25 Minute Lemon Broccoli Pasta is an easy weeknight meal and fabulous entertaining option all wrapped into one! It is surprisingly fast and easy, yet full of bright, fresh flavors that everyone will enjoy.
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Is it just me, or are all recipes that sneak in extra vegetables automatic winners? Besides the fact that this pasta is ultra simple and fast to make, it easily convinces me that broccoli is delicious (not always an easy feat!). The original recipe came from the one and only Ina Garten. We’ve kept the flavor profile the same, but have adjusted the pasta-broccoli-lemon ratio for the perfect balance.
🍋 Ingredients
Broccoli: Either buy heads of broccoli to cut yourself or broccoli florets to make it slightly easier.
Penne pasta: You can also substitute with rigatoni, bowties, or other similar shaped pastas.
Butter: Salted or unsalted, either will do.
Oil: I always use olive oil to add a bit of extra flavor.
Garlic: I find it easiest to buy it pre-minced, but you can also finely dice it on your own.
Lemon zest: Use a microplane like this one to zest fresh lemons. The zest is a powerhouse of lemon flavor, so don’t skip this ingredient.
Salt and pepper: For a simple flavor boost.
Lemon juice: From a real lemon, please. It makes all the difference.
Parmesan cheese: A fresh block of parmesan that you shred yourself is the best. Pre-shredded, real parmesan is also fine.
Pine nuts (optional): Toasted pine nuts complement the flavors of this pasta very well. At the time I am writing this, however, pine nuts are very expensive. The recipe is great with or without.
🔪 Instructions
25 Minute Lemon Broccoli Pasta is as easy as 4 simple steps (no lie!).
1. Prepare your ingredients (cut the broccoli, zest and juice the lemons, and grate the parmesan if needed).
2. Cook the broccoli and then pasta in boiling water.
3. Prepare a 5 minute pan sauce.
4. Toss the broccoli and pasta with the sauce and add cheese. Voila!
👨👩👧👦 For a crowd
Lemon Broccoli Pasta is a crowd-pleaser for sure! In fact, the flavor profile makes it perfect for entertaining, yet it is very simple to throw together, even with company around. When doubling the recipe, I recommend boiling the broccoli in two rounds (so as to not overcrowd the pot). I also suggest using two large skillets instead of one (make one recipe of sauce in each skillet).
🙋 Questions & Answers
If you need to hold the pasta for awhile before serving, you can easily keep it warm in a slow cooker. About 30-60 minutes before you need it, fill your slow cooker with about an inch of water and turn the heat on high (the water prevents the crock from ruining). When your pasta is ready, dump the water out and turn the heat to “keep warm.” Add the pasta and cover with the lid until serving time.
This recipe is best served fresh rather than reheated. However, if you use heads of broccoli instead of pre-cut florets, you can cut those ahead and refrigerate for 1-2 days. Even though it is not a great make-ahead recipe, it can be made start to finish in 25 minutes or less - not too shabby!
📖 More Dinner Ideas
- 5 Ingredient Honey Butter Pork Tenderloin - One of those recipes that never receives a complaint in our house!
- Slow Cooker Fall Apart Roast - A super easy slow cooker meal for your next comfort-food craving.
- Grilled Honey Chicken (un)Kabobs - A simple grilling recipe that you might just start making on repeat.
👨🏼🍳 Tips & Tricks
- Double check that your broccoli florets are similar in size to ensure they cook evenly. I aim for bite size (or slightly larger) pieces.
- Use FRESH lemons. Please, please promise to only use real lemons for this recipe (none of that pre-juiced stuff).
- Use REAL parmesan cheese. The powdery cheese from the green can is. not. the. same. This recipe turns out with the quality of the ingredients you use.
📋 Recipe
25 Minute Lemon Broccoli Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 cups broccoli florets about 1 ½ lbs or 4 heads cut into florets
- 1 lb penne pasta or substitute bow tie pasta
- 4 tbsp butter
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp garlic minced
- Zest of 2 lemons
- 1 tsp pepper
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 4 tbsp lemon juice freshly squeezed
- ½ cup parmesan cheese plus more for serving if desired
- ¼ cup toasted pine nuts (optional)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat and add about 1 tbsp kosher salt. Cook the broccoli for 3 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon or sieve and set aside.
- Return the water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the package directions (about 10-12 minutes). Before draining, reserve 1-2 tbsp of the pasta water in a small cup. Then drain pasta and set aside with broccoli.
- In a large skillet, melt butter and oil over medium-low heat. Add garlic and lemon zest and cook for 1 minute. Turn off the heat and add pepper, salt, and lemon juice. Stir well. Add the cooked broccoli, pasta, parmesan cheese, and 1 tbsp of reserved pasta water to the skillet. Stir well, adding additional pasta water if needed to reach desired consistency. Top with extra parmesan or toasted pine nuts if desired.
Notes
- Double check that your broccoli florets are similar in size to ensure they cook evenly. I aim for bite size (or slightly larger) pieces.
- Use FRESH lemons. Please, please promise to only use real lemons for this recipe (none of that pre-juiced stuff).
- Use REAL parmesan cheese. The powdery cheese from the green can is. not. the. same. This recipe turns out with the quality of the ingredients you use.
Patricia M. says
This recipe is SO easy and delicious!
Misty says
Glad you loved it!
Theresa D. says
This was so fabulous, the whole pan was licked clean. Even my picky eater loved this!!! Thank you so much for sharing your food with us!
Danielle says
Yay!So happy you loved it. It certainly is a favorite around here.
Janessa says
I am such a fan! That was fast and really flavorful. I’ll make this again for sure.
Misty says
Happy you liked it. It's on my meal plan on repeat too!