This Barbie Pasta is brightly colored and super festive. The fun part about this recipe is that it’s actually beetroot pasta so you can trick your picky eaters with pink pasta that is not only fun-colored but also good for them!
This pink pasta sauce can even be used as a festive meal for Valentine’s Day! Or even if you have extra beets on hand from the garden.
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Ingredients
- Pasta
- Cooked Beets
- Onion
- Parmesan Cheese
- Garlic Powder
- Salt
- Oregano
- Butter
See the recipe card for quantities.
How to Make This Barbie Pasta
In a medium skillet melt the butter. Then saute the onion until the onions turn translucent. Mix in the garlic powder.
Meanwhile, boil the pasta according to the package directions. Once cooked drain and set aside. Save a small amount of the pasta water.
Once the onions are finished cooking, add the onions, beets, oregano, and a couple of tablespoons of the pasta water to a blender. Blend until the sauce is the consistency desired.
Toss the cooked pasta in the sauce and garnish with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
Hint: It make take a few minutes of blending to get your desired consistency, and you may need to add additional pasta water depending on the water content of your beets.
Variations
- Olive oil: You can switch out the butter for olive oil if you prefer. Just make sure that you heat the olive oil before you add onions.
- Garlic: Instead of garlic powder, you can add about one tablespoon of minced garlic cloves to the onions in the last two minutes of cooking if you want a fresh flavor.
- Cheese: Feel free to swap out the parmesan cheese garnish for a sprinkle of feta cheese or even goat cheese. They both will pair well with the flavor of the beets.
If you love delicious pasta recipes you may want to give this Alfredo Spaghetti recipe a try next time.
Equipment
- large pot or pasta pot
- medium skillet
- food processor or blender
Storage
Leftovers – Store the leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Reheating – I prefer to reheat this delicious beet pasta in a skillet or saucepan over medium heat until warm all the way. However, you can also reheat individual portions in the microwave if desired.
Freezing – I don’t recommend freezing the pasta. However, the beautiful beetroot sauce can be frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to three months. Just thaw in the fridge overnight.
Pro Tips
- For this recipe, you will need to use cooked beets. I’ve found that in order to get the bright pink color, roasted fresh beets work best. However, you could also use canned beets for this recipe.
- Rigatoni is my favorite pasta to use in this recipe. However, you can use any type of pasta that you have on hand.
- If you don’t have a food processor you can use a high-speed blender to help you make this pasta.
- You can turn this into a creamy beet sauce if you want to add a splash of heavy cream, or sour cream to the sauce. However, this will change some of the vibrant colors to a more muted pink.
- Feel free to add fresh herbs to the beetroot pasta sauce. One of the great things about this recipe is that it’s easy to customize.
- If you find that when you reheat it the next day it’s a little dry, add a splash of water or vegetable broth to help thin it out some.
- Depending on the water content of your beets you may need to add up to a cup of pasta water to get the desired texture. Just add small amounts at a time so that the sauce doesn’t become too runny.
FAQ
Do you have questions about this recipe? Here are the answers to the most commonly asked questions for this recipe.
Start by preheating the oven to 400 degrees F. Peel and dice the beets into cubes, then toss in oil, salt, and pepper. Spread on a parchment-lined baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes or until desired tenderness is achieved.
I’ve found that al dente works best for this recipe. But, feel free to cook your pasta however your family likes it.
Absolutely, if you need more servings or want to freeze a batch of this pasta sauce feel free to double this recipe.
Yes, I always recommend cooking your pasta in a large pot of salted water. No matter your desired shape salted water will give it flavor.
Related Recipes
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Serve With
These are my favorite dishes to serve with Barbie Pasta:
Recipe Card
Want to make this delicious recipe? Print the recipe card below, or pin it so that you can come back to it later.
Beetroot Pasta – Barbie Pasta
Equipment
- large pot
- Mixing Bowl
- blender or food processer
- medium skillet
Ingredients
- 2 cups rigatoni pasta
- 1 cup cooked beets
- 1 small onion chopped
- 3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons pasta water you may need more
- salt to taste
Instructions
- In a medium skillet melt the butter over medium heat.
- Once the butter is melted add the chopped onion and saute until the onions start to turn translucent. Set aside once cooked.
- While the onions are cooking, cook the pasta according to the package directions in a large pot of salted water.
- Once the pasta is finished cooking drain and set aside. Save a small amount of pasta water for your beetroot sauce.
- In the bowl of a food processor add the beets, onions, oregano, and two tablespoons of the pasta water.
- Puree until your sauce reaches your desired consistency. This may take a couple minutes.
- Toss the cooked pasta in the beetroot sauce before serving.
- Garnish with another sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
Notes
- For this recipe, you will need to use cooked beets. I’ve found that in order to get the bright pink color, roasted fresh beets work best. However, you could also use canned beets for this recipe.
- If you find that when you reheat it the next day it’s a little dry, add a splash of water or vegetable broth to help thin it out some.
- Depending on the water content of your beets you may need to add up to a cup of pasta water to get the desired texture. Just add small amounts at a time so that the sauce doesn’t become too runny.