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. :)
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! 😊