Roasting peppers in my apartment is NOT an option, especially since my windows don’t open more than 5
inches for safety reasons. 
I learned my lesson the day I decided to roast red peppers on my electric stove to make this fabulous pasta dish. 10 minutes later my kitchen filled up with smoke, but I figured the smoke would escape via the living room window, uhmm, not quite. Instead, I was startled to the sound of fire alarms going off in my apartment. 
I immediately turned off the stove and rapidly started waving a towel in front of the smoke detector. A few minutes later, silence emerged, and I was relieved. 
Moral? Who needs freshly roasted red peppers when jarred roasted peppers will suffice? And that’s exactly what I used for this recipe inspired by Ellie Krieger’s Fettuccine with Creamy Red Pepper Feta Sauce. 
I made quite a few tweaks by using penne instead of fettuccine, parmesan instead of feta, basil instead of
parsley, and sautéed mushrooms for some extra veggies. Can I call it my own? Maybeeeee. 
Both my husband and I devoured this dish. Strangely enough he hates mushrooms, but yet ate every single slice of mushroom. Mission accomplished! Give this recipe a try, promise you won’t be disappointed!
NUTRITION: Roasted Red Peppers are an excellent source of Vitamin C. Mushrooms are a very good source of Vitamin B6 and Protein. Whole Grain pasta is a great source of Protein and Fiber. Basil is an excellent source of Vitamin K and a very good source of Iron, Calcium, and Vitamin A. Although high in fat, cheese is a good source of Calcium and Protein.
INGREDIENTS:
- Pot of water
- Barilla Whole Grain Penne – 1 (1 pound) box
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil – 1 tbsp (sauce) + 1 tbsp (mushrooms)
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes – 1 tsp (use less if you can’t handle heat)
- Onion – 1 large (chopped)
- Garlic – 4 cloves (chopped)
- Trader Joe’s Fire Roasted Red Peppers – 3 (12 ounce) jars (drained & roughly chopped)
- Baby Crimini Mushrooms – 1 (10 ounce) box (sliced)
- Basil – 1 (2.5 ounce) box (handful for the sauce + handful chopped at the end)
- Parmesan Cheese – 1/2 cup (grated) + more for garnish
- Starchy Pasta Water – 1/2 cup (for sauce) + 1/2 cup (reserved for later)
- Black Pepper – 1/2 tsp
- salt to taste
DIRECTIONS:
1. Start by heating up a pot of pasta water.
2. In the meantime, chop the onion and garlic.
3. Heat a pot on medium heat, once hot add 1 tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil followed by crushed red pepper flakes.
4. Once the pepper flakes sizzle, add the onion and garlic. Season with salt. Stir. Saute for 5 minutes or until translucent.
5. In the meantime, drain the jarred red peppers and roughly chop.
6. Check on the onions – this is what you should have – just lightly golden.
7. Add the red peppers and cook for a few minutes or until the peppers release liquid. NO NEED TO SEASON THE PEPPERS SINCE THEY ARE ALREADY PRETTY SALTY.
8. In the meantime, grate some parmesan cheese. Grab a handful of basil. Set aside.
9. Check on the onion-pepper mixture. This is what you should have. Notice the liquid?
10. Pour this mixture into a food processor. Wait for it to cool. 
11. In the meantime, slice the mushrooms. 
12. Heat the same pot used for the onion-pepper, once hot add a tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, add the mushrooms. DO NOT SEASON WITH SALT. Saute for about 10 minutes or until the liquid is released. 
13. At this time check on your pasta water, follow the instructions on the back of the box and cook the pasta until al dente. 
14. Back to the sauce – to the onion-pepper mixture, add basil, parmesan cheese, and black pepper.
15. Puree until everything is combined. This is what you should have.
16. Add 1/2 cup of starchy pasta water.
17. Check on the mushrooms – once they start releasing water, season with a little salt. 
18. Cook for another 5 minutes until you have this.
19. Check on the pasta – reserve 1/2 a cup of pasta water and drain. 
20. Add the sauce and mushrooms to the pasta along with 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the reserved pasta water. This will help thin out the sauce and bind the pasta to the sauce. 
21. Toss well. Add more chopped basil and turn off the stove. 
22. Plate starting with the pasta.
23. Followed by basil and parmesan. Serve with a glass of red. Heaven!
TELL ME: Do you live in a small space? How do you roast/barbecue when living in small spaces?
Pasta in a tomato-based sauce and parmesan is my ultimate comfort food…I'm drooling at these photos Nisha! This is a definitely a dish I could go to town with. We don't have a smoke alarm at home but my grandmother constantly thinks I"m burning the house down every time I make toast (I like my bread extra crispy)!
I tried this yesterday ! It works!
My family like the red pepper penne so much!
