Beetroot Pasta Dough

Learn how to make bright pink beetroot pasta dough, so fun, vibrant and surprisingly easy to make. This is great for making tagliatelle, pappardelle, farfalle (bow ties) and so much more.

Add a little pink fun to your pasta dishes with beetroot pasta dough. This is such a simple recipe that anyone can make at home. Don't think you need a pasta machine, rolling it out is easy and doesn't require a lot of time either. We love making pink pasta for date nights, Valentine's day or even because. Look how pretty it is!

We've been obsessing over beetroot pasta recently, we love the colour and it's so fun and easy to make. You can't taste the beetroot itself, so don't worry if you're not a beetroot fan. It's purely for the bright pink, vibrant colour. We've been using it to make farfalle (which means butterflies in Italian). It's not traditionally a fresh pasta shape but it's one of the easiest shapes to make and they are so pretty.

The pasta dough is rolled out and cut into little rectangles with a crimped pasta cutter then pinched in the middle to make a butterfly or bow tie shape.

When rolling out the pasta using a rolling pin, you want to use half the dough (keep the other half wrapped in cling film) press it down into a rough rectangle shape and start to roll it out using as little flour as possible.

Turn it around so you're rolling out all edges, you want to get it as thin as you can without being see-through. Then cut into your desired shape and repeat with the other half of dough.

How to make beetroot pasta dough

Firstly we roast the beetroot wrapped in tin foil with a little salt and olive oil. It usually takes about an hour to roast in the oven until a knife can be inserted easily. The skin comes away easily once it's roasted. We then chop the beetroot into quarters and let it cool before blitzing it using a handheld blender until smooth.

To make the pasta, add flour and a pinch of salt to a mixing bowl (you can also do this on a clean work surface) and make a well in the middle. Add one egg and the beetroot puree then using a fork beat the egg and beetroot whilst incorporating the flour.

Once it starts to come together, start using your hands and knead the dough for around 10 minutes until it's smooth and elastic. Test by cutting the dough in half, if you can see tiny air bubbles the pasta is done. Reshape it into a ball and cover with cling film until your ready to use it.

You might also like these pasta recipes

• Homemade Pasta Dough – How To Step By Step
• Spinach Pasta Dough (2 ingredient easy recipe)
• Farfalle pasta with pancetta, chili and garlic
• Penne pasta with ricotta, pancetta and tomato sauce
• Creamy butternut squash pasta

Ingredients

Makes 6 people

• 7 oz (200g) beetroot
• 2 1/4 cups (350g) 00 flour
• 1 egg
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp olive oil

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350F/gas mark 4. Drizzle the beetroot in a little olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt. Wrap in tin foil and roast in the oven on a tray for 1 hour or until a knife can be inserted easily. Remove the skin, cut into quarters and leave to cool. Once cooled add to a bowl and blitz to a smooth puree using a handheld blender.

2. Add the flour and salt to a large mixing bowl (you can also do this on a clean work surface). Make a well in the middle and add the egg and beetroot puree. Beat the egg and beetroot with a fork whilst incorporating the flour.

3. Once the dough starts to come together, start using your hands and knead the dough on a work surface for 10 minutes, use as less extra flour as possible.

4. Cut the dough in half, if you can see tiny air bubbles the pasta is ready. Reshape into a ball and cover in cling film. Let it rest for at least 30 minutes before using or place in the fridge until you're ready to use it.

Kitchen notes

Please note this recipe was tested and developed using metric measurements all imperial measurements are approximate.

Serve 4-6