This Broccoli Pesto Pasta recipe gives a refreshing take on traditional pesto. It’s packed with veggies with the same hint of savory basil and nutty pine nuts.
The Best Broccoli Pesto Pasta
A healthy and flavorful dish that combines the yummy goodness of broccoli with the classic flavors of pesto. Unlike traditional pesto, this recipe uses broccoli for a rich and creamy sauce that is perfect for coating pasta. You wouldn’t be able to tell that this dish is packed full of nutrients from vegetables. This easy-to-make recipe is also versatile, as you can use any type of pasta but here rigatoni pasta is used. In this blog post, we will show you how to make this delicious and healthy broccoli pesto pasta with pine nuts, step by step.
Tools You Will Need
Strainer
Ingredients
Broccoli: use fresh broccoli instead of frozen broccoli to blanche
Basil: this recipe used classic basil to give a savory flavor with a hint of heat
pine nuts: to add a nutty taste. You can replace with cashews for a different taste,
lemon juice
garlic
parmesan cheese
olive oil
salt & pepper
Water (as needed)
How To Make Chicken Broccoli Peso Pasta
Cook pasta according to instructions. While pasta is cooking, blanch the broccoli florets by placing broccoli in a large pot of boiling water for 2-3 minutes (broccoli should turn bright green). Drain broccoli and place in a bowl of ice water. In a food processor, add broccoli florets, basil, pine nuts, lemon juice, garlic, parmesan cheese, olive oil, salt, and mix until smooth. Add water (1 tbsp. increments) until desired consistency. In a large bowl add drained, cooked pasta and broccoli pesto and toss together until pasta is well coated.
Top with additional parmesan cheese and add red pepper flakes. Serve with a protein source like chicken.
The Best Pasta for Broccoli Pesto Pasta
You can use any type of pasta you want. Certainly, pesto would work with any shape but for this recipe I used rigatoni pasta. It’s a personal favorite of mine whenever pesto is involved.
If short ribed pasta is not your thing try something on the other end of the pasta spectrum and use spaghetti or fettuccine. It’s the best if you like to give your pasta a twirl.
Broccoli Pesto Pasta
This Broccoli Pesto Pasta recipe gives a refreshing take on traditional pesto. It's packed with veggies with the same hint of savory basil and nutty pine nuts.
Ingredients
- 1 pound Rigatoni pasta
- 3 cups broccoli florets
- 2 cups fresh basil
- ½ cup pine nuts + more for serving
- 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 cloves of garlic
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- ½ cup olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
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Cook pasta according to instructions. While pasta is cooking, blanch the broccoli florets by placing broccoli in a large pot of boiling water for 2-3 minutes (broccoli should turn bright green).
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Drain broccoli and place in a bowl of ice water. In a food processor, add broccoli florets, basil, pine nuts, lemon juice, garlic, parmesan cheese, olive oil, salt, and mix until smooth.
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Add water (1 tbsp. increments) until desired consistency. In a large bowl add drained, cooked pasta and broccoli pesto and toss together until pasta is well coated.
Broccoli Pesto Pasta
This Broccoli Pesto Pasta recipe gives a refreshing take on traditional pesto. It's packed with veggies with the same hint of savory basil and nutty pine nuts.
Jasmin Foster is a registered dietitian/food photographer focused on feel good balanced living providing recipes and tips to help you live your best life.