This easy vegan broccolini pasta with lemon and capers makes a delicious, yet simple meal that will impress your friends and family. Made with sauteed baby broccolini (or baby broccoli) with garlic, capers, and butter tossed with your favorite pasta.
Want to save this recipe?
Enter your email below and get it sent straight to your inbox. Plus, get more amazing vegan recipes that will satisfy your cravings!
Jump to:
❤️ Why make this recipe
This easy broccolini pasta sauce whips up in about 10 minutes, yet tastes like it's from a fancy restaurant.
This recipe combines my regular broccoli pasta recipe and my vegan piccata recipe rolled into a garlicky lemony butter sauce with tangy capers! You can add some fried tofu or vegan chicken strips if you want some extra plant-based protein too.
🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- Pasta - you can use any type of vegan pasta noodles that you want. Use gluten-free pasta for a gluten-free broccolini pasta.
- Olive Oil - Extra virgin olive gives you the most flavor, but you can use light olive oil as well.
- Garlic - For flavor. Fresh minced garlic works best.
- Salt and Pepper - For flavor. I also like to use red pepper flakes or a dash of cayenne for a little spiciness.
- Vegan Butter - For a creamy richness. I like to use my homemade vegan butter, but you can use any type of vegan margarine.
- Capers - (optional- for a tangy pickled flavor.) These are the immature buds of a prickly bush that are soaked in salty brine. If you can't find them, you can swap them out with chopped green olives.
- Lemon Juice - Freshly squeezed lemon juice will give you the most flavor. I also like to serve it with additional lemon wedges. You will need about 3 lemons total.
- Broccolini - This type of broccoli has a long tender stem and a smaller head than broccoli. You can also use baby broccoli, tenderstem broccoli, or broccoli rabe. You can simply use regular broccoli, but it is not as tender as broccolini.
🔪 Helpful tools
- A large Frying Pan or Wok - to saute the broccolini and make the sauce.
🥄 How to make broccolini pasta
A full printable version of this recipe with ingredient measurements is available at the bottom of this post.
Step 1 - Cook your choice of pasta according to the package directions in salted water. (Save 1/2 cup of the cooking water)
Step 2 - Wash your broccolini, then cut off the last inch or so off the bottom of the stems (anything that looks old or hard) then cut your broccolini stems into 2-3 inch long pieces. (You will use much more of the stem than traditional broccoli.)
Step 3 - Mince 4 cloves of garlic and add them to a frying pan along with the broccolini and 3 tablespoons olive oil.
Step 4 - Cook the broccolini and garlic over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes until it becomes bright green and slightly tender.
Step 5 - Add 1/2 cup of the cooking water from the pasta to the broccolini.
Step 6 - Add 1/4 cup of vegan butter and 1/4 cup of capers and allow the butter to melt.
Step 7 - Turn off the heat, add 1/4 cup of lemon juice, and toss in the cooked and drained pasta.
Step 8 - Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle in a dash or two of red pepper flakes for a little spice if desired. Serve with additional lemon slices if desired.
🍲 Serving suggestions
Serve with breaded tofu, fried tofu, sauteed chickpeas, or vegan chicken for a more filling protein-packed meal. This broccolini pasta goes great with vegan chicken Caesar salad, broccoli slaw salad, or green salad with apples.
👩🏻🍳 Pro Tips
- Be careful to not burn the garlic while sauteing the broccoli. Saute it over a medium-low heat. You can add a little pasta water if the garlic starts to brown.
- If you have never cooked with capers before, they add a salty pickle flavor and nice texture to the dish but feel free to omit them if you don't have any.
- Serve hot with some vegan protein, a side salad, and/or bread.
❓ How can I make this gluten-free?
This pasta sauce is naturally gluten-free, so all you will need to do is swap out the pasta for your favorite gluten-free pasta.
🥡 Storage and reheating
Refrigerate: This broccolini pasta will keep well in the fridge for 3 - 4 days in an airtight container.
Freeze: Leftover pasta freezes well and can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Reheating: Reheat a serving of pasta in the microwave for about 2 minutes or stir fry it in a skillet for a few minutes until warm.
If you are a broccoli lover like me, be sure to try my vegan cream of broccoli soup, broccoli risotto, roasted tenderstem broccoli, vegan chicken and broccoli casserole, or broccoli potato soup.
🌟 Easy pasta recipes
- Vegan Rasta Pasta
- Coconut Alfredo Sauce
- Vegan Beef Stroganoff
- Creamy Veggie Pasta
- Green Pea Pasta
- Vegan Orzo
- Tofu Pasta
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
📋 Broccolini pasta recipe
Broccolini Pasta with Lemon and Capers
Ingredients
- 1 (16 oz) package pasta
For the sauce
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic
- 4 cups broccolini
- 1/4 cup vegan butter
- 1/4 cup capers
- 1/2 cup pasta water
- 1/4 cup lemon juice (2-3 lemons for the juice plus more for lemon wedges)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
Instructions
Cook the pasta
- Cook your choice of pasta according to the package directions in salted water. (Save 1/2 cup of the cooking water)
Make the broccolini sauce
- Wash your broccolini, then cut off the last inch or so off the bottom of the stems (anything that looks old or hard) then cut your broccolini stems into 2-3 inch long pieces. (You will use much more of the stem than traditional broccoli.)
- Mince 4 cloves of garlic and add them to a frying pan along with the broccolini and 3 tablespoons olive oil.
- Cook the broccolini and garlic over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes until it becomes bright green and slightly tender.
- Add 1/2 cup of the cooking water from the pasta to the broccolini.
- Add 1/4 cup of vegan butter and 1/4 cup of capers and allow the butter to melt.
- Turn off the heat, add 1/4 cup of lemon juice, and toss in the cooked and drained pasta.
- Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle in a dash or two of red pepper flakes for a little spice if desired. Serve with additional lemon slices if desired.
Notes
- Be careful to not burn the garlic while sauteing the broccoli. Saute it over a medium-low heat. You can add a little pasta water if the garlic starts to brown.
- If you have never cooked with capers before, they add a salty pickle flavor and nice texture to the dish but feel free to omit them if you don't have any.
- Serve hot with some vegan protein, a side salad, and/or bread.
Nutrition
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Click the stars above or leave a comment! I'd love to hear from you!
Leave a Reply