Easy Broccoli Pasta Recipe with a Deliciously Creamy Broccoli Pesto Sauce

My easy broccoli pasta recipe with a creamy broccoli pesto sauce makes a delicious alternative to basil pesto pasta. Broccoli is a super-food, rich in fibre, vitamins and minerals, making it a healthy pasta sauce. While the dollop of sour cream or cream is optional, don’t skip the lemon juice, which enlivens the dish, or the chilli flakes, which add warmth.

This quick and easy broccoli pasta recipe with a creamy broccoli pesto sauce makes one of our best pasta recipes and one of our best broccoli recipes. It takes just half an hour to make this fantastic year-round pasta. If you’re like me, that is, and can eat pasta no matter what the weather. In summer, you could skip the cream, serve a light salad on the side, and do as the Italians do and serve a starter-size pasta.

In winter, when you’ll welcome the carbs and take comfort in the richness of the dish and gentle warmth courtesy of the the chilli flakes, you could double the cream, plate up generous main-size portions, and serve thick slices of crusty sourdough bread on the side to mop up the creamy sauce.

My broccoli pasta recipe is definitely one for the broccoli lovers, and for those of you who, like me, love a good Italian basil pesto pasta but aren’t a fan of store-bought pesto and can’t source fresh Italian basil to make homemade Genoese pesto. If you fit that description, you’re going to adore this dish.

Pesto lover? Try our recipes for pesto gnocchi with homemade pesto alla Genovese, my basil pesto pasta with potatoes and beans (the pesto dish I fell for on our first trip to Genoa, but made with fusilli instead of trofie), my pesto spaghetti and meatballs with peas and broccoli, a pesto potato salad, this pan-fried asparagus with pesto hummus, our pesto scrambled eggs, my cherry tomato burrata salad with asparagus, basil pesto and dukkah, and my Southeast Asian pesto.

Before I tell you more about my broccoli pasta recipe with broccoli pesto sauce, I have a favour to ask. Grantourismo is supported by its readers. If you’ve cooked our recipes and enjoyed them, please consider supporting Grantourismo by buying something on Amazon, such as these cookbooks for culinary travellers or classic cookbooks for serious cooks, or browse our Grantourismo store for gifts for food lovers designed with Terence’s images. Now let me tell you all about my broccoli pasta recipe with broccoli pesto sauce.

Broccoli Pasta Recipe with a Creamy Broccoli Pesto Sauce

I could happily make this broccoli pasta recipe every day, it’s that delicious. As long as I kept telling myself it’s healthy. Of course, it is to an extent, because broccoli is a superfood and is just so good for us. But a bowl of pasta a day probably isn’t going to do me any favours. But that broccoli…

I never had to be told to eat my greens as a child – except Brussels sprouts. Let’s not talk about that. Although I adore beautifully roasted Brussels sprouts now, especially done with loads of butter and crispy bacon. If you haven’t been converted to Brussels sprouts, let me know and I’ll share that recipe.

Brussels sprouts aside, I loved my green veggies, especially freshly plucked from my grandparents’ backyard veggie garden: green beans, peas, zucchini, even spinach (because of Popeye.) But mostly I loved broccoli, especially if it was fresh and just-done so the stalk was still crisp and the florets vivid green.

So if you’re so fond of Italian pesto you could eat it every day, and you love your broccoli as much as I do, and love quick and easy pasta dishes that can be on the table in half an hour even more, then you’re going to love this pasta dish. So let me share a few tips to making this easy broccoli pasta recipe.

Tips to Making this Broccoli Pasta Recipe with a Creamy Broccoli Pesto Sauce

I only have a few quick tips to making this speedy broccoli pasta recipe with a creamy broccoli pesto sauce. Firstly, it’s nothing if not versatile.

You could certainly stick to the broccoli, but you’ll note in the ingredients list I’ve suggested an optional handful of fresh herbs or greens. This is mainly for colour and ‘greenness’, actually.

I usually check our veggie drawer or see what’s wilting or pop out to the balcony garden to see what’s crying out to be used, and I might throw in a few pieces of rucola, and a little basil, dill, parsley or celery leaf.

For a more creamy texture, you could add another spoon or three of sour cream or cream; add more if you wish for even more richness. Although I personally think it’s rich enough thanks to the extra virgin olive oil and grated Parmigiano or Pecorino.

