This Easy Lemon Broccoli Pasta Recipe is super quick and ready in about 30 minutes. Plant-Based & Delicious, perfect for a weeknight!
We’re having the first few summery days of the season. Temperatures are soaring, the weather is storming, and we are craving fresh, tasty, and seasonal dishes! Enter this Easy Lemon Broccoli Pasta!
As the title says, this dish is super easy to make, but not only that!
You will love this pasta dish, as it is absolutely delicious, lemony, and packed full of healthy vegetables! Plus, it’s creamy thanks to the vegan butter and parmesan, but the lemon balances the fats perfectly, so it does not sit heavy on the stomach.
And, you will only need a few basic ingredients to make this recipe!
Try it, you will love it! And if you do try it, do let us know in the comments, we’re always happy to hear your thoughts on our recipes 🙂
Ingredients
To make this recipe you will need:
- pasta, we chose fusilli pasta for this recipe, but penne, bowties, or other pasta shapes will work just as well. Adjust cooking time as per package instruction, depending on your chosen pasta.
- broccoli
- lemon, use organic to grate the zest, and we will need the juice as well
- baby spinach for added greens and nutritions; kale or collards would also work, just make sure to cook them a bit first, as they are harder than baby spinach
- vegan butter; we like to use Naturli butter, but feel free to use any butter you like. If you are not vegan / dairy-free, you can use regular butter in this recipe.
- garlic
- fresh parsley
- vegan parmesan cheese; again, if you are not vegan or dairy-free, feel free to use regular parmesan cheese
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
How to make this Easy Lemon Broccoli Pasta
As the title says, making this pasta is… well, easy!
Start by cutting the broccoli into bite-sized florets. This will allow for faster cooking. Don’t forget to wash the broccoli, too. While you’re washing the produce, also wash the baby spinach.
Then, prepare all your ingredients, so they are ready when you start cooking: grate the lemon zest, juice the lemon, mince the garlic, and chop the parsley.
The next step is to start cooking!
Heat a large pot of water. Once it’s simmering, add salt, and pasta. Cook the pasta for about 5 minutes, then toss in the broccoli and continue cooking together until the broccoli is fork-tender and the pasta is cooked as well.
Reserve a cup of the pasta water, turn off the heat, then drain the pasta and broccoli, and immediately return both to the hot pot.
To the pasta, add the baby spinach, lemon zest, and reserved pasta water. Mix to combine, then let sit for a minute or two until the spinach wilts.
While you have that going on, heat a pan on medium, add the vegan butter, and let it melt. Continue to cook for a few minutes, stirring regularly, until the butter browns. Then, stir in the minced garlic and parsley, let cook for a minute, and remove from the heat.
Now, add the garlic butter to the pasta. Drizzle over the lemon juice, and mix in the grated vegan parmesan.
And now you’re ready to serve! (see below for how to serve this pasta).
Serving
To serve the dish, simply drizzle the pasta with some olive oil, season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve hot. Top with freshly grated parmesan vegan cheese.
Storage
Store in an air-tight container for up to 3 days. Reheat before serving for the butter to melt and become delicious.
This recipe makes 4 meal-prep servings.
We do not recommend freezing this recipe.
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Easy Lemon Broccoli Pasta
This Easy Lemon Broccoli Pasta Recipe is super quick and ready in about 30 minutes. Plant-Based & Delicious, perfect for a weeknight!
Ingredients
- 400 grams pasta fusilli
- 1 head broccoli
- 1 organic lemon, zest and juice
- 100 grams baby spinach
- 3 tbsp vegan butter
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 cup vegan parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- pinch of salt
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cut 1 head of broccoli into florets, then wash and drain. Wash and drain 100 grams of baby spinach, grate the lemon zest, juice the lemon, mince 3 cloves of garlic, and chop about 1 tbsp of parsley.
- Heat a large pot of water until boiling. Add a generous teaspoon of salt and the pasta. Let cook for about 4-5 minutes, then add in the broccoli florets. Cook until the broccoli softens and the pasta is cooked. Reserve a cup of the pasta water, then drain the pasta and broccoli.
- After draining, immediately return the pasta and broccoli to the hot pot, but turn off the heat. To the pasta, add the baby spinach, lemon zest, and the reserved pasta water. Mix to combine, then let sit for a minute or two for the spinach to wilt.
- While the pasta is cooking, melt the vegan butter in a pan and let it cook until browned. Stir in the minced garlic and parsley, let cook for a minute, then remove from the heat.
- Add the garlic butter to the pasta, drizzle over the lemon juice, and mix in the grated vegan parmesan.
- Drizzle with some olive oil, season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve hot.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 494Total Fat: 21gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 2gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 22mgSodium: 581mgCarbohydrates: 61gFiber: 6gSugar: 9gProtein: 18g
Nutrition data is automatically calculated using Nutritionix and may not be accurate.