Copycat Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Brio

Serve a restaurant quality meal at home with this creamy and flavorful Copycat Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Brio that will soon be a family favorite!

This Copycat Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Brio is from the awesome Italian restaurant, Brio Tuscan Grille. I remember when this restaurant first came to my town. It was on the corner of a road we drove on everyday so there was no avoiding it’s deliciousness. Plus, it had the most adorable patio seating with a little area designated for playing bocce ball. Such a fun idea for a restaurant and made for a super fun dinner with friends or a date. And the food is top notch! The only thing they’re missing is Toasted Ravioli.

What makes this dish is that creamy roasted red pepper sauce. It’s a bold strong red pepper flavor that is perfectly softened and balanced with the cream. Sure you can roast your own peppers but I give you permission to be lazy like me. Besides, sometimes red peppers can be so expensive that they cost just as much as the roasted ones in the jar.

The great thing about this pasta is that it’s got a protein– chicken. It helps make the dish a complete meal and leave you feeling full. You can make the chicken ahead of time or you can cheat and just buy some pre-grilled chicken breasts (thank you Costco!).

There is one ingredient in this dish that my husband doesn’t like but I’m a-okay with that because it means more for me– Mushrooms! I LOVE mushrooms! I chow down on them plain but cook them in butter and oh man, I’ll take them all! I don’t know if it was how I cooked them or the sauce but I got both my daughters to eat one and go back for another. It was probably the sauce that did the trick. Seriously, it’s so good you’ll want to lick the bowl clean!

If you want to serve this for dinner guests, I recommend cooking the chicken, mushrooms, and sauce ahead of time. Just put it in the fridge and then just before serving, you can heat the sauce in a pan while cooking the pasta. Be sure to reserve about a half cup of the starchy pasta water (just scoop some out with a mug). The sauce will have thickened in the fridge so if it seems too thick after mixing with the pasta, just add some starchy water until you get it as thin as you’d like. You can also add some milk if you need to get it even thinner. Emjoy!

Copycat Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Brio

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5 from 1 vote

Copycat Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Brio

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 6

Author Garnish & Glaze

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts
• 12 ounces rigatoni pasta
• 2 tablespoons oil divided
• 3 tablespoon butter divided
• 1 1/2 cups sliced crimini mushrooms
• 1/2 large sweet onion
• 3 cloves garlic chopped
• 1 16 ounce jar roasted red peppers, roughly chopped
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

For the Chicken:

• Pound chicken to an even thickness and then brush chicken with oil. Season with salt and pepper and grill on both sides until done (165 degrees F).

For the Pasta:

• Cook pasta in salted boiling water according to instructions on box. Reserve 1/2 cup starchy pasta water before draining. While the pasta cooks, make the sauce.

For the Sauce:

• In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon of oil over medium high heat. Once the butter melts, add the mushrooms. Stir to get them all coated in the butter and then let them cook for a few minutes on each side. Remove from the skillet.
• Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon butter. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and the roasted red pepper and cook for a minute or two until warmed through. Pour the onion mixture into a blender and puree until smooth.
• Pour back into the pan and then stir in the chicken broth and whipping cream bring to a simmer and add the chicken and mushrooms and cook over medium heat until heated through and sauce starts to thicken.
• Add the sauce to the pasta and mix until evenly coated. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve topped with Parmesan and parsley.

Notes

The chicken and the sauce can be made ahead of time. If you make it the day before, then just before serving, place the sauce with the chicken and mushrooms in a pan to warm up. The sauce with have really thickened so it is important to reserve the starchy cooking water so that if it seems to thick when adding the pasta, you can thin it out with a little bit of that starchy water. If you forget though to reserve it add a little milk.

Love pasta? Here are eight more yummy recipes to try!

Slow Cooker Baked Ziti // The Recipe Rebel

Tomato Basil Penne // One Sweet Appetite

Baked Italian Tortellini // Tried and Tasty

Garlic Parmesan Spaghetti // Dessert Now Dinner Later

Copycat Olive Garden Chicken Alfredo // Cupcake Diaries

One Pot Tuscan Chicken Pasta // Life Made Sweeter

Loaded Mac & Cheese // Lemon Tree Dwelling

Copycat Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Brio // Garnish & Glaze

Creamy Butternut Penne with Spinach and Parmesan // A Kitchen Addiction