Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Chicken Pasta is my new obsession! This restaurant-quality dish is attributed to the flavorful, creamy and cheesy roasted red pepper sauce.
Seriously, this Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Chicken Pasta is full of rich flavors from the roasted red pepper. But, if you don’t want to or have time to roast peppers using jarred roasted red peppers will result in the same great flavor!
Roasting any pepper brings out a slight sweetness that only roasting can. Grilled peppers are good, but you get a different flavor. I purchased roasted red peppers for years before realizing how easy it is to roast them myself.
To roast any pepper, first wash and dry the pepper. Heat your oven to 450° F. Place your peppers in a skillet or sheet pan. Roast 30 to 40 minutes, turning so that all sides get charred. Once the skin is charred and the pepper is soft, remove them from the oven and immediately place in a plastic ziptop bag. Allow them to steam until cool enough to the touch. The steam will make the outer skin of the roasted pepper to be easily removed. Once cool remove that charred skin along with the skin and any ‘stringy’ membranes inside. Now you’re ready to use the peppers in a variety of different recipes. (Shameless plug: Follow along on Instagram for behind the scenes with me!)
Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Chicken Pasta Tips
You can roast the peppers beforehand and refrigerate until you’re ready to make the sauce. I usually roast them early in the day or the day before and this makes the Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Chicken Pasta recipe go really quickly at dinner time.
You can also substitute gluten-free, whole wheat or the pasta variety and shape of your choice depending on your dietary needs.
Chicken breasts or chicken tenders can be used, tenders were on sale so that’s why I used them.
I used a low-sodium, organic chicken broth. You can make your own broth or purchase your favorite.
This recipe is also easily made vegetarian by substituting vegetable broth for the chicken broth and omitting the chicken cutlets. Personally, I like it just as well without the protein.
Use the best ingredients you can find. Always. I used Sargento® Chef Blends™ Shredded 6 Cheese Italian to top my pasta.
The crown jewel of this Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Chicken Pasta is the Sargento® Chef Blends™ Shredded 6 Cheese Italian. It captures the authentic taste of Italy with its amazing flavor blend. It has Mozzarella, Provolone, Parmesan, Fontina, Romano and aged Asiago. Sprinkled over the chicken and pasta and baked until melted with bits of browned crispy cheese, this cheese blend completely takes this pasta up a notch. Don’t skimp of the cheese!
Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces uncooked pasta I used rigatoni
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 1 pound chicken breast or tenders
- 1/2 cup sweet onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 large red peppers
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 & ½ teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1/4 cup greek yogurt
- 3/4 cups Italian cheese
- finely minced parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
- Place peppers on baking sheet.
- Bake 30 to 40 minutes rotating every 10 minutes until peppers are charred.
- Remove from oven and place in a ziptop bag and seal for 10 minutes.
- Remove from bag a peel off skin, remove stem and seeds then chop peppers.
- In a large skillet or saute pan, heat 2 tablespoon butter on medium high.
- Using 1/2 teaspoon salt, salt and pepper all sides of chicken.
- Saute' 4 minutes on each side or until cooked through. This time will vary depending on the thickness of the chicken.
- Remove chicken from skillet and place on a platter.
- Add onion and garlic to pan and saute for 2 to 3 minutes or until it begins to soften.
- Add roasted red peppers and cook 2 to 3 minutes or until hot.
- Add 1 teaspoon salt to water and cook pasta in salted water according to package directions to al dente stage. Drain and set aside.
- Remove skillet with pepper mixture from heat.
- Carefully transfer the contents to a food processor or blender.
- Place lid on and puree the mixture until completely blended. There still may be small bits of pepper, this is fine, but you want it as fine a possible.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Return the skillet to heat, add pureed mixture to skillet and heat.
- Add broth and stir.
- Pour heavy cream and greek yogurt to sauce.
- Taste and adjust salt and pepper if necessary.
- Add pasta to sauce and carefully stir. Add chicken to pasta then top with cheese.
- Bake until cheese is golden brown and pasta is heated through.
Notes
Nutrition
You can also find great recipes at Recipe Index or at Meal Plan Monday or Weekend Potluck
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