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💭 Why you’ll love this recipe
Simple, 15 minute pesto: This is a really convenient recipe and comes together in no time so it’s perfect for a quick weeknight meal.Super customizable: I’ve included vegan and vegetarian variations here, and tips on how you can make broccoli pesto without basil or without pine nuts. Lots of useful substitutions in the ingredients section! Sneakily healthy: My fiancé hates broccoli but loves this pesto. It tastes so vibrant and delicious but also super healthy thanks to the broccoli, which adds a ton of vitamins, minerals and fiber to your diet.
📋 Ingredients and notes
To make this recipe, you’ll need: a cup of broccoli florets (blanched), a cup of fresh herbs of your choice (I use basil but you can also use one of these basil substitutes), a cup of nuts of choice (I use pine nuts), garlic cloves, lemon juice, and olive oil. See below for variations.
Notes and Variations
Vegan vs. vegetarian: The recipe as written is vegan. If you want more umami flavors, you can add vegetarian parmesan or nutritional yeast.Using frozen broccoli: Frozen broccoli works just fine in this pesto! Pine nuts vs. other nuts: I like pine nuts because it brings a really traditional pesto flavor to this dish. You can substitute with walnuts, cashew nuts, or almonds depending on what you have on hand. To make it nut-free, swap with sunflower or pumpkin seeds instead.Basil vs. other herbs: Again, I stuck with the traditional pesto route. But I’ve used parsley, arugula, pea shoots, and many other fresh and light leafy greens in this recipe (occasionally even kale!) Roasted broccoli: One fun way to take this recipe up a notch is to roast the broccoli in the oven at 400F for 30 minutes before adding to the food processor. It brings out more complex flavors and tastes delicious (but is optional!)
Oh, and if you’re reading this and thinking about other amazing pesto combinations - check out my traditional pesto alla Genovese, creamy vegan kale pesto, and my favorite springtime pea shoot pesto!
📖 Step-by-step instructions
There are four key steps to this recipe, but it literally takes 15 minutes.
Prepare and blanch the broccoli florets: First, bring a pot of water to a rolling boil as you break up the broccoli florets. Drop the florets into the water to blanch them for about 30 seconds. Then, remove and run them under ice cold water (or have a mixing bowl with ice cubes) to stop the cooking process. This softens them a bit and keeps the color vibrant!
Toast the pine nuts: I love to quickly toast my pine nuts on the stove. Pop them on a skillet or non-stick pan and just toast for 2 minutes (nice and toasty but not burnt!)
Add all ingredients (except olive oil) to a food processor and pulse: Throw the blanched broccoli florets, garlic cloves, and fresh herbs into a food processor and pulse until you get a coarse paste of sorts. If you’re using nutritional yeast Now, add olive oil slowly and continue pulsing to emulsify: If your food processor has a chute, add olive oil as you pulse so it turns into a creamy pesto like consistency. If your food processor doesn’t have a chute, add a tablespoon at a time to get to the desired consistency. Add some salt and pepper to taste, and your broccoli pesto is all done!
Serve this broccoli pesto on literally everything and enjoy the sneakily healthy sauce!
🍴 Serving and storage suggestions
When stored in an airtight container in the fridge, this pesto stays fresh for 3 to 5 days. You can also freeze it in single-use portions (I love using silicon ice cube trays for this!) and keep it for 1-2 months that way.
You can use this pesto on any pasta (for instance, use this instead of pea shoot pesto in my spring pasta or check out my broccoli pesto pasta with cherry tomatoes!). You can slather it on sandwiches. You can use it as a dip for the next time you need a healthy snack!
If you like this recipe, don’t forget to try out my other sauce recipes:
If you tried this recipe, don’t forget to comment and rate! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
📖 Recipe
