Easy, healthy weeknight dinners are always welcomed this time of year. With school back in session, and schedules getting busier and busier, meals like this are perfect! I’ve never put a vegetable into pesto, with the exception of kale..does that count? I’m SO glad I did.
The broccoli makes it super thick and it coats the pasta beautifully. Plus, I’m always a fan of getting extra veggies in. This is also a perfect meal for kids, because of the sneaky veggies!
Funny enough, I made this pasta a couple weeks ago. I have no idea how I thought of making a broccoli pesto, it kind of just came to me. And this past weekend, I happened to see a broccoli pesto pasta on a restaurant menu. Of course, I had to order it!
The pasta dish was from Fiorella in Rochester, New York, and oh my goodness it was amazing. Their broccoli pesto was incredible and it had ricotta, sautéed mushrooms, and the most insanely perfect homemade pasta. The best pasta I had that night however, was their cacio e pepe. I seriously have NO words for how good it was. If you ever go there, you HAVE to order it. Trust me on this one. I want to re-create it for the blog, so stay tuned for that this fall!
Instead of adding parm or another Italian cheese to this recipe, I figured why not add feta? I think feta is delicious when it gets a little melty, and it’s so rarely served in hot dishes. So so good in this.
If you have a ton of extra basil in your garden, definitely make this. Or any herbs, really. I’m pretty sure you could add any herbs to this and it would be delicious.
I mean, how can you go wrong with pasta, cheese, and veggies? Three of my favorite things in life.
Pasta with Broccoli Pesto, Lemon, and Feta
This super quick 30-minute pasta is tossed in a delicious lemony broccoli pesto, and it's a great way to pack in extra veggies!
Ingredients
- 8 ounces of your favorite pasta
- 2 cups broccoli florets
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 3 tablespoons almonds
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 cup flat leaf parsley
- 1 cup basil leaves + extra for garnish
- zest of 1/2 a lemon
- juice of 1/2 a lemon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/3 cup crumbled feta, plus extra for garnish
Instructions
Bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Cook according to package directions.
Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil for the broccoli. Once boiling, add the broccoli and cook for 2 minutes or until slightly tender and bright green. Drain and let cool.
Make the pesto. Combine the walnuts, almonds, and garlic into a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Add the parsley, basil, broccoli, lemon zest, lemon juice, parmesan, salt, and pepper and pulse again until combined. Stream in the olive oil with the processor running until thick and creamy.
Add desired amount of pesto to the pasta, along with the feta. Stir to combine. To serve, garnish with extra feta, parmesan, and fresh basil.
I want to try this recipe and I don’t see Lemon in the ingredient list, but step 3. requires lemon zest & lemon juice? Can you specify how much of each to use for this recipe?
So sorry Kristen – thank you for catching that! I’ve updated the recipe 🙂 Let me know if you try it!