Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Pasta

This roasted red pepper pesto pasta is saucy, robust, and full of seasonal veggies. The best part? It comes together in under 20 minutes for a quick weeknight meal.

It’s about to get real saucy up in here, up in here. I like my pasta layered in saucy goodness. If you were to ever join me for an Italian feast, you would probably do a double take at my pasta plate.

I know this gal isn’t about to take down a plate of sauce. 

If you dig deep, you’ll find a small mound of pasta under all of that glorious sauce. Hey, I like-a my sauce.

In this case, more sauce is a good thing. I loaded my food processor with roasted red peppers, fresh baby spinach, basil, garlic, lemon juice, and cheese…handful after handful of freshly grated parmesan cheese.

You can’t have pesto without cheese. Well, you could, but it wouldn’t be right.

You see those glasses? They’re full of wine. I’m betting your week has been a doozy, so I filled your glass up extra high. None of that glass-half-full junk the professional winos insist upon. Fill her up!

Back to the pesto.

After forcing the load of veggies into your food processor, pulse until smooth. Viola, your sauce is made. I forgot to mention the pasta. I used a garlic basil linguine that I picked up from Trader Joe’s. Feel free to use 8 ounces of your favorite pasta. To save time, make your pesto while your pasta is boiling.

From start to finish, this dish takes about 12 minutes to make. That’s about as long as it takes for the pasta to cook.

Let’s face it, people, it’s a week night, and don’t nobody have time for that. Am I right?

The last thing I want to think about after a long day at the office is cooking. The only thing my mouth is concerned about is eating.

You get all the benefits of a healthy and homemade meal without all the fuss. It’s a win-win, folks.

Be prepared for some fierce garlic breath after this meal. You’ve been warned.

Print Recipe

Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Pasta

Robust red pepper pesto tossed with garlic-basil linguine. This quick meal comes together in under 20 minutes with little effort.

Yield: 4 servings

Total Time: 20 minutes

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces dry linguine
• 1 (12 ounce) jar roasted red peppers, drained
• 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
• 2 cups fresh basil
• 2 cups fresh baby spinach
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• chopped parsley for topping, optional

 

Directions:

1. Cook the pasta according to package instructions.
2. While the pasta is cooking, add roasted red peppers, garlic, basil, spinach, parmesan cheese, salt, and lemon juice to the bowl of a food processor or blender. Pulse until coarsely chopped. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil and continue to process until smooth.
3. Drain the pasta and add it back to the pot. Pour the pesto over the warm pasta and toss to combine. Serve immediately. Top with grated parmesan cheese and torn basil.

All images and text ©One Sweet Mess.

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