Basic Beet Dough for Dumplings or Tortillas

It’s that time of year where we all start making themed or colored food for our loves. This basic beet dough is colored for an appetizing shade of pink to make cute heart shaped dumplings or tortillas. Since there are plenty of sweet and yummy dessert recipes all over, a savory one is a good option.

From a health standpoint, experts say it’s important to “eat the rainbow”! Holidays make it an easy time to hide healthy options in food, especially for kids! The beets in this recipe are high in vitamins and loaded with health-promoting properties, a bonus to making the dough a festive color.

heart shaped dumplings made pink from beet dough

I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, so savory always appeals to me. This basic dough recipe was put together by my daughter Lizzy. It’s super versatile and is very easy to make. The dough can be colored with either beets to make it pink (and appropriate for Valentines fun) or sweet potatoes for a gorgeous fall color and flavor. Both are delicious options!

Here is the easy recipe for the dough:

beets color this basic dough

Basic Beet Dough for Dumplings and Tortillas

Yield: 24 small dumpling sized circles

This basic dough can be colored (with beets to make it pink or sweet potatoes to make it orange) and used to make dumplings or mini tortillas.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 medium sized roasted beets (We love the Trader Joe's brand!)
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup flour

Instructions

    Blend water and beets in a food processor. Add in dry ingredients and pulse until a dough forms. Let dough rest in plastic wrap for 20 minutes. Roll out 1/4" thick for tortillas or as thin as you can for dumpling wrappers. For tortillas, cook on a non stick griddle or pan until bubbles form, then flip and cook the other side. Use as you would any other tortilla! I like to cut them into hearts 🙂 but they're also great shaped in traditional circles and used to make tacos or quesadillas. For dumplings I seal them shut with water and then steam them for 8-10 minutes.

Notes

Quantities can be increased as needed. Just make sure the consistency stays pliable and not too dry.

The dumpling mixture is easy to do as well. Of course everything should be finely shredded so it can fit into a smaller dumpling size.

heart shaped dumplings made from dough colored with beets

Dumpling Filling

Yield: 12 dumplings

Filling for small dumpling.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup shredded carrots
  • 1/4 cup shredded baby bella mushrooms
  • 1/4 cup ground chicken, pork, or tofu
  • 1 tablespoon chopped green onions
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Instructions

  1. Mix all ingredients well.
  2. Place 1 teaspoon of dumpling filling in each prepared dumbling shape.
  3. Cook as desired, either steam or pan fry.

Aren’t these dumplings cute when they’re done?

heart shaped dumplings made from dough colored with beets

And the mini quesadillas are just as adorable for a presentation!

mini quesadillas made with heart shaped tortillas

Of course, one would probably want to eat like 47 of these because they are ooey-gooey and yummy! But cute presentation is the key for the holiday.

beet dough made into heart shaped quesadillas

Quesadillas or Dumplings?

The basic beet dough can certainly be made in larger quantities if desired. Making homemade tortillas is easy and adding the beets not only adds color but vitamins. I always love to try new things, and this dough was super easy.

Mexican food is always my first choice, so the quesadilla option is always appealing. Kids will even eat “cheese and bread (basically)” so this is a great choice.

However, if you want to try the dumpling version, I have to tell you about my favorite rice cooker! It is amazing and I am literally obsessed. We make rice bowls a lot, and this cooker is so good. My fave feature is being able to leave the leftovers in the cooker for days, and it keeps it warm. Sometimes in the morning, I will just have rice with a little butter (sounds boring but it’s yum). But the best is rice, with some coconut milk and mango. Oh. My. Gosh. Yea, you want this rice cooker!

I hope you have been inspired to try this easy dough, and make something different! Follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram, where you will see the video of how to make the dough. Happy creating!

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