Bold, creamy, and gloriously pink – this vibrant beetroot pasta is ready in just 15 minutes. Using pre-cooked beets cuts the prep time right down, and when blitzed with feta, cream cheese, garlic, and lemon, they create a silky sauce that makes a serious statement with very little effort.
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Pink Beet Pasta, at a Glance
- ⏰ Time: 15 minutes
- 🍽️ Serves: 4
- 🛒 Key Ingredients: Pre-cooked beets, feta, cream cheese, garlic, lemon
- 🧠 Skill Level: Beginner-friendly
- 💃 Perfect For: Busy weeknights, speedy dinners, date nights at home, Valentine’s Day, or whenever you want something quick that still feels special
- 💡 Why You’ll Love It: Minimal prep, no roasting needed, vibrant and bold, showstopping with very little effort
- 🌸 Vibe: Gorgeous enough to impress guests, easy enough for an average weeknight.
Why this Beet Pasta is Such a Showstopper
How beautiful is this sauce!? Not only does it make a serious dinner party showstopper, it feels (and looks) indulgent and luxurious, but it’s actually packed full of nutrients thanks to the beets.
Smooth, silky, and naturally vibrant, this very easy (and fast) pasta recipe is fabulous for dinner parties, date night at home, or a girl’s night in. The bright pink color also makes it fun for kids – and I promise it doesn’t taste overly beet-y.
All you need to do is blitz up a quick sauce while your pasta cooks, then toss the two together. That’s it. Fifteen minutes, start to finish.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Beetroot (beets). We’re using ready-to-eat beets here for ease and speed – you can find these in the veggie section of the grocery store. You can also find them jarred, but make sure they’re not in vinegar. That will impact the flavor of the sauce and make it very acidic.
- Feta. This forms the base of our lovely sauce. Go for a high-quality, creamy feta – it will blitz up more smoothly. It will also blend more easily if it’s at room temperature.
- Cream cheese. This helps to create a lovely, smooth finish to the sauce. You can use low-fat cream cheese, or sour cream, creme fraiche, heavy (double) cream, or a plant-based alternative. Greek yogurt isn’t a good substitute here because it will split when it’s heated, and you don’t want grainy pasta sauce.
- Pasta. Feel free to use your favorite shape. I’m using rigatoni in the photos, and I love how the sauce clings to it, but any will do, so just use whatever you have to hand. I’ve also made it with hand-rolled pici pasta (and even colored it with squid ink for a spooky season twist), which I highly recommend if you want to have a little fun with it.
How to Make Pink Beet Pasta
This is a step-by-step photo overview of how to make the pasta – the full recipe with ingredient quantities and instructions is at the bottom of the page for you.
- Add your cooked beets, feta, cream cheese, garlic and lemon juice to a food processor. Cook your pasta.
- Blitz your ingredients into a super smooth, vibrant sauce.
- Drain your pasta, and keep aside a little cooking water. Add the pasta back into the pot you cooked it in, then pour over your pink beet sauce, along with a splash of the cooking water.
- Toss to combine well – you want each piece of pasta to be well coated in sauce. Scatter the grated parmesan on top, then toss again until the sauce is silky and gorgeous.
- Divide your pasta between plates, then top with crumbled feta, dukkah and thyme, and enjoy right away.
Kate’s Top Tips
Pasta cooking water is the secret to a gorgeous silky sauce, thanks to the starch from the pasta itself. Always scoop a little from your pan before draining your pasta.
Add a little more pasta water to loosen your sauce up when you’re mixing it with the pasta – in the pan, you want it to be more liquidy than you’d serve it. The pasta will continue to absorb the sauce the longer it sits. That way, when you’re ready to serve, your sauce should be at the perfect silky smooth consistency.
Pink Beet Pasta FAQs
Yes, you can roast your own beets here – just keep in mind it’ll add quite a bit of time to the recipe. That’s why I prefer pre-cooked beets, especially for a quick weeknight meal. But if you’d like to roast them yourself:
– Wrap two large beets tightly in foil and roast them at 400F (200C) for about 50 minutes. Check them towards the end – you should be able to easily slide a knife all teh way through. If you feel any resistance, pop them back into the oven for a little longer.
– Once they’re tender and cool enough to handle, the skins should easily slip off if you rub them with your hands. If the skins don’t come away easily, they need a bit more time in the oven.
