Twirl your fork into this delicious beet noodle pasta recipe with avocado cream pesto.

Move over zucchini, beets are here to take over the spiralized veggie noodle scene. In this pasta recipe, beetroot takes center stage, offering a chewier, crunchier alternative to the darling zucchini. Folded into a thick, creamy vegan avocado-based pesto sauce, the beet noodles are bursting with the most beautiful colors. The earthiness of the beet is lifted to the heavens with fragrant basil and lemon, making each bite fresh, satiating, and delicious. For a change, spiralize beets for this pasta recipe and surprise your palate with new textures and aromas.

I often don’t know what to do the beetroot. I sometimes add it to my morning green juice for a liver-cleansing kick, but other than that, the vegetable confuses me. Roasted beets are delicious, but what else is there to do with them? I didn’t think there were too many options, until, I discovered the glory of spiralizing. At first, I only spiralized zucchini, but then I began to venture into other tough vegetables, include beet. When spiralized, the beetroot is sliced thinly, making its texture easier to enjoy without requiring cooking. And when the spiralized beet is mixed into a delicious sauce, the combination of crunchy and creamy entices the taste buds and offers a more rounded pasta experience.

This beet noodle pasta recipe will motivate you to not only buy a spiralizer but also enjoy beetroot more often. Bon Appetit!

Spiralized Beet Noodle Pasta Recipe with Avocado Cream Pesto

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 3 medium beets, peeled and spiralized
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and spiralized
• 2 large ripe avocados
• 1 cup cooked peas
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 2 garlic cloves
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Handful of fresh basil
• Sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste
• Dash of red pepper flakes

Directions

Toss the spiralized beets and carrots together in a large bowl. In a food processor or blender, add the avocado flesh, peas, nutritional yeast, garlic, lemon, basil, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Blend until smooth.

Fold the avocado cream pesto into the spiralized beet and carrot mixture until the “noodles” are evenly coated.

Serve with a garnish of fresh basil and a dash of red pepper flakes.

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Making Beetroot Noodles Image from Shutterstock

The post Spiralized Beet Noodles with Vegan Avocado Cream Pesto appeared first on EcoSalon.

Pasta is such a staple dish and an easy go-to when you need a satisfying, crowd-pleasing dinner on the table fast. I love that you can easily customize it with whatever you have on hand, what’s in season, or what you crave that day. This gluten-free pasta recipe is grounding, earthy, and fall-ish, with beans, mushrooms, and kale.      

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 cups sliced mushrooms of your choice
1 cup broccoli florets
2 cups chopped kale
1 cup precooked or canned adzuki beans (any other beans would work, too)
1 small can anchovy filets, chopped fine
1 cup uncooked brown rice pasta or quinoa pasta  (penne or fusilli)
¼ cup chopped fresh basil

Directions

Heat a deep pan or skillet, add the olive oil and minced garlic. Sauté for 1  minute, being careful not to burn the garlic. If that happens, start over—burned garlic does not taste good.

Add the chopped onion and sauté for about 5 minutes, until the onion turns translucent and soft. Add the mushrooms and broccoli, and sauté for another few minutes. Toss in the kale, cooked beans, and anchovies.

Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Drain, saving about ¹/³ cup of starchy cooking water. Finally, toss the pasta and the sautéed vegetables together and add a splash of the cooking water. Combine everything well.

Just before serving, add the basil.

Katrine van Wyk came to New York from Norway as a model. Her personal struggles with food allergies led her to attend the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She is now a wellness expert for MindBodyGreen.com and a certified 200 RYT yoga teacher. Van Wyk helped develop smoothies and juices for Equinox’s juice bars in London and Toronto. She lives in Brooklyn, New York. Visit Katrine online at http://katrinevanwyk.com/. 

Related on EcoSalon

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Image: Katrine van Wyk

The post Gluten-Free Pasta Recipe with Greens and Mushroom Sauté   appeared first on EcoSalon.

Pasta gets a springtime makeover.

Warmer weather means lighter meals. Eating outside. Taking more time enjoying each bite. And while we often think of pasta as a heavy, wintery dish, we can enjoy noodles in the warmer seasons, too, but without the heaviness. This is one of my favorite pasta recipes, not just because it’s so simple and delicious, but because it means spring and summer are finally here.

I use brown rice noodles (Tinkyada’s are so delicious) instead of wheat noodles. We eat wheat in my house, but the rice noodles are a nice way to get a whole grain and they taste better than regular noodles. But feel free to use your favorite pasta.

Vegan pasta is fairly easy to make, and the creamy, cheesy flavor of nutritional yeast gives this dish an excellent taste and texture.

serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 package brown rice linquini
2 small zucchini, medium dice
1 large carrot, julienne slice
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (in oil), thinly sliced
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
1/2 teaspoon crushed red chiles
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to boil, big enough to cook pasta. Follow directions on package as cooking times may vary. Drain and set aside once done.

While pasta cooks, prepare your vegetables. In a large sauce pan, heat one tablespoon of the olive oil over medium flame. Saute the carrots and zucchini until tender. Be careful not to overcook.  Remove from heat. In a large bowl, mix together the noodles, tomatoes, olives, remaining olive oil and seasonings. Add in the cooked veggies and mix well. Add more olive oil if needed. Top with fresh parsley.

*A note about garlic. I know I’m in the minority and that most people can’t imagine pasta without garlic. I will spare you my sob story about why I hate the stuff (I am not a vampire, I assure you). So, if you feel inclined, go on and add a clove or two if you must. Enjoy…outside!

Keep in touch with Jill on Twitter @jillettinger

Image: slettvet

The post Vegan Gluten-Free Spring Pasta Recipe with Kalamata Olives and Sun-Dried Tomatoes appeared first on EcoSalon.