20 Minute Lemon Broccoli Pasta Skillet
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.
Originally published December 9, 2015
You know when you are on the phone with someone and you have to climb stairs and pretend like you are not totally winded? I always fail miserably. I get almost to the top of the stairs sounding totally normal, and then suddenly I interrupt whatever they are telling me, (GASP) “Sorry, (deep breath), I’m climbing the (puff puff) stairs and I think I’m (wheeze) going to die.”
So a couple weeks ago I decided that I need to start some kind of exercise regime so that I don’t die from climbing stairs before I’m even 30.
So I did some yoga for the first time ever after some recommendations from my girl Sarah over at Broma Bakery. (She is all about the yoga. Check out them abs.) And I loved it! I did an hour and twenty minutes the first day and vowed to do it every day for the rest of my life. I told my whole family. “I’m a yoga person now! I love it!”
The next day I did an hour. The next day I did 45 minutes.
Last night my dad asked how the daily yoga was going. My brother chimed in, “I watched her do some yoga yesterday…for 45 seconds.”
45 minutes…45 seconds…who’s counting really?
And seriously who’s got time for yoga when there are Christmas cookies to be eaten.
I don’t know about you but all of my free time in December is dedicated to baking, which means I’m usually too tired to feed my family actual dinner. Ain’t nobody got time for extravagant dinners when there are presents to wrap and stockings to stuff and Christmas PJs to lounge in. (Let’s be real.)
How to make easy pasta recipes
Enter this 20 Minute Lemon Broccoli Pasta Skillet! This is the best kind of recipe, because it’s so basic that you can literally swap in whatever you have on hand. It’s just rotini, broccoli, spinach, and a simple lemon-butter-garlic sauce. No broccoli? Use asparagus! No rotini? Use spaghetti! No lemons? Use another acid like red wine vinegar (make sure you taste as you go!)
If you do use a lemon though, I highly recommend zesting with a microplane grater (here’s the one I have). It will take you 30 seconds and amps up the flavor a ton. It’s my favorite kitchen tool!
I threw this quick dinner together using a couple of my Anolon pans:
Do you guys have these pans? They are awesome. I took the top left picture so that you could see the part where it says “Metal Utensil Safe.” (And so you could see me taking the photo. HIII!!) How many pans have you ruined because you used a metal spoon on it? Soooo many. I love this!
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20 Minute Lemon Broccoli Pasta Skillet
Serves 6 adjust servingsIngredients
- 3 quarts water
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 and 1/2 to 2 pounds fresh broccoli
- 1 pound rotini pasta
- 3-4 cups spinach
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 large lemon, zested and juiced
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
- 1/4 or 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 cup fresh Parmesan, plus more to garnish
- olive oil, to garnish
- salt and pepper to taste
- fresh lemon wedges, 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 and stir in the 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!
by The Food Charlatan
Recipe adapted from my brother Nathan, who got the recipe from a girl he went on a date with a long time ago.
Make sure you enter the “Holiday Hosting” Sweepstakes! Anolon is giving away some amazing cookware sets! Learn more at Anolon.com.
There are also a few affiliate links on this post. That means you pay nothing extra and I get a commission that supports the blog. Win-win!
Other easy dinner recipes to get you through the Christmas season:
Ham Mac N Cheese Soup: <<pure comfort food right here.
Brown Butter Gnocchi with Asparagus and Prosciutto <<sounds fancier than it is. 30 minutes, tops.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Anolon. The opinions and text are all mine.
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Pretty good but I felt like it was missing something..not sure what it is though 🤔
What a wonderful dish. Followed recipe exactly as written and wouldn’t change a thing. I’m known for doctoring things up so this is a huge compliment! Served with grilled lemon pepper chicken. Amazing!!
Thank you for a simple yet tasting dish. I made or for a
weeknight dinner and we really impressed by how quick and easy it was to whip up. Loved the lemon garlic butter sauce.
So glad you loved the recipe Lyf! Thanks for leaving a review!
I really love this recipe! I may not have done everything to a T, but it’s so yummy! Next time I’ll add more lemon-y butter though as I felt it did not cover the entire dish.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Alannah! Who can say no to more lemony butter?
Use a very large pot!
I also add chicken to this with extra lemon garlic butter sauce.
I’ve made this several times and it’s so good! This a great recipe for meal prep too. It microwaves easily and still tastes amazing.
Meal prep, genius idea Paige!! So glad it’s working out for you. Thanks for chiming in!
Love this recipe! It’s on heavy repeat for our dinners. So light and fresh tasting.
Perfect for hot summer says, right Karen? Thanks so much for reviewing!
THis was delicious! Only changes I made was extra salt and pepper, cherry tomatoes , and peas. To reheat the leftovers, I may have to make more sauce. I’ll definitely make it again. Thank you!!! Gale
Love the cherry tomatoes Gale! Sounds delicious! Thanks so much for commenting!
