This creamy homemade brie and red pepper pesto is a luxurious twist on a classic. With a thick, creamy and melty texture, it makes for a hearty vegetarian dinner. This can be ready in 15 minutes if you use roasted red peppers from a jar.

An easy homemade red pepper pesto recipe, with a little something extra! The addition of brie makes this sauce super creamy. Simply stir into cooked pasta, or it would make a great base for a gooey, hearty pasta bake. Scrumptious!

Those first few post-pregnancy food shops were pretty great, in that they could now involve BRIE again!

So in those early days with a newborn, a high proportion of dinners I put together involved it in some form. This was not the healthiest of situations, but felt necessary. Spending all day looking after a newborn, it was hard to get a decent lunch. Mr. Veggie was working hard and rarely got a break to eat a decent lunch either. So come dinner time, we were staaaaarving. I would pile our plates with all the carbs and all the fats.

On this particular occasion I made a roasted red pepper pesto and just stuffed some brie into the food processor to see what might happen. Total success – the brie makes the pesto sauce super creamy and melty when warmed up. I’ve made it countless times since, especially when we are having people over for dinner, because it’s not too demanding but is a little bit different.

If using jarred red peppers, this can come together in 15 minutes – the pesto can be made while the pasta cooks. Easy peasy!

An easy homemade red pepper pesto recipe, with a little something extra! The addition of brie makes this sauce super creamy. Simply stir into cooked pasta, or it would make a great base for a gooey, hearty pasta bake. Scrumptious!

If you love adding brie to stuff (and come on, who doesn’t?) you should also check out this one pot mac and cheese.

Brie Red Pepper Pesto Pasta

This creamy brie and red pepper pesto is a luxurious twist on a classic. With an irresistably thick, creamy and melty texture, it makes for a hearty vegetarian dinner.
4 -6 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
4.88 from 8 ratings
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Ingredients

  • 18 oz (500 g) dried spaghetti or linguine

Pesto:

  • 1 cup (125 g) walnut halves, use a little less if they are chopped walnuts and you're measuring by cup
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • A few handfuls of fresh basil
  • 3 red peppers, or a mix of red and yellow / orange (or use 3 jarred, to save time)
  • 5 sundried tomatoes, or a few tablespoons of sundried tomato puree
  • 4 Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
  • 4.4 oz (125 g) mild brie
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 2.6 oz (75 g) grated parmesan cheese – or a hard Italian cheese made with vegetarian rennet, more for topping, if desired

Instructions 

  • First you will roast your peppers, if you are not using jarred. Slice each pepper into thick rings, and place on a baking tray tossed in oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast for 25 minutes at 450F / 230C.
  • Boil spaghetti according to package instructions.
  • While the spaghetti is cooking, place all of the pesto ingredients into a food processor and pulse until creamy but textured.
  • Drain your spaghetti and stir in the pesto for a few minutes until it starts to get melty.

Notes

I recommend using a mild brie here. I use an inexpensive store brand brie for this.
Pesto is very versatile – scale ingredients up or down depending on what you have!
Since parmesan cheese is not vegetarian, I use an Italian hard cheese from the Ocado range.
Cuisine: European
Course: Pasta
Author: Christine Melanson
Serving: 1g, Calories: 546kcal, Carbohydrates: 47g, Protein: 19g, Fat: 33g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 22g, Cholesterol: 36mg, Sodium: 395mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 8g