Just in time for Valentine’s Day, this Beet Pink Tart is super cute, so vibrant, and extremely delicious. Whether you are cooking for a crowd or just your ~lover~, this tart is the perfect thing to make. It is a bit of process, but it only uses a few components and two layers! Plus, you can always use store-bought pie dough (no one will judge!) or use my simpler all-butter pie crust.
And even though it is the season of love, you don’t have to shape it into a heart (believe me, the rolling process nearly killed me). It’s still so filling, so photo-worthy, and a really nice addition to any brunch or dinner. This beet pink tart, whether in heart or circle form, is a versatile tart for a romantic holiday, so what’s not to love? (Pun totally intended 😉
Table of contents
Components for this beet pink tart
This tart has three things that make it oh-so-good:
- A buttery, salty, extra-melt-in-your-mouth beet pink pie crust – the beet purée is really for color here, but it also gives this crust such a soft, shortbread style texture that I can’t get enough of.
- A salsa verde that when baked, COMPLETELY transforms. This sauce is already a little powerhouse, but when you bake it for 45 minutes, the flavors become something both earthy and vibrant that I’ve never tasted before.
- Ombre-dyed beets! RIP me trying to have ombre hair, but ombre beets I will take! Dying these beets is super easy, and it makes this recipe that much more special.
How to prepare the beets for this beet pink tart
The one tough part of this recipe is you need your beets fully cooked before you can start the rest of the process, so bank about 60-90 minutes to get this started.
To make the beets, just preheat the oven to 400°F. Peel the beets. Wrap the red beets in one sheet of tinfoil and wrap the orange beets in another. Roast for 60-75 minutes or until soft. Let them cool.
How to make the beet pink tart crust
This recipe starts with the crust first, and then the other components are an absolute breeze. You will need to roast your beets until they are tender before you start anything else in this recipe (see above) so just keep that in mind.
To make the crust, first cube the butter into small pieces. Add the butter to a bowl with the flour and salt. Working quickly, use your hands to smash and press the butter into flat pieces, tossing in the flour and mixing to create a sandy, shaggy dough. It won’t come together, but as soon as you can smash together chunks and they’ll hold for a few moments before crumbling, you are ready to add the beet purée.
Add the beet purée into the bowl and mix with your hands. You’ll see the dough become sticky and start to form together, we love that!
You can either work the dough until it is fully pink, or leave the beet coloring speckled throughout. I prefer the latter, but either works. Move the dough to a cool surface, press it down until it is about 1″ high, wrap it with plastic wrap and use a rolling pin to roll it out into a smooth rectangle. Let this chill for 30 minutes or more while you prep the rest of the recipe.
Making the salsa verde layer for this tart
While the dough is chilling and before you roll it into a heart (see recipe box for details), you’ll want to prep the salsa verde layer. This is just a bit of knife work and some mixing, super easy!
Just mix together the chopped parsley, minced shallot, sliced garlic, preserved lemon and red pepper flakes to a bowl. Drizzle in the vinegar and olive oil and mix. Season with salt to taste. This should be a relatively dry, choppy sauce. Set aside.
How can you dye golden beets pink?
In order to create the ombre effect of this tart, first slice your beets and set them aside. The red beets are highly stainable, so keep them away from the golden beets.
Take about 1/3 of the golden beet slices and lay them down flat. Add a red beet slice to the top of each slice. The color will naturally soak into the golden beets, making them a nice pink hue for this beet pink tart!
How to bake and serve this beet pink tart
Next up is the bake. Get the oven to 375°F and brush the sides of the tart liberally with egg wash. Bake the tart for 35-45 minutes, you’ll see the inside of the crust is noticeably dry when it’s ready.
To serve, feel free to dab a little olive oil or vinegar on the beets to get them nicely shiny. Grate ricotta salata on top, and eat warm!
Looking for other show-stopper tarts?
Here are a few of my favorites from the blog!
And that’s it for this beet pink tart!
If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.
And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3
Beet Pink Tart
Ingredients
For the crust
- 2 sticks salted butter chilled
- 2 packed cups whole wheat flour 300 grams
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup beet purée see recipe process and notes below
- 1 egg beaten for egg wash
For the filling & toppings
- 2 large red beets
- 2 small orange beets
- 2 cups fresh parsley stems removed, finely chopped
- 1 medium shallot minced
- 2 garlic cloves sliced or grated
- 1/2 preserved lemon seeds removed, finely chopped into a paste
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup olive oil plus more as needed
- Kosher salt to taste
Optional toppings
- 1 ounce ricotta salata for grating
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Peel the beets. Wrap the red beets in one sheet of tinfoil and wrap the orange beets in another. Roast for 60-75 minutes or until soft. Let them cool.
- Make the beet purée for the crust. Take 1/2 cup of the cooked red beets from above and add it to a blender with 1/4 cup water. Blend until thick and smooth, and put 1/3 cup of the purée into the fridge to cool and use in the crust.
- To make the crust, cube the butter into small pieces. Add the butter to a bowl with the flour and salt. Working quickly, use your hands to smash and press the butter into flat pieces, tossing in the flour and mixing to create a sandy, shaggy dough. It won't come together, but as soon as you can smash together chunks and they'll hold for a few moments before crumbling, you are ready to add the beet purée.
- Add the beet purée into the bowl and mix with your hands. You'll see the dough become sticky and start to form together, we love that! You can either work the dough until it is fully pink, or leave the beet coloring speckled throughout. I prefer the latter, but either works. Move the dough to a cool surface, press it down until it is about 1" high, wrap it with plastic wrap and use a rolling pin to roll it out into a smooth rectangle. Let this chill for 30 minutes or more while you prep the rest of the recipe.
- To make the salsa verde layer of the tart, mix together the chopped parsley, minced shallot, sliced garlic, preserved lemon and red pepper flakes to a bowl. Drizzle in the vinegar and olive oil and mix. Season with salt to taste. This should be a relatively dry, choppy sauce. Set aside.
- Thinly slice all your beets. Set 1/3 of the golden beet slices aside, and lay red beet slices on top of them to "dye" them pink.
- When the tart dough is fully chilled, lay it out on a floured surface. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Slice from one corner of dough rectangle and end in the center, this will be the indent of the heart shape. Begin to gently roll out the dough until it is about 1/2 cm thick.
- Evenly spread on the salsa verde, then layer the beets on top. I like to start with the red beets at the bottom, then the dyed pink beets, then the golden beets.
- Fold the tart crust over the edges. Brush the tart crust with the beaten egg. If you can chill the dough for another few minutes while the oven preheats, that's great, but it can also go right into the oven.
- Bake for 35-45 minutes. Remove from the oven and drizzle a bit of oil and vinegar on top of the beets to create some extra shine. Grate on some ricotta salata, and serve warm!
This is beautiful!! I’m hoping to make it next week! Question: do you think I could use a mix of oat and almond flour for the crust, for a GF option? Also, do you think it would work to cook the beets and prepare the salsa verde the day before? Thank you <3
I always like using a 1:1 GF flour blend as the best sub! And both elements can be made the day before, that’s a great question – I’ll add that note to the recipe!
Added mint, a pinch of caster sugar just because and 3-4 ounces crumbled feta to the parsley mixture. Pure yum!
This is so delicious! The crust is unbelievable, the beet puree adds so much fun color and lightness!. I forgot about the puree and made marinated beets with what I thought was the “excess beets” so I ended up using it for the puree, turned out super! I couldn’t’ find the ricotta salada (at either trader Joe’s or Whole Foods) so I used feta, totally acceptable.The salsa verde ads such a superb freshness to the tart, parsley just sparkles. I literally cannot stop eating it.