Pasta pasta pasta, give us all the pasta! This week we’re sharing a recipe that is a go to for us. It’s one that we tend to make often throughout the year and I’m actually very surprised we haven’t shared it before! ROASTED RED PEPPER MACARONI GOULASH is full of flavor and is a tomato-y, spicy pasta comfort meal in a bowl. It’s made up of plant-based ground burger, bell pepper, onion, and mushrooms. Then we add in some store bought roasted red pepper spread and pasta sauce to make our saucy base and fold in our favorite herbs and spices to flavor it up a bit more– garlic, onion, basil, and oregano. It’s a very tasty meal and is even better as leftovers after all the flavors really have a chance to mingle together. Use your favorite burger, roasted red pepper spread ( we used a spicy one but if you’re not into too much heat, go lighter on the heat index) and your favorite pasta sauce. Oh and since the temps outside are very high right now, we made this in the morning and then spooned into a crock-pot set on low to keep it warmed through until we were ready to serve. That way, you have a delicious meal but your kitchen won’t get overheated from cooking! So, let’s hop to it!
ROASTED RED PEPPER MACARONI GOULASH:
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 heaping cup dried macaroni pasta
- Extra virgin olive oil, for cooking
- 1 medium green bell pepper, diced
- 4 large white button mushrooms, sliced
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1/2 pound plant-based ground burger
- 1 Tablespoon dried onion
- 1 Tablespoon dried basil
- 1 Tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 Tablespoon onion powder
- 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 cup roasted red pepper spread
- 1 cup pasta sauce
- 1/4 cup reserved pasta water
- Salt and pepper to taste
METHOD:
- Start by cooking macaroni pasta according to package instructions. Before draining the water from the pasta, reserve 1/4 cup of the water and set aside.
- To a large skillet with somewhat high edges, add a swirl of extra virgin olive oil. With the heat on med-high, add in the green bell pepper, diced onion, and mushrooms. Cook until the veggies become soft. Add in the dried onions, basil, and oregano. Mix together.
- Push the cooked veggies to the side of the pan- add in ground burger. Let cook until warmed through. Mix into the veggies.
- Add in the cooked pasta and fold together with the burger and veggies. Add in another swirl of extra virgin olive oil and a little salt and pepper.
- Fold in onion powder, garlic powder, and cayenne powder. Turn the heat down to low.
- Stir in the roasted red pepper spread and reserved pasta water. Add sugar and nutritional yeast, fold together.
- Add pasta sauce, fold in throughly.
- Let it heat through if your mealtime is as soon as it’s done or add it t a crock-pot to keep it warm for the day until ready to serve. First turn the heat to high to allow the crock-pot to preheat then turn down to low.
- Enjoy!
The Bunnies Patch 