Beets And Goat Cheese Pasta
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Treat your taste buds to this healthy quick and easy Beets and Goat Cheese Pasta! It’s tender pasta tossed in a perfectly balanced simple sauce composed of roasted garlic, red beets, and onions all pureed together along with some creamy goat cheese. The dish is then finished with a bit more goat cheese, a sprinkle of rich pistachios, and some fresh basil!
Easy Beets And Goat Cheese Pasta Recipe
If you’re not a lover of beets, this dish may be the turning point for you! Even though I myself love beets, I’m not just saying this. This pasta is all the best parts of beets in a creamy cheesy sauce. Yet, it’s refined. Not to say that a dish like my simple Spaghetti Bolognese isn’t refined or special. It absolutely is! But this beets and goat cheese pasta recipe is unique.
So what’s so special about it!?! Let’s start with the sauce made of roasted beets, roasted garlic, and goat cheese. The beets when roasted take on some umami qualities like tomatoes, which transforms them into an ingredient that can add depth of flavor when balanced with other ingredients like roasted garlic and a bit of honey. Then once the pasta is coated in this yummy sauce the pistachios and fresh basil complement the pasta wonderfully well.
Not to mention, this beets and goat cheese pasta is just beautiful to look at! With its vibrant color, it screams healthy and good for you. Beets are a great source of folate and are said to lower blood pressure as well as possibly reduce inflammation. So you can not go wrong adding this superfood to your diet!
Why We Love This Beets And Goat Cheese Pasta
- Easy Recipe! With just a handful of easy to find vegetables and basic pantry ingredients, you can make this delicious beet pasta recipe in just about 45 minutes.
- Healthy and Delicious! This pasta is not only incredibly good with roasted garlic, red beets, and creamy goat cheese, it’s packed with essential vitamins and minerals.
- Vegetarian Option! It’s a fantastic dinner for vegetarians or those trying to cut back on meat. And if you substitute the goat cheese for plant-based cream cheese and agave for honey, it’s vegan.
- Beets – To make this dish you need some peeled and cubed raw beets. You can find already cooked beets in the market, but for this recipe roasting them yourself really makes a difference.
- Onion – I like to use brown onion for the most flavor. But any type of onion will work.
- Garlic – A whole head of garlic is roasted for this dish.
- Olive Oil – You want to use extra virgin olive oil. Ideally, an Italian one of decent quality for the yummiest beet pasta.
- Seasonings – Salt and pepper are used as needed to season the dish.
- Goat Cheese – Creamy goat cheese adds a lovely texture and taste to the dish. Feta is another choice but the pasta will not be as creamy.
- Vegetable Broth – I like to use low-sodium broth to control the amount of added salt.
- Honey – Adds just a touch of sweetness that melds beautifully with the goat cheese and beets.
- Pasta – I used penne pasta, but any type of pasta will work including gluten-free varieties.
- Pistachios – Used to garnish the dish and add a delicious rich crunch. You could also use walnuts if you prefer.
- Basil – The dish is finished with a bit of fresh basil that adds a nice herby freshness to the pasta. You can also use fresh parsley.
This beet pasta with goat cheese is pretty easy to make, so don’t let the food processor part scare you away. If you don’t have one you can also use a blender or immersion blender. The tool may be different but the steps are exactly the same.
To begin, you need to preheat your oven to 400°F (204°F). Then line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. You’re going to prep the beets and garlic next for roasting so you want the oven to be ready to go.
Now, place the cubed red beets and chopped onion on the baking sheet. Next, drizzle them with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle them with a bit of salt and black pepper. Then toss the mixture together until everything is coated in oil and seasonings.
After the beets and onion are prepped, you can move on to the garlic. First, slice about ½ inch off the top of the head of the garlic. Just enough to expose each clove. Then place the head on a sheet of foil and drizzle it with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Next, sprinkle it with a bit of salt on top, wrap the head of the garlic completely in the foil, and then place it on the baking sheet with the beets and onion.
With the beets, onions, and garlic prepped and seasoned, it’s time to roast! Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and roast everything for about 20 to 25 minutes. When done, the beets will be fork tender and the head of garlic will be soft.
While the veggies are roasting you can start cooking the pasta. Bring a large pot of well salted water to a boil and then cook the pasta according to the package instructions or until it reaches al dente. Then reserve one cup of the pasta water and drain the rest. Now, set both the pasta and water aside.
After the veggies are roasted, squeeze the garlic cloves from the head into a food processor. Next, add the roasted beets and onions along with 2 ounces of the goat cheese, the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, hot vegetable broth, and honey. Then puree everything until smooth scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. At this point, if the sauce is too thick add some of the reserved pasta water a little at a time. Then to finish, taste and add more salt and black pepper as needed.
