Garlicky Cruciferous Pasta– a simple pasta dish loaded with healthy cruciferous vegetables (shredded broccoli, cabbage and Brussels sprouts) tossed with garlic, lemon zest and chili flakes. Simple and DELISH!!!
Garlicky Cruciferous Pasta. I wish I had a fancier name for this, but it’s all I’ve got today. It’s one part pasta and three parts cruciferous veggies — one entire pound to be exact! And I’m sure you already know this, but if not, here is an article on some of the health benefits of cruciferous vegetables – loaded with vitamins, nutrients and cleansing anti-oxidants.
Here, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale and cabbage are all thinly sliced, then cooked down with a little olive oil that has been infused with smashed garlic.
The garlicky flavorful veggies are simply tossed with a small amount of pasta and finished with chili flakes, lemon zest and fresh basil. And that is it. Quick, healthy and surprisingly tasty.
How to make Cruciferous Pasta
This recipe calls for a huge mound of veggies. Feel free to use packaged, prepped veggies like you see here, adding more if necessary to make a full pound, or pick out some Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and kale, and slice them all very thin.
Slicing them VERY THIN will ensure quick and speedy cooking. So this means slicing the broccoli and cauliflower thin too.
Slice florets into ¼ inch slices.
Thinly slice the onion.
Smash the garlic.
Cook the onions and garlic for a couple of minutes to infuse the olive oil, then add the mound of cruciferous veggies.
Boil the pasta at the same time in generously salted water- make sure to save some hot pasta water, when you drain it!
The veggies will cook down quite a lot. Once they are tender and bright, add the pasta to the veggies, seasoning well- adding more salt and pepper to taste.
To loosen it and make it saucier, add a splash or two of hot pasta water.
Feel free to add shaved pecorino cheese, or vegan cheese sprinkle.
Garnish with lemon zest and chili flakes.
Serve in bowls with lemon zest and basil and chili flakes.
You could also add vegan cheesy sprinkle or grated pecorino if not going the vegan route.
Toasted pinenuts are also tasty here!
More vegan pasta recipes you may like:
- Creamy Pea Pasta (Vegan)
- Charred Asparagus Kale Pasta with Lemony Cannellini Beans
- Zesty Vegan Pasta with Cashew Alfredo Sauce
- Pasta with Broccolini, Preserved Lemon and Chickpeas
- Vegetarian and Vegan Pasta Recipes!
On the homefront: This morning, the house is eerily quiet. We had to put our sweet old dog Maxx down on Friday, and Brian is heartbroken. Maxx was his buddy through thick and thin, always by his side since he was a pup. Afterward, in desperate need of distraction, we drove to Seattle and drowned our sorrows in food.
We stayed a few days longer than intended but finally realized that eventually we had to come home and face that now empty corner of the living room where Maxx once lay. Today is also my father’s birthday, the first one since he passed away last month. So as I sit here this morning, I feel… sad.
It is impossible not to experience loss in this life. Big sigh…
I am thankful that I don’t have to face it alone, and perhaps this is the silver lining in all of it. That no matter what heartache comes, we are not alone in it. We are held by an invisible thread that connects all of us to loss and to love and to life. Somehow this brings comfort. ❤️
Anyways, I hope I haven’t depressed you too much to try this pasta… just keeping it real. 😉
xoxo
Garlicky Cruciferous Pasta
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 2-3
- Category: Main
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: italian
- Diet: Vegan
Description
A simple vegan pasta recipe, heavy on the cruciferous veggies, light on the pasta. Keep this vegan or add cheese (although it’s really good without).
Ingredients
- 4 ounces dry pasta (linguini, penne, spaghetti, angel hair)
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 a medium onion, very thinly sliced
- 4-6 large cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 pound cruciferous veggies (cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kale) all very thinly sliced.
- 1/2-1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cracked pepper
- 1/4 or more chili flakes
- zest of one lemon
- extra olive oil for drizzling
- Garnish: fresh basil ribbons, allepo chili flakes, toasted pine nuts, Vegan cheesy Sprinkle, or grated Pecorino cheese
- Feel free to add protein: seared shrimp, chicken, salmon or chickpeas!
Instructions
- Place a pot of generously salted water to boil for pasta on the stove, and cook the pasta.
- While the pasta is cooking, heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet
- Add onion and smashed garlic and saute for 2 minutes, breaking up the whole garlic with a metal spatula, just a bit, letting the oil infuse with garlic flavor.
