Serve up a dose of nutritious broccoli in a kid-friendly form with this easy (and cheesy!) Broccoli Pesto. It has a bright flavor from the inclusion of fresh lemon, requires no cooking (other than preparing the pasta) and is a perfect sauce for both pasta and pizza. Plus: You can make it ahead!
Broccoli Pesto
Most kids, mine included, love pasta and pizza so I love to find small ways to make them a little bit healthier. This broccoli pesto, which has two cups of fresh broccoli plus a cup of vitamin-rich parsley, is our current new fav! It’s easy to mix together and it’s both flavorful enough, yet not overpowering, to please the kids.
Easy Broccoli Pesto Recipe
The process for making this easy pesto recipe simply involves putting the ingredients into a food processor and processing them into a paste. That’s it! (Don’t have a food processor? You can use a blender instead!)
Ingredients in Broccoli Pesto
Here’s a look at the simple ingredients you’ll need to make this pesto recipe.
- fresh broccoli florets
- flat-leaf parsley, leaves only
- Juice and zest of 1 lemon
- olive oil
- grated Parmesan cheese
- roasted sunflower seeds, toasted almonds, or walnuts
What can I use if I don’t have parsley?
If you don’t have or don’t love parsley, you can substitute in fresh basil or baby spinach.
Can I use frozen broccoli?
If at all possible, I recommend that you use fresh broccoli for the best flavor and texture to this pesto. It could easily take on the flavor of over-cooked broccoli if you use frozen, which I doubt most kids would enjoy.
How to Make Broccoli Pesto Step-by-Step
- Add the veggies to the food processor and grind.
- Use a microplane to add the zest of a lemon. Cut in half and squeeze in the juice.
- Add the rest of the ingredients.
- Blend well, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times until the mixture is a thick paste.
Can I make this healthy pesto ahead of time?
Yes. Store the pesto in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days before using. Or freeze in a freezer bag with as much air removed as possible for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge before using.
Broccoli Pesto Pasta Recipe
To serve with pasta, toss with 1 pound of pasta prepared according to the package directions. Reserve 1/2-1 cup of the cooking liquid and add it to the pasta when tossing with the pesto if it seems a little dry. (Mine usually isn’t, but just in case!) You will need to use at least 1 cup of the pesto but can go up to 1 1/2 cup depending on how much sauce you prefer.
What else can I use this Broccoli Pesto on?
In addition to using it on pasta, we love it in place of pizza sauce on pizza. You could also stir some into scrambled eggs or an omelet, add a tablespoon or two to a batch of homemade meatballs, stir some into a soup like minestrone for additional flavor, or even spread onto bread in a turkey sandwich or grilled cheese.
Tips for Making the Best Broccoli Pesto
- Dry your broccoli completely.
- Scrape down the sides of the food processor a few times to make sure that the ingredients that get stuck on the sides of the bowl have a chance to be well blended.
- Run the food processor for 60-90 seconds, stopping a few times to scrape down the sides, or until the seeds are pretty well blended. You don’t want there to be any large pieces of the seeds and this can take a little time. (It’s easy though!)
- Toss well into noodles. If it seems a little dry, add a bit of reserved pasta water. (If you toss it well to coat the pasta, this shouldn’t be a problem, but just in case!)
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This recipe was updated to improve the taste and method in April 2019.
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw broccoli florets
- 1 cup parsley leaves, lightly packed
- Juice and zest of 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup roasted sunflower seeds, toasted almonds, or walnuts
Instructions
- Add the veggies to the food processor and grind.
- Use a microplane to add the zest of a lemon. Cut in half and squeeze in the juice.
- Add the rest of the ingredients to the food processor.
- Blend well, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times until the mixture is a thick paste, or for 60-90 seconds. It should be uniform and without large chunks of any one ingredient. If you still see whole seeds, keep going.
- Season to taste with salt if needed. (I usually don’t add additional salt but see what you think.)
- To serve with pasta, toss with 1 pound of pasta prepared according to the package directions. Reserve 1/2-1 cup of the cooking liquid and add it to the pasta when tossing with the pesto if it seems a little dry. (Mine usually isn’t, but just in case!) You will need to use at least 1 cup of the pesto but can go up to 1 1/2 cup depending on how much sauce you prefer.
- To serve as pizza sauce, spread about 1/2 cup over raw pizza dough and prepare as you would any other pizza.
Notes
Store the pesto in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days before using. Or freeze in a freezer bag with as much air removed as possible for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge before using.
TIPS
Dry your broccoli completely.
Scrape down the sides of the food processor a few times to make sure that the ingredients that get stuck on the sides of the bowl have a chance to be well blended.
Run the food processor for 60-90 seconds, stopping a few times to scrape down the sides, or until the seeds are pretty well blended. You don’t want there to be any large pieces of the seeds and this can take a little time. (It’s easy though!)
Toss well into noodles. If it seems a little dry, add a bit of reserved pasta water. (If you toss it well to coat the pasta, this shouldn’t be a problem, but just in case!)
Use on pasta, as a pizza sauce, as a spread on sandwiches or grilled cheese, add a spoonful to soup like minestrone for additional flavor, or stir into scrambled eggs.
Any reason not to use pine nuts?
Use them if you have them!
This looks very yummy, my two year old loves broccoli. How much does this make and can I freeze it? Thanks
It makes enough for about 1 pound of pasta. I haven’t tried freezing it—it’s possible that it would break down a bit when thawed due to the yogurt so I would try to use it fresh if possible. I hope your little one likes it!