Creamy beetroot pasta: a flavorful and vibrant dish made with just three main ingredients. Pasta coated in a beautiful beetroot sauce made with cream fraiche or cream cheese.
Do you need a pink recipe to celebrate Valentine's Day this year? How about a creamy and delightful beetroot pasta recipe made in no time and with just a few ingredients? A delicious and simple dish that will convince anyone that beets are just amazing.
And if you are looking for more Valentine’s suitable food, have a look at these Valentine Sugar Cookies or this Heart Shaped Cheesecake; they are fabulous desserts to serve after a bowl of beet pasta. Or how about some drinks? The Gooseberry Gin or the Rhubarb and Ginger Gin have the right color as well.
Recipe ingredients
Just three main ingredients: fresh beets, pasta, and crème fraiche or cream cheese.
- Raw beet: I had a relatively large beet, weighing about 1 lb/ 450 g, before peeling. But, of course, you can use two or three smaller pieces.
- Pasta: I used spaghetti, but any pasta shape would be fine, either long or short.
- Creme fraiche or cream cheese: I cooked this dish many times and used crème fraiche or cream cheese, depending on what I had in the fridge. The sauce made with crème fraiche is slightly softer, so there is no need to add any milk.
- If you use cream cheese, whisk it well with a small amount of milk to make it creamy before adding it to the sauce.
- Other ingredients: One small onion (white or red onion), vegetable, or chicken stock, 1-2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (or balsamic vinegar), a little olive oil, salt, and black pepper.
How to make beetroot pasta sauce?
- Grate the peeled beets and chop the onion very finely.
- Sauté: Cook the onion on low heat, adding a splash of stock after a couple of minutes to stop it from getting too dark and help it soften (1). Add beets to the pan, stir well, and cook gently for about 3 minutes. (2)
- Simmer: Add the stock, one teaspoon of vinegar, salt, and pepper. Stir and cook on medium-low heat, covered, for about 25 minutes until the vegetables are soft. (3)
- In the meantime, cook the pasta al dente in plenty of generously salted water according to the package directions.
- If using cream cheese, add a splash of milk and whisk well. If using crème fraiche, there is no need to add anything.
- Add the dairy to the cooked beets and stir well. (4)
- Blend the beet sauce with an immersion blender. You can also use a food processor.
- Adjust the taste with a little bit of salt, pepper, and one more teaspoon of vinegar.
- Combine: Drain the pasta. Return it to the pot. Pour the beet purée over the pasta and mix gently but thoroughly.
Expert Tips
Adding salt to pasta water: You can only add flavor to the pasta while it cooks; adding extra salt after cooking will not help. The noodles will only absorb a small amount of salt, and you will drain almost all the cooking water. That, in case you are worried about eating too much salt.
1 lb/ 450 g pasta + about 17 cups/ 4 liters water + 1 tablespoon table salt or 1 ⅓ tablespoon fine sea salt or Kosher salt.
Recipe FAQ
You can make the pink beetroot sauce in advance, keep it in an airtight container, and refrigerate it for 2-3 days. Once you are ready to serve it, cook the pasta, reheat the sauce on low heat (adding a splash of milk if too thick), and combine it with the noodles.
Beetroot pasta is best served immediately.
Refrigerate leftover pasta with beet sauce and add a splash of milk when reheating on gentle heat and preferably in a non-stick pan (or mix with the splash of milk and reheat in the microwave).
The dish is not suitable for freezing.
What goes well with beetroot pasta?
- Serving: Serve the pink beetroot pasta immediately, sprinkled with chopped fresh herbs like parsley or chives and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
- Additional toppings: Top the dish with crumbled feta, goat cheese, toasted pine nuts, or walnuts. The additions are nice but not mandatory; the earthy flavor of the beets is perfect as it is.
- Side dish ideas: Serve the beet spaghetti with a green salad with Yogurt Dressing or Vinaigrette, rocket salad with balsamic dressing, or with cooked or roasted vegetables.
More beetroot recipes
Pink Beetroot Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 lb beetroot raw 450 g, Note 1
- 1 lb pasta 450 g, Note 2
- 1 small onion about 2 oz/ 50 g
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup vegetable stock or chicken stock, 230 ml
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar divided
- 1 cup crème fraiche or cream cheese 230 g, Note 3
- fine sea salt and ground black pepper
Instructions
- Prepare vegetables: Peel, rinse, and roughly grate the beetroot. Set it aside. Finely chop the onion.
- Sauté: Heat the oil in a large, deeper, non-stick pan. Add the onion and a pinch of salt. Cook on low heat for about 3-4 minutes, adding a small splash of the stock halfway through until the onion is softer. Add the grated beets and cook on medium-low heat, stirring a few times, for about 5 minutes.
- Simmer beetroot sauce: Pour in the stock, 1 teaspoon vinegar, and add salt and pepper. Stir well, cover, and cook on medium-low heat for about 25 minutes until soft.
- Cook the pasta: In the meantime, cook the pasta in salted water according to the instructions.
- Make the sauce: Add crème fraiche to the beetroots in the pan and stir well. If you use cream cheese, mix the cheese with a good splash of mix and stir it well to make it creamy. Blend the sauce with an immersion blender.
- Adjust the taste with the remaining vinegar, salt, and pepper. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Add the sauce and mix gently to combine. Serve immediately (Note 4).
Notes
- Weighed before peeling; about 375 g/ 13 oz left after peeling. So it was a reasonably large beet. You can use 2-3 smaller ones instead.
- Spaghetti or any other pasta shape you like, short pasta is fine as well.
- Additions: You can sprinkle the dish with chopped parsley or chives and freshly grated Parmesan (optional). Or top the dish with crumbled feta, roasted pine nuts, or walnuts.
Leave a Reply