Beetroot

Ingredient ✔ Checked: 10.2026 · sources: 3 Updated: 27.10.2026

Also known as: Beet, Red beet, Beetroot powder

Red root of the garden beet (Beta vulgaris) that naturally colours pasta pink or red: dried beetroot powder or juice goes into the dough and into gnocchi.

Beetroot (Beta vulgaris) is the swollen red root of the garden beet, and in pasta it is a natural colouring that turns the dough pink, red or purple. The colour comes from betalain pigments, mainly betanin, not from synthetic dyes.

Producers add it to durum wheat semolina as dried beetroot powder, concentrated beetroot juice powder or purée. The amounts are small: La Fabbrica della Pasta uses about 1% dried beetroot in its tricolour shapes, next to spinach and tomato, and 3% in the pink Blossom pasta; ALB-GOLD declares 0.6% organic beetroot powder in its heart-shaped pasta for children. Rustichella d'Abruzzo combines pomegranate juice with beetroot juice powder in paccherini, and Valfleuri mixes dried beetroot and carrot in spiral pasta. In potato gnocchi the share can be much higher: Bürger Gnocchi mit Rote Beete contain 17% beetroot.

The roots are washed, cooked or steamed, dried and milled, and the powder is mixed into the dough before shaping. Betanin is sensitive to heat, light and long cooking, so beetroot pasta often turns paler in the pot; short cooking keeps more colour.

In the EU the vegetable must be named in the ingredient list under Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011. Beetroot used as a food ingredient is different from the additive E 162 "beetroot red" listed in Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008. Beetroot is not an allergen. In pasta its taste is barely noticeable, slightly sweet and earthy; it suits butter, soft cheese, poppy seeds and light cream sauces.

Facts

Raw material	Root of the garden beet (Beta vulgaris): dried powder, juice powder or purée
Main use	Pink and red dough, tricolour pasta, potato gnocchi
Taste	Barely noticeable, slightly sweet and earthy

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How it connects to Pasta

Beetroot → kind of → Pasta ingredients and composition → kind of → 🍝 Pasta

Links

Where it is found: ALB-GOLD Bio Von Herzen Pasta, Bürger Gnocchi mit Rote Beete, La Fabbrica della Pasta Blossom, La Fabbrica della Pasta Nuvole 4 Sapori, La Fabbrica della Pasta Christmas Pasta, La Fabbrica della Pasta Farfalloni Tricolore, La Fabbrica della Pasta Gigli italiani tricolore, La Fabbrica della Pasta Orecchiette artigianali tricolore, La Fabbrica della Pasta Matasse tricolore, La Fabbrica della Pasta Spaghetti tricolore
and 10 more
La Fabbrica della Pasta Lumaconi tricolore, La Fabbrica della Pasta Rigatoni ca' pont tricolore, La Fabbrica della Pasta Cuori tricolore, La Fabbrica della Pasta Farfalle giganti tricolore, La Fabbrica della Pasta Fidanzati italiani tricolore, La Fabbrica della Pasta Fusilloni tricolore, Melissa Strifto me Pantzari, Rustichella d'Abruzzo Paccherini al Melograno, Valfleuri Tendr'épices Lentilles Corail, Valfleuri Torti'color Carottes Betteraves
Part of: Pasta ingredients and composition
Similar and different: 🥬 Spinach, 🍅 Tomato

Frequently asked questions

Does beetroot pasta taste of beetroot?

Hardly. Dry pasta usually contains only about 1–3% dried beetroot, so it gives a faint sweet, earthy note; gnocchi with a larger share taste more clearly of beetroot.

Why does beetroot pasta lose its colour when cooked?

Its pigment betanin breaks down with heat and long cooking. Cook the pasta al dente and do not keep it in hot water longer than needed.

Is it true that pink pasta is always coloured with artificial dyes?

No. Pink and red pasta is usually coloured with beetroot powder or juice named in the ingredient list; check the label of each product.

What to read next

La Fabbrica della Pasta Farfalloni Tricolore — La Fabbrica della Pasta Farfalloni Tricolore: short dry pasta in a decorative shape by La Fabbrica della Pasta (La Fabbrica della Pasta Gli Aromatizzati range); ingredients: durum wheat semolina, water, dried spinach (2%), tomato powder (1%) and dried beetroot (1%).
La Fabbrica della Pasta Orecchiette artigianali tricolore — La Fabbrica della Pasta Orecchiette artigianali tricolore: short dry pasta in a traditional Italian regional shape by La Fabbrica della Pasta (La Fabbrica della Pasta Gli Aromatizzati range); ingredients: durum wheat semolina, water, dried spinach (2%), tomato powder (1%) and dried beetroot (1%).
La Fabbrica della Pasta Spaghetti tricolore — La Fabbrica della Pasta Spaghetti tricolore: long dry pasta with a round cross-section by La Fabbrica della Pasta (La Fabbrica della Pasta Gli Aromatizzati range); ingredients: durum wheat semolina, water, dried spinach (2%), tomato powder (1%) and dried beetroot (1%).
La Fabbrica della Pasta Lumaconi tricolore — La Fabbrica della Pasta Lumaconi tricolore: a large dry pasta shape made for stuffing and baking by La Fabbrica della Pasta (La Fabbrica della Pasta Gli Aromatizzati range); ingredients: durum wheat semolina, water, dried spinach (2%), tomato powder (1%) and dried beetroot (1%).
La Fabbrica della Pasta Rigatoni ca' pont tricolore — La Fabbrica della Pasta Rigatoni ca' pont tricolore: short ridged tube-shaped dry pasta by La Fabbrica della Pasta (La Fabbrica della Pasta Gli Aromatizzati range); ingredients: durum wheat semolina, water, dried spinach (2%), tomato powder (1%) and dried beetroot (1%).

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