Vegan Roasted Red Pepper Sauce made with nuts, garlic and spices. Easy and fast to make, oil-free and only 8 ingredients!
VEGAN ROASTED RED PEPPER SAUCE
This roasted red pepper sauce pasta is so full of flavor, totally oil-free and is made with gluten-free pasta. Roasting the bell peppers give them the most amazing flavor, not to mention, gorgeous color to this delicious plant-based dinner.
The lemon juice rounds out the depth of flavor and fresh basil brings it all together. It can be made with either pine nuts or cashews. If allergic to nuts, raw sunflower seeds should work great too.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
(Only 8 main ingredients needed. Full details and measurements on the recipe card below.)
- Red bell peppers
- Lemon juice
- Fresh garlic
- Chili powder
- Pine nuts or cashews, or sunflower seeds for nut-free
- Nutritional yeast
- Fresh basil
- Pasta of choice
The pine nuts give this vegan roasted red pepper pasta sauce a slightly sweet flavor and are buttery. I absolutely love them and have more recipes coming up with them!
I absolutely love that you can make dairy-free sauces that taste just as delicious and the butter and cream-filled ones. This vegan creamy red pepper sauce with fresh basil is no exception. It is also oil-free and just 8 ingredients, what a huge bonus!
MORE VEGAN PASTA DISHES
- Best Vegan Garlic Alfredo
- 1 Pot Vegan Cajun Pasta
- Vegan Walnut Basil Pasta
- 20 Minute Vegan Alfredo
- Vegan Pimento Cream Sauce
- Creamy Chili Sauce with Pasta
- Easy Vegan Meatballs and Spaghetti
- Vegan Lemon Florentine Pasta
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave feedback below and share your pic on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @thevegan8 #thevegan8!
Vegan Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 red bell peppers
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp water
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/2 cup pine nuts OR cashews
- 1 tbsp minced fresh garlic
- 2 tsp chili powder
- Fresh basil 1/4 cup, chopped
- 12 oz gluten-free brown rice spiral pasta, or pasta of choice
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 450 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Place the whole bell peppers on the pan and roast for 20-25 minutes until well browned.
- Carefully slice the bell peppers and remove the stem and seeds and add to a blender.
- Add all of the remaining ingredients (except the basil) and blend until smooth. Taste and add any additional salt or spices, if desired.
- Garnish with fresh chopped basil and pine nuts. Serve over spiral pasta. I much prefer the spiral pasta over spaghetti noodles for this sauce because it gets in between the grooves and has a better texture.
I made your recipe over Christmas (though cut the spice just a bit) and it got RAVE reviews from all! So I’m making it again tonight. So delicious! Thanks for this. xo
Wonderful Kristen!! I’m so glad to hear that, thank you so much for letting me know!
Made this tonight! Delicious!!!!! It turned out amazing. Put it over zucchini noodles instead because my boyfriend and I aren’t crazy about carbs but holy moly it tasted so good. We kept going back for more! Amazing recipe. The pine nuts and basil add such a nice touch. Well done I’m bookmarkng your site and will be back for more! Great work
That is so wonderful to hear Erin! I’m so happy to hear it was such a hit and I really appreciate you leaving feedback, it makes my day! Thank you!
I made this a couple of days ago and it was wonderful! My husband and I both loved it and will definitely be making it again! Thanks for the recipe!
Awesome Sally! Thank you so much for letting me know, I really love getting the feedback, and thank you for making my recipe!
This sauce is delicious!! Definitely will be making this again!!! And again!!!
Wonderful Robert! Thank you SO very much for making my recipe and for providing feedback! It is much appreciated 🙂
Hi Brandy! What a mouthwatering photos you took! Pine nuts are always great as topping! 🙂
Thank you very much Mila! I agree…I’m a bit obsessed with pine nuts lately 🙂
Is the thick looking texture of the sauce from the pine nuts or cheese?
looks great!
