Yummy. Yummy. Yummy. Also added me some fresh shaved parmesan cheese… mmm mmm mmm.
Hubby liked it… Score.
Think I’ll make this the next time I have friends over. It was so easy.
Thank You!!!
I’ve been stuck in a “we need to eat, but it’s summer and I don’t wanna spend all day in the kitchen” rut lately. This is perfect! I love one pot meals & I have all ingredients on hand (save the peppers). I’m making this tomorrow night & the hubs will love taking it for lunch the next day! Thanks for this time saving & delicious recipe!
I haven’t made this yet, but i recently made something similar at home. I found that cooking everything/the noodles in just broth made the meal seem really salty. I don’t add salt when cooking, so I was alittle turned off by it – I also don’t solely cook with broth normally so i wasn’t sure what to expect. Do you think the flavor would still be there if i substituted half the broth with water? Do you have another suggestion? Thanks! Keep up the great posts – I just refered a bunch of people from my debt reduction group to check out your blog – I love it! I also want to try the food stamp program this year, that you did last September.
You could also try a reduced sodium broth
Making this tonight. The family can’t wait, neither can I! Since my blood pressure is slightly elevated we don’t use anything with much or any added salt. So just use no salt broth. It’s right next to the regular broths and stocks. There is enough salt in the tomatoes.
Yes, I think using half broth and half water is a good option. Or, like others have suggested, try using a low sodium or sodium free broth. :)
I recently discovered your blog and it is so down to earth that I have enjoyed your recipes very much. I am a 50+ mom/wife with three nearly adult children and since they are out most of the time these smaller meals are perfect.
I did make the roasted pepper pasta last night but cut it in half and it was very good. Keep going with these one pot meals because I love them.
I should be an experienced cook after all the years of cooking for my family but now I’m “tired” of meal prep and need something new so this is where you come in! Thank you.
Alice
I bought your book six months ago and haven’t made anything yet because you keep posting yummy recipes online! The pepperoni pepper pasta was pretty tasty…
Did you read my mind? I have an open jar of roasted red peppers in the fridge that I had no idea what to do with…this looks like the perfect weeknight dinner…and then lunch for the next few days. Love your blog, as always. :)
They make really good hummus too if you ever have that problem again :-)
I actually bought the jar to chop up and add to some hummus, but I only used one pepper from the 24 oz jar…so maybe more hummus and this pasta will be in the works this weekend.
I only wish I’d heard of one pot pasta back in the seventies when I had my first apartment and just one pot. I used to make dal and then put it in a large bowl and make rice. I did a peanut sauce version of this. If you don’t use canned tomatoes of course you must compensate for the liquid in the tomatoes. But other than that you can use any flavor profile you want as long as liquid-to-pasta ratio stays the same.
I am obsessed with roasted peppers – Trader Joe’s has a fire roasted jar for $2; love them!! This looks awesome; I’ll have to use gluten free pasta but YUM!
Just as an FYI, it’s better to use shaped gluten free pasta than spaghetti. I’ve used a couple kinds of spaghetti and they love to stick together and clump up! Penne or rotini work a little better. (And this recipe is totally on my to make list!)
Roasted red peppers are one of my favorites! I never would have thought of putting it with pasta.
I LOVE one pot meals, and this pasta is making my mouth water!! Is it possible that I can add either chicken or shrimp to this recipe? Thanks, Beth!! :-)
Yes, absolutely. :) I’d use precooked chicken or shrimp, though. For chicken you can add it in the beginning, but add shrimp at the end as it can overcook very quickly.
I have a bunch of questions…
1.) Are you saying use “precooked” shrimp? Does that exist?
2.) When “at the end” should I add it?
3.) Do you think I can use uncooked shrimp and just dump it in there?
You can either precook it yourself by sautéing the shrimp in a separate skillet briefly (because it cooks so quickly) or buy precooked salad shrimp, which, yes, does exist. :D When I say at the end, I mean after the pasta has cooked, like at the time you’d add the cream cheese. The reason I don’t suggest adding uncooked shrimp with the pasta and the rest of the ingredients is because shrimp cooks so very quickly and if it’s left to boil in there too long, it can get very tough. Adding uncooked shrimp at the end might result in overcooking the pasta… so it’s just a little too tricky to get the timing right with finicky shrimp. Safest to cook it separately.
:) Thanks!
“one pot”
Sold already, I don’t have a pot to boil pasta in separately yet.
I can’t wait to make this. I love when I find a recipe and I have all of the ingredients on hand already.
Beth you are a genius!! I’m definitely making this for dinner this week! :)