This quick and easy creamy roasted red pepper and chicken sausage pasta is full of awesome flavor and is perfect for busy weeknights.
This creamy roasted red pepper pasta dish falls under my category of quick and easy pasta recipes that I like to pull out of my back pocket on hectic weeknights. It’s right up there with my 5-ingredient cacio e pepe, spaghetti alla carbonara, and my pasta with pomodoro sauce. The recipe comes from my blogger friend Bev, of Bev Cooks, and is a riff on her skillet pasta with chicken sausages and creamy green pepper sauce. It’s precisely the kind of thing I crave for dinner most nights. Roasted red peppers are the star, and they get blended up with some heavy cream for an ultra-creamy, addictively good sauce (seriously, I could drink this stuff). Chicken sausage is pretty key here (you could use Italian sausage but I find it’s a bit too flavored for this dish). Kielbasa would work as well. I use Aidells Chicken and Apple Sausage. A kiss of cayenne pepper balances the flavor and rounds everything out with a subtle kick (though red pepper flakes would also work great).
What’s in This Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Pasta
Only a handful of ingredients are needed to make this easy, creamy roasted red pepper pasta. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Short pasta (I used radiatore, but penne or rigatoni also work great)
- Jarred roasted red peppers
- Heavy whipping cream (half and half also works)
- Chicken and apple sausages (you could also use Italian sausage or kielbasa)
- Cayenne pepper (or red pepper flakes)
- Kosher salt
- Fresh basil
- Parmesan cheese
How to Make This Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Pasta
This pasta is such a cinch to make, and it comes together pretty fast and with little effort. Here’s how to make it:
Cook the pasta. Cook pasta according to package instructions, until al dente, then drain.
Make the sauce. Cut the roasted red bell peppers into thin slices. Add to a medium-sized pot with the whipping cream and bring to a boil. Reduce to a bubbling simmer and cook for 15 minutes or until reduced by half.
Brown the sausage. Cook the sausages in a large pan with a circle or two of extra virgin olive oil over medium-high heat for about 7 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from the pan, wipe it clean with a paper towel, and return the sausage to the pan to rest.
Blend the red peppers into the sauce. When the cream has reduced, remove ¼ of the peppers and set aside. Blend the remaining peppers and the cream with an immersion blender (or transfer to a blender or small food processor), and then pour into the pot with the sausages. Add the additional peppers and pasta and cook over medium heat for another 2-3 minutes or until everything is warmed through.
Top, and serve. Top with Parmesan and fresh basil and serve.
Tip: Bev doctors her recipe with a pop in the oven and melty mozzarella cheese and I kept mine simple, but if you want to try it her way (which would be super delish), transfer the pasta to an oven-safe skillet or baking dish, top it with sliced or shredded mozzarella, and place under the broiler for a few minutes until bubbly and golden brown.
Ingredient Swaps or Additions
- Swap basil for parsley
- Try kielbasa or another type of chicken sausage (or omit to make vegetarian)
- Add baby bella mushrooms
- Swap the Parmesan for ricotta
- Add spinach or kale
What to Serve with This Pasta to Make it a Meal
- The BEST Garlic Bread
- Caesar Salad with Garlic Croutons
- Kale Salad with Parmesan and Pine Nuts
- Arugula Salad with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Pine Nuts
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
Creamy Roasted Red Pepper and Chicken Sausage Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 pound short pasta , (such as radiatore, penne, or rigatoni)
- 2 16 ounce jars roasted red bell peppers , or 4 whole roasted red bell peppers
- 2 cups whipping cream
- extra virgin olive oil
- 1 13 ounce package of chicken and apple sausages , about 5 sausages, sliced into coins. (I use Aidell’s Chicken and Apple Sausage)
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper , (you could also use red pepper flakes)
- kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil , chiffonade cut
- Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Cook pasta in a large pot of water seasoned with kosher salt until al dente, about 7-8 minutes. Drain.
- While pasta is cooking, slice the roasted red bell peppers into thin slices. Add to a medium-sized pot with the whipping cream and bring to a boil. Reduce to a bubbling simmer and cook for 15 minutes or until reduced by half, stirring occasionally.
- Meanwhile, cook the sausages in a large pan with a circle or two of extra virgin olive oil over medium-high heat for about 7 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from the pan, wipe it clean with a paper towel, and return the sausage to the pan to rest.
- When the cream has reduced, remove ¼ of the peppers and set aside. Blend the remaining peppers and the cream with an immersion blender (or transfer to a blender or small food processor), and then pour into the pot with the sausages. Add the additional peppers and pasta and cook over medium heat for another 2-3 minutes or until everything is warmed through.
- Garnish with basil leaves and grated parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
More Easy Italian Pastas You’ll Love
- 5-Ingredient Cacio e Pepe
- Spaghetti alla Carbonara
- Homemade Pesto Pasta
- Lemon Fettuccine Alfredo
- Pesto Pasta with Balsamic Chicken
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Robin Hamilton
This creamy roasted red pepper and chicken sausage pasta is the food of champions! Dying to eat this! Thanks for posting it Heidi!
Ashley Sorenson
Food of champions!! Thank you Robin!
Bella Hardy
Absolutely love your creative idea with creamy roasted red pepper and chicken sausage pasta! Never seen something like this! Definitely I will try to make it too! Thx for sharing!