The best way to top off this pasta is with a nice scoop of burrata cheese!
Date Night Rigatoni with Red Pepper Sauce
Who else loves a good pasta night?? Quick, comforting, and a fan favorite – this Date Night Rigatoni with Red Pepper Sauce is always a great way to get dinner on the table.
This recipe seems like a humble, noodle bowl with all the classic, cozy feels but we’ve ELEVATED the cozy vibes with this lush, creamy, red pepper sauce. Made with roasted red peppers, garlic, and a touch of milk, this sauce will definitely upgrade pasta night. We topped up the bowl with sautéed mushrooms, kale, and burrata to complete the bowl and make it “date night” worthy. I kept it vegetarian but I could easily see a spicy Italian sausage adding more fun flavors into the mix.
You’re more than welcome to throw your choice of meat into this dish.
Check out our Youtube Short showing the cooking process for this sauce HERE.
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pictures of your creations on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok! Hashtag them #thehappyhaandi. And tag me @thehappyhaandi.
Date Night Rigatoni with Red Pepper Sauce
Equipment
- 1 Pot
- 1 Blender
Ingredients
For the Pasta:
- 16 oz Rigatoni Pasta Penne or any other shape works too!
- 2 cups Kale
- 12 oz Bella Mushrooms
- Burrata optional
- Salt
- Black Pepper
For the Red Pepper Sauce:
- 1/2 cup 2% Milk
- 3 Red Bell Peppers
- 1 bulb Garlic
- 2 tbsp Salted Butter
Instructions
For the red pepper pasta:
- First, go ahead and pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees farenheit.
- We'll begin with the peppers - cut the peppers in half and remove the seeds. To an oiled sheet pan, add your peppers, the garlic (skin still on!) and drizzle with a little oil. Rub the oil on the peppers to ensure an even coat.
- When the oven is ready, add the sheet pan to the oven and allow the peppers and garlic to roast for about 25-30 minutes. You should start to see some charring on the red pepper skins and they should be wrinkly.
- While we wait for the peppers, cook the pasta according to the package instructions.
- Separately, in a saute pan, brown the mushrooms with 1 tbsp of butter. They should become nice and brown on the outsides.
- Remove the mushrooms and add in the kale. Drizzle with a little oil and cook the kale until it JUST turns bright green and wilts some. On a hot pan, this shouldn't take more than a few minutes.
- Now, we'll return to the peppers. Once they're out of the oven, peel the skins off - they should come up very easily. To a blender, add the peeled peppers and garlic, a little salt and pepper and the milk. Blend until smooth. Taste and add more salt or water - for taste and consistency, as needed.
- Finally to plating! In a bowl, mix the pasta and vegetables, and add the sauce. Top each with some burrata and freshly cracked black pepper.
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