We all know that a well-flavored broccoli pasta salad is a treat. 

Summer and spring are the best time for this vegetable, and you can mix it with other greens to make a delicious dish. 

This recipe uses a Vegan Parmesan Cheese, but you can choose to add any type of parmesan or any meat, chicken, or seafood you decide to go with this. 

As a traveling self-proclaimed chef, I try to stay as simple as possible. Knowing that there are many healthy and nutritional alternatives alleviates any concern I might have about everyday ingredients.

Easy access to Nutritional Yeast in pretty much every store is a bonus!! I sprinkle this golden cosmic dust on pretty much everything I eat, especially as an alternative to salt and cheeses. 

The recipe we will be covering today is amazing and you can double the ingredients to make sure it last for more than three days. So spend time on it today and have two to four meals prep in advance. Isn’t that awesome? All you need to do is add a little water and some olive oil and then heat it for a couple of minutes, and that’s it! 

Ingredients

• 1 lb. of pasta (rotini, gluten-free, or any type of pasta you enjoy)
• 1 1/2 pounds of fresh broccoli. Cut it into medium size bite-sized pieces. 
• 4 handfuls of spinach. Spinach will reduce in size fairly quickly, so make sure you use enough. 
• 3 tablespoons of vegan butter (or any butter of your choosing)
• Juice from 1 large lemon. 
• 2–3 cloves of garlic.
• Use 1 cup of vegan parmesan cheese or that of your choice. 
• A few wedges of lemon. 

Keep handy some olive oil for drizzling and extra vegan parmesan and nutritional yeast. I sometimes add a little salt and pepper for a spicier taste and lemon wedges to garnish at the end. 

Instructions

1. Boil water, add in pasta, turn down heat just a bit, and cook for 5 minutes. 
2. Add in the broccoli, stir, and cook for an additional 4-5 minutes or until the pasta is at your desired doneness. 
3. Drain all of the water and return the pasta/ broccoli to the pot. Add in the spinach and lemon zest, stir, and cover the pot. Let sit for 5 minutes or until the spinach has begun to wilt. 
4. Heat the butter in a small skillet. Once it is hot, add in the garlic and cook for about 2 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat. 
5. Stir into the pasta the garlic butter mixture, lemon juice, and stir to combine.
6. Stir in the parmesan cheese until thoroughly mixed. 
7. Serve and garnish with a bit of extra vegan parmesan, a drizzle of olive oil, lemon wedges, and salt and pepper if desired.

There you have it, a quick and less than 30 minutes delicious meal plan. I always add a little bit more nutritional yeast, but that’s me and my obsession with cheesy stuff. 

Enjoy and stay healthy!