Beet Pasta Sauce
This 20-minute savoury beet pasta sauce is made with cooked beets, coconut milk, cashews and lemon zest. It can be served with pasta for a delicious weeknight meal. Naturally vegan.
Servings: 3 servings
Calories: 333kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 small cooked red beets (about 6 oz or 170g) - if you have raw, see how to cook above
- ⅓ cup cashews* (30g)
- ½ cup coconut milk (120ml)
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 2 large garlic cloves, crushed (or 3 small ones)
- 1 lemon zested, then 1 tablespoon juiced
- 1½ teaspoon sea salt
- 11 oz fettuccini, spaghetti or your favorite pasta (about 300g)
Optional
- arugula
- vegan cheese or walnuts
Instructions
- Add beets, cashews, coconut milk, nutritional yeast, garlic, lemon zest, 1 tablespoon lemon juice (if you have more, you can use the rest for another purpose) and sea salt to a high speed blender and blitz on high power for about 20 seconds, or until completely smooth. Set aside.
- Cook pasta as per package instructions. When cooked, rinse and drain in a sieve.
- Return empty pan to stove and add beet sauce (don't add pasta yet). Cook on medium-low temperature for 3 minutes, until sauce is bubbling very gently and smells fragrant but not burnt (I do this to cook the garlic a little so it's not completely raw, but this step is optional).
- Add pasta to the pan and coat evenly in sauce. Heat through, then serve in bowls topped with arugula, fresh herbs, vegan feta cheese and/or walnuts, if desired.
Notes
*If you don't have a high speed blender, soak your cashews in water for 4 hours first - this will help get them really creamy when blended.
Substitutions:
Cashews - Can be subbed for silken tofu or sunflower seeds. If using sunflower seeds and you don't have a high speed blender, they will need to be soaked for 4 hours +.
Coconut milk - You can sub other regular unsweetened dairy-free milk. I recommend using coconut milk however, as it gives the dish a delicious indulgent flavour.
Nutritional yeast - Can be omitted, your sauce just won't have such a savoury taste.
Storage:
Store in a sealed container in the fridge (with or without the pasta) for up to 3 days. Sauce can be frozen (without pasta) for up to one month.
Nutrition
Calories: 333kcal | Carbohydrates: 60.4g | Protein: 10.4g | Fat: 7.4g | Saturated Fat: 3.8g | Sodium: 1515mg | Potassium: 215mg | Fiber: 6.3g | Sugar: 5.1g | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 2mg