For a saucier pesto, add more pasta water – spoon by spoon, so you don’t accidentally over-do it, as there’s no coming back. You could turn the heat up high to reduce it but then you risk over-cooking your al dente pasta.

My broccoli pasta recipe doesn’t call for pine nuts – we struggle to source those, too (and, yes, please, if you’re coming to Siem Reap, please bring pine nuts and I’ll reimburse you – or buy you lunch) – you could certainly add pine nuts or even almonds or cashews, or a combo of all to the blender.

Now while the dollop of sour cream or cream is optional, don’t skip the lemon juice, which adds brightness and enlivens the dish. Nor the chilli flakes, which add warmth.

As for the pasta, I use a large rigatoni – it’s called Rigatoni 23 – as you want the sauce to fill the tubes and cling onto the ridges. But a penne would be just fine, too.

Make sure to taste the broccoli pesto sauce and adjust the seasoning to suit your palate before serving, adding more salt, lemon juice or chilli flakes.

After distributing the pasta between bowls, I drizzle on some more extra virgin olive oil, garnish with fresh basil leaves, and sprinkle on some more chilli, salt and cheese.

But if you’re feeding a group, serve the cracked black pepper, chilli flakes, lemon wedges, and grated cheese in small dishes on the table so your guests can customise their bowls to suit their taste.

Broccoli Pasta Recipe with a Creamy Broccoli Pesto Sauce

Broccoli Pasta Recipe with a Creamy Broccoli Pesto Sauce

AuthorLara Dunston

Our easy broccoli pasta recipe with a creamy broccoli pesto sauce makes a delicious alternative to basil pesto pasta. Broccoli is a super-food, rich in fibre, vitamins and minerals, making it a healthy pasta sauce. While the dollop of sour cream or cream is optional, don’t skip the lemon juice, which enlivens the dish, or the chilli flakes, which add warmth.

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Course Pasta

Cuisine Italian

Servings made with recipeServings 2

Calories 745 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 tbsp olive oil - divided
• 100 g onion - finely diced
• 4 garlic cloves - minced
• 350 g broccoli - roughly chopped florets and peeled stem
• 1 cup chicken stock - or vegetable stock
• 200 g pasta rigatoni
• 1 cup fresh herbs or greens: basil - dill, rucola etc (optional)
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• ½ lemon - juice only
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano - grated
• ½ tsp chilli flakes or to taste - or to taste
• 1 tbsp sour cream or cream - (optional)
• Fresh basil leaves to garnish

Instructions

 

• In a large pot over high heat, bring 2 litres of water to boil for the pasta.
• In a deep pan or flat-bottomed wok over medium-high, heat a tablespoon of olive oil until shimmering. Fry the onion for five minutes until soft, add the garlic, stir to combine, reduce heat to low, and fry for another few minutes until fragrant and the onion is translucent. Transfer to a dish to cool.
• In the same pan/wok over medium, heat a tablespoon of olive oil, fry the broccoli for a few minutes, add a cup of stock, and cook for a few more minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool a little.
• Salt the boiling water, pour the pasta into the pot, and set a timer according to the packet instructions; probably 8-10 minutes.
• Pour the onion, garlic, broccoli, and stock into a blender. Add the optional fresh herbs/greens, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, salt, grated cheese, and chilli flakes, and blend until combined into a thick, smooth purée. Transfer to the pan/wok and warm the sauce up over low heat.
• When the pasta is al dente use a slotted spoon to scoop it out and into the pan/wok. If the pesto is too thick for your liking, loosen it up by adding pasta water, a spoon at a time, or for a creamier sauce, add the sour cream or cream; stir to combine until the sauce fills the tubes and cloaks the pasta.
• Taste and adjust the seasoning to suit your palate, adding more salt, lemon juice or chilli flakes. Distribute between bowls, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, garnish with fresh basil leaves, and serve with quality salt, cracked black pepper, chilli flakes, lemon wedges, and grated cheese.

Notes

To serve: quality salt, cracked black pepper, chilli flakes, extra virgin olive oil, grated cheese, lemon wedges.
Instructions

Nutrition

Calories: 745kcalCarbohydrates: 102gProtein: 25gFat: 28gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 1529mgPotassium: 1232mgFiber: 11gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 3850IUVitamin C: 218mgCalcium: 247mgIron: 5mg

Please do let us know if you make our easy broccoli pasta recipe with a creamy broccoli pesto sauce in the comments below as we’d love to know how it turns out for you.