I don’t recommend it. Greek yogurt tends to split when heated, which can make the sauce grainy when you toss it with hot pasta. But, you can swap it with something else:
– Sour cream
– Crème fraîche
– Ricotta
– Heavy cream
– A plant-based cream cheese or cream alternative.
These will all give you a smooth, silky sauce.
This pasta is best served right away. As it sits, the pasta keeps absorbing the sauce, which can make it bloated and change the texture.
But, it’s still totally fine to eat later (and I absolutely do!) If you’re serving the pasta to guests, the best option is to make the pink beet sauce ahead of time, then cook the pasta fresh and toss everything together right before serving.
The sauce itself will keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
It really doesn’t! The beets give the sauce a nice, gentle sweetness (and that beautiful color), but the other ingredients balance everything so it doesn’t taste overly earthy.
Even if you think you don’t like beets I really urge you to try this one out.
Watch How to Make Pink Beet Pasta
Like this recipe? Complete your pink menu with these ideas
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Quick Pink Beetroot Pasta with Feta
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
You only need a handful of everyday ingredients to make the most gloriously vibrant, pink pasta of dreams. Pre-cooked beetroot cuts the prep time right down so you can have this on the table in 15 minutes. Blitzed with feta, cream cheese and garlic, it makes a serious statement at the table.
Ingredients
- 200g/7oz feta cheese
- 2 tablespoons cream cheese
- 2 large ready-cooked beetroot (not beetroot in vinegar)
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 400g/14oz pasta of your choice
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon dukkah
- Handful of fresh thyme leaves
Instructions
- Cook your pasta. Fill a large pot with enough water to come halfway up the sides, then add 1 tablespoon of salt. Set over high heat and bring to a boil. Once it’s boiling, add your pasta and cook until al dente (cooked, but still firm to the bite). Depending on the pasta you’ve chosen, this should take around 8 minutes (use your pasta packet for exact timing instructions).
- Make the pink beetroot sauce. While the pasta cooks, add all but 1 tablespoon of your feta to a small food processor, food chopper or blender, along with the cooked beetroot, 2 tablespoons cream cheese, 2 garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Blitz into a super smooth sauce, scraping down the sides of the bowl a couple of times to ensure it’s all mixing properly. Taste, then add a little more salt if needed.
- Combine the pasta and sauce. Scoop out 1 cup of pasta cooking water, then drain your cooked pasta. Transfer it back into the now dry pan. Pour the pink sauce on top, then add 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water. Set it back on the stovetop, and turn the heat to low. Toss the pasta through the sauce, making sure each piece is well coated. Sprinkle over the parmesan, then toss to combine again as the cheese melts into the sauce. Add a little more pasta water if it’s looking a bit thick at this point – you want your pasta in the pan to be saucier than you’d like to serve it – as pasta sits it continues to absorb liquid. This means that if you keep your sauce looser in the pan, by the time you transfer it to your plate, garnish and serve, the sauce will be at the perfect consistency.
- Garnish and serve. Divide the pasta between plates, then crumble over the set-aside feta. Finish with the dukkah and thyme leaves, then serve right away.
Notes
STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: Like the majority of pasta dishes, this one is best served right after cooking. You can make it ahead and reheat it (it’ll be fine for a couple of days in the fridge), but the texture won’t be the same. The pasta will absorb the liquid as it sits, making it soft and bloated. You can however, make the pink beetroot sauce in advance (it last 5 days in the fridge), then just cook your pasta and mix through the sauce when you’re ready.
INGREDIENT NOTES: Use fresh pasta for an even quicker meal – that generally only takes a couple of minutes to cook. If you do, make the pink sauce before you cook your pasta and then get ready to mix. Swap the cream cheese for sour cream, creme fraiche or regular heavy cream in the pink sauce if you like – I’d avoid Greek yogurt as it will split when it heats up and will make your sauce grainy. Crispy bacon scattered on top would also be a lovely little garnish, as would marinated feta or marinated mozzarella balls.
I promise the sauce doesn’t taste strongly of earthy beetroot if you’re worried – it just brings a lovely sweetness that contrasts beautifully with the salty feta and creamy cream cheese – and of course, the glorious colour.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 10
- Category: pasta
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: mediterranean
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl
- Calories: 619
- Sugar: 9.8g
- Sodium: 944.4mg
- Fat: 20.1g
- Saturated Fat: 10.9g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7.6g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 84.6g
- Fiber: 5.2g
- Protein: 24.3g
- Cholesterol: 56.6mg
