Pasta you can’t Beet: Chickpea Rigatoni in a beet cream sauce
This pasta is just as aesthetically pleasing as it is delicious. Only a few ingredients are required to make this colorful meal. For more texture or protein add some tofu or chicken alongside some pan-fried pistachios.
For the cream sauce, I boiled the beets for 1 hour before slicing. Add a bit of lemon juice to your boiling water when you drop the beets in. It helps them get to that soft texture easier. Let the beets cool properly before slicing and be very careful not to touch anything – beets stain so easy. The beet sauce is great to dip veggies in and save for later.
The gluten-free rigatoni pasta is made from chickpeas. This is my favorite brand, Banza Chickpea Pasta. Any large noodle will suffice if you can’t find this exact brand.
Chickpea Rigatoni In A Beet Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 box rigatoni I used Banza, gf chickpea
- vegan parmesan to taste
- 4 tbsp fresh mint chopped
- 1/4 cup cashew milk
- 1/4 cup vegan feta (or goat cheese)
- 1/4 cup vegan butter
- salt & pepper to taste
Beet Cream Sauce
- 1 lemon juiced
- 3 beets small – medium size
- 1/4 cup hot water
- 1 cup plain vegan yogurt Kite Hill is the brand I like
- 1 cup vegan cream cheese Kite Hill is the brand I like
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 3 cloves garlic
Instructions
- Boil water in a large pot with the juice from 1 lemon. While water is heating up, chop the green stems off of the beets and rinse beets with water. When water is boiling, add beets to the pot. Lower the heat and let simmer for 45minutes – 1 hour.
- Once the beets are done, strain and let cool. Slices into squares then add to a high speed blender. Add all beet ingredients from hot water – garlic. Blend until smooth. Sprinkle a bit of salt and taste you go to adjust seasoning
- Cook rigatoni as directed. Once done, strain then add the rigatoni back to the pot. Pour the beet sauce over and stir until noodles are evenly coated. Slowly add cashew milk and vegan feta (or your choice of cheese) and butter to thin out sauce and make creamy.
- To serve, divide pasta into 2 bowls. Top with vegan parmesan cheese and mint.
