This Roasted Garlic Red & Pepper Protein Pasta is actually my new favorite pasta sauce—it packs in so much flavor that once you try it, you’ll never go back to plain old marinara again. It’s basically become my go-to dinner when I want to eat a ton of veggies, but I also want a lot of protein, but I also really want to eat pasta (this trifecta of dinner-wants happens more than you’d think).
It’s based on Romesco, a sauce from the Catalonia region of Spain that’s usually eaten with fish. I added a ton of roasted garlic (because if you’re roasting red peppers anyway, might as well get some roasted garlic — i.e. the best food on the planet — in there), and one of my favorite secret ingredients for a dose of complete protein (not to mention their signature sweet, nutty flavor): hemp hearts. The result? pasta dish that not only tastes good, but will make you FEEL amazing after eating it.
And if you love this pasta recipe, I really recommend checking out my 3-Ingredient Healthy Broccoli Alfredo. It’s super easy to make, and I love adding hemp hearts to this one too for that extra protein.
Save the leftovers!
As if this Roasted Garlic & Red Pepper Protein Pasta recipe wasn’t great already thanks to the delicious flavor and generally simple method, I should also add that you can save the sauce you don’t use for later! Freeze the leftover sauce in an ice cube tray and then just store it in a bag in your freezer to have on hand for later!! Trust me, you’ll be glad you did.
Watch it being made!
Enjoy, and tag me if you make it on Instagram (@lizmoody)—I can’t wait to see!
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Roasted Garlic & Red Pepper Protein Pasta (Dairy-Free)
Ingredients
- 2 heads garlic
- 4 red peppers, tops and seeds removed and sliced in half length-wise
- 1 6 ounce can tomato paste
- 1/2 cup raw almonds
- 1/2 cup hulled hemp hearts
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- 4 servings pasta of choice, cooked till al dente in well-salted water with pasta water reserved
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut tops of garlic bulbs, drizzle with olive oil, and wrap in foil; place on parchment-lined pan with red pepper, cut side down.
- Roast until red pepper is black in spots, about 30 minutes; turn off oven and let garlic continue to soften in the oven while you prep peppers.
- Add pepper to bowl with Saran Wrap or a lid and let cool completely, then peel off their skins (it’s okay if a bit of skin remains!).
- Add pepper, roasted garlic, tomato, pasta, almonds, red wine vinegar, hemp, olive oil, and salt to a food processor. Process until smooth and serve with 4 servings of pasta of choice, tossing with a bit of reserved pasta water to make a silky sauce.
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