You haven’t quite had pasta like this cream cheese beet pasta! Beets are roasted with onion and garlic and blended with olive oil, pasta water, and cream cheese to make a perfectly creamy beet sauce for your pasta dinner.
Deliciously Creamy Beet Pasta
If you haven’t had roasted beet pasta with cream cheese, you’re seriously missing out. The flavor of the beets combined with cream cheese provides a rich, creamy, and earthy flavor, while a bit of lemon zest adds just enough brightness to lighten the dish. It’s an amazing pasta recipe!
Not only does this beautiful beetroot sauce have an iconic pink color, but it also tastes absolutely heavenly. It’s got that real wow factor that’ll have anyone who’s trying it raving.
We served this pink pasta recipe with extra cream cheese, walnuts, fresh mint, and lemon zest as a topping. But you can easily add your own special touches if you feel inclined. It tastes great with a green salad or roasted veggies as a side, but it’s also satisfying enough on its own!
why you’ll love it!
- The vibrant hue and extraordinary taste of this beautiful dish will easily impress any guest.
- The roasted veggies give the beetroot pasta sauce so much flavor.
- It’ll win over any picky eater!
- You can easily customize the toppings to give it your own little spin.
Featured Ingredients
- Beets: we recommend medium to large fresh beets for this recipe. Precooked beets do not give the same vibrant color.
- Garlic & onion: roasted garlic and white onion make a nice flavorful base for the pasta sauce.
- Bucatini noodles: we used bucatini noodles, but spaghetti or any longer noodle will work fine.
- Pasta water: this is used to thin out the sauce without taking away much flavor.
- Cream cheese: cream cheese is what makes this sauce ultra-creamy, rich, and delicious!
- Walnuts: roasted and salted walnuts are used as a topping to add a nutty crunch.
- Fresh mint: we LOVE how fresh mint tastes with this cream cheese beet pasta sauce.
- Lemon zest: a bit of lemon zest is all you need to balance out the earthy flavors with some acidity.
Other Great Pasta Topping Ideas
Want to try out other toppings for your cream cheese beet pasta? Here are some of our suggestions:
Cheese: Swap out the cream cheese topping with either feta cheese, Parmesan cheese, or goat cheese for a different taste.
Nuts: Instead of roasted and salted walnuts, try raw cashews, pine nuts, or sunflower seeds.
Herbs: Not a fan of mint? Fresh basil, thyme, or oregano also work great.
Tutorial
How to Thicken Pasta Sauce
No matter how closely you follow a recipe, sometimes you end up with a watery pasta sauce. Have no fear, it is very easy to thicken pasta sauce one of these 3 ways!
How to Make Cream Cheese Beet Pasta
PREHEAT OVEN
Preheat the oven to 400ºF and cut two pieces of tin foil for the beets, garlic, and onion.
SEASON VEGGIES
Place the beets in a piece of tin foil and drizzle them with 2 teaspoons of olive oil, and season with ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon of pepper. Seal the tin foil tight so no heat can escape.
Next, place the garlic and onion in a piece of tin foil, drizzle with 2 teaspoons olive oil and ¼ teaspoon of salt, and ¼ teaspoon of pepper, and seal so no heat can escape.
ROAST VEGGIES
Transfer the beets, garlic, and onion to a baking sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes or until the beets are fork-tender and the garlic is soft.
Pro Tip: The time it takes to roast the beets will vary by the size of the beet and the oven used, so check in at the 20-minute mark just in case!
COOK PASTA
While the vegetables are roasting, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the bucatini until al dente.
Set aside 1 cup of pasta water for later (we take out more than we need, just in case). Then strain the pasta and set it aside.
BLEND EVERYTHING TOGETHER
When the vegetables are done roasting, carefully peel the beets and transfer them to a high-speed blender along with the onion. Then carefully squeeze the garlic cloves out of the garlic wrapper into the blender.
Add the rest of the olive oil, 2 oz. of cream cheese, the rest of the salt, and 4 tablespoons of starchy pasta water to the blender and blend all of the ingredients together until smooth. Taste test the sauce and add more salt if needed.
Pro Tip: You can make a thicker sauce by adding less starch water and a thinner sauce by adding more starchy water.
ASSEMBLE
If the sauce is still hot, add the sauce and cooked pasta to a large bowl and mix.
If the sauce needs to be warmed up, transfer the sauce to a saucepan and heat over medium heat until it reaches the desired temperature.
ADD TOPPINGS + ENJOY
When the sauce and pasta are combined, top with the remaining cream cheese, pistachios, dill, lemon zest, and flakey salt.
Serve immediately and enjoy!
Top Tips & Qs
Why do you cook the beets, onion, and garlic in foil?
We cook the beets in tin foil because it helps the vegetables to stay moist while also achieving a faster cooking time.
Can I use precooked beets from the grocery store?
Precooked beets do not give the same vibrant colors. While it will still give the same taste and flavor as beets you roast at home, it will yield a much browner sauce.
Can I make this in advance?
Sure! Simply follow the steps in the recipe card to make the sauce without cooking the pasta. When the sauce is finished, place it in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
When ready to serve, cook the pasta and reheat the sauce on low heat. If the pasta is too thick, you can always add a splash of milk or water. Then combine the pasta with the sauce and you’re good to go!
Can I use any type of pasta for this recipe?
Of course! We love how this recipe tastes with longer noodles like bucatini or spaghetti, but it’ll taste just as good with any kind of pasta. Feel free to go with your own preference!
Storage
Store any leftover cream cheese beet pasta in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Cream Cheese Beet Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 medium/large beets ends cut off and cut into fourths
- 1 head garlic
- ¼ large white onion
- 1.5 tablespoons olive oil separated
- 16 oz. spaghetti bucatini, or any longer noodle
- 1 cup starchy pasta water
- 4 oz. cream cheese
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt separated
- ½ cup roasted and salted walnuts
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped mint
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- ½ teaspoon flaky sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF and cut two pieces of tin foil for the beets, garlic, and onion.
- Place the beets in a piece of tin foil and drizzle them with 2 teaspoons of olive oil, and season with ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon of pepper. Seal the tin foil tight so no heat can escape.
- Next, place the garlic and onion in a piece of tin foil, drizzle with 2 teaspoons olive oil and ¼ teaspoon of salt, and ¼ teaspoon of pepper, and seal so no heat can escape.
- Transfer the beets, garlic, and onion to a baking sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes or until the beets are fork-tender and the garlic is soft.
- While the vegetables are roasting, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the bucatini until al dente. Set aside 1 cup of pasta water for later (we take out more than we need, just in case). Strain the pasta and set aside.
- When the vegetables are done roasting, carefully peel the beets and transfer them to a high-speed blender along with the onion. Carefully squeeze the garlic cloves out of the garlic wrapper into the blender.
- Add the rest of the olive oil, 2 oz. of cream cheese, the rest of the salt, and 4 tablespoons of starchy pasta water to the blender and blend all of the ingredients together until smooth. Taste test the sauce and add more salt if needed.
- If the sauce is still hot, add the sauce and cooked pasta to a large bowl and mix. If the sauce needs to be warmed up, transfer the sauce to a saucepan and heat over medium heat until it reaches the desired temperature.
- When the sauce and pasta are combined, top with the remaining cream cheese, pistachios, dill, lemon zest, and flakey salt. Serve immediately.
Tips & Notes
- We cook the beets in tin foil because they stay moist and cook faster.
- The time it takes to roast the beets will vary by the size of the beet and the oven used.
- You can make a thicker sauce by adding less starch water and a thinner sauce by adding more starchy water.
- Precooked beets do not give the same vibrant colors.
