Broccoli Pasta Sauce For an Easy Dinner!

This post may contain affiliate links. See our disclosure policy for details.

Broccoli Pasta Sauce is a super easy and tasty way to sneak more vegetables in your whole family's food. Just steam or air fry your broccoli florets and then blend them with the other ingredients and you'll have an amazingly creamy sauce. Make it with frozen or fresh broccoli!

Hey Internet, we've been enjoying another great pasta dish. This cheesy creamy broccoli sauce makes any pasta so tasty and only takes 15 minutes to make. With a little cooked broccoli, it's super easy to make in a blender.

We made this broccoli sauce recipe a bunch of times, trying to cook the broccoli with different methods. We think that steaming your broccoli is the best method of making this green sauce. It's pretty hard to burn it, especially if you use your microwave to do it. But as along as you pay attention, it's easy to air fry or oven bake it. We'll talk about that more in the directions.

You can use frozen broccoli or fresh broccoli. If you choose a steamer bag of broccoli, just cook according to package instructions. We're not cooking the broccoli till al dente though (which is my preferred texture when eating the broccoli as is), more until it's soft enough to blend.

If you're looking for other great pasta sauces, we've got this Maple Mustard Tahini Sauce that's great on potatoes, veggies and salads. It's great with a little lemon juice, like in our Lemon Tahini Broccolini Pasta. If you want a more spicy sauce, you can try our Spicy Almond Butter Sauce to top your cooked pasta. We also have this delicious sauce recipe for our Green Pea Pasta. 

Alright, let's make this easy broccoli pasta!

Why You'll Love This Creamy Broccoli Pasta Recipe

• Easy Steps: Just cook your broccoli and blend it up while your pasta cooks!
• Super Fast: The longest part of this recipe is cooking your pasta.
• Hidden Veggies: With all the broccoli that goes into this recipe, it's a great way to sneak in more green veggies for picky eaters (of any age... no judgement!).

Ingredients

Pick up these simple ingredients the next time you're at a grocery store. See the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full ingredients, instructions, and accurate nutritional information (to the best of my ability; please consult your physician or healthcare professional if you have specific dietary needs or need to meet a certain daily value of any nutrient). I give substitutions for the ingredients in the section below this one, so most people can still make this recipe!

• 12 Ounces. Broccoli, Chopped, Fresh or Frozen: A fresh head of broccoli is also better, but we've made this recipe with both fresh and frozen and it works great each way. Make sure to get broccoli florets if you get the frozen ones! 
• 2.5 Cups Unsweetened Soy Milk: Or any non-dairy milk. Just make sure to get the unsweetened and unflavored (no vanilla!) kind! Also, I will say, we prefer to buy shelf stable unsweetened soy milk and we buy it by the case pretty much because it's super high in protein, only 2 ingredients (organic non-GMO soybeans and water), and it's perfect for making Instant Pot soy yogurt.
• 0.25 Cup Tahini: So creamy and nutty, tahini is a "nut" butter made from sesame seeds. It's really great for making savory sauces. It's a great ingredient to add some richness to the sauce along with some healthy fats.
• 2 Teaspoons Garlic Powder
• 2 Teaspoons Onion Powder
• 1 Teaspoon Salt, or to Taste: Sea salt or kosher salt are what we like to use for our recipes! 
• 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice: We always think fresh is best, but if you need to use bottled, try the Italian Volcano lemon juice, it's next level!
• 0.33 Cup Nutritional Yeast: This gives our creamy broccoli pasta sauce a real cheesy flavor, like cheddar broccoli soup! If you don't like it, you can leave it out.
• 1 Teaspoon Dijon Mustard
• 0.25 Teaspoon Dried Thyme
• 0.25 Teaspoon Fresh Ground Black Pepper, Optional

Substitutions

• Salt: If your want a unique funky flavor to your green pasta sauce, your can try yellow/white miso paste. It's also lower in sodium!
• Soy Milk: Oat milk and almond milk are great replacements for the soy milk. You could try canned coconut milk if you want a richer sauce.
• Tahini: Oil, like extra virgin olive oil, can replace the tahini in a pinch. Raw cashew butter has a pretty similar flavor profile to tahini. You could also make a batch of our Sunflower Cream if you're allergic to nuts!
• Broccoli: There are other cruciferous vegetables that could work with this recipe. Cauliflower is a great choice. If you want that green color still, add some baby spinach.

How to Make Broccoli Pasta Sauce

1. Cook the Broccoli: There are a number of ways you can cook your broccoli. We like to steam broccoli in the microwave for about 6 to 8 minutes on high using this microwave steamer lid with a bit of water. If you have an air fryer, cook your florets for 5 to 6 minutes. 
2. Add Ingredients to Blender: In a high speed blender or food processor, add the cooked broccoli and the other ingredients. 
3. Blend: Run the machine for about 60 seconds or until everything is smooth.
4. Taste: Taste the sauce and adjust the salt level (or anything else, like more lemon juice) if needed and re-blend.
5. Add to Pasta or Store: Strain your pasta. Add the sauce to the pot and heat it if necessary. Add pasta to sauce. You can top with a little dairy-free parmesan cheese if you like (we love the Violife brand). Alternatively, store sauce in a jar for up to 5 days.

Storage Instructions

Pour the remaining sauce into a jar or other airtight container. Store in a refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Great Pasta Recipes

• Pasta with Zucchini and Mushrooms
• Miso Mushroom Pasta
• Green Pea Pasta
• 15 Minute Vegan Garlic Noodles
• Vegan Cajun Pasta
• Garlic Scape Pasta
• Savory Coconut Pasta
• Vegan Rasta Pasta

Print

---

---