Name: This Easy 20-Minute Dinner Gets My Son to Eat Broccoli
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 heaping cup very small broccoli florets (about 2.4 ounces); 1/2 cup fresh basil or parsley leaves; 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving, or 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast; 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice; 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest; 2 cloves garlic, peeled; 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for the pasta water; Freshly ground black pepper, to taste; 8 ounces spaghetti or bucatini pasta

This Easy 20-Minute Dinner Gets My Son to Eat Broccoli

Even my picky son loves this 20-minute broccoli pesto pasta recipe. The green sauce is packed with veggies and totally delicious when tossed with noodles.

20 min total 10 min prep 10 min cook 4 282 cal

Instructions

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1 Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and place a bowl of ice water nearby. Blanch the broccoli in the boiling water for 30 seconds, then use a slotted spoon to scoop it into the ice water to stop the cooking process. Drain and pat dry, reserving the water in the pot for cooking the pasta.
2 Bring the large pot of salted water back to a boil. Prepare the pasta according to the package instructions, cooking until al dente. Reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water, and drain the pasta.
3 While the pasta cooks, place the broccoli in a food processor with the basil or parsley, olive oil, parmesan or nutritional yeast, lemon juice and zest, garlic, salt, and several grinds of pepper. Pulse until combined.
4 In a large bowl, toss the pasta with the pesto. Add 1 tablespoon of reserved pasta water at a time, if desired, to loosen the sauce (up to 1/4 cup). Season to taste, top with more parmesan, and serve. Love the recipe? Leave us stars and a comment below!