Lemon Broccoli Pasta

4.73 from 37 votes

This super easy broccoli pasta recipe is a quick meal for a busy night! The veggies keep it healthy, and the garlic, lemon, and red pepper make it extra tasty, making it one of my favorite quick pasta dishes.

Prep Time5

Cook Time10

Total Time15

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: Servings

Calories: 462kcal

Author: The Food Charlatan

Ingredients

3 quarts water
1 tablespoon salt
1 & 1/2 pounds broccoli fresh
1 pound rotini pasta
4 tablespoons butter
1 large lemon zested and juiced
2 cloves garlic crushed and minced
1/4 teaspoons crushed red pepper
3-4 cups fresh spinach
1 cup Parmesan fresh, plus more to garnish
olive oil to garnish
salt and pepper to taste
lemon wedges fresh, to garnish

Instructions

In a large skillet or pot, bring the salt and water to a boil.
While you wait, prep your broccoli by trimming the stems and cutting the florets into similar sized pieces (I like mine bite-size.)
Add the rotini and boil on high for 4 minutes. Add the broccoli, cover, and set a timer for 3 minutes (Leave the burner on high enough to keep a rolling boil).
When the timer goes off, turn off the heat and drain the pasta using a lid or colander.
Return to the pan. Stir in 3-4 cups fresh spinach.
Sprinkle with lemon zest. Let it sit for a few minutes so the spinach wilts.
Meanwhile, in a small skillet melt the 4 tablespoons butter over medium heat. (I let mine get brown, because that's just how I roll, but that's not necessary).
Add the minced garlic and crushed red pepper and saute for about 1 minute, until fragrant.
Turn off the heat and add 2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice. Add the lemon butter to the pasta and stir.
Stir in 1 cup fresh parmesan cheese. Add a drizzle of olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Garnish with more cheese, fresh lemon wedges, and eat hot!

Notes

Recipe adapted from my brother Nathan, who got the recipe from a girl he went on a date with a long time ago.

Nutrition

Lemon Broccoli Pasta - https://finalstockalert.com/20-minute-lemon-broccoli-pasta-skillet-recipe/%3C/em%3E%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cscript%3Ewindow.wprm_recipes = {"recipe-27158":{"type":"food","name":"Lemon Broccoli Pasta","slug":"wprm-lemon-broccoli-pasta","image_url":"https:\/\/thefoodcharlatan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/IMG_7469.jpg","rating":{"count":37,"total":175,"average":4.73,"type":{"comment":9,"no_comment":0,"user":28},"user":0},"ingredients":[{"uid":0,"amount":"3","unit":"quarts","name":"water","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":4799,"id":765,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"3","unit":"quarts","unitParsed":"quarts"}}},{"uid":2,"amount":"1","unit":"tablespoon","name":"salt","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":4725,"id":754,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"tablespoon","unitParsed":"tablespoon"}}},{"uid":4,"amount":"1 & 1\/2","unit":"pounds","name":"broccoli","notes":"fresh","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"nofollow"},"unit_id":4722,"id":2085,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1 & 1\/2","unit":"pounds","unitParsed":"pounds"}}},{"uid":6,"amount":"1","unit":"pound","name":"rotini pasta","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":4744,"id":2662,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"pound","unitParsed":"pound"}}},{"uid":10,"amount":"4","unit":"tablespoons","name":"butter","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":4727,"id":755,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"4","unit":"tablespoons","unitParsed":"tablespoons"}}},{"uid":12,"amount":"1","unit":"large","name":"lemon","notes":"zested and juiced","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":4729,"id":1797,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"large","unitParsed":"large"}}},{"uid":14,"amount":"2","unit":"cloves","name":"garlic","notes":"crushed and minced","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":4723,"id":799,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"2","unit":"cloves","unitParsed":"cloves"}}},{"uid":16,"amount":"1\/4","unit":"teaspoons","name":"crushed red pepper","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"nofollow"},"unit_id":4730,"id":1105,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1\/4","unit":"teaspoons","unitParsed":"teaspoons"}}},{"uid":8,"amount":"3-4","unit":"cups","name":"fresh spinach","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":4726,"id":2211,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"3-4","unit":"cups","unitParsed":"cups"}}},{"uid":18,"amount":"1","unit":"cup","name":"Parmesan","notes":"fresh, plus more to garnish","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":4728,"id":917,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"uid":20,"amount":"","unit":"","name":"olive oil","notes":"to garnish","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"nofollow"},"id":797,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":22,"amount":"","unit":"","name":"salt and pepper ","notes":"to taste","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"id":782,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":24,"amount":"","unit":"","name":"lemon wedges","notes":"fresh, to garnish","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"id":1939,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}}],"originalServings":"6","originalServingsParsed":6,"currentServings":"6","currentServingsParsed":6,"currentServingsFormatted":"6","currentServingsMultiplier":1,"originalSystem":1,"currentSystem":1,"unitSystems":[1],"originalAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0},"currentAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0}}}