Beet Pasta Salad

Vibrant pink colored beet pasta salad is coated with fresh arugula-basil pesto and tossed with roasted beets and red onion, more fresh basil, toasted walnuts, and creamy goat cheese.

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Ever since I made beet potato salad this beet pasta salad has been on my recipe idea list. But the idea of adding pesto into the mix didn’t come along until I made beet gnocchi served with an arugula-basil pesto sauce which blew my mind.

As for the remaining accompanying ingredients I knew goat cheese and walnuts had to be involved after making my beet & goat cheese pizza. Basically what I am trying to say is this beet pasta salad recipe was a long time in the making.

Beet Pasta Salad Ingredients:

• beets
• olive oil
• balsamic vinegar
• red onion
• preferred pasta shape
• basil pesto
• walnuts
• fresh basil
• goat cheese

Initially I was worried the mixture of green basil pesto and deep pink beets would results in a brown color, but I was pleasantly surprised with the final color of this beet pasta salad – It’s oh so pretty! I whipped this up for our end-of-summer neighborhood potluck and was not disappointed.

Don’t like walnuts? Want more goat cheese? You could easily increase or decrease, or completely remove any ingredients to your preferences. That’s kind of the glorious thing about pasta salads, they can be whatever you want them to be.

BEET PASTA SALAD

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Yield: 16 servings Prep Time: 1 Hour 15 Minutes Cooking Time: 1 Hour 1 Hour

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 3 beets, peeled and diced
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup diced red onion
• 16 oz. uncooked preferred pasta shape
• 1 cup arugula basil pesto*
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 4 oz. goat cheese, crumbled

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Place beets and red onion on the sheet, drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and spread into an even layer.
3. Roast in the oven for 45-60 minutes or until beets are fork-tender. Remove from the oven and allow to cool 10-15 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water according to package directions. Drain and set aside to cool slightly.
5. In a large bowl, add the cooked pasta, beets, red onion, pesto, walnuts, and basil. Toss until evenly coated. Gently fold in the goat cheese until distributed.
6. Cover and store in the refrigerator for one hour, or until ready to to serve.

Notes

*Can substitute with regular basil pesto.

Source: Adapted from Whitney Bond.

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