Oh my!!! This was so good. We’ve made it a few times and today we tried it with chickpea noodles. It’s was even better!!!!!
Chickpea noodles! great idea Jennifer! Thanks for sharing!
I love this recipe! I also add tuna for added protein which taste Devine with the combination. What is the nutritional value to this recipe?
Tuna sounds delicious Sheila! And I don’t provide nutrition info for my recipes, but there are a lot of online calculators you could plug it into!
Can’t WAIT to try this, 3 of my daughter’s favorite ingredients, noodles + lemon + broccoli, it can’t lose! She makes parmesan sandwiches out of breadsticks @ the olive garden, so I am SURE we’ll be posting a THUMB’S UP review, and you’re right, even during this pandemic, we HAVE the ingredients on-hand! Will let ya know how it goes over! Thx!
Okay parmesan sandwiches out of breadsticks sounds amazing, you have a smart daughter ;) Enjoy the pasta! Thanks for commenting!
This was AMAZING! Great directions and recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it Katie! Thanks for reviewing!
I use Alfredo sauce with this recipe add chicken and bake in oven.
Made this tonight and it’s absolutely delish!!! I did use someone’s idea below and doubled the butter. Omg so good! Thanks for sharing this with us
doubling the butter is always a good idea ;) Thanks Aamna!
This recipe is delicious and I have made it several times. I usually add some grilled chicken!
Great idea Jess!
I found this recipe looking for a quick and easy side using broccoli, to go with homemade fish cakes. This is perfect. I cannot wait to try it. Thanks!
Ooh this would be delicious with homemade fish cakes! Sounds like the perfect pairing. Hope it goes well Mel, thanks for commenting!
One of my weekday saviors! Super easy recipe that doesn’t leave a huge mess! Thank you thank you!!
I’m so happy to hear that Amy! It’s a weeknight staple around here too!
Thank you so much for this recipe. I loved this pasta! And loved the leftovers even more the next day as a salad for lunch. I added some almonds. I think the combination of broccoli, lemon and almonds is irresistible.
Ooh adding almonds is genius! And I agree, I like it cold for lunch the next day :) Thanks Jessie!
I made this last night and it was so yummy! And plenty of leftovers for a couple more nights, which is always a win! I bought way too much broccoli and also added some carrots, because that’s what my two-year-old is into this week, so I doubled the lemon/garlic butter, and it worked perfectly. The red pepper flakes give it just the right amount of kick, too!
Is there a thing as way too much broccoli ;) I’m so glad even the 2 year old liked it! That’s a winner for sure.
I made this and it was delicious! I added grilled chicken and made it a main dish. Normally my husband’s best meal compliment is “Its okay”, but for this meal he actually wanted left overs for work the next day! I’ll probably double the lemon next time because I feel about lemon like I do about garlic- you can never have too much!
I’m with you Jackie! Never too much lemon or garlic! :)
I love that this took under 20 minutes to make! I used a brown rice + quinoa blend rotini and added halved cherry tomatoes.
My husband and 4 year old son who usually aren’t overly fond of lemon devoured it. No leftovers!
I did add more lemon juice to my portion because why not?!
Picture will be on IGA soon. Thanks!
I love the brown rice rotini idea! I’m so glad you liked it Tina. Thanks!
I fixed the Lemon Broccoli Pasta tonight and was very pleasantly surprised. My husband .told me it was super delicious and a keeper. The lemon and pepper flakes added lots of zing and flavor. Thank you for posting this recipe.
It’s kind of crazy how much flavor comes from a little lemon and pepper flakes, right? I’m glad you liked it Theresa!
This was absolutely delicious and like nothing I’ve had before! I doubled the lemon butter, took out the spinach, and used gluten free noodles. I was in heaven! Thank you for this amazing recipe!
Doubling the butter is a good idea in pretty much any recipe, right? ;)
I love this pasta!!! Thank you for the recipe.
This looks great. My kids are all grown and gone, so I don’t have to worry about quick and easy any more! But I also used a lot of canned beans, even to add to pasta. They’re a great combination, and add fiber and protein.
I’m making this tonight! What are your thoughts about adding a tablespoon or 2 of nutritional yeast in place of the Parmesan? We have lactose intolerance in the fam
Hey Kelly! I’ve never experimented with nutritional yeast! Let me know how it goes!
This is delicious!! Super easy! I love that it contains lots of veggies and has great flavour!
Hey Melissa, I’m glad you liked the pasta! I love veggie heavy meals like this. Thanks for the comment!
Your recipes look very healthy and l keep kosher so l can use your recipes in my meal planning. Thanks
Question. Am I boiling the broccoli and pasta together at the same time
Yes, in step 3 you boil the pasta and then add the broccoli to the boiling water after a couple minutes.
Can I use frozen broccoli for this recipe?
Hi Savannah, I haven’t tried it but I think it would work great! You will have to boil it a bit longer.
This was very tasty, I did steam the broccoli and used olive oil instead of the butter (Doctors Order). I have made pasta salads before never with lemon though, at least I don’t think I did.
