Roasted Beet Pesto with Mexican Merlot

Roasted Beet Pesto is a colorful twist on the classic pesto sauce. Savory and flavorful, toss this beet pesto with pasta or use as a spread for a sandwich. This bright red pesto is delicious served with a good Merlot.

We feature the Guanamé Merlot from Mexico for today’s Wine Pairing Weekend event focused on Mexican wines. Disclosure: the wine discussed was provided as a complimentary sample as part of our partnership with Tozi Imports.

I came across the idea of making beet pesto in a Bon Appetit article, which suggested it as a good way to use beets that are starting to look a bit tired in the vegetable drawer.

Using the article’s suggestions as a launching point, I made my first batch of beet pesto last month. It was quite good, so I had definite plans to circle back and write down our recipe for beet pesto.

Jump to:

• Inspiration for today’s pairing
• Making beet pesto
• Serving ideas
• Wine pairing for beet pesto
• About Vinos Guanamé winery
• More Mexican wine pairings
• Recipe card
• Roasted Beet Pesto
• Mexican wine articles from #winePW

Inspiration for today’s pairing

We had a nice lineup of Mexican wines to try from Tozi Imports, which we initially opened for the recent Mexican wine tasting webinar (link takes you to the recording).

My initial plan was to feature the Monte Xanic Cabernet Sauvignon with the roasted ribeye steak we made. That was a good pairing, but I want to make a few more tweaks before I publish the recipe. So I was looking for another pairing option.

I really liked the Guanamé Merlot when we tasted it. Having done a lot of Merlot food pairing experiments with our annual #MerlotMe, I’ve definitely come to appreciate the pairing versatility of the grape. Having successfully paired a Merlot with our roasted beet dip, I decided I would try it with our beet pesto.

Let’s dig into the beet pesto recipe, then we will circle back to the pairing.

Making beet pesto

Here’s a visual overview of the steps for making roasted beet pesto. Head on down the recipe card for all the details.

Peel and chop the beets, then spread in a baking dish.

Roast the beets in a 400 degree oven for about 45 minutes, until fork tender.

Set the beets aside to cool. Put the garlic in a food process, pulse to chop.

Add the roasted beets to the food processor.

Pulse the food processor to chop the beets into small bits.

Add the Parmesan cheese along with the olive oil and basil. Puree the ingredients until well combined into a sauce like consistency. Add extra oil if necessary.

Scoop the beet pesto into a serving bowl. It is ready to use!

If serving with pasta, when the pasta is cooked to your liking, drain the pasta and toss immediately with a couple of tablespoons of the beet pesto plus 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Stir to combine, add a bit more pesto if you like.

Plate the beet pesto pasta, and pass extra pesto and cheese to use for topping the dish.

For another creative pesto recipe, try our Easy Garlic Scape Pesto!

Serving ideas

Of course, tossing the roasted beet pesto with hot pasta is a great way to serve this pesto.

But pesto is versatile! We had a bit of beet pesto leftover after serving it with pasta the other night. We spread it on some artisanal crackers with sea salt, and that was very good. We also put a bit of the beet pesto on some cheese, along with the same crackers. Also a winner!

I also like to spread pesto on a sandwich. I bet the beet pesto would be good on a turkey sandwich. Maybe even try it instead of traditional pesto in this Turkey Pesto Panini?

Wine pairing for beet pesto

As noted earlier, we had the The Guanamé Merlot (appx. $20, 13.8% ABV) ready to pair with our beet pesto.

This Merlot is dusky on the nose. Blackberry fruit on the palate with some notes of cloves, chocolate and leather. A complex, flavorful wine!

Once again, we found that a good Merlot plays along nicely with the earthy flavor of the roasted beets, and the basil also enhances the pairing. We definitely recommend trying this Merlot with beet pesto! Not to mention it is aesthetically pleasing with all the red on the plate picked up by the color of the wine. Keep in mind for Valentine’s Day, perhaps.