When the sauce is ready, toss it together with the cooked pasta in a large bowl. Then garnish the dish with the remaining goat cheese, crushed pistachios, and fresh basil. Now serve the beet and goat cheese pasta immediately with some Italian Skillet Pull Apart Bread if you like.
Can I Boil The Beets?
You can, but I don’t suggest it. Part of what makes this beet and goat cheese pasta so tasty is that the beets are roasted. Because when roasted, all the natural sugars of beets caramelize a bit, which makes them a little sweeter and a little less earthy. Whereas, boiled beets don’t go through the same process so the flavor is not as developed.
What Else Can I Add To The Pasta?
Anything you like! Don’t want a vegetarian pasta!?! No problem, you can serve it with any protein you like. Some good options are Grilled Chicken or Garlic Butter Shrimp. If you want to add some more veggies you could easily toss it or serve it with a side of steamed broccoli. Feel free to be as creative as you like. Just keep in mind the ratio of sauce to the ratio of extras you add.
Expert Tips
- Fork tender beets. Make sure the beets are fully cooked before attempting to make the sauce. You should be able to easily pierce them with a fork. If not, the sauce will not be smooth.
- Taste the sauce. Do not forget to taste your sauce after it’s made. This is when you want to add the final touches of salt and pepper. It’s much more difficult once the pasta is added.
- Toss and serve immediately. It’s important to combine the cooked pasta and sauce together when they are both hot and serve right away if possible. This helps to ensure that the pasta is evenly coated in sauce.
Storage
Beets and goat cheese pasta leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container. To reheat, just sprinkle the pasta with a bit of water to add some moisture, then cover it and pop it in the microwave on medium power for a few minutes. You can also reheat it in a pan on the stovetop if you prefer. However, I don’t suggest freezing the leftovers.
Other Delicious Pasta Recipe To Try
- Fettuccine Alfredo
- Pasta Puttanesca
- Instant Pot Lasagna
- Chicken Pot Pie Pasta
- Creamy Garlic Butter Spaghetti
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Beets And Goat Cheese Pasta
Ingredients
- 3 medium red beets (peeled and cut into small 1-inch pieces)
- 1 medium onion (peeled and roughly chopped)
- 1 head garlic
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and pepper (to taste)
- 4 ounces goat cheese (crumbled)
- ¼ cup vegetable broth (heated)
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 8 ounces pasta (such as penne, uncooked)
- ¼ cup pistachios (crushed)
- 3 fresh basil leaves (sliced)
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the red beets and onion on the baking sheet and drizzle with 1 tablespoons of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss well.
- Slice about 1/2" off the top of the head of garlic; enough to expose each clove. Place the head on a sheet of foil. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the head of garlic, then sprinkle the salt over top. Wrap the foil to cover the head of garlic completely. Place on the baking sheet.
- Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and roast for 20 to 25 minutes.
- In the meantime, cook the pasta according to package instructions to al dente. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water.
- Once the veggies are roasted, place the roasted beets and onion in a food processor. Squeeze the garlic cloves from the head into the food processor.
- Add 2 ounces of the goat cheese, remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, hot vegetable broth and honey to the pasta and process until smooth, scraping down the side of the bowl as needed. If the sauce is too thick add some of the reserved pasta water. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper as needed.
- Combine the cooked pasta with the prepared sauce in a bowl and toss well to combine. Garnish with remaining goat cheese, crushed pistachios and fresh basil. Serve immediately.
Equipment
Video
Notes
- Fork tender beets. Make sure the beets are fully cooked before attempting to make the sauce. You should be able to easily pierce them with a fork. If not, the sauce will not be smooth.
- Taste the sauce. Do not forget to taste your sauce after it’s made. This is when you want to add the final touches of salt and pepper. It’s much more difficult once the pasta is added.
- Toss and serve immediately. It’s important to combine the cooked pasta and sauce together when they are both hot and serve right away if possible. This helps to ensure that the pasta is evenly coated in sauce.
- Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container. To reheat, just sprinkle the pasta with a bit of water to add some moisture, then cover it and pop it in the microwave on medium power for a few minutes. You can also reheat it in a pan on the stovetop if you prefer. However, I don’t suggest freezing the leftovers.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
I made this tonight and it was delicious! I didn’t add honey, and I didn’t have pistachios so I used pecans. Roasting the beets made such a delicious and beautiful sauce. Thank you!
My pleasure, so glad you liked it!