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Hearty and filling vegan broccoli pasta with almond ‘ricotta’ cheese, flavored with delicious herbs, garlic and lemon.
When I am craving a hearty, comforting meal, I usually think pasta. Preferably, pasta with ricotta.
As a kid, we used to always have ricotta cheese on the table with our pasta and I would usually use more ricotta than marinara sauce because I loved ricotta so much.
This vegan broccoli pasta recipe is really easy and I made it customizable. I made sure to leave options open and not over season anything because for my family personally, my toddler doesn’t care so much for flavors that are too strong while my husband and I do.
I love this pasta because it’s loaded with healthy ingredients! The almonds add protein while the broccoli gives this dish a nice calcium boost (and even more calcium from the vegan yogurt and nut milk!). A simple yet nutritionally packed dish!
This really is such a versatile meal, just make sure to read the instructions and notes because you’ll notice that you’ll need to adjust some flavors and amounts of flavors to your liking!
How to Make
This recipe requires 4 steps:
- cook pasta
- cook broccoli
- make almond ricotta
- then mix it all together and season!
First, get out a pot for the pasta and a large pot for the broccoli (make sure your broccoli is in the larger pot as all the pasta will go in this when it’s done).
Cook your pasta according to the directions on the box.
The broccoli will be boiled so add about an inch or so of water to the pan then add broccoli and turn heat to high and cover. Once boiling, stir and tip the cover up on one side. Reduce heat to medium. The broccoli will be done when it is soft and easily pierced with a fork. You want this very tender because next you’ll be mashing the broccoli!
Turn the burner off and drain the water out of the pan and mash the broccoli. Once mashed, set aside.
Add all of your almond ricotta ingredients to the food processor, starting with about 4 tbsp of nut milk (adding more as you go if needed). You will need to pulse this very well until no hard bits of almond remains. Once soft and somewhat whipped, taste and add more seasonings if desired.
Add the cooked pasta and almond ricotta to the large pot with the broccoli. Turn the burner on low. Stir very well so everything is well incorporated and your broccoli and almond ricotta is evenly coating the pasta. Next, add your olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and salt. Mix well and top with fresh basil and serve when hot!
Vegan Broccoli and Almond ‘Ricotta’ Pasta [GF]
Ingredients
Almond Ricotta
- 3 tbsp vegan plain unsweetened yogurt
- 3/4 cup blanched & slivered almonds
- 4-6 tbsp unsweetened nut milk*
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/4-1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
Pasta
- 2 & 1/2 cups or about half a pound bowties or favorite pasta
Broccoli
- About 4 cups broccoli, fresh or frozen
- Garlic (minced or powder) to taste
For the Finished Pasta
- Juice of about 1/2 a lemon, or more to taste
- About 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- Salt to taste
- Fresh basil for topping
- Red pepper flakes (optional)
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to directions on package, drain and set aside.
- Add broccoli to a large pot. Add water to cover the bottom of the pan (about an inch or two).
- Cover and turn the heat to high. Once boiling, stir and reduce heat to medium, tilt the cover up and cook for about 10 minutes or so until broccoli is tender and easily pierced with a fork.
- Once done, turn burner off and drain all of the water out of the pan. Mash broccoli well with a fork or potato masher. Keep the broccoli in the pot and set aside.
- Add all of the almond ricotta ingredients into the food processor and pulse until your consistency is smooth and whipped. See notes.
- Add pasta and almond ricotta to the large pot the broccoli is in and turn burner to low. Mix well.At this point, add the rest of your seasonings to taste (lemon juice, garlic, salt). Mix well and serve when hot. Top with fresh basil.
Notes
- Make sure to blend/pulse the almond ricotta really well. Depending on the type of equipment you are using, it might take a little bit but if there are hard bits of almond, just keep pulsing!I highly recommend using a food processor for the almond ricotta. A high speed blender can work too but I am not sure a regular blender will yield the ideal consistency.
- For the almond ricotta, add milk slowly. Start with 4 tbsp and add the other 2 tbsp after pulsing for a bit. Depending on your equipment, you may need a little more milk to help it blend.
[…] makes the perfect weeknight dinner! Also, as with most of my recipes, it is kid approved, even this vegan broccoli and ricotta pasta is kid approved! Little E was actually really really enjoying this the other night so I knew this […]