Yes, they say the memory is the first to go, I say the gut is…🍋
Good idea to steam the broccoli Bob! I’m glad you liked the pasta, thanks for the review!
I made this light recipe last night for supper. I used whole wheat rotini and it was delicious: otherwise I followed the recipe to a T.
love those whole wheat pastas they have now, such a great idea. Thanks Kirsten!
My family love this dish. Yummy hot or cold a real winner.
I make this exactly as written except I use vegan butter and no cheese. My husband and I love it so much. Thank you.
Oh good idea Brenda, I like the vegan butter tip. Thanks for your comment Brenda!
Can you use cheddar cheese
Hey Taryn, why not, I’m sure it would be good!
Found this receipe today and just cooked it for my lunch meal prep for the upcoming week. It was so delicious that I’m down one lunch for the week because I just needed to eat a bowl of it right away. Thanks for sharing this one!
Haha I feel like this is why hardcore meal prepping would never work for me. I would just eat it all right away. I’m glad you like it though! Thanks for commenting! Good luck saving the rest for lunches!
Oh wow is all I can say. My kids who weren’t hungry polished off 2 plate fulls each. Tasty easy and quick to make. Thank you
So happy to hear that Debra! It’s always so nice to find something the kids will like. Thanks for the review!
Delicious and super easy – thank you!
Made this tonight and LOVED it! Thank you!
I was wondering if anyone has eaten the dish cold (the leftovers the next day)?
So glad you liked it Diana! I’ve had it cold before, it’s actually pretty good! I prefer it room temp. So either let it sit out or heat up and then let reach room temp.
I enjoyed this but felt there was no need for a whole pound of pasta-unless you are feeding a lot of people. In that case I would use a whole 10 oz. bag of spinach. Broccoli & all other ingredients were right-on. Good that you mentioned the olive oil-otherwise it would have turned out very dry. Thank you for this recipe. OH, 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper was perfect for me.
Me and my sons loved the reciepe. We try to have 2 meatfree meals a week, and this will be one of our favorites in the future. Thanks a lot
That’s a great idea Connie! I should totally make a goal to do 2 meat free meals a week.
delicious…….will make again
This recipe looks delicious and I’m looking forward to trying it once I’ve converted the measurements to metric but please note that any recipe containing parmesan is not vegeterian as parmesan is made using calf rennet. There are vegeterian alternatives to parmesan however, and this is what I will be using.
MIND…..BLOWN, KAREN!!!!! Whaaaaaaaaat!!!!!!! Man. This has got to be devastating for vegetarians! Parmesan is the best! Thanks for the info!
This was a great and very simple dish! I used a stick and a half of butter for the sauce and it wasn’t too saucy. It came out perfectly. The Parmesan cheese totally took it over the top. This is a perfect weeknight meal and was delicious! I would definitely make this again.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Sarah! Thanks for the comment!
This recipe is so easy and so delicious!! I will absolutely make this again with just a few variations, for our family’s preferences:
(For our family 2 gloves of garlic was too much and since I have a young child I only used 1/8t red pepper).
I’m so glad you and the family enjoyed it Julie! It’s hard to beat something so easy :) Thanks so much for coming back to comment!
MORE COMMENTS: If you are actually making this, check out this link for more reviews:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/266345765441611296/activity/tried
You can see comments on Pinterest from people who actually tried this recipe. I wish people would come to the blog to make these comments (it would be so much easier to find!) but I don’t want you guys to miss out on more info and reviews.
Love, The Food Charlatan :)
I run 4 miles every morning on the treadmill…and feel like I’m going to die every time. The only reason I do it is so I can binge eat cookies and chocolate chips before lunchtime. I totally need healthier meals in my life. You had me at lemon. And broccoli. And pasta.
This looks delicious and so light- perfect to balance out all the Christmas baking! Pinning :)
Quick, easy, and flavorful make my heart go pitter-pat!
Is there an alternative to using parmesan cheese? Or will the dish still taste nice without it
Hi Shana! I think there is enough flavor in the lemon butter that you can skip the parm. Sprinkle on some extra salt :) If you can eat cheese, a sprinkle of mozzarella would be tasty.
haha baking is definitely a priority in December! This pasta looks awesome! I loveee broccoli and lemon together!
Stupid stairs. I can run a marathon, but I can’t climb a flight of stairs without getting winded! I love this easy lemon broccoli pasta, such a great family dinner!
This pasta is the perfect weeknight dish! READY in 20 minutes!? Sign me up :) Also if I’m on the phone rushing around its’ so hard to not sound like I need a breathing
treatment….haha.
The cookies do me in every year, I’ve never tried yoga, but I did like Zumba. And no matter how much we streamline, the month of December fills up so much, it’s unbelievable.
I’m glad I stocked up on pasta! Lemon broccoli pasta sounds delicious. Of course my family will want me to add bacon. :)