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    Home » Vegan Recipes » Vegan Main Courses » 20 Minute Meals » Broccoli Sauce with walnuts and lemon

    Broccoli Sauce with walnuts and lemon

    Published: Sep 22, 2015 · Modified: Apr 9, 2022 by Kate Ford · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Broccoli Sauce
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    This creamy broccoli sauce is perfect for pasta, and so easy to make. Blitzed with walnuts and lemon juice, it is packed with goodness and delicious too!

    🍴Why you will love this recipe

    20 Min Meals | Vegetarian & Vegan

    This delicious sauce tastes so creamy you won't believe it doesn't have a tub of double cream in it! In fact it is made from the simplest of ingredients - broccoli, lemon, walnuts and olive oil.

    It is a sauce quickly whizzed up in a blender or food processor, so there's no faffing with flour or stirring until your arm aches!

    The sauce has a lemony zing, and is perfect stirred through pasta, delicious poured over vegetables, or can be served as a creamy side to pretty much any main course you like.

    Jump to:
    • 🍴Why you will love this recipe
    • 📝 What you need
    • 👩🏽‍🍳 How to make your Broccoli Sauce
    • 🔪 Top Tips & FAQs
    • 🍽 If you liked that...
    • 📖 Recipe
    • 💬 Comments and Reviews
    Ingredients for Broccoli Sauce

    📝 What you need

    Broccoli is the star of the show, and gives this sauce its delicious creamy texture. You wouldn't believe that a humble stalk of broccoli could create such creaminess, but it does!

    Walnuts are delicious in this pesto-style sauce, and add to the velvety texture. Do leave the blender running for at least a minute or two until the sauce is smooth, or your sauce will have a nutty texture. If you like the walnuts in this sauce you might also enjoy my Cavolo Nero Pasta with Ligurian Walnut Sauce.

    Lemon adds a fresh and citrussy zing which cuts through the rich sauce.

    Olive oil Use a good-quality extra-virgin olive oil here, as you would in a pesto.

    👩🏽‍🍳 How to make your Broccoli Sauce

    For a full, printable recipe with ingredients and detailed instructions, scroll to the bottom of this page 👇🏼.

    Chop broccoli and boil

    Cut the broccoli into florets and slice the stalk. Boil for 4-5 minutes until just soft.

    blitz with walnuts and lemon

    Tip the broccoli into a blender or food processor and add the walnuts, lemon juice, garlic and olive oil. Blitz for a minute or two until completely smooth, then add water until the broccoli sauce has a thick pouring consistency. Season well. Reheat in the saucepan then serve.

    🔪 Top Tips & FAQs

    This broccoli sauce should be super-smooth, so do leave the blender running for a minute or two until the walnuts are smooth.

    The consistency of your sauce is up to you, depending on how you will serve it. Add more water for a runnier sauce, of if you want to thicken it up again, just bubble for a minute or two in the saucepan.

    Easy Broccoli Pesto
    Can I freeze my broccoli sauce?

    Yes this sauce freezes really well. Freeze in individual portions then reheat in the microwave or in a saucepan. You may need to adjust the consistency when it defrosts, adding a little water. Don't forget to taste and adjust seasoning again too - sometimes flavours can change when frozen.

    How long will my sauce keep in the fridge?

    Stored in an airtight container the sauce will keep for 3-4 days in the fridge. You may need to add a little water when reheating if it has become too thick.

    Loved this recipe? ⭐️ Leave a star rating below! 📸 Snap a photo of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram, tagging me @thevegspace or #thevegspace 📩 And get all my latest recipes in a weekly e-mail by subscribing to my newsletter.

    🍽 If you liked that...

    .... you might also enjoy these vegan recipes from The Veg Space:

    Vegan Pesto Recipe
    Vegan Pesto
    Tagliatelle with Avocado & Spinach Pesto | Vegan
    Tagliatelle with Avocado & Spinach Pesto
    Spelt Spaghetti & Avocado Pesto
    Spelt Spaghetti & Avocado Pesto
    Red Wine Bolognese
    Red Wine Bolognese

    📖 Recipe

    Broccoli Sauce

    Broccoli Sauce with walnuts and lemon

    Kate Ford | The Veg Space
    This creamy broccoli sauce is perfect for pasta, and so easy to make. Blitzed with walnuts and lemon juice, it is packed with goodness and delicious too!
    5 from 6 votes
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    Prep Time 5 mins
    Cook Time 5 mins
    Total Time 10 mins
    Course Sauces
    Cuisine British
    Servings 4 servings
    Calories 247 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    For the pesto

    • 1 broccoli
    • 75 g walnuts
    • 2 cloves garlic
    • 1 lemon juice
    • 2 tablespoon olive oil

    Instructions
     

    • Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil.
    • Cut the broccoli into florets, and remove the woody end and skin from the stalk and slice it. Boil the broccoli and stalk for 4-5 minutes until just soft. Drain and tip into a blender or food processor.
    • Add the walnuts, garlic, lemon and olive oil to the blender with the broccoli and blitz to a smooth paste.
    • Season generously with salt and pepper, then add a little water, blitz again, and continue adding more water until it reaches a sauce-like consistency.
    • Tip the sauce back into the saucepan, then heat through until piping hot. Serve with pasta, vegetables or any main course dish.

    ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION

    Video

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1servingCalories: 247kcalCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 8gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 10gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gSodium: 51mgPotassium: 606mgFiber: 6gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 957IUVitamin C: 151mgCalcium: 100mgIron: 2mg
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was! Mention @thevegspace or #thevegspace
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    Vegan in 15 by Kate Ford

    For more quick and easy vegan recipes take a look at my latest book Vegan in 15.

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    About Kate Ford

    Hi! I'm Kate, vegan home cook and blogger behind The Veg Space and author of Vegan in 15. I'm passionate about creating easy vegan recipes that even a first-time cook can follow.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Annie says

      April 11, 2022 at 3:01 am

      I made this last night, using wholemeal penne. I added a few chilli flakes, because I love chilli with broccoli, and some nutritional yeast. The broccoli was just starting to turn yellow (I don't have a fridge), but of course there was no sign of this in the sauce. It tasted fantastic - I loved it. Trying to make the sauce nearly overwhelmed my little Magic Bullet - I might have been better to use a stick blender. I was amazed how creamy it came out. Personally, I think I would prefer a little more texture and next time I make it, I will use the stick blender and make it less smooth. But so easy - and such a useful thing to do with broccoli that should have been eaten a day sooner!

      Reply
      • Kate Ford says

        April 11, 2022 at 12:12 pm

        Glad to hear you enjoyed this Annie, and yes I'm sure it would be too much for a magic bullet so a stick blender is a good option. Perfect for starting-to-yellow broccoli! Thanks for the feedback, Kate x

        Reply
    2. kushigalu says

      April 09, 2022 at 4:44 pm

      We love pasta but never tried something like this. Love the flavors here, Thanks for sharing.

      Reply
    3. Dannii says

      April 09, 2022 at 2:50 pm

      What a great way to use walnuts. This broccoli sauce looks amazing.

      Reply
    4. Claudia Lamascolo says

      April 09, 2022 at 2:05 pm

      These flavors are wonderful we would all love this and it's on the list to try this week

      Reply
    5. Saif says

      April 09, 2022 at 1:07 pm

      I never thought you can make pesto sauce using broccoli and walnut. I can tell it taste delicious

      Reply
    6. Keri Bevan says

      April 09, 2022 at 11:49 am

      We made this broccoli sauce for dinner with pasta shells, and everyone loved it. The flavor combinations are so simple, but delcious!

      Reply
    7. Paul says

      February 23, 2016 at 10:23 pm

      Anyone know how long this pesto would keep for??

      Reply
      • thevegspace says

        February 24, 2016 at 9:06 pm

        Hi Paul, this will keep for up to a week in the fridge, in a sealed container. Hope you enjoy it!

        Reply
    8. Lucy @ BakingQueen74 says

      September 26, 2015 at 8:34 pm

      Your pesto sounds gorgeous, and I am so impressed by the Froothie blending paving stones! Thanks for the mention too. 🙂

      Reply
      • thevegspace says

        October 04, 2015 at 1:52 pm

        Thanks Lucy - yes a crazy video with the stones!!

        Reply
    9. Nadia's Healthy Kitchen says

      September 23, 2015 at 9:44 pm

      I LOVE pesto, especially homemade! Use it so much in my cooking. I've never thought of using broccoli, definitely need to give it a try 😀 Thanks you for the mention 🙂

      Reply
    10. Emily says

      September 23, 2015 at 11:22 am

      I have a feeling I'd love this! Really like the idea of adding secret broccoli x

      Reply
    11. Choclette says

      September 23, 2015 at 6:00 am

      Ah there's no going back now Kate. I would be completely lost without my froothie blender - I'm drinking a smoothie from it now and it really is smooth.

      Reply
    12. Ceri says

      September 22, 2015 at 9:51 pm

      Love the sound of this. I am a huge pesto fan and love how so many different herbs can be used. I used to get fed Pasto alla Genovese by my family that live in the region though we usually have with ligurian pesto. I do love your clever extra veg dea of using broccoli and walnuts instead. Love Oh to be in Italy right now…

      Reply
    13. Helen at Casa Costello says

      September 22, 2015 at 9:03 pm

      Thanks so much for the mention - I love that your pesto is another that doesn't contain the dreaded parmesan. Looks wonderful. I've heard so many people talking about Froothie makers but never seen one in action - Looks a great piece of kit x

      Reply

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