Broccoli Pesto
- Total Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:1¼ cups
- ½pound broccoli florets
- 2garlic cloves, peeled, green shoots removed
- 1cup basil leaves, tightly packed
- ⅓cup extra virgin olive oil
- Salt
- freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1½ to 2ounces (⅓ to ½ cup) freshly grated Parmesan, or a mixture of pecorino Romano and Parmesan, to taste
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (2.5 servings)
364 calories; 35 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 23 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 7 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 10 grams protein; 353 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Steam the broccoli for 6 minutes, until very tender but still bright. Remove from the heat, rinse and drain on paper towels.
- Step 2
Turn on a food processor fitted with the steel blade and drop in the garlic. When the garlic is minced and adhering to the sides of the bowl, stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the broccoli and the basil to the machine and turn on. When contents are finely chopped, stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Turn on the machine again and drizzle in the olive oil. Purée until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste and the grated cheese, and process until well blended.
- Step 3
Transfer to a bowl and serve as a dip, spread or sauce with pasta. If serving with pasta, this amount will be plenty for a pound of pasta. Thin out with ¼ to ½ cup of the pasta cooking water before tossing with the pasta.
Tip
- Advance preparation: You can make this a day ahead, but the garlic will become more pungent. The pesto will retain its nice color.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
smawhort
I have made this many times. I usually make a double batch, and reduce the garlic to 1 clove per double batch. I add the juice and zest of 1 lemon as well. This last time I cooked the broccoli in the microwave instead of steaming it, which worked just fine and made the process slightly quicker.
Laura S.
I made this tonight with the addition of 1/2c cashews. It was very well received by one husband, one teenager, and one 10-year-old.
Carla
Nice recipe for homemade winter pesto. If you don't have basil, you can use parsley. Good on pasta and not too garlicky in my opinion.
Judy
2 cloves of garlic were overwhelming. I had to mellow it out with ricotta, and it was still too garlicky.
Libby
Made this vegan: used miso instead of cheese. Also added a handful of cashews—delicious. Thanks for the tip to reduce the garlic; it’s perfect with one (large) clove.
Nora
I’ve made this many times. I usually add toasted walnuts, parsley and some mint along with the basil. My two year old loves “green noodles”, as for the garlic, I love it! I usually blanch frozen organic broccoli in the salted water I have going for pasta. It’s a fast satisfying dinner, love it
carrie b
I have made this several times. Delish! I add roasted pine nuts or other nuts or seeds and used some of the steaming water and less oil. since supermarket garlic is so strong I roast garlic and freeze the cloves for almost all uses so the garlic is not an issue for me. Lots of other methods to reduce bitterness but keep the flavor of the garlic. Freeze pesto in large ice cube trays and pull out as needed. I need to remember lemon because I do think that will provide even better balance.
Alexis Sogl
Add a lemon - zest & juice!
Victoria
A fine use for leftover broccoli.
Erinbk
We LOVE garlic, so we absolutely scoffed at the comments that two cloves of garlic was too much. We followed the recipe, using one large clove and one small, and guess what, it was too garlicky! We reeked of garlic for 24 hours afterward. Lol. Otherwise it was delicious. Made as directed, but threw in a handful of cashews, which ended up not doing much. Will make again (with one clove).
Josh
Adds a little time but to mellow the garlic out I microplaned 2 cloves into a teaspoon of lemon juice before I steam the garlic
KB
I has less broccoli but more basil than specified, and I tossed in some pistachios. I didn't measure the oil, just used enough to get to a good consistency. Tastes great.
Melissa F.
To maintain the bright green color of the pesto, I added some salt to the blanching water and did a quick blanch of the basil. I also added some of the blanching water while blending and threw in pine nuts. One clove of garlic per batch was enough for my taste.
Libby
Made this vegan: used miso instead of cheese. Also added a handful of cashews—delicious. Thanks for the tip to reduce the garlic; it’s perfect with one (large) clove.
smt
This recipe has been a lifesaver in my household of picky eaters (one doesn’t like meat, one doesn’t like eggs, one doesn’t like any butter or much cheese; none seek out veggies). Their school has a “no nuts” policy, so the kids get pesto pasta for lunch — but made with a mix of microwaved frozen broccoli, spinach, and peas, frozen shredded parmesan, and frozen basil. They love it, it’s healthy, it’s green and it’s easy for me!
Ariel
Was generous with the Parmesan, garlic, and basil. Added 2/3c toasted pine nuts.
Tessa
Fantastic flavor! Great as spread for crostini and for pasta sauce. Agree that 1 large clove garlic is plenty.
sof
i know you might be tempted but don’t go TOO far on the garlic lol. also some lime isn’t a bad idea!
Shelly
Good base recipe. I found it really needed lemon juice and a good amount of pasta water to loosen up.
Cheryl
20201024 Used cilantro in place of basil
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