Are you in search of a healthy cheesy garlic broccoli pasta that your toddler and the whole family will enjoy? Then this recipe is well perfected for you.
The whole family will thoroughly enjoy this quick and straightforward Healthy Cheesy Garlic Broccoli Pasta.
What isn’t appealing about a dish that only requires a single pot, five ingredients, as well as less than twenty minutes to prepare?
This healthy and simple dinner is a hit with the whole family, from infants to grandparents.
Read on to know the ingredients needed for this healthy cheesy garlic broccoli pasta and also a method of preparation.
Why is This Family Healthy Pasta so Awesome
- Everyone in my household enjoys this meal
- Excellent for both infants and grownups
- For those who are hesitant to consume it whole, a portion of broccoli that they
- One-pot method
- 5-ingredients
- Basics for stocking a kitchen
- 20 minutes or less
- Perfect for lunch the next day
- Yummy and velvety
- Home cooking is a great source of comfort.
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free variants available
- Especially useful for baby-led weaning
Read also: Quick and Easy Green Bean Puree Recipe
Preparation Time: 5 Minutes
Cooking time: 15 Minutes
Total Time: 20 Minutes
Ingredients Needed
- One 16-ounce box of your favorite pasta shape
- Use 3 cups of broccoli florets, either fresh or frozen
- Four tablespoons of butter
- Three minced garlic cloves
- Cheese, Parmesan, shredded or grated, 2/3 cup
- Chili pepper flakes (optional for grown-ups)
Optional Add-ins
- Chopped up chicken
- Assorted cut vegetables such as green beans, peas, maize, and cauliflower
- Tuna in a can
- Pine nuts, roasted
- Sausage meat that’s been broken up
Read also: Healthy and Simple Bean Recipes for Kids
Method of Preparation
- Turn on the heat and get a big kettle of water boiling. Pasta should be added now. Add the chopped broccoli 3 minutes before the end of the cooking process. Add frozen broccoli 4 minutes before the end of the cooking process.
- WARNING: Set aside 2 cups of pasta water when draining the noodles.
- Both pasta and broccoli should be drained in a big colander.
- Stir the butter into the same big pot and set this over low heat. After the butter has melted, add the garlic and cook for another two to three minutes, turning frequently, until it is lightly browned.
- Reunite the broccoli and pasta in the big saucepan. Then, stir in the Parmesan and the pasta water you set up earlier (about a cup’s worth).
- To fully integrate the cheese, stir for at least a minute. Add additional of the conserved water, 1/4 cup at a time, if the pasta seems dry.
- It’s possible that you’ll need to add in the full extra cup, according to the pasta’s brand and type. For the sake of photography, I ended up adding about 1.5 cups of the water that had been set aside to the pasta shown. Various varieties of gluten-free pasta necessitate more water than others.
- Prepare and savor.
Read also: Healthy Broccoli Recipes for Kids
How to Serve Your Healthy Broccoli Pasta
Below you will get some tips on how to serve your delicious healthy broccoli pasta for everyone.
For Baby:
I removed the broccoli and florets from the pasta and added no-sugar-added applesauce (you might also have used an apple puree or warmed apple slices with such a touch of cinnamon) to the meal.
In order to demonstrate, all I had on hand was applesauce. Place the applesauce on a large self-feeding baby spoon, or fill a baby spoon with the food and deliver it directly to the baby.
Pasta with butter/garlic/parm sauce or served simply, even without the sauce, is appropriate for babies of all ages.
For Food snob:
Those who have finicky eaters in the family can still enjoy this supper by removing the broccoli and noodles. Even finicky eaters seem to enjoy the spaghetti with the mild garlic parmesan sauce.
Applesauce is a familiar and safe item that might help children get beyond their fear of the green broccoli and spaghetti on their plates.
If I were to feed my family, I would make them eat some spaghetti and broccoli first, and then let them have more of the safe food (in this case, applesauce). This is simply how things work in my household. Just be who you are.
Read also: Best Instant Pot Butter Chicken Recipe
For Kid:
You can accompany the pasta with a side salad and some applesauce. When serving a salad to a child who isn’t yet a fan, try serving it “broken down,” with the lettuce and all the other salad fixings separated into individual piles.
This allows them to see, in an organized fashion, what will actually be on a salad. My kids love salad, and I always let them choose the dressing (typically a handmade balsamic or ranch).
For Adult:
A healthy dose of red pepper flakes, along with a large salad or more cooked vegetables, is my ideal accompaniment to this pasta.
For Toddler:
I presented this dish of spaghetti and broccoli with a dollop of applesauce and some chopped dried berries.
If they refuse to eat the broccoli and pasta combined, you can serve them in individual bowls (as shown in the baby-led weaning picture).
