Easy to make, delicious, gorgeous pink pasta recipe with beetroots, garlic & feta (or paneer). It is great option for vegetarian dinner or lunch and can be made vegan too.
This is a perfect yummy hidden veggie pasta for kids and I am sure they will be totally awestruck by its pretty pink colour. If you are looking for pink food ideas for valentines, date night, barbie theme birthday party or girl’s night in, this beet pasta has to be on your list.
It is an ideal option especially for the weeknight meals when you want to make something quick and nutritious. All you have to do is add cooked beets, garlic, feta, lemon juice in a blender jar to make smooth pasta sauce and toss cooked pasta in it.
Though the sauce does not have any heavy cream but still its texture turns out absolutely smooth & velvety. The trick here is to use ‘pasta water’ while blending the sauce to adjust the consistency and helping it to stick to pasta.
The beetroot pasta sauce recipe shared here is:
- Vegetarian
- Can be made vegan
- Has no artificial colours
- Quick & easy dinner recipe
Beetroot Pasta Ingredients:
Pasta: I prefer to use tubular pasta like penne, macaroni or rigatoni as their holes hold the sauce well but feel free to use any variety of your choice. For healthier version, go for pastas made with whole wheat, lentil, chickpea or to make the recipe gluten free use gluten free pasta variety.
Beetroot: Beets form the base of this pink sauce and they need to be cooked or roasted before blending. This is the only step that takes little time but otherwise the recipe is very quick to make. You can easily cut down the cooking time by using precooked or ready to eat beets.
Lemon Juice: Beetroots develop slightly sweet taste on roasting as the natural sugars in them tends to caramelise. This subtle sweetness is well balanced by acidity of lemon juice.
Feta / Paneer: Feta is white crumbly cheese made from goat’s milk and has salty tangy taste. A block of 100 gms of feta has approx 14 gms of protein. It adds protein to the sauce and makes it creamy while complimenting the beetroot flavour.
I have tried making this beetroot pasta sauce with paneer also & it turns out good too. If you don’t have feta, you can easily use paneer which is basically Indian cottage made by curdling milk with vinegar or lemon juice. It has no flavour or taste of itself so you might have to increase the amount of salt or lemon juice in comparison to feta.
Seasoning: The pasta is seasoned with simple salt and black pepper. If you like spicy pasta, feel free to add some chilli flakes also.
Optional Additions:
- To make the pasta even more wholesome, you can add green vegetables like spinach or broccoli to it.
- To make it even creamier you can add 2-3 tbsp cream cheese, low fat cream or a splash of coconut milk.
Can I make this beet pasta vegan?
Yes, it can easily be made vegan by substituting feta cheese with silken tofu or cashews and nutritional yeast (for cheesy flavour). Soak the cashews in warm water for 15 minutes, drain and then use them along with nutritional yeast instead of feta in recipe.
More recipes with beetroot:
Ingredients:
- Pasta (uncooked)- 2 cups (~170 gms or 6 oz.)
- Beetroots*- 1 large or 2 small (~170 gms or 6 oz.)
- Feta (or Paneer)- 100 gms (3.5 oz.)
- Garlic Cloves (chopped)- 2 to 3
- Olive Oil- 2 tsp
- Lemon Juice- 1 tbsp
- Salt- 1/2 tsp (to taste)
- Crushed Black Pepper- 1/2 tsp (to taste)
- Fresh Basil or Cilantro- For garnishing
(*You can use pre-cooked beetroots to cut short the cooking time. The above quantity yields 2 servings. To make vegan sauce, use ‘vegan feta’ or silken tofu or cashews as discussed in post above.)
Directions:
Step 1:
Wash, peel & roughly chop the beetroots. Heat 2 tsp olive oil in a pan. Add garlic & sauté for 30-40 seconds. Add beets, pinch of salt and sauté for 1-2 minutes more. Add 1 tbsp water and cover with a lid. Simmer for 13-15 minutes while stirring every 5 minutes till beets become fork tender.
(Method II: Instead of cooking beets in a pan, you can roast them in oven or air fryer. Toss the chopped beets & garlic in olive oil and salt. Wrap in an aluminium foil and bake on 200°C (400°F) for 25-30 minutes till tender.)
Step 2:
Heat water in a big pot. Add 1 tsp salt to it and add pasta. Cook the pasta al dente (as per packet instructions). Drain and reserve 1/2 cup pasta water to use later (while the pasta is boiling, you can make the sauce).
Step 3:
In a blender jar, add cooked beets, garlic, feta (or paneer), lemon juice and 2-3 tbsp pasta water. Save some feta for garnishing later. Blend till you get smooth creamy sauce. (If you are using paneer, add 1/2 tsp salt and if using feta, skip adding it)
Step 4:
Drain the pasta and add it back to the pan in which we boiled it. Pour this beet sauce over it. Add black pepper and toss gently till entire pasta is covered in sauce.
Add 1-2 tbsp pasta water (if required) while mixing to adjust the consistency. Taste and adjust salt or seasoning as per your taste. Garnish with some crumbled feta & chopped fresh herbs before serving.
Storage & Reheating: The leftover pasta can easily be stored in an airtight container in fridge for 1-2 days. To reheat it, microwave for 1-2 minutes. Add a splash of water (or pasta water) before reheating.
Can I make pasta in advance? Yes but if you love saucy pasta then I would not recommend it as the pasta absorbs all the liquid with time. However, you can make the sauce in advance & store it in fridge. Cook the pasta just before serving and toss it in the sauce.
Tips:
- The recipe is flexible and you can vary the ratio of beetroot and feta cheese as per your liking.
- Cut the beetroot into small pieces as large chunks can take longer to cook.
- For adding crunchy texture in pasta, top up with some chopped nuts like roasted walnuts or pistachios before serving.
- To make this pasta even more healthy, add chopped spinach, cooked chickpea or steamed broccoli (in last step when mixing pasta with sauce).
Pin for later:
More vegetarian pasta recipes you might like to try:
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(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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Wow! I am making this for dinner tonight.
Thank you. Hope you will like it 🙂