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Broccoli Pesto Pasta Salad

May 23, 2016 by Lindsay 11 Comments

This Broccoli Pesto Pasta Salad makes the perfect summer side dish. An easy way to add some extra vegetables to the dinner table.

This Broccoli Pesto Pasta Salad makes the perfect summer side dish. An easy way to add some extra vegetables to the dinner table.

Hi Friends!

Happy Monday. Today I’m thrilled to introduce you to Christina from The Blissful Balance! I was introduced to Christina several months ago when she and Georgie founded the Bloggers Gonna Blog Community. If you’re a blogger and haven’t checked it out yet, go do so immediately. I’m all about forming connections with other bloggers and I absolutely love the community these ladies have put together.

 


Hey, everyone! I’m so excited to be guest posting today on The Lean Green Bean! This is actually so crazy for me because Lindsay’s blog was one of the first blogs I fell in love with a few years ago when I first began following food blogs, before I had even thought about making my own. I met Lindsay through the BGB Community (a community of food and healthy lifestyle bloggers), and I just feel so honored to be working with her now to bring you guys a yummy recipe of my own!

Broccoli Pesto Pasta Salad

This Broccoli Pesto Pasta Salad makes the perfect summer side dish. An easy way to add some extra vegetables to the dinner table.

So I have a confession to make: I do not, whatsoever, in any way, get enough vegetables into my diet. I love vegetables, don’t get me wrong, but vegetables are sort of like yoga for me.

It takes so much to get myself to go to yoga. I’m much more into workout classes that are high intensity, music blaring, random yells of encouragement from classmates…the whole nine. So for me, yoga can be pretty boring (don’t hate me). However, once I do get my butt into yoga, I feel so refreshed, happy that I went, and I almost always say “I need to do this more often”. It’s just the getting myself to go part that’s difficult.

It’s the same thing with vegetables: it takes a bit of effort to get myself to eat them, but once I do, all I can think about is how yummy they are, and how “I need to do this more often”. I love vegetables, but for some reason, I simply don’t crave them!

But I have found a little way around this issue: sneaking vegetables into food that isn’t… a vegetable… if that makes sense…

This Broccoli Pesto Pasta Salad makes the perfect summer side dish. An easy way to add some extra vegetables to the dinner table.

For instance, I love, love, love to make cauliflower rice. Rice ain’t no vegetable, but here I am taking the liberty of saying “today, rice is a vegetable”. Then, when I make cauliflower fried rice, almost my entire meal is made up of vegetables, yet my brain thinks I’m eating fried rice, which my brain likes better. Are you following me?

So, what I’ve done here today is I’ve added broccoli into a food that is not only not a vegetable, but doesn’t normally contain any vegetables (unless you consider Parmesan cheese a vegetable, because… why not?). I love experimenting with pesto. My thought process when doing so is: what is green that I can stuff into this food processor and enhance this pesto? *light bulb* BROCCOLI. And it worked so, so well.

Print

Broccoli Pesto Pasta Salad

This Broccoli Pesto Pasta Salad makes the perfect summer side dish. An easy way to add some extra vegetables to the dinner table.
Print Recipe

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Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 cups broccoli florets, steamed and cooled
  • 2 cups fresh basil
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
  • 1 box orecchiette pasta, boiled
  • 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
  • ⅓ cup pine nuts

Instructions

  1. In a food processor, add in cooled, steamed broccoli. Process until mixed well.
  2. Add in basil, garlic, Parmesan, and olive oil. Process until paste-like pesto texture is formed. Add more extra virgin olive oil as needed, depending on how liquidy you prefer your pesto.
  3. In a large bowl, pour in pesto. Add in boiled orecchiette pasta and toss together until well-combined.
  4. Add in crumbled feta cheese and pine nuts. Mix well.
  5. Serve alongside grilled chicken for the perfect cookout side dish!

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @theleangreenbean on Instagram

This Broccoli Pesto Pasta Salad contains such a burst of flavors – it makes for the perfect side dish to a weekend, summertime barbecue. The combination of pesto with tangy feta cheese and crunchy, nutty pine nuts is perfection nestled between orecchiette pasta that serves almost as little bowls for the mixture.

This Broccoli Pesto Pasta Salad makes the perfect summer side dish. An easy way to add some extra vegetables to the dinner table.

 


Huge thanks to Christina for stopping by today!

[Tweet “This Broccoli Pesto Pasta Salad from @leangrnbeanblog makes a great summer side dish!”]

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

 

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Filed Under: Side Dish, Soup & Salad Tagged With: Broccoli, Feta, Pasta

About Lindsay

Lindsay Livingston is a Registered Dietitian and new mom from Columbus, Ohio. On her blog, she shares simple, healthy recipes, nutrition tips, workouts and snapshots of her life. Follow her on Twitter @LeanGrnBeanBlog and Instagram @TheLeanGreenBean and be sure to subscribe via RSS or email so you never miss a post!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kristy @ Southern In Law says

    May 23, 2016 at 12:56 AM

    Ooooh, this is the perfect way to pack in extra veggies! Yum!

    Reply
  2. Angela @ happy fit mama says

    May 23, 2016 at 5:21 AM

    I can’t get enough of pesto! And hopefully I’ll have a garden full of basil all summer long to make my own.

    Reply
  3. Christina @ The Blissful Balance says

    May 23, 2016 at 6:29 AM

    Such a pleasure working with you, Lindsay! The family loved this recipe, definitely making again for Memorial Day! Have a great week <3

    Reply
  4. Linz @ Itz Linz says

    May 23, 2016 at 7:29 AM

    this looks like a unique side dish! thanks for sharing! 🙂

    Reply
  5. Erin @ Her Heartland Soul says

    May 23, 2016 at 8:01 AM

    This looks so good!

    Reply
  6. Shashi @ RunninSrilankan says

    May 23, 2016 at 9:12 AM

    Thanks Lindsay for introducing me to Christina and the BGB Community (heading there to check it out asap) – but first I must say I’m loving the idea of broccoli pesto! I’m a huge fan of broccoli but never had it like this before!

    Reply
  7. Ellen @ My Uncommon Everyday says

    May 23, 2016 at 10:11 AM

    I love pesto on pretty much everything, but I don’t make variations of the “usual” often enough. This is such a great way to pack veggies into pasta!

    Reply
  8. Jodi @ The Average RD says

    May 23, 2016 at 12:31 PM

    This looks delicious and something my kiddos would gobble right up. Thanks for the awesome recipe!

    Reply
  9. Heather @ Polyglot Jot says

    May 23, 2016 at 7:48 PM

    Pesto is one of my favorite things–This looks so delicious! 😀 Cant wait to check it out! I’m new to the BGB community and am so happy to be among such great bloggers, Christina!

    Reply
  10. Tara | Treble in the Kitchen says

    May 23, 2016 at 9:24 PM

    These photos are BEAUTIFUL and the salad sounds wonderfully yummy!! 🙂

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 50 Packable Lunch Ideas | Lunch Ideas for Work | The Lean Green Bean says:
    March 6, 2018 at 3:59 PM

    […] Pasta Salad Chicken Pasta Salad w/ Salsa Hummus Dressing Broccoli Pesto Pasta Salad […]

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Lindsay Livingston The Lean Green Bean Healthy Living Tips and Tricks

I'm a Registered Dietitian and mom of three from Columbus, Ohio. I use this blog to share simple, healthy recipes, nutrition tips, and an honest glimpse of motherhood!

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