An easy, nutritious and kid-friendly pasta pesto recipe made with super healthy broccoli! Nut free too! Sure to go down a treat.
Pasta Pesto is one of those meals that probably appears on the tables of most families at least once a week.
Quick and easy to whip up on busy days, it’s always sure to go down a treat with kids and adults alike.
And whilst there is nothing wrong with cracking open a jar of pesto when you have next to no time to cook, I thought I’d try out a homemade pesto recipes that’s packed with some sneaky veggies, starting with this Broccoli Pesto!
Broccoli is one of those “love it or hate veggies”, especially for kids. My own children are not massive fans so I tend to have to hide it in order to get them to eat it!
Like all green veg, broccoli is super nutritious. It’s high in Vitamins K and C. It’s also a good source of Vitamin A and also potassium and folate, making it a really important addition to a child’s diet.
STEP 1
To make the pesto I first steamed the broccoli. Steaming is generally the best way to cook veggies. It preserves more of the nutrients but you can cook it by boiling in a pan of water too.
STEP 2
Next I mixed the cooked broccoli in a food processor with the other ingredients. Feel free to alter the amount of oil, parmesan, garlic, etc to your own liking and taste as you go along.
The pesto will keep for up to 3 days in a sealed container or jar in the fridge. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
The pesto is delicious simply served with pasta. But it also works great on pizza, in a sandwich or even topped on chicken and baked.
If you try out this recipe please do let me know what you think. And please do share you photos on Instagram or Twitter
ORDER my new book THE FUSS-FREE FAMILY COOKBOOK out now. 100 healthy easy and quick recipes that the whole family will enjoy!
Broccoli Pesto Pasta
Prep Time: 1 minute- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 6 minutes
Yield: 10 1x
Category: Dinner
Cuisine: European
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
An easy, nutritious and kid-friendly pasta pesto recipe made with super healthy broccoli! Nut free too!
Ingredients
- 250g broccoli
- 50g grated parmesan
- 150ml olive oil
- 3 large / 5 small basil leaves
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 small garlic clove
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Steam the broccoli until it’s tender enough to stick a knife through the stalks.
- Add the broccoli to a food processor along with the rest of the ingredients.
- Blitz until smooth.
- To make pesto pasta simply mix a few spoons of the pesto with cooked pasta.
- Alternatively the pesto can be stored in a jar in the fridge for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months.
Victoria Claridge says
I made this for my notoriously fussy eater over the weekend, but with added spinach as we had some left over. By the time they had gotten over the fact it was green, and started calling it Hulk pasta, it was gone in minutes, and they even had seconds.
I had the delight in telling them what was in the sauce and they were so pleased that they had eaten broccoli and spinach without knowing it! We will absolutley be cooking it again, this week I am going to try the hidden veg sausage rolls, but make them with chicken sausages instead of pork, and I am hoping they go down as well as this one!
★★★★★
Vicky says
Hi Victoria, This is fab to hear and love the idea of calling it Hulk pasta. We have lots of hidden veggie recipes, fingers crossed the sausage rolls are as much of a hit as the pasta was. Please feel free to share your creations with us on social media, Facebook and Instagram as we love to see each and everyone of them. Happy cooking. x
Anonymous says
I’m making this for myself, as a college student it’s sometimes hard to prioritize nutrition. Thanks!
lorrna says
Nice quick easy meal that I know the kids will eat after a day at school, I’m looking for more ideas. Can you point me in the right direction please ?
★★★★★
Vicky says
Hi Lorrna, the following link might help you https://www.myfussyeater.com/?s=back+to+school+meal+plan
Thank you for sharing your review.
Kristen says
This was such a great recipe! My 2 1/2 year old loved it once she tasted it. She is a picky eater when it comes to veggies so this was a win.
★★★★★
Karyel says
Thank you for this simple, resilient and genius recipe Ciara! I didn’t have all of the ingredients so I created an “oriental” vegan version. Here are my substitutions:
Parmesan = Soaked cashews + nutritional yeast flakes
Lemon juice = Apple Cider Vinegar
Basil = Cilantro leaves
I also added a tiny bit of ground chili and allspice for flavour. Let’s see what my daughter thinks but I’m just excited to have such a simple recipe to feed her veggies.
★★★★★
Vetty says
Help your website has Been so helpful; especially because I don’t know how to cook. I literally am a text book of howtocook for dummies. My son is going to turn 1 in a week. I have not introduced pasta. Which kind of pasta would you recommend introducing him too. Do I need to cut it. I want to try the broccoli pesto recipe
Thank you
Lori says
So easy to make and brilliant that it can be frozen too.
★★★★★
Jan says
This is a fab idea and the ONLY way I can get my 4 yo to go anywhere near broccoli so thanks for posting this it’s a life saver!
★★★★★