Do you ever make your own jarred sauces? I made this Roasted Red Pepper Pesto and jarred it up to keep in my fridge. It didn’t last long though! I used it to make this red pepper pesto pasta and will have to make another batch again soon!
I used sweet Italian chicken sausage, but you could really use any kind of sausage in this. I’ve seen tomato basil sausage or just plain smoked sausage would also work. The only sausage I would probably avoid is breakfast sausage, but honestly, if that’s what you’ve got… give it a shot!
Roasted Red Pepper Pesto with Pasta and Sausage Recipe:
1 box (1 lb.) Campanelle pasta
12 oz. (4 links) Sweet Italian Chicken Sausage
1/2 cup frozen peas
8 oz. roasted red pepper pesto – recipe follows
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
Salt
Pepper
3 basil leaves – chopped for garnish
2 Tablespoons pine nuts for garnish
For the Roasted Red Pepper Pesto:
1 cup packed basil leaves
2 large red peppers – roasted
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt
Red pepper flakes
Start by making your Roasted Red Pepper Pesto. You’ll toss everything in a food processor and blend until it forms a paste. You can see the full recipe here.
Set your pesto aside and cook and drain your pasta according to the box. While that’s boiling, slice up your chicken sausage into bite size pieces. Saute it up in a skillet on medium-high heat until it’s nice and brown on each side.
Add your cooked pasta to your sausage, toss in your peas and your red pepper pesto. Stir and let everything come together.
Top with the extra parmesan cheese, pine nuts and basil.
If your significant other is eating low carb, serve this on a cheat day and you’ll have no leftovers. Or serve it on a non-cheat day and save all the leftovers for yourself. I don’t judge!
