A one pan “pasta” featuring golden beet noodles and their greens tossed in a spicy and creamy cilantro sauce.
I always enjoy finding different ways to use up the forgotten part of a vegetable; it’s like getting two for the price of one. Carrot tops go into pesto, broccoli stems are thinly sliced and quickly sautéed, in this case its beet greens.
Beets and their greens are a natural pairing and an excellent way to get the full nutritional benefit out of the vegetable.
Why Use Beet Greens?
With a texture similar to chard and a mild flavor akin to spinach, the greens are delicious in their own right but often get overlooked and are automatically discarded when you buy them at the market. So the next time you’re out shopping, if a vendor asks if you want the tops on say yes! In fact you can probably get some extra tops for free if you ask since they’ll probably have plenty leftover.
This root to leaf dish uses both the beet roots and their green tops for a simple spin on pasta. At first glance you might guess it could be a mound of spaghetti noodles, but if you look closer you’ll see the extra sunny yellow hue of the golden beets that lets you know these aren’t ordinary noodles.
How to Make Beet Noodles:
Here’s the idea:
- First you quickly whiz up the sauce in the food processor or blender.
- Then breakout your spiralizer and within a few minutes you have a nice mound of curly noodles.
- Next you wilt the beet greens in a pan with some olive oil and garlic.
- Add the noodles, a little water and pop the lid on for a few minutes to soften everything.
- Once the beets and greens are nice and tender, you pour the cilantro tahini sauce into the pan and toss to coat.
That’s it, you’re done. Dinner is served. Easy right? Oh and if you have any leftover, I should tell you that they are terrific cold out of the fridge the next day as well.
More beet recipes:
Beet Noodles with Cilantro Tahini Sauce
A one pan “pasta” featuring golden beet noodles and their greens tossed in a spicy and creamy cilantro sauce.
Ingredients
For the Cilantro Tahini Sauce:
- ½ bunch cilantro
- 1 Tablespoon/15ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon/15g tahini paste
- 2 Tablespoons/30ml extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 small garlic clove, finely minced
- ½-1 small fresh chili pepper, seeds removed (depending on how hot you want it)
- 2 Tablespoons/30ml filtered water
For the Golden Beet Pasta:
- 1 bunch medium sized golden beets with beet leaves attached
- 1 Tablespoon/15ml extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small clove of garlic, finely minced
- Pinch of sea salt
- ¼ cup filtered water (plus more if needed)
Instructions
Make the Cilantro Tahini Sauce:
- Combine all ingredients in a high speed blender and pulse until smooth adding more water as necessary to thin if necessary. Set aside.
Make the Golden Beet Pasta:
- Cut tops from beets and trim stems. Coarsely chop beet greens; and rinse in cold water until clean and water is clear. Drain, set aside.
- Peel beets and make into thin noodles using a spiralizer . Set aside.
- In a medium sauté pan heat oil and garlic over medium-low heat until garlic is fragrant but not browned. Add beet greens (still wet) and salt and toss with the oil and garlic using tongs. Cook tossing constantly with the tongs for 1-2 minutes until just wilted.
- Add spiralized beet noodles and the water. Toss to combine and cover and cook another 2-3 minutes until the beet noodles are softened but still holding their shape and mixture is heated through.
- Remove pan from heat and add cilantro tahini sauce. Toss to combine and serve immediately.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 193Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 191mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 1g
Nutritional information for recipes contained on this website, such as calories, fat, carbs, etc. are only estimates and are not guaranteed to be accurate.
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Sylvie Shirazi is the recipe developer and food photographer behind Gourmande in the Kitchen. For the last 10 years she's been making eating more healthfully easy and accessible with gluten-free, grain-free, paleo and vegan recipes that are free from processed ingredients.
Chris says
I just made this—this recipe is fire, a new faved. I just got a bunch of golden beets last week I forgotten I bought, found this recipe on Yummly and bam—joy table. Thanks, babe! This recipe is a treasure. Maybe even my hater-ass acquaintances will actually like beets if they made this! muahaha
Lauren says
The sauce really brings this together. I made a few changes based on preferences and what we had on hand. For the sauce, I didn't have cilantro, so I left it out; I added lemon peel; and instead of fresh chile I crushed 1 dried Thai chile. We used red beet roots (accidentally spiralized into flat rings) and what amounted to 2 bunches of swiss chard and beet tops from my garden. I sauted 1/2 a yellow onion (long, thin slices) and mustard seeds before adding the garlic. My boyfriend ate with leftover chicken. When we make again, I'll probably add chickpeas or walnuts to mine.
Although spiralizing the red beets was messy, it was easy to clean up and the whole thing made for a lovely Saturday dinner.