Easy Broccoli Carrot Pasta
Super simple and yet delicious, this easy Broccoli Carrot Pasta is total comfort food mixed with the colorful veggies we all need. Lemon, garlic, and a hint of red pepper wake up the flavors for a dinner everyone can feel good about.
Simple, happy, healthy pasta.
This pasta is light, fresh, and flavorful — all the things a great weeknight pasta dish should be, if you ask me! A super simple garlic butter sauce lightly coats the tender pasta as well as all the veggies, made vibrant and tender-crisp with a touch of steam.
I often purchase baby carrots with high hopes. My kids will sometimes eat them, but other times–maybe most times–they are studiously ignored on the plate. As a result, we frequently have a rather large container of baby carrots lingering in the fridge, sometimes for longer than would be ideal. Since even I can only enjoy roasted baby carrots for a side so many times per month, this recipe is my official go-to for solving the extra baby carrot problem in the form of a main dish that satisfies.
Ingredient & Substitution Notes
Here’s a quick overview of the key ingredients. As always, find the full printable recipe with measurements below.
- Pasta- any shape. Yes, there are two different sizes of farfalle in the batch shown here. It was a pantry clean out kind of night!
- Veggies- baby carrots, broccoli florets, frozen peas. Feel free to leave out one veggie and add more of the others. Whole carrots can be used in place of the baby carrots, just peel and slice them thinly so they don’t take too long to cook.
- Other fresh items- garlic cloves, lemon juice, and Parmesan cheese. If at all possible, this is the time to use freshly-grated Parmesan, because you want it to melt down smoothly into the sauce.
- Staples- butter, kosher salt, black pepper.
- Optional finishing touches- red pepper flakes and parsley. I love a smidge of heat from the pepper but my kids most definitely do not, so I add this to individual plates.
Expert Tips, Tricks, & Variations
- To cook most efficiently, start the veggies steaming as soon as you’ve got the water boiling for the pasta. You can measure out the butter and mince the garlic as the veggies steam, and so on.
- If you don’t have a steamer basket or want to simplify by using steam-in-bag veggies from the freezer aisle, you can just prep the veggies in the microwave, then add directly to the butter sauce.
- Add some protein by mixing in shredded chicken, cooked shrimp, or white beans or chickpeas.
Storage & Reheating
This pasta with broccoli, carrots, and peas keeps and reheats very well. The sauce is so light that it is not prone to separate and really just soaks into the pasta.
- Storage: Leftovers keep very well for 3-4 days. Store in any airtight container in the fridge. (These are our favorite meal prep boxes.)
- Reheating: Warm in the microwave or over medium-low heat in a small saucepan. Add a splash of broth or water to help loosen the dish and minimize sticking, only if needed. Be sure to add more Parmesan and a splash of fresh lemon juice to liven up the flavors once again!
Related Recipes
If you enjoy simple, cozy pastas, you’ll also love my creamy tomato penne, homemade vodka sauce, lemon chicken pasta, and an easy tortellini white bean soup.
Really want to simplify dinnertime? This lemon broccoli pasta has similar flavors to this recipe and is a true one-pot wonder.
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Easy Broccoli Carrot Pasta
Ingredients
- 8-12 ounces pasta any shape
- 1-2 cups baby carrots or peeled and thinly-sliced whole carrots
- 2-3 cups broccoli florets
- 1 cup frozen peas
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 4 Tablespoons butter
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- 2-3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice from 1 medium lemon, plus more to taste
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan plus more to taste
- red pepper flakes and parsley optional garnish
Equipment
Instructions
- Boil a large pot of water and add a generous pinch of salt. When boiling, stir in the pasta and cook just to al dente, according to package directions. Before draining, use a liquid measuring up to scoop out about 1 cup of the pasta water. Drain the rest of the water and set pasta aside.8-12 ounces pasta
- While waiting for the water to boil and pasta to cook, start the veggies. Fill a medium saucepan with about one inch of water and place a steamer basket on top. Bring the water to a boil, then add carrots to the steamer basket. Cover and cook for 1-2 minutes, then add the broccoli florets and cover again. Add the peas after another 2-3 minutes, then cover again and continue to cook until the veggies are bright in color and tender-crisp. At that point, remove them from the heat and set aside.1-2 cups baby carrots, 2-3 cups broccoli florets, 1 cup frozen peas
- When the veggies are almost done, begin the sauce. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add minced garlic and cook for 30-60 seconds, just until fragrant. Add the steamed veggies and toss to coat, then add the drained pasta and toss again.4 Tablespoons butter, 2-3 cloves garlic
- Add lemon juice, Parmesan, and about half of the reserved pasta water. Stir until the cheese smooths out into a thin sauce, adding more pasta water if needed.2-3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
- Sample and season with salt, pepper, and more lemon to taste. (I usually add about 1/2 teaspoon salt and 8-10 cracks of black pepper, but this will vary according to your taste.) Serve with generous sprinklings of red pepper and parsley, if desired. Enjoy!kosher salt and black pepper, red pepper flakes and parsley
Notes
- This soup makes 4 generous or 6 medium-sized servings for our family. Nutritional info is an estimate based on all ingredients divided among 4 servings, so if you need extra specific information, be sure to plug the exact brand of ingredients you use into MyFitnessPal or a similar app to get the most accurate personalized outputs.
