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Broccoli Ricotta Pasta

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By Snejana Andreeva

on May 21, 2023, Updated Aug 08, 2024

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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 super creamy , but feel free to use cottage cheese instead if you’re looking to boost up the protein. This is a perfect dish for helping picky eaters get in their vegetables. 😮

  • Why You’ll Love Broccoli Ricotta Pasta
  • How to Prepare
  • Nonna’s Tip
  • Variations and Substitutions for Broccoli Ricotta Pasta
  • Similar Recipes
  • Best Served With
  • Common Questions
  • Broccoli Ricotta Pasta Recipe

Why You’ll Love Broccoli Ricotta Pasta

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 simply 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!

Nonna’s 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. ⚠️

Broccoli Ricotta Pasta - 3

Variations and Substitutions for Broccoli Ricotta Pasta

  1. Use any kind of pasta shape you love here. 🍝 I used fusilli lunghi . I 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. I 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.

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Best Served 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 delicious meatballs .

Common Questions

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.

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

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

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

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.

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Video

Equipment

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

Ingredients

  • ▢ 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

Instructions

  • ▢ 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.
  • ▢ 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.
  • ▢ 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.
  • ▢ Pour the sauce on top of the cooked pasta, garnish with some Parmigiano Reggiano, and enjoy!

My Notes

Nutrition

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Broccoli Ricotta Pasta

Equipment

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

Ingredients

  • 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

Instructions

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Pour the sauce on top of the cooked pasta, garnish with some Parmigiano Reggiano, and enjoy!

Video

Nutrition

Broccoli Ricotta Pasta https://themodernnonna.com/broccoli-ricotta-pasta/ May 21, 2023