One of my favorite recipes so far from a health and fitness program I signed up for is this Roasted Red Pepper Pasta. Not only is it super easy and quick to make, but it tastes SO good and is great if you're into meal prepping. And did I mention it's vegan?
The recipe makes 3 servings and called for 6 oz pasta but because most boxes of pasta are 16 oz it was much easier to measure out 8 oz, or half a box. I divided it into 3 lunch portions but you could technically get 4 since there is an additional 2 oz of pasta.
Nutritional yeast has a cheesy flavor so I am making the assumption that replacing it with Parmesan if not going vegan will be just as good, if not better. I mean, is adding cheese ever not a good idea? Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe with Parmesan cheese!
Ingredients:
6-8 oz pasta (gluten-free if needed), such as mezze penne or farfalle
8 oz baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 tbs avocado or olive oil
Sea salt and ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups roasted red peppers from a jar, drained*
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 shallot
2 garlic cloves
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp nutritional yeast (sub Parmesan if not vegan)
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried parsley (call also use fresh, so good!!)
*I bought 2 jars of Trader Joe's red and yellow roasted red peppers and had about 1 cup left over and just made 2/3 batch of sauce for another week. You can probably freeze your sauce for use at a much later time (just remember to thaw!).
Directions:
Cook pasta according to package instructions by bringing a medium pot of water to a boil and generously seasoning with sea salt. In a large skillet, heat oil on medium heat and add mushrooms, cooking until mushrooms have cooked down and are starting to brown. Season with salt and black pepper to taste (note: my sauce was salty so I did not season the mushrooms). Combine roasted red peppers, olive oil, shallot, garlic, lemon, nutritional yeast or Parmesan, salt, black pepper, dried or fresh spices in a food processor and blend until combined. Add the sauce to the large skillet with mushrooms to blend the flavors, set aside. Drain pasta and combine with sauce either in the medium pot, skillet, or bowl. Season with more Parmesan if not vegan.
Assuming you're using 8 oz of pasta and nutritional yeast, the Lose It! app that I use logged 360 calories per serving (3).
Recipe modified from JUMP program via Fit + Thick.