- Add the whole mound of thinly sliced veggies. Let this cook without stirring for a few minutes, and it will begin to settle and lower in the pan, then just gently nudge it around, letting it continue to cook down about 5 more minutes. Add 3 tablespoons hot pasta water and 1/2 teaspoon salt Continue cooking over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
- When pasta is done, drain ( save pasta water) and set aside until veggies are bright green and tender.
- Stir in the pasta. Season with more salt, pepper and chili flakes. Add a splash of pasta water to loosen and make it saucy. If adding pecorino, add it now. Or keep it vegan ( with Vegan Cheesy Sprinkle).
- Serve in bowls and garnish with lemon zest, a light drizzle of olive oil, fresh basil, and if you want, pine nuts.
Notes
I love this recipe with pecorino cheese, but feel free to keep it vegan.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: -3 bowls
- Calories: 301
- Sugar: 5.3 g
- Sodium: 429.3 mg
- Fat: 10.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 45.4 g
- Fiber: 7.7 g
- Protein: 10.6 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
I added lemon marinated baby Lima beans to the recipe…. then, I guess I couldn’t get enough beans, I had a couple of falafel on the side! Great recipe… I’ll be making this weekly.
Sounds delicious! Thanks for taking the time to review.
delicious and healthy and fast and lower carb! love vegetarian food again.
Glad you enjoyed Jessica! Thanks for taking time to review.
Super tasty, unbelievable how amazing veg can taste with a good recipe
Thank you
so glad you enjoyed!
This is a great recipe. Lots of chopping, but otherwise easy, quick, and yummy! I think the lemon zest really makes it!
So happy you enjoyed this Pamela! Thanks so much for circling back and leaving a review, very appreciated!
This recipe is so good! We’ve made it one of our weeknight standards, and I love it with or without cheese. We often reduce the pasta and keep the vegetable amount the same, and it’s delicious that way too.
Great to hear Martha! Glad you are enjoying it!
(posting on behalf of my Mom who loves your blog but does not like to comment). Thank you so much for this recipe! It’s delicious and easily adaptable to whatever cruciferous veggies are in the fridge. This has become a staple.
Thanks so much! I’m so glad she is enjoying it!
Yes, Dave- this is a low protein dish and maybe not for everyone. Not all pasta dishes have/need protein…. for example, spaghetti with tomato sauce, or Cacio de Pepe. I like your idea of adding shrimp here though, I bet it would be great! This is also really good with pecorino.
Oof, this is good. The veggies maintain an excellent crunch even as they saute down, and the pasta is a lovely little dopamine hit of carbs amongst the delicious veggie flavor. My only deviation I was to squeeze a a dash lemon, but I think I only needed it because the peel I zested was bland. Such a hearty yet refreshing dinner.
I read this recipe initially when it was published in 2016. After reading the accompanying blog, I decided to save the recipe for when my own dog died. I made some of this pasta after I buried what remained of his body in the back yard this morning. It was delicious.
I’m sorry about your dog. So very hard. They love us so unconditionally, such beautiful souls. Hugs and love to you Jonathon.
Wasn’t sure going into it, but I’m trying to eat 3 cups of cruciferous vegetables a day. Got of all of them in at dinner AND IT WAS DELICIOUS!!! This is going to be a regular meal at my house.
So happy you liked it!!!
I made this recipe and my wife was delighted. The combination of the cruciferous vegetables, the garlic, onion, the olive oil, cracked pepper, and red pepper flakes is incredible. There is an explosion of flavors in your mouth. I added more olive oil and David’s kosher salt for a nice complementing salty texture. I matched the plate with fresh homemade focaccia alla Genovese.
This recipe has great flavours and received the “thumbs up” from my husband and Mr 15 and Miss 12! Winning!
This recipe has great flavours and received the “thumbs up” from my husband and Mr 15 and Miss 12! Winning!
Thanks kayline!
So simple yet so tasty! Awesome recipe ??
So simple yet so tasty! Awesome ??
Accidentally pressed submit before I was finished with my comment…. Also wanted to send you my best wishes after the loss you’ve experienced lately. While we all have to experience loss at some point, this is a lot to bear in a short period of time and I can imagine how much it hurts.. Glad you are feeling supported by family and friends.
This is my new favorite greens mix! I normally buy organic greens, but this mix is so good I have been making special trips to TJ’s just to buy it. Haven’t made pasta though – can’t wait to try your recipe!
