Beet Pasta Carbonara with Peas & Bacon
Homemade beet pasta carbonara with crisp bacon and spring peas. So easy and so elegant.
Prep Time40 minutes
Total Time3 hours
Servings4 Servings
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Beet Pasta Carbonara with Peas & Bacon has never been more flavorful or beautiful. Homemade pasta is easy to make and adding earthy roasted beets makes it gorgeous too. This creamy beet pasta recipe only requires a few ingredients to make a really spectacular pasta dish – or imagine serving this to your sweetheart for Valentine’s Day or at one of your dinner parties! Earthy beetroots, with salty bacon, and sweet peas with a creamy carbonara sauce. Delish.
My garden is bursting with beets. I will admit, I went a bit overboard this year, but I’m a beet lover, what can I say. I grew Golden, Cylindra, Bulls Blood and Detroit Red beets. Not just 1 or 2 of each, but a whole packet of each. 50+ of each kind. After thinning, there aren’t that many, but still a lot. Finding ways to use the bounty is always fun. So far I’ve dried a bunch to make beet powder (more on that at another time), I’ve grilled them with potatoes & carrots on the barbecue and now this. Pasta. Glorious pasta.
Types of beets (beetroot) for making pasta
I thought you might like to see what the individual beets looked like, so here’s a tour via my garden. Below is the Burpee’s Golden Beet. They aren’t just another pretty face, but have a nice mild taste.
Next up is Bull’s Blood. Sounds kind of….yucky, but they are a deep rich red color and a great grower! I have grown this variety every year for the past 6 years.
Oh Cylindra – how do I love thee…let me count the ways. This beet is the canners best friend. If you like your canned beets in nice circles, this is your beet. They grow long and slender like a carrot.
And last, but never least, is Detroit Red. I love this beet. It’s a great grower. Delicious. Sweet. Ok, I just love beets. If you decide to grow your own, I would definitely give this one and the Burpee’s Golden a shot. They are a great combo and look amazing together in a salad.
Yesterday I headed to the garden and pulled 6 small/medium fresh beets (you can also use 2-3 large beets), gave them a good scrub and tossed them on a baking sheet with some olive oil, salt, and black pepper and roast beets in the oven for 40 minutes at 400 F. Next was the decision of what to do with them. A few weeks back Linda of SaltySeattle.com was Instagramming about making Beet Bucatini. My eyeballs were feasting on the gorgeous purple hue of the pasta and my mind was swirling with ideas. I needed to do this… after all I have the pasta attachments for my KitchenAid mixer somewhere. So I did some web searching and found a recipe for the pasta on none other than Martha’s website. It was super easy, although time consuming, to make and the pasta was delish!
How to make your own fresh pasta
To a food processor or high-speed blender add the roasted, peeled beets and whiz them good to make 1/2 cup of beet purée. Add 2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk and process until smooth.
Add in the flour and salt and pulse until it is just combined, but still a little crumbly. Turn out onto a very well floured board and knead. Knead for 5-10 minutes until the dough is supple and elastic. You should be able to see it bounce back when you push on it. Cover it with a bowl and leave it to rest for 1 or 2 hours. I let mine go for 2 hours. Resting is good, especially if you’re pasta dough.
Cut the bright pink dough into 8 equal wedges and cover with the bowl so they don’t dry out. I know this is only 4, so imagine they are halved again. Get out the trusty pasta making machine (or attachments for the trusty KitchenAid workhorse) and a couple of large rimmed baking sheets that have been dusted with plenty of flour (this is where the finished pasta will rest while you continue to make more and more and more). For best results, follow the manufacturer’s directions on how to use your pasta machine to make pasta sheets and fettuccine noodles.
Carbonara Assembly
Fry the bacon in a large skillet (big enough to hold the cooked pasta later) until crisp and drain on a paper towel lined plate. Turn down to medium heat. In a medium bowl, whisk the 2 eggs plus 1 egg yolks and Parmesan cheese and season with salt and black pepper. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente. You don’t want to overcook it.
While the pasta cooks, in the skillet with the bacon fat add the minced garlic cloves and peas and sauté for 40-60 seconds. Transfer cooked pasta to garlic mixture and toss to coat. Slowly whisk 1 cup of the pasta water into the egg and parmesan mixture and pour over pasta. Toss lightly and serve topped with bacon and extra Parmesan cheese. You can also add fresh herbs like fresh basil or feta cheese, swirl in ricotta cheeses, or freshly grate lemon zest to finish the pasta.
Find the printable recipe card with exact measurements and instructions below.
Love beet recipes? Check out some other favorites here:
Roasted Beet Salad with Fried Goat Cheese Croutons
Beetroot Gratin with Fontina & Walnuts
Beet Pasta Carbonara with Peas & Bacon
Recommended Tools
Ingredients
Beet Pasta:
- ½ cup beet puree, from 2 medium roasted beets
- 2 large eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
Carbonara:
- ½ lb bacon, cut into bite sized pieces
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup peas, fresh or frozen, thawed
- 5 eggs
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated, not canned, plus more for serving
- 1 cup pasta cooking liquid
Instructions
Beet Pasta:
- Add the roasted beets to the food processor and puree. There should be 1/2 cup of puree. Add the 2 eggs plus the egg yolk and process until smooth. Add the salt and 2 cups of flour and process just until the dough comes together. Turn out onto a very floured board and knead for 5 to 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Cover with a bowl and let it rest for 1 to 2 hours.
- Cut the dough into 8 pieces and knead in a bit more flour if the dough is too sticky. Follow your pasta machine manufacturers directions and make sheets of pasta. Make pasta using the fettuccine attachment and make small piles on a floured rimmed baking sheet or use a pasta drying rack. Repeat with all remaining dough.
Carbonara:
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet (big enough to hold the cooked pasta) over high heat and add the bacon, fry until crisp and browned, drain on a paper towel lined plate and set aside. Turn the heat down to medium.
- In a medium bowl add the eggs and Parmesan cheese and whisk to combine. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Add the pasta to the boiling water and stir once. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the garlic and peas to the skillet and heat through. When the pasta is cooked, transfer from the water to the skillet using tongs or a spider strainer, do not drain in a colander. Toss the pasta in the bacon fat, peas and garlic. Slowly whisk 1 cup of the cooking liquid into the egg and Parmesan mixture and add to the pasta and toss to coat. The hot pasta will cook the egg and make a creamy sauce. Serve immediately in warmed bowls.
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Nutrition
*Nutritional information is not guaranteed to be accurate.
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Hi! I’m Heather
I’m Heather, a recipe developer and content creator based in Vancouver, Washington. I started Farmgirl Gourmet in 2006 because I believed weeknight dinners shouldn’t be boring and gourmet shouldn’t mean complicated. I’m also the co-founder of Spiceology, so safe to say I think about food for a living. Stick around for recipes that actually make it into your regular rotation.
I really love this recipe and hope you will too!
Awesome recipe 🙂
I love a good carbonara… Here’s another one you might like to try
Thanks for sharing.
Katie