Sometimes you just want a big old bowl of comforting pasta. This silky sweet and savoury Vegan Red Pepper and Chorizo Pasta made with yummy squiggly malfalda pasta will definitely hit the spot!
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🌶About the ingredients:
Red (and yellow) peppers are slowly cooked down with onion & garlic forming the base of the sauce. The addition of salty capers with slices of smokey vegan chorizo sausage perfectly accent this easy vegan pasta dish.
We're really fortunate to now be able to buy all kinds of vegan sausages, even at our local supermarket! It wasn't always the case though. So if you don't have any vegan sausages available to you, you could always omit them altogether, or use some tofu that has been marinated in paprika and soy sauce then pan-fried before adding to the pasta at the end.
The slowly cooked peppers and onions in this yummy malfalda pasta dish are quite sweet, so the salty kick of capers and chorizo are needed to balance the flavours. You could also add in a spoonful of your favourite hot sauce and/or some sliced olives.
I chose to use malfalda pasta when creating this dish, mostly because I love the squiggly edges and how they sort of 'catch' the red pepper sauce! You can of course use your favourite pasta here instead.
The steps to make this pasta sauce are all quite simple. The sliced chorizo sausage is first pan-fried. Then the onion and peppers are very slowly cooked down, which caramelises them into a lush rich sauce. Along the way garlic and tomato paste are added, before finishing off with the capers, perhaps a spoonful of your favourite hot sauce, if you like it spicy and the chorizo slices.
👩🍳Easy How to Steps:
Ingredients for Vegan Pepper and Chorizo Pasta Step 1: Cutting the Red and Yellow Peppers. Cut the pieces into thin strips that are roughly the same length as the malfada pasta (or other pasta you use) Step 2: Cutting the onion, again cut the pieces roughly the same size as the pasta. Step 3: Cutting the vegan chorizo. Cut into 1-2cm rounds. Step 4: Pan fry the chorizo and set aside. Step 5: Add the onion and peppers with olive oil into a pan. Step 6: Slowly cook the peppers and onion. When starting to soften add the garlic, oregano and tomato paste Step 7 : Boil the pasta you like best. We used malfalda pasta. Once cooked, reserve a ⅓ cup of pasta water. Step 8: Add the capers. (and olives or hot sauce if using) Step 9: A lid on the peppers will help them cook down and caramelise. Step 10: When lush and caramelise, add the chorizo. Step 11@ Tip the cooked pasta into the pan. Add a little of the pasta water you reserved to help loosen the sauce.
❓FAQ about Vegan Red Pepper and Chorizo Pasta
The pasta I used here is called malfalda, which I chose because I like the shape and how the squiggly edges catch the sauce. You can use any short pasta you like though. Penne, fusilli...
Yes, use any pasta you like best! Stop cooking it just before it is quite done, as it will be finished off in the pan.
We like both the chorizo sausages from Tesco and from Marks & Spencer. You can use any of your favourite sausages. If you use a plain vegan sausage, it would be nice to add a spoonful of smoked paprika to the recipe.
This recipe is not spicy, however we added some hot sauce when we were testing this recipe and it was just as delicious. Add however much you love!
Marinate some firm tofu chunks in smoked paprika and a little soy sauce. Then pan fry as per the chorizo.
We hope you love this vegan pasta recipe. It's been on high rotation with our dinners! Serve it up with some salad or garlic bread!
If you are a pasta lover like us, you might like to try some of our other pasta dishes:
- Garlicky White Beans & Greens Pasta
- Vegan Smoked Garlic & Wild Mushroom Pasta
- Vegan Creamy Cannellini Bean & Tomato Pasta
- Quick Garlicky Cavolo Nero Pasta
And if you make too much pasta, don't waste it- pop it in this pasta frittata: Vegan Pasta Frittata
Let us know with a comment and stars if you make our yummy pasta recipe!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Red Pepper and Chorizo Mafalda Pasta
Ingredients Note:
For accuracy, I measure all ingredients in metric as standard, then convert and test the recipe for American cup measurements etc.
(Heads up Aussie and UK readers- your measurements in cups are sometimes different, so please use metric or check you have the correct cup and spoon type!!)
Ingredients
- 320 g (5⅓ cups) malfalda pasta (I allow 80g (1⅓ cups) of pasta per person. Different pasta shapes yield different weight, so if you choose a different pasta, you will need to weigh it)
- 3 medium red or yellow peppers
- 1 large yellow onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2-3 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoon oregano
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 4 tablespoon capers
- 4 vegan chorizo sausages (allow one sausage per person!)
Optional
- 1 teaspoon hot chilli sauce (or to your taste)
- 60 ml (¼ cup) white wine
- 2 tablespoon chopped olives
Instructions
- Put the pasta water on to boil.
- Chop the red peppers and onions into strips that are roughly the same length as the pasta.
- Chop the vegan chorizo sausage into chunks
- In a large frying pan, sautee the chorizo slices in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil until slightly brown. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- In the same frying pan add the rest of the oil, then the onion and red peppers. Cook over a low heat with a lid on for around 10 minutes, stirring occassionally.
- Add the garlic, oregano and tomato paste. Give a good stir and return to the heat. Put the lid back on and keep cooking for 5 -10 minutes. The peppers and onions should start to cook down and caramelise.
- Once the pepper and onions are looking like they are on their way to cooking down, add the pasta to boiling water. Salt well.
- If the onions and peppers start to stick, add a little water. You can also add some white wine here if you like.
- When the pasta is only just barely ready, drain, reserving a ⅓ cup (60 ml) of the pasta cooking liquid.
- Add the pasta to the pan with the peppers. Add the pasta liquid and give a really good stir. This will help the sauce stick to the pasta and finish cooking it.
- Add the reserved chorizo sausages stirring really well so the pasta is completely coated in the sauce.
- Serve at once!
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