When we think of Valentine’s Day, we think of love and flowers, yummy meals, and the colors red and pink. Here we look at some of the ways red, pink, and flowers can be combined into our meals for that special someone as we celebrate Valentine’s Day. We have some great resources for buying some ingredients for making your perfectly pinkish dinner and we have some recipes too. You can subtly, add the colors pink or red or the flowers to your special celebration depending on personal preference.
Store-Bought Pink Pasta
1. Candy Kraft Mac & Cheese
One of the most popular comfort foods for both kids and adults just might be Kraft Mac n Cheese in the blue box. No one can miss its bright orange color and cheesy out-of-the-box taste. They’ve come out with a fun new pink version for a special contest promotion! This version is the same cheesy one, but with a candy pink packet that will add a sweet twist to your mac n cheese. If you think this is something you want to try, make sure you enter their contest to try and win a box of this one-of-a-kind mac n cheese.
Enter the contest to win a box of pink Mac n cheese here.
2. Sfoglini Artisanal Pasta
Beet fusilli has a great pink color when cooked and will make any pasta dish into a great Valentine’s dinner. This Brooklyn-made artisanal pasta comes in a two-pack perfect for those special holiday meals. These would look amazing with a simple brown-butter and parmesan cheese sauce, a white sauce, or even one of the pink sauces that we recommend in this blog post.
Get the Pink Pasta from Food52.
3. No Dairy Pink Primavera Sauce
This particular pink sauce is a combination of carrots for sweetness, beets for color, and fennel for a unique flavor profile. Once made, this sauce can be used for any type of pasta, and with its color, it will make a fun and fancy meal. This sauce is great for those on Paleo or Whole 30 diets too! It’s surprisingly tasty for a sugar-free and dairy-free pasta sauce.
Get the Pink Primavera Sauce here.
4. Aldi’s White and Pink Pasta Hearts
Shaped pasta is always a great way to celebrate special days of the year. These heart-shaped pastas are a way to get “a little heart” in each bite. These heart-shaped pastas would be terrific for a kids’ meal as they tend to love hearts. Paired with a simple white sauce, it’s the ideal Valentine’s meal. The package comes with a combination of white and pink heart pasta and some kids would even love them with just some butter and cheese.
Get the White and Pink Pasta Hearts here.
5. DeLallo Pink Vodka Pasta Sauce
Pink sauce is perfect for when you don’t want the richness of a cream sauce, but you want less acidity than a traditional tomato sauce. This fuses the two creating an eye-catching pink sauce with hints of garlic flavor. A pink sauce can be used on top of pasta, gnocchi, or even in lasagna.
Get DeLallo Pink Vodka Sauce here.
Pink Pasta Recipes
6. Jillian Harris’ Perfectly Pink Pasta
Who wouldn’t smile if they saw a plate of pink pasta? As with many of the pink pastas, this uses the beautiful color of beets to make it this intense pink color. Its base is a vegan cashew sauce made with soaked cashews and a bit of lemon and garlic.
Get the full recipe and directions from the Jillian Harris Blog.
7. Vegan Pink Pasta Sauce
What a fun pastel color for pasta! The combination of cashew cream and tomato sauce makes it a softer pink tone. The cashew cream definitely tones down the acidity and sharpness of the tomato sauce and makes this a tasteful and creamy pasta.
Get the full recipe and directions from The Conscientious Eater.
8. Valentine Vegan Pink Pasta
Who knew that rose-shaped pasta existed? It is so pretty to look at! These are like ombre-colored flowers on your plate. Make sure not to overcook this pasta or it will start to break apart and lose its beautiful rose shape.
Some tips for making the sauce, make sure to soak your cashews overnight to ensure the sauce is creamy. Also, slowly add your roasted beets as they do add a strong flavor and deepen the color as well.
Get the full recipe and directions from Simply Beautiful Eating.
9. Beet-Walnut Pesto, Pink Penne Pesto Pasta
Walnuts help to create the base of this stunning, deep red pasta sauce along with roasted beets. The intense color comes from using 2 full medium-sized beets. The best part is this pesto can be used on pasta or anything else: bread, wraps, or as a dip. The pesto can also be made without cheese to make it vegan.
Get the full recipe and directions from My Food Tapestry.
10. Hand-Made Beetroot Pasta Dough
There are so many ways to color pasta naturally, but beets are always a good choice in that the pink color can be as intense as you want it to be. The recipe author provides you with 4 different color options to make your pasta. But since this post is about pink pasta, you will want to check out the beet version. This is not for the impatient as the recipe does require a 30 minute rest period for the dough so that it gets more elastic.
Get the full recipe and directions from Serious Eats.
11. Red Velvet Ravioli with Goat Cheese and Pumpkin
A delicious combination of pumpkin and goat cheese works so well with this beet-colored ravioli. It’s pretty with the orange inside and the deep pink outside, this makes for a very luxe dinner. A tip, make sure to cover your surface when making this ravioli dough as the beets can stain. The video helps show how to create pasta dough from scratch. Once you learn how to do this, you really could make any type of pasta, not just ravioli.
Get the full recipe and directions from YouTube.
We hope that something on this list inspires you to buy something fun to eat for Valentine’s Day or even attempt to make it yourself. It might even be a cool Valentine’s Day date to cook up something pink and heart-shaped and enjoy it together. It’s the perfect day to spread a little love and some color by trying something Pink! Let us know what you give a try and how you liked it!
If you like this post, we think you’ll love our Red Velvet Pasta post.
