Roasted beetroot pasta is a simple, delicious vegetarian meal idea. It contains a handful of ingredients and is incredibly easy to put together. Your mac'n cheese never looked so good!
Today on the blog a dish that's not only quick to make it's full of colour and flavour - roasted beetroot pasta.
When it comes to quick and easy meals pasta is usually my first choice. It cooks in minutes and can be combined with a variety of ingredients, not necessarily including tomatoes. Or a heavy cheese sauce.
Beetroot can be prepared using different methods but for this pasta recipe I decided to roast it. To speed things up I peeled the beets and cut into wedges before popping in the oven. I wanted the beetroot to cook quickly and evenly.
To make things even simpler (as well as for added flavour) I roasted the beetroot along with garlic and onion. This made assembling this beetroot pasta very quick and easy.
Beet pasta ingredients
- Pasta: Use any pasta shapes. Reserve some of the pasta water to adjust the consistency of the sauce later.
- Beets: Peel and cut these into wedges before roasting.
- Red onion and garlic: Enhance the flavour of the sauce.
- Oil: Used to coat the vegetables before roasting.
- Yogurt: Helps to tone down the sweetness and earthy flavour of the beetroot.
- Parmesan: Adds more depth of flavour.
Step-by-step recipe instructions
1.Preheat the oven to 200 C. Peel the beets and cut into wedges. Place in a tray or on top of a baking sheet along with the red onion and garlic cloves, season and drizzle over about 2 tablespoons of oil. Stir.
2. Roast in the centre of the oven for 30 minutes or until the beetroot is tender. Halfway through stir the vegetables, remove the garlic from the oven and set aside (it needs less roasting time than the beets and onion).
In the meantime boil the pasta according to packet instructions (reserve at least ½ cup of water from boiling the pasta).
3. Remove the beets and onion from the oven, combine with the garlic, 2 tablespoons of yogurt and water from cooking the pasta (start with ⅓ cup and add more if needed later) and puree. Season to taste.
4. Combine the cooked pasta with the beetroot sauce, add 3 tablespoons of finely grated parmesan, season to taste and stir thoroughly. Heat up and add a bit more water if needed and serve immediately.
Top tips and FAQs
- Half way through roasting the vegetables remove the garlic from the oven (it doesn't need to roast as long as the beetroot).
- The sauce: Add the water gradually to get the consistency you want.
- You may have to reheat the sauce before combining with the pasta.
- The pasta: Use any pasta shapes you like.
- Best served immediately. Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. You may have to add a splash of water (and adjust the seasoning) when reheating your beetroot pasta.
Can I freeze this dish
Yes, you can, but I recommend only freezing the sauce and cooking the pasta just before serving. The process of freezing, defrosting and reheating might make the pasta soggy so it's best to boil and combine it with the beet sauce when you are ready to serve this dish.
Serving suggestions
This beet pasta makes a great vegetarian lunch. I like to serve it with a handful of peppery, slightly nutty tasting arugula (rocket leaves), a drizzle of oil and seasoning, but any simple salad would do. Grilled zucchini, cooked or steamed broccoli, garden peas or green beans are also good choices.
Related recipes
- Roasted Beetroot and Feta Pasta Salad
- Creamy Spinach Mac and Cheese (Healthy)
- Creamy Pasta and Broccoli (Low Fat)
- Avocado Basil Pesto Pasta Sauce (Low Fat)
Check out also this collection of healthy vegetarian pasta meals.
Keep in touch
If you make this creamy beet pasta I'd love to know how it turned out for you. Let me know in the comments below, thanks!
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Roasted Beetroot Pasta Recipe
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 240 g raw macaroni or another pasta, enough for 4, reserve at least ½ of water from boiling the pasta
- 200 g beetroot peeled weight
- 1 red onion peeled, cut into 6 wedges
- 2 garlic cloves whole, peeled
- 2 tbsp yogurt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp parmesan cheese finely grated, ensure it's vegetarian if required
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F/ 200 C/ gas mark 6. Peel the beetroot, cut into wedges and place on top of a baking sheet. Add the onion and garlic, season and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of oil. Bake for 30 minutes or until the beetroot is tender. Halfway through remove the garlic from the oven and stir the beets and onion. Whilst the vegetables are in the oven boil the pasta in salted water according to packet instructions. Drain and reserve at least ½ cup of the water from cooking.
- Remove the vegetables from the oven, puree along with the garlic, yogurt and ⅓ cup of the water from cooking the pasta (you can add more later if needed). Season to taste and set aside.
- Combine the beetroot sauce with the pasta and grated parmesan, stir, adjust the seasoning (and add more water if needed) and serve.
Notes
- Half way through roasting the vegetables remove the garlic from the oven (it doesn't need to roast as long as the beetroot).
- The sauce: Add the water gradually to get the consistency you want.
- You may have to reheat the sauce before combining with the pasta.
- The pasta: Use any pasta shapes you like.
- Best served immediately. Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. You may have to add a splash of water (and adjust the seasoning) when reheating the pasta.
- Serve with arugula (rocket leaves), a drizzle of oil, crispy salad, caesar salad, garden peas, green beans or steamed broccoli.
- Freezing: I recommend only freezing the sauce and cooking the pasta just before serving. The process of freezing, defrosting and reheating might make the pasta soggy so it's best to boil and combine it with the beet sauce when you are ready to serve this dish.
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is automatically generated and should be considered as an estimate.
**A note about baking: If using a fan-assisted oven refer to your appliance's instructions and adjust the temperature accordingly.
Oooh yum! We all adore beetroot and I love your twist on a classic meal. Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x
Thank you Kirsty:)
How did i guess when i saw beetroot it would be your recipe. Love all your ideas for it and this looks so vibrant and bright.
I am becoming predictable! But I do love beetroot so much, it produces such vibrant looking dishes I find it so very appealing:)
The beetroot sauce with this pasta looks amazing - so vibrant and such a creative way to use beetroot. I do love all your beetroot recipes Monika!
Thank you Corina! I have to say I like the beetroot for its flavour as well as its colour - it's not a vegetable you can hide in a stew:)
Wow, what a brilliant colour! This is a really good idea for using beetroot, and would make a great halloween recipe! #recipeoftheweek
Thank you! Yes, it would be great on halloween, why didn't I think of that!