Pink Pasta Beet Cream (Printer View)

Tender pasta coated in a silky beet cream sauce with garlic and Parmesan highlights.

# What you'll need:

→ Pasta

01 - 14 oz dried penne or rigatoni
02 - Salt, for boiling water

→ Beet Cream Sauce

03 - 2 medium cooked beets (about 8.8 oz), peeled and chopped
04 - 2 tbsp olive oil
05 - 1 small onion, finely chopped
06 - 2 garlic cloves, minced
07 - ½ cup heavy cream
08 - 2 tbsp unsalted butter
09 - ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
10 - 1 tbsp lemon juice
11 - ¼ tsp ground black pepper
12 - Salt, to taste

→ Garnish

13 - Fresh basil leaves, for serving
14 - Extra grated Parmesan

# Method:

01 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water, then drain the pasta.
02 - Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the finely chopped onion and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes until translucent. Add minced garlic and cook for an additional minute.
03 - Add chopped cooked beets to the skillet and cook for 2 minutes while stirring. Remove the skillet from heat.
04 - Transfer the beet-onion mixture to a blender. Add heavy cream, unsalted butter, lemon juice, ground black pepper, and a pinch of salt. Blend until smooth and creamy.
05 - Pour the blended sauce back into the skillet over low heat. Stir in grated Parmesan cheese until melted and the sauce is smooth. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.
06 - Add the drained pasta to the sauce and toss to coat evenly. Incorporate reserved pasta water gradually to reach a silky consistency.
07 - Plate the pasta immediately and garnish with fresh basil leaves and extra grated Parmesan cheese.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The sauce comes together in one skillet while pasta cooks, so you're done in under 45 minutes.
  • Beets turn ordinary cream into something visually stunning that tastes like you spent hours on it.
  • It's naturally vegetarian, naturally elegant, and somehow feels healthier than it has any right to be.
02 -
  • Don't skip reserving pasta water—that starch is the difference between a sauce that clings and one that puddles sadly at the bottom of the bowl.
  • Taste the sauce before it hits the pasta; seasoning it properly now means you won't be chasing balance later.
03 -
  • If your sauce breaks or looks grainy, transfer it back to the blender with a splash of cold cream and pulse gently—it almost always recovers.
  • Make the beet cream up to two hours ahead and gently reheat it just before tossing with pasta; this takes pressure off timing on busy nights.
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