This Vegan Broccoli Pesto Pasta With Whipped Tofu Ricotta is filled with a chunky, healthy pesto and creamy vegan ricotta. A comforting and bright meal!
So, when I came across a picture of broccoli pesto pasta with ricotta on Half Baked Harvest's Instagram I immediately knew that I needed to vegan-ize the recipe.
It just has the perfect balance. Chunky pesto made from fresh basil, broccoli, walnuts and garlic. Whipped ricotta. And a whole lotta pasta. The combo makes for a creamy, fresh dinner that is absolutely delicious.
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How to Make Broccoli Pesto
Making broccoli pesto is not much different than making any other kind of pesto. Add your ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth. And yes, the broccoli we are using in this recipe is raw! Trust me, it just works!
This pesto is definitely on the chunky side - which I love! The combo of broccoli, basil and walnuts is amazing!
Vegan Whipped Ricotta
The base of this pasta dish is whipped ricotta. My tofu ricotta recipe is perfect for this dish - it is already whipped so no extra steps. But, if you decide to buy store-bought vegan ricotta then I would run it through the food processor to get it nice and silky before plating.
And since we are putting our pasta on top of this creamy base, it is ok to leave your pesto on the chunky side. The ricotta is going to smooth everything out.
You can easily make the pesto and ricotta in advance and then bring everything together when you are ready to eat. Both the ricotta and pesto will keep in the fridge for a couple of days, so you have a lot of time to prep.
How to Serve
Once the pesto and ricotta is ready, cook some spaghetti until al dente - reserving some pasta water. Cook down some shallots in lemon juice/zest in olive oil. Add in the cooked pasta, pesto and some of the pasta water. Continue to toss until the sauce comes together and the pasta has absorbed all of the flavors.
Spread some vegan ricotta onto each plate and top with the hot pasta. This is a perfect date night dinner. Serve this with a big green salad and you have a creamy, fresh pasta dish that tastes decadent, but is super easy to put together.
And if you have kids, this is a great way to sneak in lots of veggies into one dish. They'll never know there is broccoli in there.
Need more recipe inspo? Check these out!
Did you Make this Recipe?
If you made this Broccoli Pesto Pasta I would LOVE to hear what you thought. Be sure to drop a comment and a rating below! You can also tag me on social media if you snapped a photo. I LOVE seeing your recreations!
📖 Recipe
Broccoli Pesto Pasta
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup Vegan Tofu Ricotta* or store-bought vegan ricotta
FOR THE BROCCOLI PESTO
- 1.5 cups broccoli florets large stems removed and roughly chopped, uncooked
- 1 cup basil
- ⅓ cup walnuts
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 lemon juiced
- ¼-1/2 cup olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
FOR THE PASTA
- 8 ounces spaghetti or pasta of choice
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 shallot diced
- 1 lemon zested and juiced
- basil, parsley, vegan parmesan optional toppings
Instructions
- Prepare the Vegan Tofu Ricotta according to the instructions and place in the fridge until ready to use.
- Prepare the pesto by combining all of the ingredients in a food processor and blend until combined, scrapping down the sides as needed. It is ok if the pesto is on the chunky side. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Place in a bowl until ready to use.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package instructions, being sure to reserve 1 cup of pasta water before draining.
- While pasta is cooking, heat vegan butter and olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add shallot, lemon zest & lemon juice and sauté for 3 minutes.
- Add the cooked pasta to the pan with the pesto and ½ cup of the pasta water. Toss to combine, adding additional pasta water as needed. Once everything is heated through and sauce comes together remove from the heat.
- To serve, spread ¼ cup of ricotta onto each plate and top with pasta. Add any additional toppings and eat!
Erica
This is one of my favorites from TSV. It is both filling and fresh tasting - I crave it all the time now!
Rene
Thanks so much! 🤗