Based on your delicious roasted red pepper penne with mushrooms photos, we'd like to invite you to submit your food photos on a Food Photography site so our readers can enjoy your creations.
It is absolutely free and fun to make others hungry!
That red pepper sauce sounds amazing! I am going to roast some peppers to try this pasta recipe. Looks so tasty!
I love this recipe…Funny how my tummy has just started grumbling 😀
Hi,
This looks incredibly delicious! Got to make this soon for my family!
@Khushboo – haha!! I like my toast light brown, definitely not too dark. The good thing about India is the homes are made with brick, and not wood. This pasta is yummy, I'll be able to win you over despite you liking tomato-based pastas!
@foodpo*n.net – thank you for the invite. I'll definitely submit a photo. Glad you liked the photos. 🙂
@Angie @Ellen @Asmita – thanks guys. Really yummy, let me know how it works out for you if you make this pasta dish.
I had the exact same thing happening to me! Except it was with toasting 2 slices of bread. And my neighbours weren't very happy to be woken up at 4 am.
This looks really delicious…I'm all about the jarred peppers. I have a gas stove but the idea of playing around with an open flame doesn't really work for me!
Honey, I also live in a small area and roasting is actually difficult on my part. 🙁 But thanks for this Roasted Red Pepper Penne with Mushrooms recipe – packed with nutrients, especially vitamin K, C, B6, and A! Will try this as soon as I've moved to a spacious place. 🙂
OMG this looks so so yummy! I love red peppers and parmesan, so I'm definitely going to make it soon 🙂 Can't wait to see how it turns out!
xoxo Elisa
This pasta looks indescribably beautiful my friend, I could down a casserole… or two 😉
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
This looks beautiful. Hoping to have as much success with my mushroom-hating Husband. Looks good enough for tomorrow night's company! Thanks for posting this. 🙂
Nothing better than a warm bowl of pasta! The roasted peppers really bump the flavors in this delicious sauce! 🙂
I actually remember trying that Ellie Krieger recipe! I loved it but my husband did not (he's not a big fan of feta), so I can't wait to try your version. The mushrooms and parmesan sound and look like major improvements – yummy! 🙂
I live in a tiny space!! No roasting or grilling either 🙂 I also always keep some jars (pesto sauce, artichokes, etc) on hand for easy meals.
@Pencil Kitchen – NOOOOooo… what were you doing up at 4 am toasting bread? LOL. That's too funny!
@Ameena – yeah.. I love jarred roasted peppers… they taste just as good. Works for me until I have a gas stove and a bigger living space. 🙂
@sweetlady – hey.. you can try this with jarred roasted peppers.. no need to wait. 🙂
@Elisa @Guru – thanks guys. It's yummy!
@Meaning of Me – if my mushroom eating husband ate it, I'm sure yours will too. 🙂
@Jen – I'm not a huge fan of feta, it really depends where it shows up, I can handle Greek salads and all, but not really in a pasta. Parmesan takes this recipe to a whole new level. Love Parm Cheese! Thanks!
@Bianca @Baker Street – thanks guys. The peppers tasted good in this dish.
I love roasted red pepper sauce! I make it every once in a while. I live in Bombay and living spaces are as small as they come. My kitchen is pretty small, but roasting is not a problem- we have large windows and since I'm in India, smells or roasting aubergines/peppers/papads and temperings are very much tolerated. A great perk! I don't have to worry about the neighbours complaining of smoky smells.
@Meenakshi – Yes, that is definitely one of the perks in India… not having to deal with smoky kitchens and fire alarms going off. Living in Bombay is not cheap, very similar to New York City.
We did indeed make this for company Thursday evening and it was a big hit with the entire table. My husband, once a pepper hater, enjoyed it then AND for leftovers a second night. Cooked up exactly like your instructions and looked just beautiful!
@Meaning of Me – thank you so much for leaving your feedback, really appreciate it. I'm so happy to hear the pasta was a big hit at the party and your pepper hater husband loved it. Awesome! 🙂
Hey! Call it dejavu, but I have already seen this incident, in my dreams? Nope. This actually happened to me too. I am staying in an apartment too and I was being too adventurous to try grilling zucchinis in my electric griller (it says smoke free…i blame bad advertising…)after a few minutes my neighbors were already coming out of their units. After a phone call to the admin office, everything was back to normal. Though I cannot remember what we had for dinner then, perhaps I ordered pizza 😉
Gee! This recipe is worth all the commotion. But I am taking your advise, I'll use jarred grilled peppers. Yummy!
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Looks delicious. Gonna try making this next week. Have you tried roasting the peppers under the broiler? Perhaps this would solve your smoke issue.
@Vincent – i haven't tried roasting peppers in a broiler, will definitely try it when i need to. thanks for the tip.