When we first made the beet pesto, we paired it with the L’Ecole Luminesce white blend of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc. That did work as well, something to keep in mind if you are more in the mood for a white wine pairing for this pesto.

About Vinos Guanamé winery

As described on the Tozi Imports website, Vinos Guanamé is located 6 hours north of Mexico City in the center of the country. Located at over 6,000 feet above sea level, Vinos Guanamé is located in a semi-arid region with excellent terroir for growing wine grapes.

The winery was founded in 2011 by the Torres family, who are cattle farmers with a long history of making wine for themselves.

Fortunately for us, they are now sharing their wine, currently making 3,000 cases per year with plans to scale up to 10,000. Utilizing sustainable farming practices, they focus on red wine grapes, making Muscat, Malbec, Tempranillo and Syrah in addition to the Merlot. Vinos Guanamé also makes a rosé which I have enjoyed previously.

More Mexican wine pairings

We’ve had a chance to enjoy some other great Mexican wines with some good pairings. Here are some highlights!

Monte Xanic Sauvignon Blanc with Guacamole

Max suggested pairing the Monte Xanic Sauvignon Blanc with Guacamole, and that is definitely a great call! Read more about the pairing along with more guacamole wine pairing ideas here.

Red and white Mexican wine options for Turkey Enchiladas

We tested two wines for our Ground Turkey Enchiladas recipe. Shown above is the Musica Del Marqués Nebbiolo (12.5% ABV), which is a blend of 90% Nebbiolo and 10% Malbec. This worked quite well.

But I might actually give a slight edge with the turkey enchiladas to the Monte Xanic Chenin-Columbard ($20, 13.9% ABV), which cleanses the palate nicely after a bit of the spicy enchiladas. We’ve got an article on wine pairing for enchiladas for more ideas! And while we are on the topic of enchiladas, I should also mention we have great ideas in our what to serve with enchiladas roundup.

Vina Doña Dolores Sparkling Wine with Fiesta Dip

The Viña Doña Dolores Brut Reserva ($15, 12% ABV) is a great value sparkling wine from Central Mexico that all of the participating #winePW bloggers got to try for this event. We previously enjoyed with our Baked Fiesta Dip….be sure to check out what my colleagues paired with this wine via the articles linked below the recipe card!

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Recipe card

Mexican wine articles from #winePW

To learn more about Mexican wine and food pairings that work with it, be sure to check out all of these Wine Pairing Weekend articles!

• Wendy from a A Day in the Life on the Farm will share “Mexican Foods and Wines always provide for a Perfect Fiesta”
• Susannah from Avvinare is “Discovering Mexican Wine”
• Jen from Vino Travels is taking “A First Look at Mexican Wines Including Italian Grapes”
• Carlos from Carlos’ Food & Wine is serving up “Mexican wines featuring sparkling wine risotto & grilled hanger steak with mushroom-red wine sauce”
• Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla is sharing “Outside the Pigeon-Hole: Pairing Mexican Wine with Thai Cuisine“
• Gwendolyn from Wine Predator Gwendolyn Alley features Sparkling Wine from Mexico For #TacoTuesday”
• Robin of Crushed Grape Chronicles shares “Mexican Wines – 2 wines from the central Mexican highlands of Querétaro #WinePW“
• Linda from My Full Wine Glass is “Saying ‘hola’ to Mexican Tempranillo and sparkling wine”
• Martin from ENOFLZ Wine Blog will share “Exploring Mexican Wine Beyond Baja”
• Nicole from Somm’s Table is “Sipping Mexican Wines with a Bowl of Birria“
• Liz at What’s in that Bottle posted “Salud a Los Vinos de Mexico!” 
• Terri from Our Good Life pairs “Grassfed Ribeye with Steak Butter and Grilled Oyster Mushrooms Paired with Monte Xanic Cabernet Sauvignon“
• Here on Cooking Chat we paired “Roasted Beet Pesto Pasta with Mexican Merlot”