Creamy Red Pepper Shells
Crumbled Italian sausage, Parmesan, basil, and the most EPIC red pepper cream sauce! So creamy, so so good.
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.