5-Ingredient Creamy Pink Beet Pasta Sauce (Vegan)

Ingredients of Vegan Beet Pasta Sauce

This is a really, really short ingredient list! It uses just five ingredients (including salt) and all of them have a long shelf life, so you can grab them from the pantry whenever you're in the mood.

• Beet - Use a red beet, cooked and peeled, for this recipe. This is, of course, the source of that amazing pink color!
• Cashews - The creaminess in this pasta sauce comes from raw cashews. Soak them in advance for the perfectly smooth and creamy texture!
• Garlic cloves - I use two fresh garlic cloves, but would reduce it to one if I were making this for kids since they can be sensitive to stronger flavors. For a boosted, dreamy garlic flavor, try roasting the garlic in advance.
• Salt - Start with a teaspoon, then taste and adjust until it's perfect.
• Nutritional yeast - This is optional and will make your pasta sauce taste a bit cheesier. I love adding a bit of nutritional yeast when my kids will be eating it because they go nuts for the cheesy flavor.

How to Quickly Cook Beets

The vibrant, gorgeous pink color in this creamy beet pasta comes from red beets! A lot of people think of beets as earthy and bitter, but when you prepare them right, they add a really wonderful and savory flavor that will surprise you.

Raw beets take a while to cook since they are a heartier root vegetable, which is why I cook them in the Instant Pot.

To quickly cook beets, leave the skins on (remove the leafy greens from the top, though!) and use the steamer basket with 2 cups of water. Cook them on manual high pressure for 18 minutes, then release the steam and let the beets cool before you peel the skins off. They'll slide off easily and just like that, you'll have perfectly cooked beets!

I typically cook a couple at once to use throughout the week in hummus, grain bowls, smoothies and on salads.

How to Make Beet Pasta Sauce

Using a high-speed blender, add the beets, cashews, water, garlic, salt and nutritional yeast (if using) and blend on high speed for 1 minute until it is perfectly smooth and creamy. Stop to scrape down the sides with a mini spatula and re-blend if needed.

Pour the pink blender sauce overtop freshly cooked pasta, mix and enjoy hot. Garnish with vegan feta cheese and fresh dill if desired. 

Store leftover pasta in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. Reheat on the stovetop until warmed throughout.

Recipe Tips

Cook the beet in advance to save time. If you want to shorten the meal prep time, cook your beet in advance, peel it, and store it in the refrigerator until you're ready to pop it in the blender while the pasta boils!

Garnish as you wish. Feel free to add whatever toppings you see fit. Other great options are lemon juice, fresh basil (or any fresh herbs), black pepper and vegan parmesan cheese.

Creaminess from the Cashews

The creaminess in this pasta sauce comes from cashews! Longtime Eating by Elaine readers know that I LOVE cashews and cook with them all the time. Cashews are an incredible plant-based source of protein, and they blend into a incredibly smooth, silky consistency that adds creamy texture to many of my favorite recipes!

Cashews are considered an excellent source of copper and a good source of magnesium, manganese, vitamin K, phosphorous and zinc. For a nut-free vegan pink pasta sauce, make a vegan cream from sunflower seeds!