Looking for a fresh way to enjoy beets? This nourishing twist on macaroni and cheese turns the earthy sweetness of cooked beets into a silky pink sauce that’s as beautiful as it is delicious. Featuring beets blended with soaked cashews, plant-based milk, red wine vinegar, and fresh thyme, the sauce has a mild sweetness and perfectly creamy texture. The pasta is cooked with onions and celery to add depth. Red wine vinegar plays a key role in brightening the flavors in this beet pasta, so a good-quality vinegar really makes a difference.
Tips
Gluten-free version: To make this gluten-free, use gluten-free macaroni.
For more inspiration, check out these tasty ideas:
- Stove-Top Vegan Macaroni and Cheese
- Veggie Mac and Cheese with Sun-Dried Tomatoes
- Vegan Chili Mac and Cheese
- Or check out our full round-up of mac and cheese recipes here.
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup raw, unsalted cashews
- 1 medium beet or 2 medium carrots (6 oz. total), peeled and chopped
- 12 oz. dry whole grain macaroni
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced (2½ cups)
- 3 stalks celery, thinly sliced (1½ cups)
- ½ cup unsweetened, unflavored plant-based milk
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Soak cashews in enough very hot water to cover 15 minutes; drain and rinse.
- In a medium saucepan combine beet and enough water to cover. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, 10 to 12 minutes or until very tender; drain.
- Prepare pasta according to package directions, adding onion and celery to boiling water with pasta. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking water. Return pasta and vegetables to pot.
- Meanwhile, for sauce, in a blender or food processor combine soaked cashews, cooked beet, and the remaining ingredients. Cover and blend 2 to 3 minutes or until smooth.
- Add sauce to the pasta and vegetables. Cook over medium 1 to 2 minutes or until heated through, stirring often and adding as much of the reserved pasta water as needed to achieve desired consistency. Top servings with additional fresh thyme.
Nutritional Information:
Per serving (2 cups), 404 calories, 75 g carbohydrates, 14 g protein, 7 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 507 mg sodium, 11 g fiber, 9 g sugar
Note: Nutritional information is provided as an estimate only.
Delicious 😋 A new and exciting way to use my garden beets! The colour was incredible and adding the veggies to the pasta water was a great addition.
What a colorful, fun recipe, we love beets. And I love to see someone else cooking veggies with their pasta like I often do! I want to make this tonight but I don’t have red wine vinegar. I do however have a very vinegary batch of over-brewed red hibiscus kombucha I’ve been using in place of it so I will try using that!
Can you use canned plain beets in place of fresh cooked beets?