Roasted Beet Noodles with Pesto and Baby Kale

Roasted Beet Noodles with Pesto and Baby Kale

My editor recently asked me to think about subtitles for my cookbook. Let me tell you,...

Roasted Beet Noodles with Pesto and Baby Kale
My editor recently asked me to think about subtitles for my cookbook. Let me tell you, being concise for this subtitle is much harder than writing a book. I think I sat for at least five minutes straight, with no words on my paper, just thinking.

I’ll chalk it up to being so passionate that word vomit comes way too easily when talking about spiralizing.

Roasted Beet Noodles with Pesto and Baby Kale
So, I started writing down buzz words (per my editor’s suggestion) which should help put together the subtitle for the book (named Inspiralized, of course!) Then, I started thinking about what spiralizing means and of course, what Inspiralized means.

Basically, I was doing a lot of thinking and what I came to realize is so important about spiralizing is that it’s not complicated. It’s easy. It’s simple. Unlike with regular pasta, you don’t need to add too many ingredients to a spiralized vegetable dish to make it “exciting,” because it’s innately exciting!

Roasted Beet Noodles with Pesto and Baby Kale
Since your base “spaghetti” is already a vegetable, there’s already flavor packed into every bite. All you need is a sauce and maybe a dusting of cheese or some other small accent legume, veggie or nut, such as some spinach or some peas.

When I was thinking all about this, I kept thinking in my mind, “All you need is some pesto!” I went to the kitchen, used a flavorful vegetable noodle (beet) and tossed it with some vegan pesto sauce and threw in some baby kale for a bit of crunch and earthiness.

Roasted Beet Noodles with Pesto and Baby Kale
The result? I mean – SO good, for such little effort. This meal comes together so effortlessly and can be easily customized, depending on your appetite. If you’re having dinner and want a bit more protein, you can toss in some chicken, some chickpeas, some bacon or even top with a fried egg.

The beet really pairs well with the pesto here and the kale ties everything together for more texture and flavor. Plus, it’s elegant, whole, unprocessed and fresh.

While you’re roasting the beet noodles, just combine the ingredients for the pesto and once the noodles are done roasting (took 6 minutes for me to get the al dente consistency), just toss them with the kale and pesto  and voila – you’re ready to eat!

I wrote, made and ate this recipe on Friday, while I was pinning wedding dress ideas, in preparation for my trip to Kleinfeld’s on Sunday (more to come on that later this week!)

What is your favorite type of pesto?

Nutritional Information & Recipe

Roasted Beet Noodles with Pesto and Baby Kale

Roasted Beet Noodles with Pesto and Baby Kale

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 3

Ingredients

  • 2 medium beets peeled, Blade C, noodles trimmed
  • olive oil cooking spray
  • 2 cups baby kale
  • For the pesto:
  • 3 cup basil leaves packed
  • ¼ cup of pinenuts
  • ¼ cup of olive oil
  • ½ tsp grinded sea salt
  • ¼ tsp grinded pepper
  • 1 large clove of garlic minced

Instructions

  • Set the oven to 425 degrees. On a baking sheet, spread out the beet noodles and coat with cooking spray and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 5-10 minutes or until beets are cooked to al dente or your preference in doneness.
  • While the noodles cook, combine all of the ingredients for the pesto into a food processor and pulse until creamy. Taste and adjust, if needed.
  • Once beets are cooked, toss with pesto and the kale. Serve.
with love, Ali

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comments

  • This is so pretty! And that's my favorite thing about spiralized recipes -- they are already flavorful and pretty from the start. Yours are always especially so! :)
  • Kelinfeld's?? Should we expect you on Say Yes to the Dress in the future? :)
  • This looks yummy -- can't wait to try it! You have a couple of the steps repeated, but with different cooking times. How long to you cook the beet noodles?
  • Did you get a dress?!?!? I WANT TO SEE!!! I'll show you mine if you show me yours. :P Also, genius beet noodle pasta idea! Just genius.
  • I am a new follower (this is the first recipe I've received) and I'm looking forward to trying this recipe. However, may I suggest that you refrain from using the word "vomit" in any of your posts? I almost stopped reading right there.
    • "Word vomit" is a colloquial expression meaning that the words flow without control. I used this expression to convey my excitement about talking about spiralizing. Sorry it disturbed you!
      • Haha, I thought it said the word vomit came to mind when talking about spiralizing! I knew that didn't make sense so I just kept reading, now I see what you were saying lol
  • You have a real gift for food photography. I want to eat it all! Every recipe looks delicious.
  • How do you roast the beet noodles?
  • absolutely amazing! I have made 3 time in a week, for company. Everyone is amazed..perfect combo of everything. By accident, I made pesto with parmesan too, for my non vegan friends, also delicious! Thanks ALy!!
  • Vis a vis your subtitle: when I think of spiralizing or try to describe it to friends, I think of "simple solutions to add more vegetables/whole foods) to you diet." Just my two cents. :)
  • I'm going to try this replacing steamed beet greens for the kale.
  • Just made this for dinner and wow! So delicious! I used spinach instead of basil (since basil is crazy expensive in Wisconsin right now) and walnuts instead of pine nuts (because I love walnuts in pesto) and it was great! I was away from my spiralizer for a few months, and I realize after spiralizing for dinner a few nights this week, just how much I love it! Thanks for the amazing recipe (as always!)
  • I just made this last night and LOVE it! Beets were a lot easier to spiralize than expected! They're amazing roasted (and I love how they take much less time than chunks of beets!) and this recipe is whole30 approved, so I'm using it to kick off my whole30! Thanks Ali!
  • Here is a post from my blog... the first one references this site and the second is my attempt at beet noodles.. and they were great. http://homeandhealthorganics.blogspot.com/
  • Could you pan fry with some coconut oil instead of roasting in the oven?
  • I saw some beautiful beets at the farmers market on Sunday, and thanks to you had the courage to buy them (previously I have only had my grandmother's beets... and I think that's the one thing she can't cook). This looks like a good starter recipe for them.
  • I now know what to do with my spiralized beets (and butternut squash). Thank you for sharing this! Could you also share where you bought the bowls used in the photos?
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  • I'm thinking of making this with beet greens instead of kale, and making a completely different pesto. My basil plants are done for the year, but my thyme, spearmint, and parsley are going crazy. I've used the combination on pasta before, and it comes out great
  • This is a delicious recipe, I added a bit more garlic, and my friends were very impressed!