Spin The Beet Pasta
This one genuinely stopped us in our tracks the first time we made it. A silky, vibrant beetroot and plant-based feta sauce that turns the most ludicrously pink pasta you've ever seen, and it tastes even better than it looks. The feta brings a creamy saltiness that balances the earthy sweetness of the beetroot perfectly, and the lemon lifts the whole thing so it feels fresh and bright rather than heavy. It's ready in 25 minutes, it looks like something from a fancy restaurant, and we promise you'll be making it on repeat.
Before You Start
- Food processor
- Large pan for pasta
- 2x small pans
Ingredients
- 200g plant-based feta
- 200g pre-cooked beetroot
- 1 lemon
- Nooch
- Salt and pepper
- 400g pasta (shape of your choice)
- 200g plant-based feta
- 150g baby spinach
- 30g basil
- 1 small garlic clove
- 1 lemon
- 400g pasta (shape of your choice)
- rocket dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar to serve
Method
Cook the pasta
- Fill a large pan with boiling water, add a good pinch of salt, 800g pasta and cook according to packet instructions (approx 9 minutes).
Prepare the beetroot sauce
- Zest and halve the lemon.
- Squeeze the lemon juice into the food processor, add the plant based feta cheese and beetroot and blitz into silky sauce.
- Taste, season to perfection and pour into the small pan.
- Add half a ladle of pasta water to the pan, stir and simmer over medium heat until warmed through and bubbling gently.
Prepare the spinach sauce
- Peel the garlic clove.
- Pick the basil leaves.
- Zest and halve the lemon.
- Squeeze the lemon juice into the food processor, add the garlic clove, basil, plant based feta cheese and spinach and blitz into a silky sauce (add a little water to loosen if needs be).
- Taste, season to perfection and pour into the small pan.
- Add half a ladle of pasta water to the pan, stir and simmer over medium heat until warmed through and bubbling gently.
Finish and serve
- Drain the pasta, pour back evenly into two pans, pour over the beetroot sauce and stir to combine, cover and coat - then do the same with the spinach.
- Taste and season to taste with Nooch, salt and pepper.
- Transfer to serving bowls, garnish with reserved lemon zest, dress with a simple green salad and serve immediately.
Alternative (fun) serving suggestion
- Place a line of rocket down the middle of a large plate.
- Serve the pink pasta on one side of the rocket and serve the green pasta on the other.
- Sprinkle over the lemon zest and serve immediately.
Tips & Variations
- Use good pasta: We find a wide pasta like pappardelle or rigatoni works brilliantly here because the sauce gets into all the ridges and crevices. That said, spaghetti totally works if it's what you've got.
- Don't skip the lemon zest: It might seem like a small thing but the zest adds a brightness that the juice alone just doesn't give you. Trust us on this one, it makes a real difference.
- Make it extra creamy: Henry always adds an extra spoonful of plant-based feta on top when serving. A little crumble of it over the finished bowl is genuinely next level.
Why This Works
The trick here is blitzing the beetroot and feta together into a properly smooth sauce, none of that chunky business. Adding a ladle of starchy pasta water to the pan is what makes it cling to every strand of pasta rather than sliding off. That combo of creamy, salty, earthy and citrusy is what keeps us coming back to this one.