Thank you! It is from the pine nuts that makes it creamy, as there is no cheese in it! There is nutritional yeast in it that helps to thicken it as well and imparts a mild flavor of cheese. 🙂
That sauce looks so creamy and I bet that it’s super flavourful, Brandi. I need to go buy a giant bag of pine nuts so that I can make this sauce as well as the Caesar dressing!
Thank you Nancy!
I really enjoyed this. My kitchen wizz isn’t powerful enough to get the thick and creamy consistency, but it was delicious none the less. I think it would be great with a pinch of smoked paprika too. I love how easy it is tomake.
Wonderful Johanna! I’m so glad you enjoyed it and took the time to leave feedback, thank you so much! I love smoked paprika, and that sounds like a great addition!
I made this sauce, and absolutely loved it! I am anxiously awaiting the chunky potato soup recipe!
Thank you so much Lana! I’m so happy you loved it and I really appreciate you letting me know…I love getting feedback. I’ll be posting the potato soup soon and I’d love to hear back when you make it too 🙂
This looks delicious! I don’t have any nutritional yeast though, do you think silken tofu would work for the creaminess? Perhaps not the cheesiness though!
I’m afraid without the nutritional yeast, it’s going to be too bland. It helps to thicken it up as well. I wouldn’t add tofu, as that will dilute the flavor even more. It would be best to use nutritional yeast, as I haven’t made it without it. But you could try using a tad less water to makeup for the lack of nutritional yeast and maybe add a tiny but of miso or mustard for that extra kick of flavor that nutritional yeast provides. Try to get some of the yeast though for best results, I can’t vouch how it tastes otherwise. Let me know! 🙂
This looks fantastic! If I wanted to use cashews instead of pine nuts (love the taste of pine nuts but for some reason my body does not agree with them)…would you suggest using the same amount? Thanks…can’t wait to try this!
Hi Becky! Yes, I would try using the same amount and adjust the water a tiny bit if necessary. Pine nuts blend much easier than cashews though, so if you don’t have a high powered blender like a Vitamix, then soak the cashews for a couple of hours first in room temperature water, drain and then proceed with recipe. Please leave me feedback how it turns out for you! 🙂
I’ve actually been looking for a healthy but creamy pasta recipe that’s not based around evaporated skim milk or similar. This one looks great Brandi! I actually have most of the ingredients at home so I know what I’m going to be cooking tonight! Yum 🙂
Why the yeast? I’ve never used yeast in sauce before.
Hi Gillian! It’s not the yeast your probably thinking of, like brewers yeast, it is a deactivated yeast that is very healthy, a source of protein and vitamin B12 and practically fat-free. It has a cheesy, nutty flavor which is very popular to use in vegan dishes since it mimics the taste of parmesan cheese, without the fat. Here is a link on it and a photo. I buy mine at my local grocery store in the health food section, whole foods also carries it, or of course you can order online. http://www.bobsredmill.com/nutritional-yeast.html
OOOO pine nuts, I’ve never made a sauce with these nuts before! This looks wonderful!
Thank you Brittany! Oh, they are SO yummy!
Hi Brandi!
Wow, this dish is right up my alley!!! I have recently been into blending all sorts of veggies and making pestos. . all different kinds. . this is like a roasted red bell pepper pesto. . LOVE this!
Oh yum, this looks absolutely delicious! So creamy and colourful!
I would love to make this sauce and top lots of pasta with it, the fresh basil is especially enticing 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
This looks very yummy! I am going to have to make this for my family.
This sounds amazing! I love love love roasted peppers and I’m sure they taste fabulous in this sauce. YUM!
Great choice, readers ;-)! The color is out of site, Brandi!
Thank you Annie…yes, the color totally reminded me of macaroni ‘n’ cheese!
This looks delicious Brandi! I love anything with roasted red peppers.
Thank you Emma! Me too 🙂
Such a nice sauce, it would be really great on anything, versatile and delicious!
Thank you Suzanne!
That looks so creamy and rich! Delicious. Bet it would go well on a number of things. Love the pine nuts – that would really give a nice flavour.
Thank you Cindy! It really is super versatile 🙂