It's time to drop all your prejudices when it comes to beets! I'm convinced that this recipe will make you LOVE this underrated root vegetable. I'm sharing all my shortcuts to skip peeling and cooking the beets and shorten the soaking time of cashews for a quick and easy vegan pasta dish (with a gluten-free option).

Pink pasta topped with arugula and balsamic glaze on a beige ceramic plate.

Here's the deal: With this beet pasta sauce recipe, your hands won't turn pink from peeling beets, the beets won't take forever to cook, and the sauce will not taste like forest soil.

The secret is combining beets with balsamic caramelized shallots and tomato paste. Trust me! This combo is incredible. You gotta make it for your next pasta night.

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Why you'll love this pasta recipe
Pre-cooked vacuum-packed beets
Key ingredients and substitutions
Elo's tips
How to make beet pasta
Storage tips
Serving tips
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The recipe

Why you'll love this pasta recipe

The combination of pre-cooked beets and cashews makes this sauce incredibly creamy!
It's a great way to sneak an "unpopular" vegetable into a dish we all love: pasta!
The sauce comes together in a blender.
You can eat this beet pasta recipe warm in winter and or cold during summer.
The beets give the pasta a fun bright pink color that makes it perfect for celebrations such as Valentine's Day, date nights, or girl's nights.

Pre-cooked vacuum-packed beets

If you rarely eat beets because of the time and effort required to prepare them, let me tell you a secret. You can find pre-cooked vacuum-packed beets that are ready to use at most grocery stores.

They can not only be turned into a creamy beet pasta sauce, but also diced and served as a side salad (I love tossing them in balsamic dressing), or blended into veggie burger patties.

Key ingredients and substitutions

Raw cashews: For that creamy, silky smooth texture without using dairy or soy products! It's also a great alternative to coconut milk to make a vegan pasta sauce.
Pasta: I use gluten-free fusilli (or in this case fusilli corti bucati) which hold the sauce really well. Overall I'd recommend twisted pasta shapes but you can serve the beetroot sauce with any pasta shape you like. Use gluten-free pasta if needed.
Shallots and garlic: Shallots are more delicate than onions and their natural sweetness perfectly balances the earthy flavor of beets.
Tomato paste and balsamic vinegar: Once heated with the shallots and garlic, the balsamic vinegar caramelizes and completely elevates the beetroot sauce.
Pre-cooked red beets (vacuum-packed): They are super convenient and blend easily into a creamy sauce. You'll need about 1 large beet (or 1 and a half medium beet) for this recipe.

Elo's tips

Soak the cashews in boiling hot water. They will soften them much quicker than if you use cold water.
Use vacuum-packed pre-cooked beets to save time. If you cannot find them at your grocery store, you can also cook them at home. Simply peel the beets and cut them into 8 pieces (to help them cook more quickly). Steam or boil them until fork-tender.
Use a powerful blender to blend the sauce–you really want it to be silky smooth. Hence why an immersion blender might not be powerful enough. I'm using the Nutribullet Pro 900W which works like a charm.
If you're blending the sauce in a personal blender, such as the Nutribullet, make sure to wait a minute for the pasta water to cool down before blending. The steam could build up pressure inside your blender and it could explode in your kitchen.
Let the sauce cool down completely and rinse the pasta under cold water if you want to eat it cold.

How to make beet pasta

Cashews covered with water in a beige ceramic bowl.

STEP 1: Soak the cashews. This will soften them and help them blend into a creamy sauce without any bits or pieces.

Cooked fusilli pasta in a beige colander.

STEP 2: Cook the pasta in a large pot with salted water. Save 1 cup of pasta water while the pasta is cooking. Drain when cooked al dente.

Diced cooked beets, sliced shallots, and minced garlic in 3 separate small bowls.

STEP 3: Chop. Cut the pre-cooked beets into pieces that fit your blender. Thinly slice the shallots and mince the garlic.

STEP 4: Sauté and caramelize! Add the sliced shallot and the garlic to a pan with olive oil. Sauté over medium heat until the shallots have softened. Add in the tomato paste and balsamic vinegar. Stir for 2 minutes until thickened and caramelized. If the mixture sticks to the pan, simply add a splash of water.

Blended pink beetroot sauce in a blender jug.

STEP 5: Blend into a sauce. Add the pre-cooked beets that you cut into small pieces to a high-speed blender with the drained cashews, shallot mixture, reserved pasta water, and salt. Blend until you obtain a creamy texture. Adjust seasoning with salt if needed.

Cooked pasta covered in a pink sauce in a beige cast-iron pot.

STEP 6: Toss. Once drained, add the cooked pasta back to the pot. Pour in the beet pasta sauce and toss until well-coated.

Storage tips

You can store leftover beet pasta in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
To reheat it on the stove, add a splash of water to the pasta and stir until creamy.
To reheat it in the microwave, add a splash of water to the pasta and cover with a lid or a plate that you turned upside-down. The formation of steam prevents the pasta from being dry.
If you have some leftover vegan beet pasta sauce, you can store it in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Serve it over freshly cooked pasta. You can rinse the pasta under cold water if you'd like to eat them cold.

Serving tips

I like serving this cashew beet pasta with arugula and a drizzle of balsamic glaze.
For a salty touch, you can add some crumbled vegan feta or this homemade marinated tofu feta.
If you like it cheesy, add some vegan parmesan cheese. You can easily make it at home by blending cashews, nutritional yeast, and salt in a food processor.
Dry-roast some chopped cashews or sunflower seeds in a pan (without oil) until golden. They make a great topping that adds some crunch and a toasted flavor.