Creamy Red Pepper Shells
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
Crumbled Italian sausage, Parmesan, basil, and the most EPIC red pepper cream sauce! So creamy, so so good.
I’m currently taking a break from all the soups right now. At least for just a little bit.
But only because I have something else keeping me nice and cozy during this very cold winter.
That’s right. It’s this cream sauce here, but guys, this is not just any kind of cream sauce.
It’s a red pepper cream sauce! Loaded with crumbled Italian sausage (mild or spicy can be used here), plenty of freshly grated Parmesan and fresh basil leaves.
And you get to use jarred roasted red peppers, cutting the prep time in half, making this a quick 30-minute meal.
Creamy Red Pepper Shells
Ingredients
- 8 ounces medium pasta shells
- 1 (16-ounce) jar roasted red bell peppers, drained
- ¾ cup chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 12 ounces mild Italian sausage, casing removed
- ½ medium sweet onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
- ½ cup heavy cream
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well.
- Combine red bell peppers and chicken stock in blender until smooth; set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add sausage and onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until sausage is browned, about 5-7 minutes, making sure to crumble the sausage as it cooks; drain excess fat.
- Stir in garlic and Italian seasoning until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
- Gradually whisk in red bell pepper mixture and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced and slightly thickened, about 6-8 minutes.
- Stir in pasta and heavy cream until heated through, about 1-2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Stir in Parmesan until melted, about 2 minutes. Stir in basil.
- Serve immediately.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
Turned out great. I had 4 ounces of cream cheese and added that in the dish and it was fantastic
I am ashamed to admit that I doubted this recipe’s deliciousness. But after seeing so many positive reviews, I decided I needed to try this recipe.
This is restaurant quality, people. I will definitely make this again. Every family member loved it. And it would also be delicious meatless.
Thank you for sharing this recipe, DD!
Another amazing recipe. Followed it to the letter aside from no basil as my grocery store was out. This was both beautiful and delicious as a dish and impressed the family. Thank you as always for another wonderful recipe!
Made tonight! Yummy! I made with turkey sausage and didn’t have heavy cream (half n half) Husband loved it!
I just made this for dinner tonight. I used marinated red peppers and dried basil. It was delicious. My husband loved it too! He is very picky about trying new things. This is a keeper!
I found this dish a couple of years ago and have made it at least once per month since then. I don’t change a single thing. It’s creamy, hearty, delicious, and eating it is more enjoyable than eating pasta at a restaurant.
Don’t skimp on the fresh basil – it really takes it up a notch.
I like the recipe .
This was crazy good! Made this for a young friend recuperating from a broken clavicle and craving “Soprano” food. Made this and meatballs for him.
Changed nothing – recipe is astounding as is! Thank you for teaching this old Eyetalian cook some new tricks!
Oh. Em. Gee!
My taste buds are tingling.
This is very tasty and even my hubby who hates veggies loved it!
I did not add additional salt since hubby has to watch his intake but it was still very good.
I did substitute the beef for Veggie crumbles and they added the right amount of texture.
Thank You for sharing this recipe. It’s going to be on rotation in my home.
So good! I doubled so we could have leftovers.
A lot of good reviews…Do I have to make it right before dinner? What parts can I prepare ahead of time…so won’t be in time crunch when folks come over?
Delicious and mouth watering, perfect dish to make for lunches at school
Absolutely fabulous recipe!! This is definitely a keeper
A winner forsure!
Really great recipe! I didn’t follow it exactly. I used some of the water from the red pepper jar in the blender with the stock, and used more garlic and onion than the recipe called for. I also skipped the sausage and made breaded fried chicken in the air fryer to go with it. Delicious.
My husband just had a taste of the sauce of the spoon and loved it. I am just plating and I said he was going to love this… he said I already do! Thank you for another winner!
GWORL I made this with multicolor bell peppers I oven charred, tomato puree and plant heavy cream. We have an onion and garlic sensitivity in the home so I left them out and in the words of Lionel Richie this was OUTRAGEOUS.
I just made this today and it is fantastic! I subbed the heavy cream for full fat coconut milk but kept the parm since I am a confused woman who is lactose intolerant. Either way, it’s delicious!!!
So good and easy to make!
This is an amazing restaurant quality recipe! Very much one of our favourites. Just a quick question, though. Would it be possible to make ahead and freeze?
Hi. Wondering if you found out if this is freezable? I am planning to make it soon but on the off chance that some is leftover, just curious if I can freeze.
Holly