This vegan golden beet pasta sauce is the 5-ingredient pasta sauce of your dreams. You’ll love how easy this golden beet recipe is!
This meal is just so darn good and comes together with very little effort. Lots of Taurus Mountain Thyme paired with (optional) crushed red pepper gives this 5-ingredient pasta sauce savory, spicy, deep flavors.
How to make this vegan golden beet pasta sauce:
For this recipe, you just need 5 ingredients for the basic pasta sauce recipe. You can add crushed red pepper if you like a spicier finish, but it’s not required.
Here’s what you need:
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 pound golden beets
- 1.5 pounds tomatoes
- 1 bunch Lacinato kale
- Taurus mountain thyme
- Crushed red pepper, optional
For this recipe, I use fresh tomatoes which I boil, remove the skins, and then hand-crush. You can use a can of diced or whole-peeled tomatoes instead if you prefer.
First, start the sauce. Cook a diced onion in a little oil and then add small-diced golden beets and cook until just beginning to soften. Add the thyme and then reduce heat to low and let them cook in the pot as you prepare the tomatoes.
As you cook the golden beets, bring a big pot of water to a boil. You’ll cook both the tomatoes and the pasta in the same water!
Once the water is boiling, add the tomatoes and cook until their skins split. Transfer to an ice bath and then peel and remove the cores. Crush the tomatoes with your hands.
From there, simply add the tomatoes to the sauce and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer and add the chopped kale.
To finish it up, boil the spaghetti and once it’s al dente, add a bit of pasta cooking water to the sauce. Drain the spaghetti and then add it to the cooked sauce.
This golden beet recipe is really that easy!
Looking for more pasta recipes? Check my archives!
Vegan Golden Beet Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil
- 1 yellow onion peeled and diced
- 1 pound golden beets peeled and small-diced
- 1.5 pounds tomatoes rinsed
- 1 bunch Lacinato kale ribs removed and leaves chopped
- 1 teaspoon dry thyme
- Crushed red pepper optional, to taste
- Salt and pepper to taste
For serving:
- 16 ounces spaghetti
- Fresh basil leaves
Instructions
Start the sauce:
- Heat the neutral oil in a wide pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes. Add the golden beets and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, for 10–12 minutes until the beets begin to soften.
- Add the thyme and stir to coat. Reduce heat to low and let the beets cook in the pot as you prepare the tomatoes.
Blanch the tomatoes:
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Once the water is boiling, add the tomatoes and cook for 3–5 minutes until the skins split. Transfer the tomatoes to an ice bath and then peel and remove the cores. Crush the peeled tomatoes with your hands. Leave the water boiling on the stove.
Finish the sauce:
- Simply add the tomatoes to the sauce and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer, and add the chopped kale.
Cook the pasta:
- To the large pot of boiling water, add the spaghetti. Cook until al dente. Remove 1/3 cup of the pasta cooking water from the pot and add it to the pot of sauce. Bring the sauce back to a low boil and taste and season it to your preferences.
- Drain the pasta, immediately add it to the sauce, and toss to coat. Turn off the heat. Taste and season once more to your preferences.
To serve:
- Divide the pasta between shallow bowls. Garnish with basil leaves, if you like. Enjoy!