Add a portion of vegetables to your dinner with this zero waste broccoli pesto recipe that uses the stalks as well as the florets. Suitable for vegans, great for batch cooking and freezing and approved by the Sneaky Veg kids.
While I always eat my broccoli stalks one of my kids always bites off the top and leaves the stalks on his plate.
Making broccoli pesto is a great way to ensure that the whole of the broccoli - stalks, florets and even the leaves - is eaten.
Broccoli pesto is a great zero waste recipe that's a great one for batch cooking and can be stored in portions in the freezer.
Ingredients for broccoli pesto
For full recipe, ingredients and quantities go to the printable recipe card at the end of this post.
To make broccoli pesto you will need:
- 1 head broccoli (approx 300g weight)
- 25g basil leaves, roughly torn
- 50g pumpkin and sunflower seeds (cashew nuts or pine nuts also work well)
- 1 lemon
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (or vegan parmesan)
- Sea salt
How to make broccoli pesto
For full recipe, ingredients and quantities go to the printable recipe card at the end of this post.
1. Break the broccoli into florets, retaining the stalks. Any large stalks can be roughly chopped.
2. Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Add the broccoli and cook for five minutes, until just starting to soften.
3. Drain the broccoli and place in a large bowl of iced water to cool. This step isn't essential but it helps to retain the bright green colour of the broccoli.
4. Place the cooled broccoli into a blender or food processor along with the roughly torn basil leaves, mixed pumpkin and sunflower seeds, the juice of a lemon, 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast and a pinch of salt.
5. Blend until well combined, stopping to scrape the sides down at least once. Pour in the remaining two tablespoons of olive oil, a little at a time, while continuing to blend until you have the consistency you like.
How to serve broccoli pesto
Pesto is traditionally served with pasta. Trofie (a small, twisted pasta shape) is traditional but spaghetti or linguine can also be used. I have used tagliatelle for the photographs here.
Pesto doesn't need to be cooked (apart from cooking the broccoli florets in this un-traditional broccoli pesto recipe). When ready to serve simply stir through your freshly cooked pasta. Usually this will be enough to warm the pesto enough if serving immediately.
If needed you can lightly heat the pasta and pesto in a saucepan - but keep stirring to avoid sticking.
Broccoli pesto recipe
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Broccoli pesto
Equipment
Ingredients
- 300 g broccoli broken into florets and stalks roughly chopped
- 25 g basil leaves roughly torn
- 50 g pumpkin and sunflower seeds or cashew nuts or pine nuts
- 1 lemon juiced
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast or vegan parmesan alternative
- Sea salt to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Add the broccoli and stalks and cook for five minutes, until just beginning to soften.
- Drain and place in a bowl filled with ice cubes and water. This step isn’t essential but it will help to retain the vibrant green colour of the broccoli.
- Once cooled, put the cooked broccoli into a food processor or blender jug along with 25g roughly torn basil leaves, 50g mixed pumpkin and sunflower seeds, the juice of a lemon, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast and a pinch of salt.
- Blend until broken down, stopping to scrape the sides down at least once.
- Add the remaining olive oil slowly while continuing to blend until you have the consistency you like. Taste and add extra lemon juice and/or salt if needed.
- Serve with your favourite pasta shape.
Notes
- Nutritional information is approximate and is intended as a guide only.
- Store in an airtight container or jar in the fridge for up to three days. Cover the top with extra olive oil to prevent the pesto from going brown.
- Suitable for freezing. Best eaten within three months.
Nutrition
More pesto recipes you might like
Over the years I've made rather a few different pesto recipes. Pesto is a great way to get different vegetables onto your (or your kids') plate. It doesn't always have to be green - sundried tomato pesto is a real family favourite here.
Why not try one of my other pesto recipes next?
Love broccoli? You might also like this roasted broccoli recipe.
Pin broccoli pesto for later
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