I’m so sorry about Maxx 🙁 The loss of a pet, especially a dog, is so hard. They really become a part of your family, you know? I don’t know what I would do without my pup, Ivy. But reading your post today makes me feel extra grateful for her. She’s definitely getting an extra treat and belly rub today 🙂
Thanks Sarah!Give her a belly rub from us too. 😉
Thanks to everyone above for sharing your stories. Oh, how precious our pets are and how lucky we are to have such loving and divine creatures on earth. I am so sorry for your loss – all of you. Sylvia, I so thought of you during your sharing your loss of your Dad (the chocolate, orange cake) and being I don’t bake (scary) I conveniently avoided commenting. My father had just been admitted to the hospital (he’s back home now) and I so wanted to thank you for sharing. As always, your thoughtfulness and your willingness to ponder upon the deeper meaning of it all ….. really touches (us) beautifully. Thank you so much and hugs to you both, with yet another precious loss. Lastly, thank you for such a lovely meal (yet to make … moving back to Vancouver and totally stressed … eating out wayyy too much!). I marvel at your beautiful photos too! Thank you, thank you for everything. You are a true inspiration – love your depth and your recipes! ox
Thanks Heather,
I appreciate this so much. This “blog world” is always a challenge…how much to share, and where to hold back. A lot of people just come here for the recipes, and I totally get that. So I hesitate with personal stuff for many reasons. But there are some days it just wants to come out, and so I’m learning to trust this and let it be. We are all in this life together…and somehow it feels less daunting, less lonely, knowing that no matter how different we all are, have similar struggles and heartaches. And somehow, the simple fact of acknowledging this is healing.
Today was a good day to be reminded of the very thing you said,”… knowing that no matter how different we all are, have similar struggles and heartaches. And somehow, the simple fact of acknowledging this is healing.” I think it is wonderful for you to follow your intuition and post what matters to you, in your heart. Thank you again and I hope you enjoy the long weekend 🙂 . I took some Arabic meatballs out of my freezer the other night and so today some sort of version of your lovely recipe shall manifest in the slow cooker – yum!
Thanks, appreciate it very much. And your meatballs sound delicious! Happy weekend to you.xo
Thank you for sharing these healthy delicious recipes, and the beautiful way that you present them. I appreciate it very much, thank you, too, for sharing your heart. With blessings, nicola
Oh Sylvia, my heart goes out to you. I am so sorry for your losses. It is so hard, and that deep void in your life is so sad. I can’t tell you it will get easier, For me, I just feel a numbness.
Maxx will always be in your hearts and will always be missed. That place where he lay, will always be his place.
The loss of Maxx is deep, as with a parent.
Several months after we had to put our dog Dane down, we went to get a rescue dog, not to replace Dane, but because we have a lot of love and wanted to give another dog a good home and shower him or her with love and kindness…. we came home with not one, but three 🙂
Thank you for sharing this amazing meal. This is a meal I will make for sure. Lovely and simple and incredibly healthy.
My beautiful Max breathed his last in October and I’m still a mess. He was only three. He had osteosarcoma, and we amputated his back leg. For six months he lived an amazing three-legged life and became a model patient, enduring surgery and chemo and all his treatments like a champ. I tried everything, including homecooked food and Chinese herbs, but it’s a vicious cancer. The extra six months were worth every dollar. It was a heart rending journey, and I’ll never be over him.
I am sorry for your loss and your pain. It’s miserable trying to readjust your life to accommodate an absence as big as that. Dogs are so dear and special. I believe Max and Maxx are at St. Francis’s feet right now.
Thanks Susanna, I’m sorry for your loss as well. Yes, they are dear, sweet souls that love unconditionally.
We han too a dog named Max..Found on the road. So kind, putting his head on our knees… He died very old too.. I fell so sod for you..
Thank you or that recipe.. I am French and it does not seem too exotic…
I shall certainly make my honey with the others recipes on your blog. MarieAgnes
thank you Marie!
Oh Sylvia, I am so very sorry for the loss of your dog and the sadness you feel for the loss of your dad. Well…. I am and I am not. For sorrow is an emotion we feel that shows us who we are and what we really hold dear to our hearts and souls. Though tough to endure, there are lessons in all sorrows, if we can just be still enough to listen and figure out what the lesson is. My dog of 14 yrs, my running buddy, my daughter I never had, died in my arms recently too. Though the pain and emptiness are at time unbearable, I am so very grateful we had each other. Though I’m sure she did more for me than I for her.
Ride the wave and then… peace to your heart.
Most sincerely,
Marina