Broccoli Ricotta Pasta

You’ll never know there are 5 servings of vegetables in this luscious, creamy pasta sauce. Here, broccoli, spinach, and onions are blended with ricotta into a silky smooth, irresistible sauce. The ricotta makes the sauce creamy but feel free to use cottage cheese instead if you’re looking to boost up the protein. This is a dish for helping picky eaters get in their vegetables.

What stands out

This recipe is a weeknight winner: 7 ingredients, 10 minutes of hands-on time, and 5 servings of vegetables.Broccoli, spinach, onions, and garlic make for a nutritional powerhouse full of vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants, so don’t be afraid to load up on the sauce! A generous amount of ricotta cheese helps mask the flavor of the vegetables and create a luscious sauce you could enjoy by the spoonful. You can use any pasta shape you love, including gluten-free pasta.

How to Prepare

Preheat the oven to 425F (220C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place the broccoli, onion, and garlic on the baking sheet, drizzle with the olive oil, and season with salt. Toss everything together to coat the veggies well.

Bake until the veggies have softened, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, start cooking the pasta. Cook any pasta of choice in boiling salted water until al dente. When the pasta is almost done cooking, reserve at least 1 cup of the starchy pasta water.

Next, transfer the roasted veggies to a blender. Add the ricotta, Parmigiano Reggiano, spinach, and 1 cup of the reserved pasta water. Blend until you have a creamy sauce. Adjust the water as needed based on how thick/thin you like your sauce.

Finally, pour the sauce on top of the cooked pasta garnish with some Parmigiano Reggiano, and enjoy!

Kitchen tip

Blending hot liquids can create steam which can cause the contents to explode or the blender lid to fly off. To prevent this, never fill the blender more than halfway, slightly loosen the lid, and hold a folded dishcloth over the lid while blending.

Swaps

1. Use any kind of pasta shape you love here. We used fusilli lunghi. We use about 100 to 150 grams dry pasta per person.
2. Instead of ricotta, you can also try using cottage cheese or plain Greek yogurt which adds a big serving of protein.
3. We love this dish with spinach; however, stemmed kale also works well.
4. There are so many ways to customize the flavor. Try adding fresh basil, red pepper flakes, a dollop of pesto, or dried oregano.
5. You can also add all kinds of veggies to this dish: shelled peas, cauliflower, carrots, and more.

Serve it with

• You can’t go wrong with a side of crusty homemade bread.
• Try this with a classic wedge salad as your side.
• A crisp and simple fennel salad helps balance out the pasta.
• Add some protein in the form of meatballs.

Questions

We don’t have a blender; can i still make this?

Yes, you can make this in a large pot with an immersion blender or in a food processor. If using a food processor, make sure not to fill it beyond halfway full. Blend in batches, if needed.

Can the sauce be made in advance or frozen?

The sauce holds up well in the fridge for up to 4 days. We have not tried freezing it yet.

Can this be made dairy-free?

Certainly, you can make this with dairy-free ricotta or dairy-free plain thick yogurt.

Can this be made gluten-free?

Yes, just use your favorite gluten-free pasta shape.

How should i pack this for our kid’s lunch?

Add boiling hot water to a thermos and seal it so that the thermos preheats. In the meantime, warm up the pasta on the stove. Dump the hot water out of the thermos and add the pasta. Leave some room at the top so that it doesn’t create a vacuum seal, making the thermos difficult to open.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

• 4 cups broccoli, florets
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt, to taste
• 400 grams pasta, any kind you like (I used Fusilli Lunghi)
• ½ cup ricotta
• ½ cup Parmigiano Reggiano, grated, plus more garnish
• 1 cup baby spinach

Equipment

• Cutting Board
• Measuring Cups + Spoons
• Chefs Knife
• Large Pot
• Blender
• Baking Sheet
• Parchment Paper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 425F (220C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Place the broccoli, onion, and garlic on the baking sheet, drizzle with the olive oil, and season with salt. Toss everything together to coat the veggies well.
3. Bake until the veggies have softened, about 20 minutes.
4. While the veggies are cooking, start cooking the pasta. Cook any pasta of choice in boiling salted water until al dente. When the pasta is almost done cooking, reserve at least 1 cup of the starchy pasta water to use in the blender so that you can bind the sauce together or thin it out if you need to.
5. Transfer the roasted veggies to a blender. Add the ricotta, Parmigiano Reggiano, spinach, and 1 cup of the reserved pasta water. Blend until you have a creamy sauce. Adjust the water as needed based on how thick/thin you like your sauce.
6. Pour the sauce on top of the cooked pasta, garnish with some Parmigiano Reggiano, and enjoy!